Boozer out 4+ weeks

Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure on his left knee performed by Dr. Richard Ferkel in Los Angeles on Friday.  All loose pieces of cartilage in the knee area were removed and microfracturing will not be required. Everything else in the knee joint was found to be fine.  Boozer will now undergo a four-week rehabilitation program, after which his return to activity will be re-evaluated.

“I had a successful surgery and the loose bodies that were floating around and causing my pain were removed,” said Boozer following the procedure.  “My knee is now on its way to recovering and getting completely healthy so that I can return to help my team.”

Grizzlies sign Darius Miles to 10-day contract

The Memphis Grizzlies have re-signed forward Darius Miles to a 10-day contract, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.  Miles, who was waived by the Grizzlies on Jan. 7, cleared waivers and subsequently became an unrestricted free agent.

In two games with Memphis, Miles collected two rebounds and two blocked shots in a total of nine minutes of action.  The 6-9, 235-pound forward also served a 10-game league suspension, which concluded following the Jan. 2 game vs. San Antonio.

“Darius did everything asked of him in his initial stint with the Grizzlies and was well received by his teammates,” Wallace said. “In the last Minnesota game (Jan. 6), his length, experience, rebounding, shot blocking and defense on one of the elite post scorers in the league, Al Jefferson, were all impressive.  Our young team is short on frontcourt players and can use a veteran with his attributes.”

Miles was signed by the Grizzlies as a free agent on Dec. 13 after missing all of the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons following microfracture surgery on his right knee.  The 27-year-old signed a free-agent contract with the Boston Celtics on Aug. 22, 2008 and appeared in six preseason games, averaging 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.4 minutes before his release on Oct. 20.

The third overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft became the first player in league history drafted straight out of high school (East St. Louis High School) to earn All-Rookie honors when he posted 9.4 points and 1.54 blocks for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2000-01.

The Bellville, Ill. native holds career averages of 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.15 blocks in 27.6 minutes in 414 career games (190 starts) with Memphis, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Memphis will return to action next to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. CST at the FedExForum  The Grizzlies’ current roster stands at 14 players.

Bryant’s late surge gives Lakers win over Pacers

The AP reports: With the game tied and the clock ticking down, Bryant ran off 23 seconds, then, with defenders lunging at him, coolly hit a turnaround, fadeaway jumper with 3 seconds remaining Friday night to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 121-119 victory over the stubborn Indiana Pacers. Bryant’s 36 points included the Lakers’ final 11 of the game, and he also finished with 13 assists and seven rebounds… “We couldn’t stop Kobe,” said the Pacers’ Danny Granger, who had 28 points when he fouled out with 47 seconds remaining… Troy Murphy had 24 points for Indiana and Dunleavy finished with 22. Pau Gasol had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, and Andrew Bynum had 20 points.

O’Neal leads Suns to 128-100 rout of Dallas

The AP reports: The Suns outscored the Mavericks 40-19 in the third quarter and went on to a 128-100 rout on Friday night. Shaquille O’Neal had 25 points and 10 rebounds in just under 27 minutes for the Suns… Jason Richardson added 21 points and Leandro Barbosa had 20 in the Suns’ highest-scoring game of the season… Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 for Dallas, and Josh Howard had 16 before departing with a sprained left wrist in the third quarter. X-rays were negative. Amare Stoudemire scored 16 in Phoenix’s fourth win in five games. Grant Hill added 10 points, eight in the third quarter, as the Suns shot 63 percent for the night. Steve Nash had nine points and 12 assists.

Wade scores 41 to lead Heat over Kings

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade was having a rough night. His shot was unreliable. Wade, of course, was still spectacular. He scored 10 of his 41 points in overtime to help the Miami Heat outlast the Sacramento Kings 119-115 on Friday night… Kevin Martin and John Salmons scored 29 points for the Kings, who had a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter but have now lost five straight and 11 of 12. Rookie Michael Beasley came off the bench to score 23 points for the Heat. Mario Chalmers had 13 points and Udonis Haslem had 11.

Prince’s jumper, Iverson’s 23 lead Pistons over Nuggets

The AP reports: Tayshaun Prince and Aaron Afflalo ensured Allen Iverson’s return to Denver was a success. Prince hit a running jumper with 20 seconds left, Afflalo hit six straight free throws after that, and the Detroit Pistons overcame 30 points by Chauncey Billups to beat the Nuggets 93-90 on Friday night in Allen Iverson’s return to the Mile High city. Iverson, making his first appearance in Denver since being traded to Detroit for Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb on Nov. 3, led the Pistons with 23 points—20 in the second half. He said his return to Denver was special… The Pistons shot 37 percent in the first half but stayed within range heading into the third quarter. Denver led by 13 after Billups hit three free throws early in the second half, but Detroit climbed back, getting within 59-56 with 3:14 left in the period.

Ridnour’s floater lifts Milwaukee over Nets

The AP reports: Luke Ridnour’s 5-foot floater with 0.5 seconds left lifted the Bucks to a 104-102 victory over the Nets on Friday night in the first meeting since Jefferson was dealt on draft day to Milwaukee for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. Jefferson left Simmons alone to try to defend Vince Carter in the closing seconds and Simmons, who finished with 15 points by going 5-of-9 from 3-point range, hit his final one with 9 seconds left to tie it at 102…  But Carter, who finished with 23 points, 14 assists and one rebound short of his fifth triple-double, hit a fadeaway jumper and set up a layup by Brook Lopez to make it 100-97… Jarvis Hayes scored 16 points for the Nets, while Milwaukee got 23 points from Charlie Villanueva, 11 from Ramon Sessions and 10 each from Ridnour, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Charlie Bell.

Gordon, Bulls beat Washington 98-86

The AP reports: Larry Hughes scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, Ben Gordon had 22 and the Bulls hung on for a 98-86 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday after watching a 21-point lead dwindle to seven in the fourth quarter… Hughes got booed when he entered the game late in the first quarter and seemed to hear it after every miss in the second and third, but his late flurry helped hold off the Wizards. He even heard a few cheers in the latter stages, but not many… Tyrus Thomas added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Drew Gooden scored 16 while grabbing 11 rebounds—his second straight double-double after missing eight games with a sprained ankle… Jamison scored just 12 after pouring in a season-high 32 points in Wednesday’s six-point loss to Toronto, and Caron Butler finished with two while shooting 1-for-8.

Hornets defeat Clippers, 107-80

The AP reports: Rasual Butler scored a season-high 27 points, and the New Orleans Hornets handed the Los Angeles Clippers their 10th straight loss, 107-80 on Friday night. Relegated to the end of the bench for much of last season, Butler said he approached his summer workouts with renewed commitment. It began to show when coach Byron Scott inserted him into the starting lineup for then-injured Morris Peterson on Nov. 19… Tyson Chandler had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets, dunking three times on alley-oop feeds from Chris Paul. James Posey had 16 points and Paul, who played only 29 minutes, had 10… Eric Gordon and Mardy Collins each scored 15 points for the Clippers, who have lost their last eight meetings with New Orleans. Marcus Camby had 13 points and 17 rebounds.

Cavaliers rock Celtics 98-83

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 38 points, harassed Paul Pierce all over the floor and strengthened his case to be the league’s MVP front-runner as the Cavaliers, playing with a bottled-up intensity reserved for the playoffs, improved to 19-0 at home by beating the staggering Boston Celtics 98-83 on Friday night. James scored 23 in the second half. He added seven rebounds, six assists, four steals, three blocks and made Pierce’s life miserable for 35 minutes… Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo added 13 assists for the Celtics, who shot only 41 percent from the floor and didn’t have their usual swagger… Anderson Varejao scored 14 points and Mo Williams 13 for Cleveland, which avenged a season-opening road loss to the Celtics despite playing without injured center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.