Inside Hoops – Page 1135 – NBA Blog

Video: Anthony Davis highlights vs Nuggets

Anthony Davis on Sunday had 32 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks in the New Orleans Pelicans overtime win vs the Denver Nuggets. Here are some Davis video highlights:

Timberwolves must go on run to make playoffs

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on the Timberwolves, who are a good team but due to the toughness of this season’s Westerrn conference face an uphill battle to qualify for the playoffs:

The way things are going, Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman and his players won’t have to wait 20 games until the season’s conclusion to know whether they are anything more than a team that loses one for every game that it wins.

That answer it being determined nightly. The latest answer, Sunday night’s 111-104 loss to Toronto, silenced the team’s dressing room afterward.

The Wolves have lost two of their past three games at home to Eastern Conference opponents, after returning to Target Center from the season’s longest road trip having won six of seven games.

On Sunday, the Wolves fell back to .500, at 31-31. They remain five games out of the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot with 20 games to play.

“There’s 20 games left, anything can happen,” Wolves star Kevin Love said. “We obviously have to go on some sort of run. If those other teams keep winning and keep pulling games out of their you-know-what, we’re in trouble. We need to have a little bit of luck, too.”

Nerlens Noel might make Sixers debut in early April

The Philadelphia 76ers haven’t had many bright spots this season. Beyond the excellent play of rookie guard Michael Carter-Williams, the season has been a bust. Sixer fans need something to cheer for. Such a thing may come in the form of rookie Nerlens Noel, who was expected to miss the entire season. And he still might. But it’s possible he’ll step onto the court in early April. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting:

Nerlens Noel might play for Sixers in April

Nerlens Noel would like to make his 76ers debut in his hometown of Boston on April 4, according to sources. They confirmed that’s why the rookie center tweeted “4-4-14” in reference to April 4, 2014 on Sunday afternoon.

The Sixers (15-47) play at TD Bank that evening against the Boston Celtics.

The sources said this is just a wish that he had not disclosed to the Sixers as of Sunday afternoon.

Stephen Curry to play limited minutes, for now

Here’s the AP on ESPN.com on Warriors guard Stephen Curry tending to a minor health issue:

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry says he will play limited minutes for the foreseeable future because of a strained right quad.

Curry said before the Warriors hosted the Suns on Sunday night that an MRI on his quad revealed the strain. He said he injured his quad during Golden State’s win at Boston on Wednesday and began to feel pain again during Friday’s victory over Atlanta.

“It was getting kind of worse and worse, especially if I sat down for an extended period of time, it got a little stiff,” Curry said.

Jodie Meeks scores 42 points, Lakers beat Thunder

From Jodie Meeks’ big day to the final result, this was definitely a surprise.

Meeks scored 24 of his career-high 42 points in the second half, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat Oklahoma City 114-110 on Sunday despite a triple-double by Thunder star Kevin Durant.

Pau Gasol added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the injury-ravaged Lakers, who had lost 29 of their previous 37 games. Meeks was 11 of 18 from the field and 14 for 14 at the line while becoming the third player to reach the 30-point mark this season for last-place Los Angeles (22-42).

“The most important thing is that we keep going out there and fighting and not giving up,” Meeks said. “The season isn’t going the way that we planned, but we still have 18 games left. So we’ll play them hard and see what happens.”

Meeks is averaging 19.2 points in 11 games since returning from a sprained right ankle. Before the injury, he was averaging 14.4.

— Associated Press

Raptors forward Patrick Patterson out with elbow injury

Raptors foward Patrick Patterson out with elbow injury

The Toronto Raptors announced today forward Patrick Patterson will be sidelined with a right ulnar collateral sprain. Patterson aggravated his elbow during Friday’s game versus Sacramento. He will be reevaluated in seven-to-10 days.

Patterson has averaged 9.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 23.4 minutes since being acquired by the Raptors from Sacramento on December 9.

The Raptors face the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at Target Center at 7 p.m. ET (Sportsnet ONE/Sportsnet 590 The FAN).

Jamal Crawford still needs healing time

Here’s ESPN Los Angeles reporting on a key Clippers scorer:

Clippers guard Jamal Crawford, who returned Saturday after a three-game absence, said he may have returned too soon and will miss at least Monday’s game against the Phoenix Suns as he recovers from a strained left calf.

Crawford played only 10 minutes in the first half of Saturday’s 109-108 win over the Atlanta Hawks but sat on the bench the entire second half as his left calf was heavily taped. He missed both of his shot attempts and finished with three points and one assist.

Should Knicks, Carmelo Anthony separate?

Here’s New York Newsday exploring the future of Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks:

The Knicks hope to re-sign Carmelo Anthony this summer. But if he were to leave all that extra money on the table to go to the Bulls or another team, it could be a blessing in disguise for the Knicks, according to a former NBA general manager.

“I really think if Carmelo left them, he may be doing them a favor,” said the ex-GM, who has no ties to the Knicks. “They probably don’t see it that way. But in the long run, it’s probably doing them a favor.”

The logic is that it would give the Knicks a chance to rebuild. They’ll have a boatload of cap space in the summer of 2015 — when Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler and Andrea Bargnani are scheduled to come off the books and Rajon Rondo, Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge could hit the open market — and a first-round draft pick.

The likely result would be another lean season in 2014-15, but the source — who has rebuilt teams before — thinks it could turn around quickly. “New York is the greatest city in the world and the Garden is the best place to play basketball,” he said. “Guys want to go to play in New York. It’s going to hurt for a little bit. But if you have cap space, it’s not going to be that hard to get a good player to come to New York.”

Mavs recall Gal Mekel from D-League

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have recalled rookie guard Gal Mekel from the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.

Mekel (6-3, 202) is averaging 2.4 points, 2.1 assists and 9.6 minutes in 30 games (one start) for Dallas this season.

Mekel was assigned to the D-League on March 4. He appeared in three games for the Legends and averaged 9.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 27.7 minutes.

Rockets re-assign Troy Daniels to D-League

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced that the team re-assigned guard Troy Daniels to Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley.

Daniels (6-4, 204, Virginia Commonwealth), who was recalled by Houston on Mar. 2, scored the first five points (2-4 FG, 1-3 3FG) of his NBA career in 5:32 off the bench vs. Indiana (3/7/14). The D-League Gatorade Call-Up was signed by the Rockets on Feb. 21 and assigned back to the Vipers.

Overall this season, Daniels has averaged 22.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.98 assists in 36 games (25 starts) with Rio Grande Valley. At the time of his recall, Daniels led the D-League in 3-pointers made (190) and ranked tied for fourth in the league in scoring average (22.8). The Vipers co-leading scorer actually broke the NBA D-League record for 3-pointers made in a single season with his 153rd on Jan. 29 vs. Tulsa. He also tied the NBA D-League record for 3-point field goals made in a game with 10 treys on Jan. 4 at Idaho. The D-League rookie placed second in a sudden-death round of the 2014 Boost Mobile NBA D-League 3-Point Competition. He was also selected to play in the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game, where he scored 21 points for Team Prospects in a 145-142 win over All-Star Weekend in New Orleans.