Inside Hoops – Page 1378 – NBA Blog

Kevin Love has knee surgery, recovery time is 4-6 weeks

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that Kevin Love underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure on his left knee today to remove a buildup of scar tissue. The surgery was performed by Dr. David Altchek of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. A typical recovery time for this type of procedure is 4-6 weeks.

Love has missed the past 47 games after breaking the third and fourth metacarpal in his right hand at Denver on Jan. 3. He underwent surgery on Jan. 15 at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Love originally suffered a fracture of his third and fourth metacarpal in his right hand on Oct. 17 while working out, and missed the first nine games of the season.

For the season, Love played in 18 contests and averaged 18.3 points and 14.0 rebounds.

Warriors clinch spot in 2013 NBA playoffs

Chants of ”Playoffs! Playoffs! Playoffs!” rang out from fans. Confetti flew around the lower bowl of the arena. Finally, the public address announcer told the crowd what they had longed to hear: ”The Golden State Warriors are heading to the 2013 NBA playoffs!”

Believe it.

Klay Thompson scored 25 of his 30 points in the first half, Stephen Curry added 24 points and 10 assists and the Warriors clinched their first playoff berth since 2007 by routing the Minnesota Timberwolves 105-89 on Tuesday night.

”We celebrated. Rightfully so,” teary-eyed and red-faced Warriors coach Mark Jackson said after emerging from the locker room. ”People questioned us, and they should have. People doubted us, and they should have. They underestimated the heart, the desire, the work ethic, the determination, the willingness to put in the time.”

At long last, Bay Area basketball fans have reason to cheer again.

David Lee finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds to propel the Warriors to just their second postseason appearance in 19 years. Co-owner Joe Lacob shared hugs and handshakes with fans from his courtside seat, raising his right hand to the 30th straight sellout crowd announced at 19,596.

— Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Rockets clinch spot in 2013 NBA playoffs

Jermaine O’Neal saw James Harden’s last-second 3-pointer bounce off the rim, went up for it and figured Phoenix and Houston were headed to overtime.

Referee David Jones saw goaltending and counted the basket that gave the Rockets a 101-98 victory on Tuesday night.

Harden scored 33 points and Omer Asik tied his career high with 22 rebounds for the Rockets, who earned their first playoff berth since 2009 when the Jazz lost to Oklahoma City.

”It’s a great accomplishment for us,” said Harden, acquired from Oklahoma City in an offseason trade. ”For our first year together, it’s a pretty good thing.”

On the final play, Harden dribbled down the clock with P.J. Tucker guarding him and launched a 3 from the wing. It bounced high off the rim and O’Neal and Houston’s Patrick Beverley jumped for the rebound. O’Neal touched the ball and the rim after the ball came down, just after the buzzer sounded.

The referees huddled on the court, then reviewed the play and ruled it the winning basket, setting off a wild celebration.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Joakim Noah trying to deal with plantar fasciitis

Add cortisone shot to the list of treatments Joakim Noah has attempted to quell his nagging plantar fasciitis.

The Bulls’ center, who also has tried platelet rich plasma injections, sleeping in a splint and — three seasons ago — shock wave therapy, received the shot Monday night in an attempt to salvage regular-season action. Twice in the last three days, Noah has said he is resigned he will have to play through the painful condition the remainder of the season.

“It’s not great,” Noah said. “It’s frustrating. I felt pretty good to try it on Sunday (against the Pistons) but it swelled up on me pretty bad. But I’m confident I’ll be out there when it gets hot.”

That’s a nod to the playoffs. The reason Noah, who sat for the ninth time in 10 games on Tuesday, wants to play before then is to develop game shape and rhythm. But he admitted he barely can walk some mornings when he awakens.

— Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

Judge rules DeJuan Blair must pay $53k to jeweler

Spurs center DeJuan Blair is scheduled to be deposed next week after a judge ruled he must pay more than $53,000 to Rivercenter Jewelers for merchandise the store allowed him to take on credit nearly three years ago, according to court documents and the attorney representing the jewelry store.

If Blair fails to show on Wednesday or continues to ignore the lawsuit that was first filed in October, the judge could find him in contempt and issue a warrant for his arrest.

Blair, 23, has filed no responding documents to the lawsuit, hasn’t appeared in court and in February a default judgment was issued in favor of the store.

A Spurs spokesman declined comment Tuesday. The general counsel for the Spurs referred questions to his agent Happy Walters.

Walters didn’t return two messages left at his Los Angeles agency.

Elliott Cappuccio, the attorney representing the store’s owner Zareem Merchant, said he had been in contact with the Spurs’ general counsel and Blair’s agent but never heard anything back.

— Reported by Michelle Mondo of the San Antonio Express-News

Knicks win first Atlantic division title since 1994

The Atlantic Division title has gone from preseason goal to late-season stepping stone.

The New York Knicks celebrated their first division title in nearly 20 years Tuesday, a goal they’ve discussed since training camp, then quickly turned their attention to their future plans:

-Earning the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

-Extending their 13-game winning streak.

-Beating Chicago for the first time this season.

-And then chasing, as J.R. Smith called it, ”that gold ball.”

The Knicks romped to their first Atlantic Division title since 1994, getting 36 points from Carmelo Anthony and beating the Washington Wizards 120-99 for their 13th straight victory.

”We took care of the division. Now it’s about making this run, finishing out the regular season strong and trying to making a push in the playoffs,” Anthony said.

Anthony put this one away with 21 points during the Knicks’ 37-point third quarter that gave them a 95-71 lead. The NBA’s scoring leader added eight rebounds and six assists while becoming the first Knick since newly elected Hall of Famer Bernard King with five straight 35-point games.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Rip Hamilton returns to action for the Bulls

It’s been awhile since the Bulls have received any good news on the injury front. But that’s exactly what presented itself on Tuesday evening when coach Tom Thibodeau announced that shooting guard Richard Hamilton would return to action against the Toronto Raptors.

“We’re going to play him tonight,” Thibodeau declared of Hamilton, who came off the bench. “He’s going to have a chance to play some minutes, not a lot. He’s come along and he’s feeling better. We’ll see where he is. It’s one thing to be able to do it in practice; it’s another to be able to do it in a game. Of course we’ll have to see how he responds tomorrow after the game. We’re glad that he’s back.”

Hamilton has not played since Chicago’s 101-98 loss to Cleveland at the United Center on Feb. 26, missing 19 games due to a sore lower back.

— Reported by Adam Fluck of Bulls.com Blog

Metta World Peace will play Tuesday, Steve Nash will not

Metta World Peace will play Tuesday against New Orleans, 12 days after undergoing surgery for torn cartilage in his left knee.

Steve Nash, however, will not play for the Lakers and was doubtful for Wednesday’s game at Portland, Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni said.

Tuesday marks the fourth game Nash has been sidelined because of hip and hamstring soreness. He sat out most of two other games because of the injuries.

World Peace’s return will ease the load for Kobe Bryant, D’Antoni said.

— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times

Sacramento developer Mark Friedman jumps into bid to buy Kings

Sacramento developer Mark Friedman said today he’s joining the bid to buy the Kings and build the team a new arena at Downtown Plaza.

Friedman said today he’ll also participate in the non-arena development that’s being proposed for the Downtown Plaza site.

Friedman’s emergence comes one day after Mayor Kevin Johnson revealed that Southern California billionaire Ron Burkle had to reduce his role in the project because of a conflict of interest. Johnson hinted at a press conference Monday that there might be additional changes in the ownership structure.

— Reported by Dale Kasler and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee

Shavlik Randolph playing well for Celtics

“Shav is playing unbelievable basketball,” said Garnett. “I think he’s finding his little niche in here.”

In his last six games, Randolph is averaging 7.2 points on 74 percent shooting (17 of 23) and 5.5 rebounds in 16 minutes per game.

In the six games he played before that, Randolph was averaging 2.8 points on 44 percent shooting (8 of 18) and 3.8 rebounds in 9.8 minutes.

“I think I’ve got a little rhythm with that second group and knowing just what my role is going to be when I go out there,” Randolph said. “It’s very simple. I know, especially with Kevin back, I’m not going to be playing extended minutes.

“So when I go out there, it’s going to be for short periods of time and I’ve got to go out there and play with energy, rebound, play off people.”

— Reported by Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe