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The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed forward D.J. White to a multi-year contract. More details later today.
White, a 6’9” forward, has appeared in four games for the Celtics since he was signed to his original 10-day contract on February 28. In those four games, White has averaged 2.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.8 minutes per game. He recorded a high of six points against Charlotte on March 16 and recorded four rebounds also against Charlotte on March 12.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Chris Quinn from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League for the remainder of the season, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts. The signing of Quinn marks the 28th D-League to NBA Call-Up of the 2012-13 season.
Quinn will wear No. 20 for the Cavaliers and be active for tonight’s game against the Miami Heat at Quicken Loans Arena.
In 25 games (23 starts) this season for the 66ers, Quinn has averaged 12.7 points on .475 shooting, 2.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 32.4 minutes per game.
The 29-year-old from Notre Dame played in the NBA from 2006-11 with Miami, New Jersey and San Antonio. In 234 career NBA games (26 starts), Quinn has averages of 4.6 points and 1.9 assists in 13.8 minutes per game.
Marcus Thornton had 25 points, Toney Douglas scored 17 of his 19 in the fourth quarter and the Sacramento Kings rallied from eight down in the final 11 minutes to stun the Los Angeles Clippers 116-101 on Tuesday night.
DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans added 17 points apiece for the Kings, who beat the Pacific Division-leading Clippers for the first time in more than two years.
They did it behind a stellar effort off the bench from Thornton and a smothering defense that held Los Angeles to just five buckets in the final quarter.
Blake Griffin had three of them and finished with 26 points, four rebounds and five assists for the Clippers. Los Angeles has lost four of its last seven.
Thornton went 7 of 14 from the floor and made six 3s but it was Douglas, the midseason acquisition from Houston, who came up biggest for Sacramento. He made three straight 3s after the Clippers pulled within 98-96 then added four free throws in the final 1:30 to help seal the win.
Cousins, who missed the past two games with a bruised left quad, also gave the Kings a spark despite playing in foul trouble most of the game. The emotional Cousins helped hold Los Angeles center DeAndre Jordan to 11 points, and finished with 11 rebounds for his 29th double-double of the season.
— Reported by Michael Wagaman of the Associated Press
Ty Lawson scored 25 points, Andre Miller had 20 points and nine assists and the Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-104 Tuesday night to win a 13th straight game for the first time since joining the NBA.
The Nuggets trailed by one at halftime but took control in the third quarter and never let Oklahoma City reclaim the lead. Denver moved within 3 1/2 games of the Thunder in the Northwest Division and became the first team this season to beat Oklahoma City three times.
It’s also a big win in the chase for home-court advantage in the playoffs for Denver, which is tied with Miami for the NBA’s best home record at 30-3.
Kevin Durant had 34 points and Russell Westbrook chipped in 25 for Oklahoma City, which lost at home for just the fifth time this season.
The Thunder gave up a season-worst 72 points in the paint – Denver’s specialty – as both teams struggled throughout the game from 3-point range. The Nuggets had 66 and 60 points in the lane in wins against Oklahoma City in Denver earlier this season.
Denver’s previous longest winning streak in the NBA was 12 straight games in 1982. The franchise won 15 in a row in the ABA.
— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press
The Milwaukee Bucks had to hold back a strong rally after pulling off one of their own two days earlier.
Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and Monta Ellis added 21 to help Milwaukee hang on for a 102-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.
Milwaukee rallied from an 11-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter Sunday against Orlando and went on to a 115-109 victory over the visiting Magic.
”That’s been our main concern,” said Ellis, who was hit hard on his left hand late in the game but said X-rays were negative. ”We just wanted to come out with a lot of energy. We didn’t want to play with this team and try to climb back like we had to do (Sunday). They made a run, which this is the NBA. But we were able to close the game out.”
Ellis added nine rebounds, eight assists, three steals and matched a career high with three blocks for Milwaukee, which outscored Portland 31-8 in the second quarter.
The Blazers finished with their fewest points in any period this season after shooting a woeful 2 for 20 from the field to go with six turnovers in the quarter. It was also the lowest total the Bucks gave up in any quarter…
Wesley Matthews hit a career high seven 3-pointers and scored 28 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost for the 10th time in their last 11 road games.
— Reported by David Boehler of the Associated Press
Paul George scored 19 points and Tyler Hansbrough had 14 points and 14 rebounds, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 95-73 rout of the struggling Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
The Pacers improved to 27-8 at home despite playing without second-leading scorer David West because of a sprained lower back.
Maurice Harkless and Arron Afflalo each had 10 points for the Magic, who lost their fourth straight on a night they shot just 31.8 percent from the field and coach Jacque Vaughn Jacque Vaughn was ejected in a flurry of four technical fouls with 4:47 left in the third quarter.
The Central Division-leading Pacers closed the first quarter on a 12-0 run to take a 19-12 lead, led 42-29 at the half, and 62-44 in the third quarter after the technicals. Orlando couldn’t get closer than 12 the rest of the way.
How miserable was it?
Indiana started the game by missing its first six 3-point attempts, but Orlando missed its final 11 shots in the first quarter and barely avoided matching the franchise’s all-time low scoring total in the first half – needing a tip-in with 29.1 seconds left in the second quarter to top the 27 points they scored at Houston on Jan. 24, 2005.
— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press
Travis Leslie emerged from the locker room before practice in sweats. He walked over to the few players and coaches already on the court. He shook hands and disappeared back into the locker room and back to the D-League.
Ten days after it began for Leslie, his stint as a member of the Utah Jazz was over.
The Jazz opted not to sign Leslie to a second 10-day contract after the athletic D-League All-Star Game MVP, who before his call-up played for the Santa Cruz Warriors, did not appear in a game in a brief stint with the team.
“He did nothing wrong,” coach Tyrone Corbin said.
— Reported by Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune
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All-Star point guard Tony Parker participated in his first full practice since suffering a Grade 2 left ankle sprain almost three weeks ago, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday.
Popovich ruled Parker out for Wednesday’s home game against Golden State, but said again that the Frenchman will likely beat the initial one-month timeline given after his injury against Sacramento on March 1. The Spurs follow the Warriors with Utah at home on Friday, Houston on the road on Sunday and Denver at home next Wednesday.
“I think it will be sooner than four weeks, but it won’t be tomorrow,” Popovich said. “He did everything today. It’s very encouraging.”
The Spurs are 5-2 without Parker, a likely MVP candidate in the midst of arguably his best season.
— Reported by Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News (Blog)
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The ancient Knicks returned home from their West Coast trip with lousy MRI exam news for their big men Tyson Chandler and Kurt Thomas.
Chandler, who hoped he would be back for Wednesday’s game vs. Orlando, took an MRI exam on his neck and it revealed a bulging disk in his cervicalspine and he will miss approximately one more week.
Thomas, 40, got the game ball Monday night after the win in Utah and he also got bad news on his right foot. Tuesday’s MRI exam and Cat-scan showed he has an acute stress reaction surrounding a chronic stress fracture and will miss 2-4 weeks. The longer end of the timetable for Thomas would put him out until the playoffs, if he returns at all.
— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post
An innocent slip of the foot turned into a life-changing experience for Chris Wright.
That slip, which occurred last March while Wright was playing basketball in Turkey, ultimately led to the 6-1 point guard discovering that he was suffering from multiple sclerosis, a disease which impacts the brain and spinal cord when the protective sheaths around the nerves are damaged.
“I was in practice running sprints and at the end of practice I went down to touch the line and came up and I slipped,’’ Wright said. “My foot gave out and I thought nothing of it.
“I thought I just slipped, but eventually it got worse and I had numbness in my right foot, and then it started the next month to progress to the whole right side of my body. I lost basically all sensation, and I went to the doctor and that’s when they diagnosed me with MS.’’
— Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram