Inside Hoops – Page 1402 – NBA Blog

Bryant leaves early, but Lakers beat Pacers

When Kobe Bryant couldn’t be the tough guy on the court Friday night, he resorted to being an MVP coach.

After hobbling around on a severely sprained left ankle for 12 minutes, Bryant retreated to the bench, where he spent the rest of the night contesting calls, waving teammates into the right spots and even drawing something up on a clipboard for Dwight Howard to see.

He wasn’t going to let up – or let his teammates down.

So on a night Bryant was held scoreless for only the 15th time in his 17-year NBA career, Howard finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and delivered a tiebreaking three-point play with 90 seconds left that sent the Los Angeles Lakers past Indiana, 99-93.

”It really just continued to swell and I couldn’t put any weight on it, so I called it a night,” Bryant said after getting more treatment on the sore ankle in the training room. ”I told them before the game, ‘I don’t know how much I have, but whatever I have, I’ll give you.”’ …

Metta World Peace finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, Steve Blake made five 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, and Antawn Jamison added 17 points with four 3s…

George Hill scored 27 points, Paul George had 20 points and Lance Stephenson finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. But Indiana shot only 37.4 percent from the field and couldn’t make a serious run at Los Angeles after Howard’s big play, primarily because the defense couldn’t stop the Lakers from outside.

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

Amir Johnson gets 21 rebounds as Raptors beat Bobcats

Even though playoff contention may be slipping out of reach for the Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson isn’t about to slow down.

Johnson had 12 points and a career-high 21 rebounds, and Rudy Gay scored 28 points as the Raptors beat the Charlotte Bobcats 92-78 on Friday night.

”That was a heck of an effort by Amir Johnson,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. ”I can’t sing his praises enough.”

Toronto drew to within 7 1/2 games of Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in the East after the Bucks lost at home to Miami, the Heat’s 21st straight win. The Raptors host Miami on Sunday.

Joey Dorsey was the last Toronto player to record 20 rebounds, doing it April 11, 2011, at Milwaukee…

Gerald Henderson, coming off a career-best 35-point performance in the Bobcats’ 100-74 victory over Boston on Tuesday, scored 22 points. Kemba Walker added 20, and Ben Gordon and McRoberts each had 10 for Charlotte, which has won just one of 11 and four of its past 26.

The Bobcats made just one of 13 field goal attempts in the fourth, and were outscored 23-10.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Knicks keeping an eye on Delonte West

The Knicks aren’t that desperate yet, but will be one of the teams monitoring the progress of mercurial point guard Delonte West, expected to make his D-League debut tonight when the Texas Legends host the Santa Cruz Warriors.

West is a super talent and super headache, but, at 29, a relative pup by Knicks standards. He hasn’t played all season but was effective last year with Dallas. The Knicks haven’t been thrilled with their point-guard play since Christmas, with Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd falling back to Earth, Iman Shumpert not being a reliable scorer and playmaking rookie Pablo Prigioni not enough of an offensive threat.

The Knicks don’t have a roster spot and rehabbing Rasheed Wallace is on the West Coast trip for “moral support,’’ coach Mike Woodson said. Woodson acknowledged he will sit down with general manager Glen Grunwald after the trip to explore options. Wallace would have to be cut to open a roster spot.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Heat win 21st straight game, beat Bucks 107-94

LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 28 points, and the Miami Heat made it 21 straight wins, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 107-94 on Friday night.

Only three other teams have won 20 in a row in one season, and the Heat now trail just the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33) and the 2007-08 Houston Rockets (22) after moving ahead of the 1970-71 Bucks.

They withstood an early scare when Dwyane Wade walked to the locker room with a neck strain after crashing to the court. Miami led by as much as 17 in the third quarter, then withstood a push by the Bucks to remain unbeaten since a loss at Indiana on Feb. 1.

Miami next plays Sunday at Toronto, where the winning streak began on Feb. 3.

Bosh hit from all angles and was 12 of 16 in the game, nailing two 3-pointers. He even converted a four-point play that made it 67-53 about five minutes into the third quarter.

James was his usual dominant self, and Wade finished with 20 points as the Heat avenged a loss at Milwaukee in late December.

Ersan Ilyasova led Milwaukee with 26 points and a season-high 17 rebounds. Brandon Jennings scored 21 but was 6 of 15 from the field, and the Bucks shot just over 37 percent. Monta Ellis struggled, finishing with seven points after scoring 26 in the previous game at Washington, and the Bucks dropped their third straight.

— Reported by Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press

MRI reveals Shawn Marion has strained left calf

An MRI performed Friday revealed that Shawn Marion has a strained left calf.

The injury will keep the Dallas Mavericks’ small forward on the sidelines indefinitely. And it’s much more serious than the left calf contusion the Mavericks thought Marion had when he suffered the injury March 6 against the Houston Rockets.

“It’s getting better, but being a strain instead of a contusion, those take longer, so it’s going to be a whole lot longer [recovery period],” coach Rick Carlisle said. “We hope not too long, but we’re going to exercise caution, and we’re going to make sure he’s right before he gets back.”

Marion missed all four games on the Mavs’ recent road trip.

— Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Bryant starts but has short night for Lakers

Kobe Bryant played 12 minutes Friday at Indiana, missed all four shots and then went to the bench for good.

It was all his severely sprained left ankle could take.

Bryant spent two days trying to fight his way back after landing on the foot of Atlanta’s Dahntay Jones in the waning seconds of Wednesday’s loss at Atlanta.

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

Knicks sign Kenyon Martin for remainder of season

The banged-up New York Knicks need all the healthy bodies they can get. Veteran forward Kenyon Martin qualifies.

Knicks Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed Martin for the remainder of the season, following two consecutive 10-day contracts originally signed on Feb. 23.

Martin, 6-9, 230-pounds, is averaging 5.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.17 steals over 18.9 minutes in six games.

Pau Gasol should return soon for Lakers

[Lakers head coach Mike] D’Antoni said Pau Gasol could return as soon as Monday at Phoenix, and Gasol could be in the starting lineup against the Suns, too. The forward from Spain has been recovering from a torn plantar fascia in his right foot since early February. Gasol spent the last part of the shootaround working one-one-one against center Dwight Howard.

But the focus Friday was on one swollen ankle that D’Antoni hasn’t even taken a peek at yet.

”I think if you look at his tweets, you’ll see it,” he said, drawing laughter.

The Lakers need Bryant to continue their surge toward the playoffs.

He is the NBA’s third-leading scorer at 27.5 points and has helped stabilize his team during a tumultuous season that has included the early firing of coach Mike Brown, a prolonged skid, All-Star center Dwight Howard’s struggles to fit in with his new team, and the death of owner Jerry Buss.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Spurs re-assign Aron Baynes and Nando De Colo to D-League

The San Antonio Spurs today re-assigned center Aron Baynes and guard Nando De Colo to the Austin Toros, San Antonio’s NBA Development League affiliate. The assignments are the record 156th and 157th of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons, while the pair are two of the record 56 NBA players to be assigned to the NBA D-League this season.

Baynes (6-10, 260, Washington State) has played in 11 games for the Spurs, averaging 2.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 6.5 minutes. Signed by San Antonio on Jan. 23, Baynes rejoins the Toros following two previous assignments, when he averaged 17.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 26.7 minutes.

De Colo (6-5, 200, Saint Catherine, France) has appeared in 57 games for the Spurs this season, averaging 3.4 points, 1.7 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 11.5 minutes. He returns to the Toros averaging 14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 36.5 minutes in two games during two previous assignments.

Baynes and De Colo are expected to join the Toros today and be available when the team hosts the Los Angeles D-Fenders in Austin tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Lester Hudson now on Austin Toros in D-League

The Austin Toros today announced they have acquired guard Lester Hudson. Hudson (6-3, 190, Tennessee-Martin) will wear jersey No. 22 when the team takes on the LA D-Fenders tonight at Cedar Park Center.

Hudson played five games for the Toros last season (March, 2012) before earning NBA call-ups from the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Memphis Grizzlies. In five games with the Toros, Hudson averaged 17.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 29 minutes of play.

Hudson’s NBA experience includes the Boston Celtics (09-10), Memphis Grizzlies (09-10, 11-12), Washington Wizards (10-11), and the Cleveland Cavaliers (11-12). In 52 games played in the NBA, Hudson averaged 4.8 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 10.3 minutes.