Inside Hoops – Page 1516 – NBA Blog

Douglas leads Rockets over Lakers 107-105

Interim Houston coach Kelvin Sampson is always reminding his reserves that there will be some nights when the team’s stars will struggle and the Rockets will need them to pick up the slack.

Tuesday was one of those nights.

Toney Douglas had a season-high 22 points and Greg Smith added a career-best 21 to help the Rockets overcome a tough outing by James Harden and rally for a 107-105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers…

The Lakers had a 13-point lead with less than 10 minutes to go. But Houston used two big runs, including a 9-2 spurt capped by a 3-pointer from Douglas to take its first lead of the game – 100-99 – with about 2 1/2 minutes left…

Harden finished with 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, but entered the fourth quarter with just eight points after shooting 2 of 18 through the first three quarters. Jeremy Lin also struggled offensively, going 2 of 8 for four points…

Bryant led the Lakers with 39 points and Howard had 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Rockets fouled Howard repeatedly in the last 3 1/2 minutes, gambling that sending him to the line would be better than allowing the Lakers to get the ball in Bryant’s hands.

Howard went 5 for 10 from the line in that stretch and was eight of 16 overall.

— Reported by Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press

Zach Randolph drops 38 and 22 on Suns

The Memphis crowd was on its feet, the chants resonating through FedExForum in the final two minutes of overtime.

”Z-Bo! Z-Bo! Z-Bo!” the faithful hollered, acknowledging the dominance of forward Zach Randolph in a Grizzlies comeback.

Randolph set season highs with 38 points and 22 rebounds to carry the Grizzlies down the stretch for a 108-98 overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.

Randolph was 15 of 22 from the field and dominated in the latter stages of the fourth quarter and most of overtime. He also had three blocks, two in overtime, as Memphis outscored the Suns 14-4 in the extra period, with all the Suns’ points coming at the foul line…

Randolph acknowledged the performance was his best since the 2011 playoff run. Last year, he was stymied physically after a knee injury early on caused him to miss a good portion of the season…

Goran Dragic led the Suns with 19 points and seven assists. Luis Scola scored 16 and grabbed eight rebounds. Jared Dudley finished with 13 points and Jermaine O’Neal scored 12 for Phoenix, which lost its fourth straight.

— Reported by Clay Bailey of the Associated Press

Thunder hold off Nets for 6th straight win

Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder looked spectacular most of the night even when the ball didn’t go in.

The blowout didn’t last, but their winning streak did.

Durant had 32 points and just missed what could have been the dunk of his career, Russell Westbrook added 25 points and nine assists, and the Thunder held off the Brooklyn Nets 117-111 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory.

Serge Ibaka scored 18 points and Thabo Sefolosha 14 for the Thunder, who revved up the NBA’s No. 1 offense to surpass 100 points in a 10th straight game for the first time in 15 years. They beat the Nets for the seventh consecutive time, but had to work much harder for this win than they have lately…

Deron Williams scored a season-high 33 points for the Nets, who had their six-game home winning streak snapped. They played without starting center Brook Lopez (sprained right foot) and reserve forward Reggie Evans (flu), leaving them without their leading scorer and top rebounder…

Andray Blatche had 19 points and 11 rebounds in Lopez’s place, Joe Johnson scored 17 points, and Kris Humphries had 12 points and 12 boards for the Nets.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Wizards stun Heat 105-101 for 2nd win of season

Well, to pretty much everyone’s surprise, the Wizards doubled their season victory total, beating the Heat 105-101 on Tuesday night behind Jordan Crawford’s 22 points – and despite James’ triple-double of 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists…

The Wizards improved to 2-13, earning their second win in the past three games after starting a franchise-worst 0-12…

Afterward, with his feet soaking in a tub of ice, and his eyes scanning a box score, James chuckled a bit at the notion that Miami might learn something from the surprising setback.

”Nah, man, there’s not no lesson. This ain’t a lesson for us. We just lost,” James explained. ”We’ve seen and been through everything, so we don’t need a loss to be like, ‘Oh, let’s catch ourselves.’ It happens.”

He missed a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left that could have given the Heat a lead, and another from beyond the arc that would have tied the score with 3.9 to go…

With a crowd of 17,761 – not, incidentally, a sellout – standing and screaming down the stretch, relishing that rare chance to witness a compelling game, Kevin Seraphin contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds for the hosts, while Crawford made three free throws in the final 11 seconds…

— Reported by Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press

Miami’s all-star trio of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for 70 points, but the Wizards helped keep the rest of the Heat players in check. The Heat (12-4) also struggled from beyond the three-point line, missed 20 of its 28 attempts from long distance, including five in a row after former Wizard Mike Miller made a three-pointer that brought his team within 97-95 with 4 minutes 16 seconds left.

James had his first triple-double of the season with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists but he missed a three-pointer that could’ve tied the score with 3.9 seconds remaining.

Nene clinched the victory by grabbing the rebound and making a free throw.

“We know that every team is going to come playing their very best. They’re going to make shots they normally don’t make,” said James, who learned how much the tides have turned since he became an NBA champion, as he received the loudest cheers of any player; unusual for a player once despised in Washington during some infamous playoff battles with the Wizards between 2006-08.

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post

Norris Cole sits out for Heat

Miami Heat guard Norris Cole had hoped to use Saturday’s performance against the Brooklyn Nets as a steppingstone.

Now, he will have to take a couple steps back before making progress. Cole did not play in Tuesday’s game against the Washington Wizards because of a strained groin.

Cole went through the morning shootaround, but coach Erik Spoelstra said it was best for him to rest rather than risk further injury. He suffered the injury at some point during Saturday’s victory against the Brooklyn Nets.

The decision to sit him was made for precautionary reasons.

— Reported by Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

New Orleans Hornets may change name to Pelicans

The New Orleans Hornets are expected to change their nickname to the Pelicans as early as the 2013-14 season, numerous sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Hornets planned to change their nickname since Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, purchased the team on April 14. Benson also owns the rights to the nickname Pelicans.

The Hornets also considered the nicknames Krewe (groups of costumed paraders in the annual Mardi Gras carnival in New Orleans) and Brass.

— Reported by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports

Pau Gasol out with knee tendinitis

The Lakers’ much-discussed search for a way to make Mike D’Antoni’s offense work with Pau Gasol, or to make Gasol effective next to Dwight Howard, is on hold.

Gasol, who had been benched at the end of recent games including Sunday’s loss to the Magic, will be out tonight against the Rockets because of tendinitis in both knees. The former All-Star who had been dealt to the Rockets in a trade later vetoed a year ago this week, had been struggling with the injury and the Lakers’ switch to an up-tempo offense in which he was usually at the high post, rather than inside.

“He was playing hurt,” D’Antoni said. “In this league, you just can’t do that. They got to get him healthy, whatever it takes, one game, two games, 10 games, day-to-day, I don’t know. But he’s got to get healthy. It wasn’t fair. He was trying to battle through some stuff. In this league, you just can’t do it.”

— Reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle Blog

Raymond Felton expects to play for Knicks Wednesday

New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton will play on Wednesday against the Charlotte Bobcats despite suffering a bone bruise and contusion in his left hand.

“It’s going to be tough, but I’m going to play,” said Felton.

The Knicks are also optimistic that Jason Kidd (back spasms) will return from a four-game absence. Kidd says he’ll play against the Bobcats but might not start.

Knicks coach Mike Woodson called Kidd “probable” and wants to see how the 39-year-old feels on Wednesday morning, presumably after the morning shootaround in Charlotte.

“We’ll just have to play it by ear and see how he feels,” Woodson said. “It would be nice to have him back.”

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Rondo glad to be back with team

Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, anticipating his return to the lineup Wednesday night following a two-game suspension, joked after Tuesday’s practice that he spent the duration of his time away in Mexico.

“I went to Mexico, couple days, watched the games,” Rondo deadpanned in his first meeting with reporters since last Thursday. “It was cool.”

Rondo was hit with a two-game ban following a dust-up with Nets forward Kris Humphries in the Celtics’ home loss to Brooklyn last Wednesday, and was forced to sit out Boston’s back-to-back this past weekend.

“Yeah, days off, allowed my body to get a chance to rest,” Rondo said.

— Reported by Greg Payne of ESPN Boston

Charlotte Bobcats abuzz with marketing

The Charlotte Bobcats want Wednesdays to be the new day to party.

The team is spending $18,000 advertising on the city’s light-rail trains and forming partnerships with several EpiCentre restaurants and nightclubs. The hope? That young people will turn a mid-week basketball game into a full night out.

Senior Vice President for Marketing Seth Bennett said the team hopes it will be a stimulus to the whole uptown corridor. The Bobcats also hope it will boost attendance on a day when it is generally much more difficult to fill seats.

Team President and CEO Fred Whitfield said he charged the marketing department with coming up with a plan to boost attendance on Wednesdays soon after the team received its schedule. It called for 13 Wednesday home games, the most it’s ever had. And the opponents – including the Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers – were pretty good draws.

— Reported by Andrew Dunn of the Charlotte Obsever