Inside Hoops – Page 1714 – NBA Blog

Deng, Noah lead Rose-less Bulls past Celtics

Luol Deng scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half and Joakim Noah added 17 points and nine rebounds to rally the Chicago Bulls to a 93-86 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

The Bulls again played without Derrick Rose, out due to a strained groin for the 12th consecutive game. Chicago, which has been without Rose for 22 games this season, improved to 15-7 in his absence—including 8-4 during the latest stretch.

The Bulls rallied from 13 points down in the first half and pulled away in the fourth quarter to end its first two-game losing streak of the season. Trailing by 11 at halftime, Chicago outscored Boston 55-37 after the break…

Paul Pierce scored 22 points for Boston, who has lost two in a row after a winning a season-high five straight. Pierce had only one point in the fourth quarter…

C.J. Watson finished with 15 points and Boozer had 12 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Knicks beat struggling Magic in Orlando

Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points, Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 12 rebounds and the New York Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic 96-80 on Thursday night.

J.R. Smith and Toney Douglas each added 15 points for the Knicks, who won for just the third time in their last 13 visits to Orlando. New York also hit 13 3-pointers.

Jason Richardson scored 16 points and Glen Davis 15 to lead Orlando.

Howard was held to just eight points and eight rebounds.

— Reported by Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press

Grizzlies assign Josh Selby to D-League again

The Memphis Grizzlies assigned rookie guard Josh Selby to the Reno Bighorns, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. It marks Selby’s third D-League assignment of the season.

Selby (6-2, 183) has averaged 22.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists on .473 shooting (.471 3FG) in 32.2 minutes in six games (two starts) over two assignments with the Bighorns from Feb. 13-27 and March 26-31.

During his most recent stint in Reno, Selby averaged 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists on .457 shooting in 34.5 minutes in two games. The Baltimore native registered a triple-double on March 30 vs. Idaho, setting D-League career highs in points (32), rebounds (10) and assists (10) on 10-of-17 shooting in 40 minutes.

Selby has seen action in 23 games during his rookie season with the Grizzlies, averaging 2.5 points and 1.2 assists on .377 shooting in 8.8 minutes. The 21-year-old was selected by Memphis in the second round (49th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft after his freshman season at the University of Kansas.

Memphis will look to end Miami’s 17-game home winning streak when the Grizzlies face the Heat at 6:30 p.m. CT tomorrow at the American Airlines Arena, broadcast regionally on SportSouth.

Knicks coach Mike Woodson wants J.R. Smith to pull his pants up

Knicks coach Mike Woodson continued his spiel that J.R. Smith needs to be more professional “on and off the court,” even taking on the fashion statement the player makes.

Woodson had a long talk with Smith in the wake of Tuesday’s ejection with 10.7 seconds left in Indiana for throwing down Leandro Barbosa.

“I told him I’m going to continue to coach him as long as I’m coaching the team,” Woodson said at the Thursday morning shootaround at Amway Center. “I told him I’m not going to let him off the hook. I want his shorts pulled up. I want him to look presentable. Be a professional. That’s what it’s all about.’’

In following a new fashion trend for youth, Smith likes to wear his pants and shorts around the hips in what has been termed as “sagging,’’ exposing underwear.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post (Blog)

Syracuse center Fab Melo will enter 2012 NBA Draft

Syracuse sophomore Fab Melo has announced his intention to sign with an agent and put his name into the 2012 NBA Draft.

Melo issued the following statement:

“After meeting with my mother, my family and Coach Boeheim, I have decided to enter my name in to the 2012 NBA Draft. Being able to play professional basketball has been my dream since I first starting playing this game and now I have the opportunity to accomplish that dream. Coach Boeheim, Coach Hopkins and the rest of the Syracuse staff have helped me develop as a player and as a man and I will always be appreciative for what they’ve done for me. I wish Syracuse University, the basketball program and the Syracuse fans nothing but the best.”

Wizards sign James Singleton to 10-day contract

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed forward James Singleton to a 10-day contract.

Singleton (6-8, 230) averaged 17.8 points and 11.9 rebounds while shooting .576 from the floor in 43 games with the Guandong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association this season. He appeared in 32 games for Washington during the 2009-10 season and averaged 6.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in 32 games.

Singleton was originally acquired by the Wizards from the Dallas Mavericks on February 16, 2010 along with Josh Howard, Quinton Ross and Drew Gooden in exchange for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson. The four-year pro holds career averages of 3.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 231 career games with the Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards.

Rockets assign Courtney Fortson to D-League

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has assigned guard Courtney Fortson to Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley. Fortson, who was signed by the Rockets for the remainder of the season Mar. 27, marks his first official assignment to the D-League. Fortson was originally signed by Houston to a 10-day contract on Mar. 17, which was his second D-League Call-Up of the season. He also played four games with the L.A. Clippers this season.

Fortson (5-11, 185, Arkansas) has averaged 2.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 7.2 minutes per game over five outings since joining the Rockets. He also owns career averages of 14.3 points, 5.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 35 D-League games (15 starts) with the Reno Bighorns (2010-11) and L.A. D-Fenders (2011-12). In 29 games (14 starts) this season with the D-Fenders, Fortson holds averages of 17.0 points, 5.9 assists, 4.3 boards and 2.14 steals. At the time of his Call-Up, Fortson was ranked tied for 14th in the league in scoring, sixth in assists and second in steals.

A Call-Up by the Clippers on Jan. 16, 2012, Fortson scored an NBA career-high 13 points (5-10 FG) at Utah (1/17/12). He was waived by the Clippers on Jan. 27. In addition to the NBA, Fortson played internationally with Romanian First Division team Steaua Turabo. In college, Fortson averaged 17.9 points, 5.7 assists and 5.2 rebounds as a sophomore at Arkansas. He was also named to the All-SEC Freshman Team.

Rockets sign Earl Boykins to second 10-day contract

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard Earl Boykins to a second 10-day contract.

Boykins (5-5, 133, Eastern Michigan), who signed his first 10-day contract on Mar. 26, is averaging 6.4 points and 3.0 assists in five games with Houston.

Bulls sign Mike James for rest of season

The Chicago Bulls today signed guard Mike James for the remainder of the season. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. James, (6-2, 190), will be in uniform tonight when the Bulls take on the Boston Celtics at the United Center at 8:30 p.m. (CT).

James, 36, appeared in eight games with Chicago earlier this year and averaged 5.4 ppg, 3.1 apg and 1.0 rpg in 11.4 mpg. This will mark his fourth stint with Chicago this season. He originally signed with the Bulls on Jan. 11 (waived Jan. 28), Feb. 14 and again on Mar. 14.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 14.

Stan Van Gundy says Dwight Howard wants him fired

Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said this morning that he knows that superstar center Dwight Howard asked team management to fire him, a charge that Howard denies.

“I know he has,” Van Gundy told reporters after the Magic completed their shootaround. “That’s just the way it is. Again, I’ve been dealing with that all year. It’s not anything real bothersome. You go out and do your job.”

Asked if it makes it harder to coach given that he thinks Howard is not committed to him, Van Gundy responded, “It’s not a matter of being committed to me. It’s a matter of being committed to the team and trying to do everything you can to help the team win games. That’s all I’m concerned with. As far as the other stuff, I don’t think that matters. I don’t need love and support here at my job. I’ll turn to my family for that. I don’t need these guys giving me hugs and pats on the back.”

Asked how he knows it’s true, Van Gundy said, “I was told it was true by people in our management right from the top.”

— Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel

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