Inside Hoops – Page 1724 – NBA Blog

Arron Afflalo suspended for throwing elbow at Gordon Hayward

Arron Afflalo of the Denver Nuggets has been suspended one game without pay for throwing an elbow to the head of Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 6:32 remaining in the third quarter of Utah’s 121-102 win over Denver on March 23 at EnergySolutions Arena.

Afflalo will serve his suspension Sunday, March 25 when the Nuggets visit the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Video of incident is here.

Warriors assign forward Chris Wright to D-League

The Golden State Warriors today re-assigned rookie forward Chris Wright to the Dakota Wizards, the Warriors’ NBA D-League affiliate. The assignment marks the 57th time an NBA player has been assigned to his NBA D-League affiliate during the 2011-12 season and is the second for Wright this season.

Wright returns to the Wizards following a three-game assignment in January, when he averaged 18.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 31.0 minutes.

Wright, who earned a Call-Up to the Warriors from the Maine Red Claws in December 2011, has appeared in 17 games for Golden State this season, averaging 2.1 points, 1.1 rebounds and 4.7 minutes. Prior to his Call-Up, Wright played in four games for the Red Claws, averaging 17.0 points and 10.8 rebounds in 31.3 minutes

Thunder assign Reggie Jackson to D-League

The Oklahoma City Thunder has assigned guard Reggie Jackson to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

During the 2011-12 season, the first-year guard has appeared in 41 games with the Thunder and posted averages of 3.4 points, 1.7 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 11.8 minutes.

Jackson will be in uniform tonight as the Tulsa 66ers host the Iowa Energy at the Tulsa Convention Center.

Warriors sign Keith Benson to 10-day contract

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent center Keith Benson to a 10-day contract, the team announced today.

Benson, 23, is being called-up from the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League, where he has appeared in 20 games this season, averaging 15.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.50 blocks in 30.6 minutes per contest. He is shooting 50.2% (122-243 FG) from the field and has posted seven double-doubles, including a 17-point, 11-rebound effort last night vs. Bakersfield. This marks the 41st Call-Up from the D-League of the 2011-12 NBA season.

The 6’11” center was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round (48th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft out of Oakland University in Michigan, but was waived prior to the start of the 2011-12 campaign. While in college, he averaged over 17 points and 10 rebounds in both his junior and senior seasons and finished second in the country as a senior in 2010-11 with 3.6 blocks per game.

Benson, who will wear #34, is scheduled to be in uniform for the team’s home game tonight against the Sacramento Kings.

Spurs sign Justin Dentmon to 10-day contract, release Eric Dawson

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed Justin Dentmon from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League to a 10-day contract. At the same time, the Spurs released Eric Dawson from his 10-day contract.

A 6-0, 185-pound guard, Dentmon has appeared in 38 games with the Toros this season, averaging a team-best 22.9 points, 5.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.47 steals in 37.3 minutes while shooting .463 (285-616) from the field, 421 (88-209) from three-point range and .865 (212-245) from the foul line. A D-League All-Star, Dentmon has scored in double figures in 37 of 38 games, including 28 games with 20-or-more and six games with 30-or-more.

Undrafted out of the University of Washington in 2010, Dentmon spent the 2010-11 season with the Texas Legends. He appeared in all 50 games, averaging 19.1 points, 4.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.40 steals in 35.1 minutes.

For his career, Dentmon has played in 88 D-League games, averaging 20.7 points, 4.6 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.43 steals in 36.0 minutes. He’s shot .475 (601-1,264) from the field, .425 (182-428) from three-point range and .854 (439-514) from the foul line.

Dawson was signed to his second 10-day contract with the Spurs on March 16. He appeared in four games, averaging 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 9.8 minutes.

Clippers re-sign forward Bobby Simmons

The Los Angeles Clippers today re-signed free agent forward Bobby Simmons, whose second 10-day contract with the Clippers expired on March 18th.

In 13 games played for the Clippers this season, Simmons has tallied 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, while shooting .371 from behind the three-point line.

Simmons, who was the 29th Call-Up from the D-League of the 2011-12 season when the Clippers signed him to his original 10-day contract on February 27th, averaged 13.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in 21 games played for the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League this season. Simmons also played ten games for the Bighorns during the 2010-11 season after playing two games with the San Antonio Spurs.

This marks Simmons’ second stint with the Clippers, having last played in Los Angeles during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 campaigns. He turned in his most productive NBA season while with the Clippers in 2004, tallying career-highs of 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists, garnering the NBA’s Most Improved Player award that season.

A nine-year NBA veteran, Simmons has averaged 9.2 points and 3.9 rebounds over his career while connecting on 44% of his field goals and 40% of his three-point field goal attempts.

DeRozan scores 30, Raptors end Knicks’ streak

Raptors coach Dwane Casey came up with just the thing to slow down the surging New York Knicks: a zone.

DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points before leaving with a sore left ankle, Andrea Bargnani had 21 and the Raptors routed the Knicks 96-79 Friday night, snapping New York’s five-game winning streak.

“The zone knocked us on our heels,” Knicks center Tyson Chandler said. “We had trouble finding ways to score against it and that really was the outcome because we never got a rhythm or momentum.” …

New York shot just 32 for 85 (38 percent) and no Knicks player made more than six field goals…

Gary Forbes scored 19 points, one shy of his career-high, and Jose Calderon had 10 assists as Toronto snapped a three-game skid. Forbes said the Raptors “played with a chip on our shoulder.” …

Amare Stoudemire scored 17 points, Steve Novak had 15 and Carmelo Anthony 12 for the Knicks, who came in having won six of seven against the Raptors, including three straight in Toronto.

Jeremy Lin made a game-winning 3-pointer on New York’s last visit to Toronto, a 90-87 victory on Feb. 14, but was held in check this time, finishing with six points.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Thunder survive Kevin Love’s 51 points, beat Wolves in 2OT

Russell Westbrook scored 45 points, Kevin Durant added 40 points and a season-high 17 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a career-high 51 points from Minnesota All-Star Kevin Love to beat the Timberwolves 149-140 in double overtime Friday night.

Westbrook set the tone in the second overtime, stealing the ball on Minnesota’s opening possession and racing to the other end for a layup that resulted in a three-point play.

The Thunder never trailed in the period and put it away with nine straight points after Nick Collison blocked Love’s shot that would have tied it at 140.

Love, who beat Durant in the 3-Point Contest on All-Star weekend, made a career-high seven 3s and also pulled down 14 rebounds while becoming the third player to eclipse 50 points this season…

Love, whose previous career-high was 43 points, was 16 of 27 from the field and went 7 for 11 on 3s, hitting his first five attempts. Barea added a season-high 25 points and a career-best 14 assists and Tolliver chipped in a season-high 23 points.

James Harden scored 25 off the bench and Kendrick Perkins contributed a season-high 12 points despite not playing in the fourth quarter or overtime for Oklahoma City.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Indiana Pacers sign Kyrylo Fesenko

The Indiana Pacers announced Friday the signing of 7-1, 280-pound center Kyrylo Fesenko (Kuh-rile-oh Feh-sink-o) to a contract. Per club policy, terms were not disclosed.

Fesenko, who is from Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, played four seasons in the Ukraine and was drafted in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft by Philadelphia, then traded to Utah, where he played the last four seasons, including some time with the Utah Flash of the D-League. With the Jazz, he played 132 games with averages of 2.3 points per game and 2.0 rebounds per game.

San Antonio Spurs sign Boris Diaw

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they signed forward Boris Diaw. Per club policy details of the contract were not released.

The 6-8, 235-pound Diaw started the season with the Charlotte Bobcats before being placed on waivers on March 21. In 37 games with the Bobcats, Diaw averaged 7.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 27.5 minutes. He scored in double figures in 11 games, including a season-high 27 points at New York on Jan. 4. Diaw came with two assists of his seventh career triple-double posting 16 points, 16 rebounds and 8 assists vs. Miami on Dec. 28.

An eight-year NBA veteran, Diaw was originally drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the 21 st overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns on Aug. 19, 2005. In his first season with the Suns, Diaw won the 2006 Most Improved Player Award, after averaging 13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 35.5 minutes over 81 games.

For his career, Diaw has appeared in 660 NBA games, averaging 9.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 30.3 minutes while shooting .491 (2,645-5,389) from the field, .329 (293-891) from three-point territory and .708 (780-1,101) from the foul line. He has posted six triple-doubles during his career. Diaw has seen action in 39 playoff games, averaging 13.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 34.9 minutes.