Inside Hoops – Page 1930 – NBA Blog

Shaq returns for Celtics, then quickly strains right calf

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports (via blog):

Just minutes after Shaquille O’Neal wowed the crowd with 6 points in his first game in two months, he was limping back to the locker room with 11:11 left in the second quarter of the Celtics’ game against the Detroit Pistons. The team said it is officially a strained right calf and he is uncertain to return.

Playing for the first time since Feb. 1, O’Neal was in for his second stint of the game when he suddenly began limping, heavily favoring the right leg.

Hot Nuggets deal Lakers a rare loss

The AP reports:

Danilo Gallinari scored 22 points, Kenyon Martin scored six of his 18 in the final 3:24, and the Denver Nuggets hung on for their sixth straight win, 95-90 over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Kobe Bryant scored 28 points for the Lakers, who snapped a nine-game winning streak to fall 2 1/2 games behind San Antonio in the Western Conference. The NBA-leading Spurs beat Phoenix 114-97 earlier Sunday to end a six-game slide.

Los Angeles has six games left to try and overtake the Spurs and earn homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. The Lakers face the Spurs for the fourth and final time this season on April 12 in their next-to-last regular-season game…

Pau Gasol had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, and reserve Lamar Odom chipped in with 17 points and seven boards. Andrew Bynum had 16 rebounds and reserve forward Matt Barnes returned from a one-game suspension with five points in 18 minutes…

Nuggets sixth man J.R. Smith picked up three fouls in less than 5 minutes after reporting into the game. He played 16 minutes and finished with only four points.

InsideHoops.com editor says: The Nuggets are a more balanced team since the Melo trade. And they’re a good team to watch. I’m not sure how high their playoff potential is, but Denver is a team to watch next season.

Landry Fields in a slump

Chris Sheridan of ESPN reports:

Going into tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, it has been six straight games since Landry Fields had more than three buckets in a single game.

You have to go back to two Sundays ago, on the afternoon the Knicks scored 9 points in the first quarter and lost in Milwaukee, to find a game in which Fields was productive (13 points on 5-for-11 shooting) on the offensive end of the floor.

Getting production out of Fields was not a problem before the big trade, but he has struggled to fit into a rhythm with the new players in the Knicks’ rotation, and he has steadily been losing minutes to Anthony Carter, Roger Mason, Bill Walker and Toney Douglas at the 2-guard spot.

Heat work Eddy Curry out

Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News reports:

Could Eddy Curry be joining the big three in Miami?

The former Knick, who came to epitomize the team’s failings under Isiah Thomas, worked out for the Miami Heat in recent days in a move that could foreshadow his signing with the team for the playoffs.

“Pat (Riley) worked him and about a half-dozen guys out as part of a big picture look,” a team spokesman said Saturday without elaborating. “Anything else is pure speculation.”

According to a Yahoo! Sports report, Riley put Curry through his paces in Chicago and scheduled the 7-footer to visit Miami early next week for another workout and a physical.

Spurs assign Danny Green to D-League

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have assigned Danny Green to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

Green (#4, 6’6”, 210, 6/22/87) most recently signed with the Spurs on March 16, appearing in three games totaling 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. He originally signed with the Spurs on November 17, when he appeared in two games, totaling 6 points in 9 minutes, before being released on November 23. In between those two stints with the Spurs, Green saw action in 16 games with the Reno Bighorns, where he averaged 20.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.38 steals in 37.4 minutes per game. He shot .451 (114-253) from the field, .434 (36-83) from three-point territory and .795 (58-73) from the free throw line.

The Toros conclude the regular season tonight when they face the Texas Legends at 7:30 p.m. at the Cedar Park Center.

Sixers clinch playoff spot

Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

There was no euphoria among the 76ers.

There might have been a touch of relief, some happiness to finally have the logistics behind them. But the Sixers’ celebration felt subdued, modest, almost as if this – a playoff berth – was not the destination, but rather a necessary step along the path.

The margin of victory certainly dulled the jubilation.

The Sixers were assured of a playoff spot nearly an hour before the final buzzer sounded in Friday night’s 115-90 win over the New Jersey Nets at the Wells Fargo Center. Any excitement was stretched across two quarters instead of bottled into one explosive moment.

But mostly, this team seems primed for more.

In the moments after the game, Sixers coach Doug Collins mentioned possibly ending this regular season on a winning streak.

No champagne. No tears. No embracing.

Jimmer Fredette named AP Player of Year

Tim Gardner of USA Today reports:

Brigham Young guard Jimmer Fredette, who led the Cougars to the Sweet 16 this season, was named the Associated Press’ player of the year Friday in Houston.

Notre Dame coach Mike Brey was also honored as the AP’s coach of the year.

Fredette, who led the Division I by averaging 28.5 points per game, helped BYU win the Mountain West’s regular-season title. He earned 48 first-place votes from the 65-member panel.

Connecticut’s Kemba Walker finished second with 11 votes, followed by Duke Nolan Smith (5) and Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger (1).

Lakers are 17-1 since All-Star break

Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports:

The Lakers are 17-1 since the All-Star break, and have won nine in a row.

The Spurs have stumbled, losing six straight, the latest an overtime defeat to the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

That pulled the Lakers to within 11/2 games of the reeling Spurs, whom they trailed by nine games at the break. With seven regular-season games remaining, the Lakers can put more pressure on the Spurs, who have six games left.

Lakers center Andrew Bynum said what Coach Phil Jackson would not.

“Yeah, that’s the goal. We want to get the best record in the league,” Bynum said. “We want to be in first place. We still have a game against them [April 12], too, which is really big.”

As for Jackson, he pointed to Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, then to Tuesday’s game against the Jazz at Staples Center, and then the trip to Golden State on Wednesday and to Portland next Friday.

Jackson said if the Lakers get through those games, then he’s willing to talk about the last three, which will be against Oklahoma City, San Antonio and the regular-season finale at Sacramento.

Lakers eliminate Jazz from playoff race

The AP reports:

Kobe Bryant scored 21 points, Lamar Odom added 16 and the Los Angeles Lakers erased a 17-point first-half deficit Friday night to beat Utah 96-85 and eliminate the Jazz from the playoff race.

Utah (36-40) becomes the first team in NBA history to start 15-5 and 27-13 and not make the playoffs.

The Lakers outscored the Jazz 52-35 in the second half to win their ninth straight game, and pull within 1 1/2 games of first-place San Antonio in the Western Conference.

C.J. Miles scored 24 points for Utah, which started its 17th different lineup and had only nine healthy players, including one who just joined the team two days earlier and was playing out of position.

The game in all likelihood was the last in Salt Lake City for Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who has said this will be his final season.

Matt Barnes suspended one game for actions during Lakers-Mavericks altercation

Matt Barnes of the Los Angeles Lakers has been suspended one game without pay for escalating an on-court altercation and actions following his ejection, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 9:23 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 110-82 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center on March 31. Barnes will serve his suspension tonight when the Lakers visit the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena.

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