Inside Hoops – Page 2120 – NBA Blog

Knicks dominate, end 13-game Mavs win streak

The AP reports:

Bill Walker scored a career-high 23 points, Wilson Chandler added 22 and the New York Knicks snapped Dallas’ 13-game winning streak and avenged a 50-point loss to the Mavericks earlier this season with a 128-94 victory on Saturday night…

Rookie Toney Douglas had 21 points, Al Harrington added 20 points, and David Lee contributed 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who’d lost 14 of their previous 17 and nine straight in Dallas.

InsideHoops.com Notes:

The Knicks as a team shot 56.2%; the Mavericks hit 42.5%. But even better for New York was their incredible three-point shooting: 16-of-30. The Knicks also won the assists category, 28-14.

For New York, Walker shot 9-of-12 and hit 5-of-8 threes. Wilson Chandler scored 22 but he needed 20 shots to do it. Douglas, starting at point guard, shot 8-of-10 for his 21 points, and he dished eight assists. Harrington hit 8-of-15. And David Lee was fantastic in the middle, contributing 15 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists.

For Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki had a modest 20 points and 12 rebounds. Jason Kidd had 15 points on 12 shots and not much more. Shawn Marion had a mere 14 points on 15 shots. And Caron Butler was virtually invisible in his 30 minutes with seven points, three steals and little else.

NBA suspends Kirk Hinrich, fines Alvin Gentry

Kirk Hinrich of the Chicago Bulls has been suspended one game without pay for making contact with a game official and, in a separate incident, Phoenix Suns head coach Alvin Gentry has been fined $25,000 for improper conduct towards a game official and for not leaving the court in a timely manner following his ejection, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident involving Hinrich occurred with 4:43 remaining in the fourth period of the Bulls’ 108-95 loss to the Miami Heat on Friday, March 12, at the American Airlines Arena. Hinrich will serve his suspension on Tuesday, March 16 when the Bulls face the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum.

The incident involving Gentry occurred with 5:06 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Suns’ 102-96 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, March 12 at the US Airways Center.

Spurs sign Garrett Temple to 10-day contract

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed guard Garrett Temple from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League to a 10-day contract. Temple is the 23rd call-up of the 2009-10 D-League season.

The 6-6, 190-pound Temple has seen time this season with the Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League. Signed as an undrafted free agent by Houston on 9/22, he averaged 2.5 points and 0.3 assists in four preseason games with the Rockets before being waived on 10/21. Temple was allocated to Rio Grande Valley on 11/4 and averaged 14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 30 games with the Vipers. He signed his first of two 10-day contracts with Houston on 2/8. In nine games with the Rockets he averaged 5.0 points and 1.6 rebounds in 13.1 minutes. On 3/3 Temple signed a 10-day contract with Sacramento. He averaged 2.2 points and 0.6 rebounds in 4.6 minutes with the Kings.

Temple averaged 6.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists over his four seasons at LSU. He left school as the Tigers all-time leader in games played (134), starts (131) and minutes played (4,432). Temple also ranked fourth in career assists (482), seventh in steals (191) and fourth in blocks (113) in school history.

Temple will wear uniform #2.

Bobcats sign Larry Hughes

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Larry Hughes. A first-round draft pick of Philadelphia in 1998, where he played for Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown, Hughes was waived by Sacramento on Feb. 23 after a trade from New York on Feb. 18.

The 6-5 Hughes is in his 12th NBA season, with career averages of 14.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals in 31.2 minutes over 704 games with prior stops in Philadelphia, Golden State, Washington, Cleveland, Chicago, and New York.

In 45 career playoff games (38 starts), Hughes averaged 13.2 points with the Sixers, Wizards and Cavaliers. During Cleveland’s run to the NBA Finals in 2006-07, Hughes averaged 14.9 points against eventual champion San Antonio.

Hughes has averaged double-figure scoring in 10 of his 11 NBA seasons, including a career-best 22.0 points per game with the Wizards in 2004-05. In that same season, he led the league with 2.89 steals and was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team.

In 31 games (four starts) played with the Knicks this season, Hughes averaged 9.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 26.5 minutes.

An early entry candidate in the 1998 NBA Draft, Hughes spent just one season at the University of St. Louis before becoming the eighth overall pick by the Sixers. He led the Billikens and Conference USA in scoring, set a school single-season scoring record with 670 points and was selected First Team All-Conference and Freshman of the Year.

Hughes will wear jersey #0. The Bobcats roster now stands at 15 players.

Rafer Alston suspended by Heat for rest of season

The Miami Heat announced today that guard Rafer Alston has been placed on the suspended list and has been suspended for the remainder of the season.

He had already been suspended “indefinitely” by the team. But it has now been extended until the season is over.

“While we are aware, through media reports, of the personal issue that Rafer is going through, we still have not heard from him,” said Heat President Pat Riley. “As stated before, our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family during this time, but we are at the point where we must move forward with the rest of the season during our playoff push. Therefore, we are placing Rafer on the suspended list and suspending him for the reminder of the season. We wish Rafer nothing but the best and thank him for his contributions.”

Alston appeared in 25 games (all starts) for the Heat this season averaging 6.6 points, 2.9 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 26.2 minutes.

Heat suspend Dorell Wright two games

Miami Heat President Pat Riley announced today that Dorell Wright has been suspended for two games for conduct detrimental to the team.

“This is out of character for Dorell, we feel he’s a good person and that he will learn from this mistake,” Riley stated.

Wright’s suspension will start with tonight’s game vs. Chicago and conclude with Sunday’s game vs. Philadelphia.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:

In the wake of his Thursday arrest in Miami Beach for driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license, Miami Heat forward Dorell Wright has been suspended without pay by the team for two games.

Wright missed Friday’s game against the Chicago Bulls at AmericanAirlines Arena and all will miss Sunday’s home game against the Philadelphia 76ers…

Wright, who played 22 minutes in Wednesday night’s 108-97 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at AmericanAirlines Arena, was stopped at 3:37 a.m. Thursday in his 2005 Bentley for erratic driving.

Wright, 24, was cited after changing lanes without signaling, with the police report noting he was traveling 52 mph in a 35 mph zone on Alton Road. The report noted the California native nearly struck a taxi after changing lanes and then had difficulty putting his white Bentley in park.

Warriors sign Reggie Williams to second 10-day contract

The Golden State Warriors have signed forward Reggie Williams to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today.

Williams, 23, has appeared in six games with Golden State since being called-up from the NBA Development League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce on March 2, averaging 12.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 23.5 minutes per game, while shooting 52.6% from the field, 40.0% from three-point range and 81.8% from the line.

The Warriors roster remains at 16 players — over the league maximum due to injuries.

DeSagana Diop out due to dizzy spell

Charlotte Bobcats center DeSagana Diop will miss at least the next three games after becoming dizzy and light-headed following a workout yesterday. In addition to tonight’s game against the Clippers, Diop will not travel with the Bobcats on their two-game road trip to Orlando and Indiana.

Diop is undergoing medical evaluation to determine the cause of the spell. Following the completion of the tests, he will meet with team physician Dr. Joe Garcia to determine his status.

The Charlotte Bobcats, who became the NBA’s 30th franchise when they joined the league in 2004-05, return to action tonight when they host the Los Angeles Clippers at 7:00pm ET. The game can be seen on FS Carolinas.

Robert Whaley arrested

Nate Carlisle of the Salt Lake Tribune reports:

Police in Salt Lake County arrested former Utah Jazz center Robert Whaley and found marijuana “between his buttocks,” according to a jail document.

Whaley, 27, had warrants for his arrest for absconding from a probation in Michigan. A police document filed with the Salt Lake County jail says gang detectives stopped a car about 4:30 a.m. Thursday. Whaley was a passenger and was not wearing a seat belt, the document says…

A state of Michigan Web site lists Whaley has having a 2008 conviction for maintaining a drug house. It says he has absconded from parole in that state.

Thunder recall Kyle Weaver from D-League

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has recalled guard Kyle Weaver from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

Weaver appeared in five games (five starts) with Tulsa, averaging 12.4 points, 7.2 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks in 42.6 minutes per contest. This season, he has played in three games with Oklahoma City averaging 6.0 points, 1.7 assists, 1.0 rebound and 1.0 block in 10.0 minutes.