The AP reports: Rudy Fernandez scored 25 points, including a clutch spinning jumper as the shot clock expired with 44.9 seconds left, and the Blazers celebrated Oden’s comeback from a sprained right foot with a 104-96 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Brandon Roy scored 22 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 14 for the Trail Blazers. Oden, the 2007 No. 1 overall pick who missed all of last season and hadn’t played since getting hurt in this season’s opener, finished with three points and two rebounds in 16 minutes… Michael Beasley and Daequan Cook each scored 11 points for Miami, while Chris Quinn scored 10 and Udonis Haslem finished with 11 rebounds. Miami had 19 turnovers that Portland turned into 26 points.
Author: Inside Hoops
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Nov 12: Magic 109, Thunder 92
The AP reports: Dwight Howard recorded his first career triple-double with 30 points, 19 rebounds and 10 blocks Wednesday night and the Orlando Magic beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 109-92… Howard had a highlight reel full of dunks—a two-hander off an offensive rebound, a right-handed jam off a pass from Hedo Turkoglu and another two-handed slam off an alley-oop from Anthony Johnson. He also pulled up when he was all alone on a fast break and gently laid the ball in with two hands… Jeff Green had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Russell Westbrook added 13 points and Earl Watson and Desmond Mason each scored 12 for the Thunder. Mickael Pietrus and Jameer Nelson each had 17 points, Turkoglu scored 15 and Rashard Lewis added 13 for the Magic against the team he played nine seasons with before it relocated from Seattle. Nelson had a career-high 10 rebounds.
Nov 12: Wizards 95, Jazz 87
The AP reports: Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison scored 15 consecutive Wizards points during the fourth quarter. The duo’s spurt ended with Jamison’s 3-pointer that put Washington ahead 84-82 with 2 minutes left. “The deciding factor,” said Jazz point guard Deron Williams, who had eight points, seven assists and six rebounds in his second game of the season… Butler finished with 27 points and nine rebounds, while Jamison had 21 points and eight boards. They combined for 20 points in the final period, including Butler’s 3-pointer with 30 seconds left that made it 91-82… McGee set personal NBA bests with 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. “I was impressed,” said Carlos Boozer, who paced Northwest Division-leading Utah with 20 points.
Nov 12: Pacers 98, Nets 87
The AP reports: T.J. Ford had 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and the banged-up Indiana Pacers won their third straight game with a 98-87 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night. Marquis Daniels and Jeff Foster added 16 points apiece as the Pacers beat the Nets for the second time in three games. Vince Carter scored 28 points and Jarvis Hayes added 15 for the Nets, who lost their third straight game with point guard Devin Harris sidelined with a sprained ankle. New Jersey turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 25 points for Indiana.
Nov 12: Celtics 103, Hawks 102
The AP reports: NBA finals MVP Paul Pierce hit a fallaway jumper with 0.5 seconds left to give Boston a 103-102 victory over Atlanta on Wednesday night, handing the Hawks their first loss of the season and their first since the Celtics ousted them en route to their unprecedented 17th title… Pierce scored 34 points in all, Kevin Garnett had 25 with 12 rebounds and Rajon Rondo had 10 assists for the Celtics. Joe Johnson scored 28 for Atlanta, finding an open Marvin Williams for the go-ahead 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds left before Pierce answered at the other end, faking out a pair of defenders and sinking the game-winner… Ray Allen scored 17 points, eight of them during an 18-2 run in the second quarter that turned a 44-28 deficit into a tie game at halftime.
Nov 12: Sixers 106, Raptors 96
The AP reports: Elton Brand scored a season-high 25 points, Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala each had 18, and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Toronto Raptors 106-96 on Wednesday night. Willie Green scored 17 points and Marreese Speights had 12 for the 76ers, who won for the first time in four road games this season… Chris Bosh had 30 points and 12 rebounds, but Toronto still lost for the fourth time in five games after starting the season 3-0. Jermaine O’Neal added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and reserve Andrea Bargnani scored 15 for the Raptors.
NBA kills pre-draft camp
The NBA pre-draft camp is apparently ceasing to exist, which is a shame because although the quality of play was pretty lacking, it was still a great event to see lots of players and it was also fantastic for networking. Almost everyone who matters in the NBA went there not just to see players but to get face time with others in the business.
But, the Charlotte Observer (Rick Bonnell) reports: I just confirmed a story, originally reported by The Sporting News, that the NBA pre-draft camp is no more as we knew it. There will no longer be games or practices for draft candidates. Mass physicals will still take place, and those physicals will likely move back to Chicago from suburban Orlando, where the camp was held the past two years at Disney’s Wide World of Sports. Here’s the deal: The quality of player participating had deteriorated so badly the past few years that it became a sham. Twenty years ago, just sure-bet lottery picks passed on playing in the games. Recently, if two guys who played in Orlando were among the 30 first-round picks, it felt like a small victory for the league.
Greg Oden set to return
The Miami Herald (Michael Wallace) reports: The Miami Heat spent Wednesday’s shootaround preparing for Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden to make his return from a foot injury that has kept him out since the season opener. Oden doesn’t plan to disappoint Miami (4-3) when the Blazers (4-3) arrive for Wednesday night’s game at AmericanAirlines Arena. ”I’m ready. I’m excited,” Oden said after Portland’s shootaround Wednesday. “I’ll hopefully play the full game. It was my decision and it depends on how I feel. And I feel good.” Oden, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, hasn’t played since he sustained a right mid-foot sprain after playing just 13 minutes in the Blazers’ Oct. 28 loss to the Lakers. He was initially expected to miss as much as a month. It has been another disappointing start to the season for Oden, who missed all of last season after knee surgery.
Jason Richardson day-to-day after minor knee surgery
Charlotte Bobcats guard Jason Richardson this morning underwent an exploratory arthroscopic procedure after suffering from right knee inflammation. The test revealed no structural damage to Richardson’s knee.
Richardson will not play in Charlotte’s game against the Utah Jazz on Friday and is doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Orlando Magic.
James Posey talks Kobe
The Orange County Register (Janis Carr) reports — James Posey: “You can’t stop Kobe because he does so much. He scores, he shoots the 3-ball well, he has a nice in-between game, he knows how to get to the free-throw line, he attacks the basket. It’s tough. He’s one of the guys who has the ball a lot, and a lot of attention needs to be directed toward him. You can’t stop him, you just try to control him, just try to make him work for everything,” Posey said. “Sometimes even that isn’t enough.”
InsideHoops.com editor says: I could shut Kobe down. He knows it. He’s scared. Same with LeBron. None of these dues could score on me. But I like them and don’t want to hurt their feelings, so instead of signing with an NBA team and doing it, I’ll just continue to run InsideHoops.com.