Author: Inside Hoops

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Oct 21: Lakers 102, Bobcats 98

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant injured his right knee in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 102-98 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night and did not return to the preseason game… The extent of Bryant’s injury is not known… Andrew Bynum scored 16 points, Trevor Ariza added 14. Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher scored 12 points apiece for the Lakers in limited playing time. Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace each had 16 points for the Bobcats, who close out their preseason schedule on Thursday against the Lakers.

Oct 21: Nuggets 105, Raptors 94

The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony scored 15 points, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Toronto Raptors 105-94 in the first NBA game played in the Alberta capital in nine years. Forward Chris Bosh scored 17 points and point guard Jose Calderon had 18 points for the Raptors, who trailed 24-17 after the first quarter of the exhibition and never seriously challenged the rest of the way… Bosh was 5-for-8 from the field with three rebounds. Calderon was 5-for-11 to go with five rebounds and seven assists. He made two 3-pointers.

Oct 21: Bulls 109, Mavs 105

The AP reports: Rookie Derrick Rose scored 30 points, including the go-ahead basket with 41.5 seconds left, and the Chicago Bulls rallied from a 23-point deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks 109-105 Tuesday night. Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni added 14 points each for the Bulls (2-4). Rose, the first overall pick in the draft, went 13-for-18 from the field and had seven assists. Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points, Gerald Green had 19 and Josh Howard added 18 for Dallas (4-3).

Oct 21: Hornets 101, Pacers 96

The AP reports: Chris Paul’s midseason-like form kept the New Orleans Hornets undefeated in the preseason. Paul had 23 points, 15 assists, five rebounds and three steals in 36 minutes, leading the New Orleans Hornets to a 101-96 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night… David West added 26 points, hitting 12 of 17 shots in the Hornets’ return home from their two-game trip to Berlin and Barcelona last week… Danny Granger, a New Orleans native, led Indiana (3-4) with 20 points in 37 minutes. T.J. ford added 14 points, while Troy Murphy had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Oct 21: Heat 102, Grizzlies 85

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 25 points, Michael Beasley scored nine of his 19 in the fourth quarter and the Miami Heat beat the Memphis Grizzlies 102-85 Tuesday night for their first preseason win in nearly two years… Udonis Haslem had 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Shawn Marion added 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Miami (1-4), which had dropped 12 straight exhibitions since beating Orlando on Oct. 24, 2006… O.J. Mayo scored 28 points for Memphis on 12-for-19 shooting, with five rebounds and five assists. Darko Milicic scored 12 for the Grizzlies (2-5), who allowed 11 points off turnovers in the final 12 minutes.

Oct 21: Celtics 101, Knicks 90

The AP reports: Kevin Garnett had 14 points and nine rebounds, Ray Allen scored 12 points and the Celtics tuned up for the start of their NBA title defense with a 101-90 win over the Knicks on Tuesday night… Eddie House led the Celtics with 20 points. Leon Powe added 19 points and 12 rebounds as Boston’s big men overwhelmed an undersized New York lineup… Nate Robinson scored 25 points and Stephon Marbury had 14 for New York.

Oct 21: Cavs 91, Sixers 83

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 20 points and had eight rebounds, four assists and four steals before sitting out the fourth quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 91-83 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in a preseason game Tuesday night… Andre Iguodala had 19 points and Elton Brand 12 points and 13 rebounds for Philadelphia. The 76ers played without starting center Samuel Dalembert, who was sidelined with a sore right knee.

Quotes from six Wizards

HEAD COACH EDDIE JORDAN

On Nick Young: “He had three really good practices.  He was awesome today.  He was probably the best player in practice today.   I would think that if he recovers tonight and tomorrow we think he’s fine, then he’ll play.”

On DerMarr Johnson and Linton Johnson: “We waived forwards DerMarr Johnson and Linton Johnson – both played very well for us and have been NBA players and will continue to be NBA players.  We really appreciate their efforts and their professionalism.”

FORWARD CARON BUTLER

On finishing up the preseason: “(We need to be) very serious.  We have to be professionals and go out to San Antonio and Cleveland and get some momentum.  We need to get some momentum going into the season.  The last few practices have been exceptional.  The younger guys have been playing great and the veteran leadership has been awesome.  It is what it is now – we made our final cuts to the roster and this is the team, so we know our personnel and what to expect going forward.”

On today’s practice: “I think today was great.  Over the last couple of practices, everything is really coming full circle.  We’re getting into the bulk of our offense and we’re playing against a real intense defense.  Guys are really trying to earn minutes.  Everybody is trying to put their best foot forward, trying to earn quality minutes and show the work that they put in all summer.  We’re anxious to play and I think everybody around the league is too.”

FORWARD ANTAWN JAMISON

On preparing for the regular season: “We still have a ways to go, but I think the sense of urgency is definitely there between the coaches and the players.  We know the amount of improvement that we need and what we have to do to get to that point.  There’s no panic button or anything like that, but it’s just time to turn things around.  It’s time to get focused and be mentally prepared for what we need to do.”

On his health heading into the season: “I feel great.  I’m ready for the season start.  I’m looking forward to getting out there and playing.  We know that we need to go out there and start it off right.”

GUARD/FORWARD NICK YOUNG

On how he’s feeling heading into the season: “I feel good.  I’ve had a lot of rest, so I was energized out there.  My shot was falling, so that’s always a confidence booster.  (I feel the intensity picking up) especially from the veterans like Caron, Antawn and DeShawn – they’ve been going hard.”

GUARD JUAN DIXON

On how his familiarity with the team has been beneficial to him: “Just knowing the system (has helped me).  Coach (Eddie Jordan) has a lot of confidence in me – he knows that I’m going to go out and execute plays and be in the right position on the floor.  My job is to do what they ask of me.  Whatever my role is, that’s what I’m going to go out there and do.”

FORWARD/CENTER ANDRAY BLATCHE

On what he wants to accomplish before the season starts: “It’s time for us to get more serious.  We’ve got to start trying to develop a flow together with the rotation guys.  Even though it’s preseason, (we need to) try and get some wins and compete.  The season is right around the corner – it starts on Wednesday.  It’s time for us to get serious and focus.”

Clippers exercise option on Al Thornton

The Los Angeles Clippers today exercised the club’s third year contract option on forward Al Thornton.

Thornton, who was selected by the Clippers as the 14th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, begins his second NBA season and is now signed through the 2009-10 campaign. Under the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Clippers had the right to exercise this contract option.  Thornton will now become a restricted free agent following the 2009-10 season, with the Clippers holding the right of first refusal.

In his first season with the Clippers, Thornton was named to the T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team, after averaging 12.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 27.3 minutes in 79 games played.  He finished the year ranked second among all rookies in scoring, fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.429), eighth in rebounding and fifth in minutes per game.  Thornton turned in his most impressive performance of the season when he tied a Clipper rookie record for points in a game, pouring in 39 points on 3/29/08 vs. Memphis.  The 39 points were also the most points scored in a game by any NBA rookie last season.