The AP reports: Jermaine O’Neal scored nine points after sitting out for more than two months with a knee injury, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Miami Heat 105-85 on Monday night. O’Neal shot 3-for-4 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line in 18 minutes. He had missed 33 straight games with a bone bruise, and the Pacers went 12-21 during that stretch. Danny Granger led Indiana with 23 points and Mike Dunleavy added 18 as the Pacers won their second straight and their sixth of eight to remain contenders for an Eastern Conference playoff spot. Indiana entered the game three games behind Atlanta for eighth place in the East. Daequan Cook led Miami with 16 points and Kasib Powell and Chris Quinn both scored 15.
Author: Inside Hoops
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Mar. 31: Raptors 104, Bobcats 100
The AP reports: Chris Bosh scored 32 points and the Toronto Raptors remained alone in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a 104-100 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night. Bosh hit 13 of 16 free throws and added eight rebounds and five assists for the Raptors, who won for the third time in four games to pull a game ahead of idle Philadelphia in the playoff race… Anthony Parker added 20 points and T.J. Ford added 15, including the clinching free throw with 1.9 seconds left for the Raptors, who bounced back from a home loss to New Orleans on Sunday. Jason Richardson scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half, Gerald Wallace scored 20 points and Emeka Okafor had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Bobcats, whose faint playoff hopes took a hit.
Heat sign Blake Ahearn and Stephane Lasme to second 10-day contracts
The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed guard Blake Ahearn and forward Stephane Lasme to second 10-day contracts. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Ahearn, a 6’2”, 190-pound guard, has appeared in six games for the HEAT averaging 5.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15.0 minutes of action. He scored a career-high 15 points at Detroit on 3/27 and his 94.7 percent (18-of-19) from the free throw line currently leads the team.
Lasme, a 6’8”, 215-pound forward, has appeared in six games for the HEAT averaging 5.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.00 blocks and 1.00 steals in 21.5 minutes of action. He blocked a career-high three shots on two occasions and has recorded 12 blocks in his six games with the HEAT.
J-Rich and Melo win Player of Week
The Charlotte Bobcats’ Jason Richardson and the Denver Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 24, through Sunday, March 30. More info here.
J-Rich is playing well but it’s too little, too late for the Bobcats, who need a miracle to make the playoffs and may be having issues with head coach Sam Vincent, who several newspapers recently reported may not be kept around next season.
As for Melo, all recent talk was that they might miss the playoffs, as they were sitting in 9th place in the West for a while, but as of today they’ve jumped up to 7th, but only by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Mavericks and Warriors. I think Denver may stay in there.
Anyway, the Western conference playoff race is awesome. Even if you’re a fan of an East squad, watch the West closely, because that’s where it’s at.
Spain: Ricky Rubio may play in Olympics
Fiba.com reports: Spanish backcourt phenom Ricky Rubio is almost certain to be headed to the world champions’ pre-Olympic training camp with a chance of making the team for the Beijing Games as a back-up point guard. Pepu Hernandez, the Spain coach, indicated earlier this season that the DKV Joventut star would join up with the senior squad and that likelihood has become even stronger with Rubio enjoying an outstanding campaign with his club.
Wolves learning to compete in fourth quarter
The Minneapolis Star Tribune (Jerry Zgoda) reports: The Wolves lost eight of the first 13 times they led going into the fourth quarter this season. They now have won the past four games in which they led after three quarters and are 10-4 in that category since winning at Golden State on Jan. 21, the demarcation line in a season they started 5-34. “We’ve grown up,” Wolves center Al Jefferson said. They won seven games in March, are 14-19 since that Jan. 21 game, and Sunday’s victory was their second over the Jazz at home in five weeks. “We’re getting better and better,” Jefferson said. “To win like this two times in a row over them at home says a lot.”
Mar. 30: Lakers 126, Wizards 120 OT
For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant (just 7-of-24) had 26 points and 13 assists, Sasha Vujacuc (6-of-9, including 6-of-8 three-pointers) had 20, Vladimir Radmanovic (7-of-11, including 4-of-7 threes) had 18, and Derek Fisher (6-of-12, including 3-of-6 threes) scored 17.
For the Wizards, DeShawn Stevenson (9-of-15, including 8-of-12 three-pointers) had 27, Nick Young (10-of-16, including 3-of-4 threes) had 27, Caron Butler (6-of-17) had an awesome 17 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 steals, and Antawn Jamison (6-of-15) had 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. The two teams combined for 31-of-57 from three-point range.
Mar. 30: Warriors 114, Mavs 104
The AP reports: Monta Ellis scored 30 points and Kelenna Azubuike hit two clutch shots down the stretch to help the Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-104 Sunday night to create a three-way tie for seventh place in the ultracompetitive Western Conference… Baron Davis added 21 points, Stephen Jackson had 16 and Andris Biedrins had 16 points and 14 rebounds. Azubuike scored 15 off the bench a day after Davis and Jackson called for more help from the reserves. Josh Howard scored 36 to lead Dallas in his third straight 30-point game since Nowitzki went down with the injury. Brandon Bass added 21 off the bench, while Kidd had 13 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds.
Mar. 30: Kings 120, Sonics 107
For the Kings, Kevin Martin (11-of-19) had 31 points, Ron Artest (12-of-23) had 29 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks, and Francisco Garcia (8-of-14) had 21 points and 5 rebounds. For the Sonics, Kevin Durant (10-of-18) had 25 points, Jeff Green (9-of-16) had 21 (but a few too many turnovers), Earl Watson (9-of-15) had 20 points and 12 assists, and Damien Wilkins (7-of-15) had 18. The Kings shot 55.1% from the field, and had 28-of-32 free throws, compared to just 11-of-15 free throws for the Sonics.
Mar. 30: Celtics 88, Heat 62
The AP reports: Kevin Garnett scored twice before Miami made a basket, and the Boston Celtics held the Heat to an NBA-record low 17 field goals, coasting to an 88-62 victory Sunday. The matchup of the NBA’s best team and its worst was even more lopsided than anticipated. Boston was up 27-4 after 10 minutes and Celtics coach Doc Rivers started subbing for his starters just 7:10 into the game. Boston’s backups finished the first quarter, handled most of the second and all of the fourth as no starter played more than 25 minutes. Leon Powe had 17 points and 13 rebounds for Boston, and Garnett finished with 12 points, five assists and eight rebounds in 21 minutes. Ricky Davis had 14 points and six rebounds and Chris Quinn had scored 14 with eight assists for the Heat (13-60), who lost their third straight and sixth out of seven as they solidify their hold on the worst record in the NBA. Miami coach Pat Riley skipped his fourth game to resume his college scouting tour, and assistant Ron Rothstein ran the bench.