The AP reports: Ron Artest is difficult to please. After seeing Yao Ming shake off waves of defenders in a 28-point, 12-rebound effort that helped the Houston Rockets beat the Miami Heat 107-98 on Monday night, someone asked Artest to assess his center’s performance. “I thought he could have played better,” Artest said… Artest scored 20 and Rafer Alston added 14 points for Houston, which finished with six players in double figures and outrebounded Miami 51-35. Luis Scola had 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks each scored 11 for the Rockets, who finished off a 3-0 road trip against East teams. Dwyane Wade scored 23 points for Miami, doing so on 7-for-23 shooting, which prompted another quick line from Artest. “He played really bad tonight,” Artest said. “He didn’t play like I’m used to seeing him play.” Mario Chalmers added a career-best 23 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Heat, who also got 17 points from Shawn Marion, 14 from Beasley and a season-high 12 from Yakhouba Diawara.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Nov 24: Magic 108, Bucks 101
The AP reports: Dwight Howard was still standing, and that’s all that mattered for the Orlando Magic. Howard had 24 points and 13 rebounds as the Orlando Magic outlasted the Milwaukee Bucks 108-101 Monday night in a matchup of injury-depleted teams. Richard Jefferson scored 25 points to lead Milwaukee, which lost Andrew Bogut to a knee bruise in the third quarter. The Bucks were already missing Michael Redd and Luke Ridnour, their starting backcourt, to injuries. Hedo Turkoglu, forced to play some point guard when Jameer Nelson went out with a groin pull, and Rashard Lewis each added 22 points for the Magic. Howard picked up his fourth foul halfway through the third quarter but played eight minutes in the final quarter, scoring 7 points but making only 5 of 11 free throws.
Nov 24: Bobcats 93, Sixers 84
The AP reports: It didn’t take long for rookie D.J. Augustin to unseat Raymond Felton as Charlotte’s point guard. Only Felton didn’t lose his starting job, leaving a tiny backcourt that—at least for a night—got the Bobcats out of their offensive funk. Augustin and Felton, each about six-feet tall, combined for 48 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds in their third game starting together, and the Bobcats beat the Philadelphia 76ers 93-84 Monday night to snap a four-game losing streak… Augustin scored 25 points and added a career-high 11 assists. Felton had 23 points and seven rebounds. They combined to shoot 16 for 22 with only six turnovers… Elton Brand had 18 points, but made only 6 of 13 shots and fouled out with under a minute left. He was nowhere near as dominant as he was a night earlier in a win over Golden State that got the Sixers to .500 for the first time. Thaddeus Young was held to six points on 2-of-10 shooting. Andre Iguodala added 17 points for the Sixers, who shot 40 percent and had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Brook Lopez good as starter
The New York Post (Tim Bontemps) reports on Nets rookie center Brook Lopez: The Stanford product, who was the 10th pick in the draft in June, has seen his production increase dramatically since a promotion to the starting lineup. After averaging a bit over four points and five rebounds a game as a reserve, Lopez’s averages have jumped up to 14.6 points and nine rebounds as a starter over the past five games. “He had a couple games coming off the bench where he was struggling a little bit,” Frank said. “I think getting in the role of a starter kind of got his confidence back in the right direction, and I think he’s been very, very consistent. You don’t necessarily have to play through him and he still gets those numbers.”
Nov 23: Lakers 118, Kings 108
The AP reports: The Lakers committed 18 turnovers Sunday night, which the Kings converted into 30 points. But Kobe Bryant was good when he had to be, scoring 24 points and dishing out six assists to help the defending Western Conference champs beat the Kings 118-108 and improve the NBA’s best record to 11-1… All five Lakers starters reached double figures in points by the third quarter, as they won for the fourth straight time since losing to Detroit at home. Andrew Bynum had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Pau Gasol chipped in with 16 points… John Salmons led Sacramento with 24 points and reserve Bobby Brown added 21. Kevin Martin was sidelined for the eighth consecutive game with a sprained left ankle and Mikki Moore missed his fourth straight because of a sprained right ankle.
Nov 23: Nuggets 114, Bulls 101
The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and the Denver Nuggets rallied for a 114-101 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night… Anthony was struggling with his jumper, shooting less than 30 percent over his last four games. However, he finished 6-of-11 from the floor on Sunday, including a big 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter. He also had 13 rebounds and a season-high eight assists. “Melo was great,” said Chauncey Billups, who finished with 21 points and eight assists as the team moved to 8-2 since his acquisition… Ben Gordon scored 28 points for the Bulls, hitting 5-of-7 3-pointers. He also hit all nine of his free throw attempts. Gooden finished with 21 points as the Bulls lost for the ninth time in 10 visits to the Mile High City… Derrick Rose finished with 15 points, including a dazzling move in the third quarter where he flew down the lane, faked going to the left side of the basket, brought it back to the right, avoided Anthony’s block attempt and put it in, eliciting a gasp from the crowd.
Nov 23: Wolves 106, Pistons 80
The AP reports: Randy Foye got the message. After two days of listening to his coaches and teammates urge him to play with more intensity, the Minnesota Timberwolves guard did just that on Sunday. Foye had 23 points and a career-high 14 assists, and the Timberwolves beat the Detroit Pistons 106-80 for their first road victory of the season… “We weren’t happy with the way we lost to Boston, and we knew we were playing a similar team tonight,” said Ryan Gomes, who scored 20 points… Al Jefferson had 19 points for Minnesota and reserve Craig Smith scored 16. Tayshaun Prince led the Pistons with 20 points, but Jason Maxiell was the only other player to reach double figures with 12.
Nov 23: Sixers 89, Warriors 81
The AP reports: Elton Brand had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Andre Iguodala added 15 points and the Philadelphia 76ers moved above .500 for the first time this season with an 89-81 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday… Thaddeus Young contributed 12 points and Samuel Dalembert had 16 rebounds for the Sixers, who improved to 7-6 and snapped a five-game losing streak to the Warriors… Kelenna Azubuike scored 16 while C.J. Watson and Stephen Jackson had 12 apiece for Golden State, which dropped its second in a row. Andris Biedrins and Brandan Wright had 10 apiece.
Nov 23: Celtics 118, Raptors 103
The AP reports: With Rajon Rondo running at full speed, the Boston Celtics’ offense has found a new gear. Ray Allen scored 21 points and Boston led from the start in winning its fifth straight game, 118-103 over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. Rondo, Kevin Garnett and Tony Allen each scored 15 points for the Celtics, who have won 11 of 12 since a Nov. 1 loss to Indiana… Kendrick Perkins had 12 points and Paul Pierce and Eddie House each had 11 in helping Boston score a season high. Its previous best was 110 points in a Nov. 18 victory over New York… Chris Bosh led Toronto with 24 points, while Jose Calderon had 14 points and nine assists. Andrea Bargnani and Anthony Parker had 14 apiece for the Raptors, who are 2-4 at home.
Nov 22: Jazz 103, Grizzlies 94
The AP reports: Mehmet Okur had a season-high 23 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 103-94 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. Okur was 9-of-15 from the field, including missing only one of his five shots from 3-point range, as the Jazz won the sixth straight game in the series. Ronnie Brewer, who was 10-of-14 from the floor, added 21 points, Morris Almond had 11, and Ronnie Price 10. O.J. Mayo led Memphis with 23 points, and Rudy Gay added 21. Darrell Arthur had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Mike Conley finished with 14 points and eight assists. The Jazz were short-handed. Guard Deron Williams missed his 12th game because of a sprained ankle, Carlos Boozer sat out with a strained left quadriceps, and Kyle Korver was sidelined by an inflamed right wrist.