NBA News Blog – Page 1060 – NBA Blog

Jeremy Lin not ready to return for Knicks

Jeremy Lin, who has been out since April 2 surgery on his left knee, said he hopes to play in this series — as early as Game 4 next Sunday — but was discouraged by soreness in the knee Sunday, something he termed a “setback.”

Lin had been encouraged a day earlier when he cut and moved laterally in a one-on-one game with Knicks assistant Kenny Atkinson.

“I’m going to evaluate it at the end of the week and see,” he said. “I can do basic cutting but I haven’t gone to contact [drills] yet. The main thing is to be able to play without thinking about [the injury]. I don’t want to make a promise because I don’t know how I’m going to feel.”

— Reported by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald

Melo insists Knicks can take Heat

But amid the rubble of Saturday’s 100-67 disaster, Carmelo Anthony gave a call to arms to his troops that a 1-0 series deficit is not a death sentence.

“We’re definitely not at a low,’’ said Anthony, who shot 3-of-15, scored 11 points, turned it over four times and got outclassed by LeBron James. “We’re definitely still a confident team. We felt we didn’t play our game [Saturday] and we want to correct that. [Today’s] a new day. [Today’s] Game 2 and Round 2.

According to a source, co-captains Anthony and Stoudemire arranged an evening workout session at a private Miami gym last night with several teammates.

All logic suggests the Knicks will get knocked out again after their embarrassing performance in Game 1. Chandler remains questionable for tonight after staying back at the hotel yesterday, with Mike Woodson saying Chandler is “barely hanging in there.’’

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom pulling plug on show

Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian have decided to pull the plug on their spin-off show “Khloe & Lamar.”

Sources tell TMZ, the show’s second season will be its last … because Lamar wants to focus on reviving his fizzling NBA career.

As we previously reported, Lamar was relegated to the Dallas Mavericks’ inactive list after putting up career low numbers this season. If he’s lucky, he’ll be traded. If not, who knows.

— Reported by TMZ

Allen Iverson slapped with restraining order

It used to be that the sight of former Sixers superstar Allen Iverson running up and down the pine, hitting his jump shot, would scare many an NBA opponent.

Nowadays, the dude is just plain scary, according to legal documents filed in Atlanta by A.I.’s once better half, Tawanna Iverson, 36.

The Answer is so frightening, she claims in the filing, that the former Tawanna Turner wants a restraining order issued against him because he’s harassing her and her family, according to a TMZ.com report. (The estranged couple have four children, ages 3 to 17.)

— Reported by Regina Medina of the Philadelphia Daily News

Clippers forward Caron Butler fractures hand

Caron Butler fractured his left hand during the third quarter of the Clippers’ playoff game against Memphis on Sunday.

Butler was holding his hand after he scored a basket in the third quarter. He had 12 points on five-for-12 shooting.

The Clippers said Butler’s status for the rest of the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series against the Grizzlies will be determined later.

— Reported by the Los Angeles Times

Roy Hibbert improved shot-blocking by watching Dwight Howard

Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert improved his ability to block shots without fouling by watching the NBA’s best center — ironically, the missing anchor in the middle for the Orlando Magic in this NBA playoff series.

Hibbert said watching film of Magic All-Star Dwight Howard helped him understand how to jump straight up with his arms extended to contest shots.

Hibbert set a franchise playoff record by blocking nine shots in Game 1 Saturday.

Howard is out for the rest of the season with a back problem.

“I watched tape of Dwight do that when I was a rookie when he was in the playoffs,” Hibbert said. “I tried to learn some things and it’s been working for me.”

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

New Brooklyn Nets logo

The New Jersey Nets are no more. The team is now officially the Brooklyn Nets.

And today, they confirmed the new Brooklyn Nets logo, which was actually leaked and seen all around the Internet late last week.

Here’s the first new Brooklyn Nets logo. There are other versions, with the full word “Brooklyn,” and we’ll update this page and post them here later today (Monday).

—–

From the Nets:

—–

And this is via Ben Couch of the Nets:

Rajon Rondo hoping to avoid suspension

Rajon Rondo could be facing a suspension after making contact with official Marc Davis in the final minute of the Celtics’ 83-74 loss to the Atlanta Hawks Sunday night.

Rondo had been suspended for two games after being ejected for tossing the ball at official Sean Wright in a 96-81 loss at Detroit Feb. 19.

“I was upset with the [foul call on Brandon Bass] and I said something to [Davis],’’ Rondo said. “As I was walking, I thought he stopped and my momentum carried me into him. I think I might even tripped on his foot. I didn’t intentionally chest-bump him.’’

Asked about a possible suspension, Rondo replied, “We’ll see, it’s out of my control. Obviously, I want to be there for my teammates but, other than that, I have no control right now.’’

— Reported by Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe

Clippers rally from 27 down, stun Grizzlies 99-98 in Game 1

Chris Paul hit a pair of free throws with 23.7 seconds left, and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from 27 down to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 99-98 Sunday night in the opening game of this Western Conference series.

Rudy Gay missed a 15-footer with 0.9 seconds left after the Grizzlies squandered a lead they held for the first 47 minutes.

The Clippers lost Caron Butler to a broken left hand. But Nick Young scored 19 points off the bench, including three 3-pointers in the midst of the Clippers’ 26-1 run. Paul finished with 14 points, and Blake Griffin had 17. Butler had 12 before leaving the game.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Read NBA fan reaction and share your views in this basketball forum topic.

Josh Smith shines, Hawks beat Celtics to take Game 1

The Boston Celtics lost Game 1 — and they may have lost their floor leader for Game 2.

Josh Smith scored 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks built a big lead early, then held on for an 83-74 victory over the Celtics in their opener of the Eastern Conference playoffs Sunday night.

But this one will be remembered for what happened in the final minute, not the Hawks’ blistering start. While complaining about a call, Boston star Rajon Rondo was ejected for bumping an official and faces a possible suspension when the teams meet again Tuesday night in Atlanta.

“I didn’t intentionally chest-bump him, but that’s what it appears to be,” Rondo said…

Rondo, who scored 20 points and dished out 11 assists, clearly appeared to stick out his chest to strike the official. That’s a huge no-no and will almost surely draw the wrath of NBA Commissioner David Stern…

Garnett bounced back to put up 20 points and 11 rebounds. Paul Pierce had only 12 points, going 5 of 19 from the field and missing all six of his 3-point attempts.

“For us to win, I have to be a better player,” Pierce said. “I was a really big culprit.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

Joe Johnson had another poor performance in the playoffs. It’s not as if he doesn’t know he’s going to get pressured. He handled it pretty well early (it helped that the Hawks played faster) but then Joe came out after halftime and seemed to want to go one-on-one.

“I missed a lot of wide open shots I normally make. I’m sure Game 2 will be a lot different,” Joe said. “I’m just glad guys like Jeff [Teague] and Josh was able to pretty much carry us down the stretch.”

You can’t fault Joe for missing open shots. Well, I guess you can, but that happens. More problematic were all the possessions that came to a halt because Joe was dribbling aimlessly (or, worse, getting stripped by Paul Pierce) while his teammates stood and watched.

“I look at the stat sheet and he didn’t have a typical Joe Johnson game shooting-wise,” Drew said. “Yet we still won the game. With this team, I always try to focus on the positive with things like that. He’ll watch the tape and, like everyone else, he will make adjustments. We will continue to run plays through him, put the ball in his hands and put him in position to score the ball.”

— Reported by Michael Cunningham of Atlanta Journal-Constitution Blog