NBA News Blog – Page 1072 – NBA Blog

Ray Allen attributes his ankle problems to having big calves

Ray Allen has missed more than 10 games this season due to right and left ankle injuries. As the Boston Celtics look ahead to their playoff push, health is of the utmost importance to the 16-year veteran guard.

In order to maintain his ankles, Allen, who has sat out the past four games with a sore right ankle, is paying extra attention to another part of his body: his calves.

He attributes some of his ankle problems over the years to his over-sized muscles. Allen underwent double ankle surgery in 2007.

“I’ve been told that I have huge calf muscles my whole life,” Allen, 36, said earlier this month. “But they’re always like the bane of my pain, of my existence, because I always feel tightness in there. When they do get tight, it keeps my ankles from moving.”

— Reported by Jessica Camerato of CSNNE

Spurs rout Lakers, improve spot atop West

While last week’s blowout loss to the Lakers still stings the San Antonio Spurs, they found a way to feel better while moving into prime position to win the West.

Tony Parker had 29 points and 13 assists, Tim Duncan had 19 points and eight rebounds, and the Spurs handed Los Angeles its worst loss of the season, 112-91 on Tuesday night.

Just six days after the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers jumped to a 26-point lead during a comfortable victory at San Antonio, the Spurs answered by scoring 18 consecutive points during an impressive second-quarter spree. The Spurs snapped Los Angeles’ four-game winning streak while dominating a meeting of division leaders – albeit with Bryant sitting out his sixth straight game to rest his bruised shin…

Manu Ginobili scored 15 points as the Spurs (44-16) improved their position atop the Western Conference with their fourth straight win, moving a half-game clear of Oklahoma City (44-17) for the No. 1 playoff seed. Popovich didn’t sit his stars in the second game of a three-in-three-nights stretch, with Duncan playing 35 minutes and Parker 30…

Andrew Bynum had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers, whose Pacific Division lead over the Clippers dwindled to a half-game, although the Lakers hold the tiebreaker. Matt Barnes and Pau Gasol scored 16 points apiece, but with Bryant watching from the bench in a sharp suit, Los Angeles couldn’t match the depth of the Spurs, who got at least four points from 10 players.

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press

Melo has triple-double, Knicks rout Celtics

As the Celtics staggered to the locker room after getting hit by an NBA record-tying 3-point assault, the halftime musical selection perfectly summed up how they must have felt.

It was ”You Dropped a Bomb on Me” – and Carmelo Anthony and two sharpshooting subs sure did.

Anthony had 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double, and the New York Knicks made 19 3-pointers to keep alive their Atlantic Division title hopes with a 118-110 victory over Boston on Tuesday night.

JR Smith and Steve Novak both scored 25 points for the Knicks, who overcame a season-high 43 points from Paul Pierce and moved into sole possession of seventh place in the Eastern Conference while trimming Boston’s division lead to 3 1/2 games.

Novak hit eight 3s in the highest-scoring game of his career. Smith made all seven of his 3s in the first half, equaling a team record.

”Our bench was great tonight,” Anthony said. ”Novak and JR, them guys combined for 50 points off the bench. When they get hot like that, it’s hard to deal with.”

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Gordon Hayward wanted to fight Delonte West after finger in ear incident

Utah Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward said he initially felt like ripping Delonte West’s finger off and fighting him after he jabbed it into Hayward’s right ear during the second quarter of Monday night’s triple-overtime win against Dallas.

”I wanted to fight right there, but you can’t do that,” Hayward said before Tuesday’s practice. ”It wouldn’t have been the smart idea. I’d risk getting a technical foul, getting suspended for the season, whatever. There’s more important things than fighting someone out on the court. The more important thing was getting the win and we were able to do that.”

Hayward acknowledged Tuesday that many of his teammates might have reacted differently.

But Hayward, who raised both arms and walked away, said he ”got the last laugh” as the Jazz prevailed 123-121 to keep their slim playoff hopes alive with four games remaining.

— Reported by Lynn DeBruin of the Associated Press

Delonte West shoves a finger in the ear of Gordon Hayward

Delonte West has always been explosive.

As a scorer, the starting shooting guard for the Dallas Mavericks is capable of putting points up in a hurry. Off the court, he’s capable of becoming a train wreck, with his highly publicized gun possession case of a few years ago a shining example.

When he’s able to separate the two, West is an X-factor at the NBA level, a combination guard who can be a significant factor. Sometimes, like Monday night against the Utah Jazz, he goes overboard.

His “wet willy” of Gordon Hayward, sticking his finger in Hayward’s ear, earned him a technical foul and a seat on the bench. It earned him a spotlight in the media after Utah’s 123-121 triple overtime win at EnergySolutions Arena. It could earn him a fine from David Stern’s office as well.

“I went over the line,” West said. “I saw some lint in his hair, and I wanted to get it out for him. Seriously, we were like two warriors out there. But I forgot the NBA is a gentlemen’s game. They want us to battle and scrap, but they want us to do it nicely.”

— Reported by Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune

InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner says: Sometimes Delonte West thinks he’s an NBA player, other times he thinks he’s a q-tip. Things are confusing sometimes.

Video of Delonte West giving Gordon Hayward a “Wet Willy”

Nikola Pekovic will have postseason ankle surgery

Wolves center Nikola Pekovic has decided to have postseason surgery to remove bone spurs from his right ankle.

He has not decided when he will have the surgery or who will perform it. But his plans are to return home to Europe for two weeks immediately after the season ends before returning to the United States to have the surgery. Pekovic said he will split his rehab between here and Europe.

Until then, Pekovic said, he will finish this season playing in the Wolves’ final games. He had 10 points and four rebounds Monday in a 111-88 loss to Indiana.

“It’s something that will help me to be healthy next season,” he said. “It will help me and my team and everything. I know without that trouble, I’ll be more calm, not thinking about it. And hopefully, not miss any games.”

— Reported by Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Al Jefferson shines, Jazz beat Mavericks in 3OT

Al Jefferson scored 28 points and tied a career-high with 26 rebounds to fuel Monday night’s 123-121 triple-overtime victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

”Right now we just got to win every game, no excuse,” said Jefferson, who had 10 points in the extra periods. ”This is a big test for us. We just got to see where our heart is and I know everybody in the locker room wants to make the playoffs. So we are going to fight and we are going to fight ’til the end. That’s all we can do.” …

Dirk Nowitzki scored 40 points against Utah for the second straight time. His 3-pointer forced the second overtime, but he couldn’t convert late in the third extra period.

The Jazz forced overtime on Paul Millsap’s put-back dunk with 2.2 seconds remaining in regulation…

Jason Terry and Nowitzki both missed 3s in the final 10 seconds. Terry finished with 27 points and four 3s…

Hayward added 24 points for Utah and Harris had 23, with five 3s…

Millsap finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

— Reported by Lynn DeBruin the Associated Press

Kentucky players to announce draft intentions

Five Kentucky underclassmen, including projected No. 1 NBA draft pick Anthony Davis, are expected to announce their draft intentions at a joint news conference.

A news release says freshmen Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague, along with sophomores Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb will appear together Tuesday for the announcement in Lexington. Wildcats coach John Calipari is also scheduled to attend.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Wizards waive Roger Mason and sign Morris Almond

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that team has signed guard Morris Almond and waived Roger Mason Jr.

Almond has spent the past four seasons in the NBA D-League, where he has averaged 24.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and shot .495 from the field in 119 career games (112 starts). He has played with the Utah Flash (2007-09), Maine Red Claws (2009-10 and 2011-12) and the Springfield Armor (2009-10).

Almond played in 29 games (28 starts) with the Red Claws in 2011-12, averaging 23.4 points and career bests in rebounds (6.0 rpg) and field goal percentage (.543). He led the D-League in scoring in 2007-08, averaging 25.6 points per game and also posted a pair of 50-point games (51 points against Austin Toros and 53 points against the Bakersfield Jam).

Almond originally entered the league as a first round pick (25th overall) with the Utah Jazz in the 2007 NBA Draft. In two seasons with the Jazz (2007-09), Almond averaged 3.1 points and 1.1 rebounds in 34 career games. He saw action with the Orlando Magic during training camp in 2009 and also played overseas with Read Madrid (Spain) in 2010, Scavolini Pesaro (Italy) in 2010-2011 and BC Cherkasy (Ukraine) in 2011. A four-year letterman at Rice University, Almond finished as the school’s fourth all-time leading scorer (1,825 points) and was named Conference USA Player of the Year after averaging 26.4 points per game in his senior season.

Mason, who underwent season-ending surgery today to repair an avulsion fracture in his left index finger, averaged 5.5 points and 1.3 rebounds while shooting .383 (59-154) from three-point range in 52 games for the Wizards this season.

Raptors keep Alan Anderson and Ben Uzoh for rest of season

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have signed guard-forward Alan Anderson and guard Ben Uzoh for the remainder of the 2011-12 season. Both players concluded consecutive 10-day contracts with the club yesterday. Anderson was signed to his original 10-day March 26 and Uzoh on March 27. Both signed their second 10-day contracts April 6.

Anderson, 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, has appeared in 12 games with Toronto, starting seven contests. He has averaged 8.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 22.4 minutes. He has shot .515 (17-33) from three-point range. In his seven starts, he is averaging 11.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 29.1 minutes, while connecting on 15-27 (.555) three-pointers. His start at Philadelphia on April 4 was his first starting assignment since April 17, 2006 as a member of the Charlotte Bobcats.

Anderson came to the Raptors from the NBA D-League’s Canton Charge, where he averaged 21.5 points and 4.6 rebounds in eight appearances.

Uzoh has appeared in 11 games with the Raptors, making three starts. He is averaging 4.1 points, 2.8 assists and 15.8 minutes. In his three starting assignments, he is averaging 9.0 points, shooting .542 (13-24) from the field, 5.7 assists and 31.0 minutes.

Uzoh, 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, joined the Raptors from the NBA D-League’s Rio Grande (Texas) Valley Vipers. He averaged 14.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 30.8 minutes in 20 appearances.

The Raptors did not renew the 10-day contract of guard Justin Dentmon. Dentmon was signed April 6 and appeared in four games, averaging 5.5 points, 2.3 assists and 18.0 minutes.