NBA News Blog – Page 1074 – NBA Blog

Deng, Gordon, Byron Mullens to play for Britain at London Olympic games

Ben Gordon and Byron Mullens haven’t worn the Great Britain jersey before but both NBA players have been included in the country’s preliminary squad for the London Games.

The London-born and United States-raised Gordon, who plays for the Detroit Pistons, is a former teammate of British superstar Luol Deng in Chicago while Mullens has a United Kingdom passport because his mother hails from England.

In a statement issued by British Basketball, Gordon said: “I am very excited to pull on the GB jersey this summer and play for my country.

“To be invited into camp is the first step in that journey and I am immensely proud to have the opportunity.” …

Mullens revealed on his Twitter account last month that he would be with the Brits and included a photo of recently received UK passport.

He tweeted: “Yessir. I will be in London this summer! 2012 Olympics.”

— Reported by FIBA.com

Spurs bench stars, lose to Jazz, 11-game winning streak ends

With a playoff spot locked up and a grueling stretch ahead, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich called it a ”no brainer” to rest stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

That was fine by a Utah Jazz team still trying to punch a ticket to the postseason.

After losing to the Spurs by 10 on Sunday night in San Antonio, the Jazz (30-28) rebounded with a 91-84 victory in Monday’s rematch in Salt Lake City.

”We wanted to come out and get a little bit of revenge from last night,” said Gordon Hayward, who started at shooting guard Monday for the injury-depleted Jazz. ”They battled and battled until the end and we were able to come out on top.”

Credit Devin Harris, who scored 11 straight for the Jazz in the fourth quarter and had a team-high 25 points…

Al Jefferson led the Jazz with four blocks. He added 12 points and 10 rebounds and a steal.

Paul Millsap had 18 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for the Jazz, and sealed the win with a put-back dunk with 43 seconds remaining.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Kenneth Faried goes wild in Nuggets win over Warriors

Rookie Kenneth Faried had season highs of 27 points and 17 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets never trailed in their most lopsided win of the season, a 123-84 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

The 39-point margin exceeded Denver’s previous high of 29 points against Sacramento on Jan. 25, and coincided with the return of Danilo Gallinari. He helped pick up the offense by scoring 15 points in his first game since breaking his left thumb against Dallas on March 19.

Arron Afflalo also had 15 points, and JaVale McGee and Corey Brewer each added 13 for Denver. Golden State was led by Klay Thompson and Nate Robinson with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

The Nuggets matched their season high in points and beat the Warriors for the first time in three tries this season. They remained in eighth place in the Western Conference with nine games remaining. Denver is in a tight race with seventh-place Dallas, Phoenix, Utah, and Houston for the last two postseason spots in the conference.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Marc Gasol leads Grizzlies past Clippers

Marc Gasol scored 18 points, Rudy Gay had 16 and the Memphis Grizzlies held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 94-85 on Monday night.

Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo added 13 each for Memphis, which won for the eighth time in 10 games and moved one-half game behind the Clippers for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

Marreese Speights finished had 12 points and Zach Randolph added 10 points and 12 rebounds as the Grizzlies finished with a 48-36 rebounding edge, but committed 20 turnovers.

Chris Paul led Los Angeles with 21 points and six assists, while Blake Griffin had 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe and Randy Foye scored 11 points each.

The Clippers snapped a two-game winning streak and lost for just the second time in 10 games.

— Reported by the Associated Press

InsideHoops.com note: Marc Gasol shot 6-of-12 for 18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.

Grizzlies once again recall Josh Selby from D-League

The Memphis Grizzlies recalled rookie guard Josh Selby from the Reno Bighorns, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

Selby (6-2, 183) averaged 32.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists on .478 shooting (.400 3FG) in 40.5 minutes in two games with Reno after being reassigned to the Bighorns for a third time on April 5. The 21-year-old scored a D-League career-high 38 points on 13-of-25 shooting (10-of-12 FT) on April 7 at Rio Grande Valley.

Overall, the Baltimore native has averaged 25.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists on .475 shooting (.455 3FG) in 34.1 minutes in eight games (four starts) in three stints with the Bighorns.

Selby has averaged 2.5 points and 1.2 assists on .377 shooting in 8.8 minutes in 23 games during his rookie season with the Grizzlies. Memphis selected Selby in the second round (49th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft after his freshman season at the University of Kansas.

Earl Watson and C.J. Miles suffer injuries

The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz guard/forward C.J. Miles, who left last night’s game at San Antonio at the 5:43 mark of the second quarter with a left calf injury and did not return:

Miles was examined by Jazz team orthopedist Dr. Lyle Mason and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests on the calf on Monday. The MRI tests showed Miles has a moderate strain of his left calf muscle.

Miles will not travel with the team on its upcoming three-game road trip to Houston, New Orleans and Memphis. He will be re-evaluated in one week and an update on his status will be provided at that time.

Now in his sixth NBA season, all with the Jazz, Miles (6-6, 222, Skyline H.S. (TX)) has appeared in 56 games (14 starts) this season, starting each of the last 14 Jazz games. He is averaging 9.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 20.4 minutes per game.

Guard Earl Watson was examined by Jazz team orthopedist Dr. Lyle Mason and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests on the knee on Monday. The MRI tests revealed a torn medial meniscus within Watson’s right knee, which will require surgery. As a result, Watson is out indefinitely.

Watson will not travel with the team on its upcoming three-game road trip to Houston, New Orleans and Memphis. An update on his status and timeframe for his recovery will be provided following the surgery, which has not yet been scheduled.

Now in his 11th NBA season and second with the Jazz, Watson (6-1, 199, UCLA) has appeared in 50 games (two starts) this season and is averaging 3.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 20.7 minutes per game.

Jazz signing Blake Ahearn to 10-day contract

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team is expected to sign Blake Ahearn of the NBA Development League’s Reno Bighorns to a 10-day contract. Ahearn becomes the NBA’s 50th D-League Call-Up this season. Following the transaction, the Jazz roster will stand at 15 players.

Ahearn is expected to practice on Tuesday and will travel with the Jazz when the team faces the Rockets on Wednesday at 6 p.m. MT (ROOT Sports, 1320 KFAN) in Houston.

A 2012 D-League All-Star selection, Ahearn (6-3, 190, Missouri State) appeared in 37 games, all starts, for the Bighorns this season, averaging 23.8 points, 5.1 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 37.5 minutes. Ahearn scored in double figures in all 37 appearances, including eight games scoring 30 points or more points. During the season, Ahearn established the NBA D-League’s all-time record for consecutive made free throws when he connected on 110 in a row between December 2011 and January 2012. The record tops the NBA mark of 97 set by Micheal Williams in 1993.

A five-year NBA D-League veteran, Ahearn returns to the NBA having played with the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, respectively. In 15 career NBA games Ahearn averaged 5.2 points, 1.4 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 13.0 minutes.

Ahearn becomes the eighth D-League Call-Up in Jazz history, joining Rusty LaRue (2000-01), Mikki Moore (2003-04), Louis Amundson (2006-07), Sundiata Gaines (2010-11), Othyus Jeffers (2010-11), Marcus Cousin (2011-12) and Kyle Weaver (2011-12).

Nets sign guard Armon Johnson to 10-day contract

The New Jersey Nets have signed free agent guard Armon Johnson to a 10-day contract, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Johnson (6-3, 195), started the 2011-12 season with Portland appearing in one contest before being assigned to the Idaho Stampede of the D-League. In six games with the Stampede, he averaged 11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 27 minutes. He was recalled on January 15 before being waived by Portland on February 27.

The University of Nevada product was selected in the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft (34th overall) by Portland. Johnson appeared in 38 games as a rookie in 2010-11, averaging 2.9 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.2 assists in seven minutes per game. In 39 career games, he holds averages of 2.9 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.2 assists in seven minutes.

LeBron James and Goran Dragic named Players of Week

The Miami Heat’s LeBron James and the Houston Rockets’ Goran Dragic today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, April 2, through Sunday, April 8.

James led the Heat to a 3-1 week with averages of 30.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.3 steals. James led Miami in scoring and minutes in all four games, and steals and assists three times each. James tallied a season-high 41 points during a 99-93 win over Philadelphia on April 3.

Dragic helped the Rockets to a 3-0 week with averages of 20.7 points, 8.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals. Dragic, who has reached double figures in scoring in a career-high 18 consecutive games, posted 21 points and tied a career high with four steals during a 99-93 win over the Bulls on April 2.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Josh Smith, Memphis’ O.J. Mayo, Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, San Antonio’s Tony Parker and Utah’s Al Jefferson.

Cavaliers sign Lester Hudson to second 10-day contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Lester Hudson to a second 10-day contract, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today.

Hudson has appeared in six games for the Cavs this season, averaging 12.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 23.8 minutes per game. He has set a career high in scoring in two consecutive games. Hudson totaled 23 points and seven assists at Toronto on April 6 and finished with 26 points, including shooting 6-12 (.500) from three-point range, to go along four rebounds and three assists at New Jersey on April 8.

Over his last two games, Hudson is averaging 24.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and is shooting .867 from the free throw line in 30.5 minutes per game off the bench.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard from the University of Tennessee-Martin was originally drafted in the second round with the 58th overall pick by the Boston Celtics in the 2009 NBA Draft.