NBA News Blog – Page 1086 – NBA Blog

DeRozan scores 30, Raptors end Knicks’ streak

Raptors coach Dwane Casey came up with just the thing to slow down the surging New York Knicks: a zone.

DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points before leaving with a sore left ankle, Andrea Bargnani had 21 and the Raptors routed the Knicks 96-79 Friday night, snapping New York’s five-game winning streak.

“The zone knocked us on our heels,” Knicks center Tyson Chandler said. “We had trouble finding ways to score against it and that really was the outcome because we never got a rhythm or momentum.” …

New York shot just 32 for 85 (38 percent) and no Knicks player made more than six field goals…

Gary Forbes scored 19 points, one shy of his career-high, and Jose Calderon had 10 assists as Toronto snapped a three-game skid. Forbes said the Raptors “played with a chip on our shoulder.” …

Amare Stoudemire scored 17 points, Steve Novak had 15 and Carmelo Anthony 12 for the Knicks, who came in having won six of seven against the Raptors, including three straight in Toronto.

Jeremy Lin made a game-winning 3-pointer on New York’s last visit to Toronto, a 90-87 victory on Feb. 14, but was held in check this time, finishing with six points.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Thunder survive Kevin Love’s 51 points, beat Wolves in 2OT

Russell Westbrook scored 45 points, Kevin Durant added 40 points and a season-high 17 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a career-high 51 points from Minnesota All-Star Kevin Love to beat the Timberwolves 149-140 in double overtime Friday night.

Westbrook set the tone in the second overtime, stealing the ball on Minnesota’s opening possession and racing to the other end for a layup that resulted in a three-point play.

The Thunder never trailed in the period and put it away with nine straight points after Nick Collison blocked Love’s shot that would have tied it at 140.

Love, who beat Durant in the 3-Point Contest on All-Star weekend, made a career-high seven 3s and also pulled down 14 rebounds while becoming the third player to eclipse 50 points this season…

Love, whose previous career-high was 43 points, was 16 of 27 from the field and went 7 for 11 on 3s, hitting his first five attempts. Barea added a season-high 25 points and a career-best 14 assists and Tolliver chipped in a season-high 23 points.

James Harden scored 25 off the bench and Kendrick Perkins contributed a season-high 12 points despite not playing in the fourth quarter or overtime for Oklahoma City.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Celtics end Bucks’ 6-game winning streak

With a team led by three veteran stars playing the seventh game of a taxing eight-game road trip, it wouldn’t have been shocking to see the Boston Celtics simply run out of gas.

Instead, they had more than enough energy to slow down and disrupt the suddenly streaking Milwaukee Bucks.

Paul Pierce scored 25 points to help Boston to a 100-91 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday night, snapping the Bucks’ six-game winning streak.

“It’s a good win definitely tonight, especially the way Milwaukee’s been playing as of late,” Pierce said. “This is a mentally strong group. We understand it’s been a long trip. This is a group that wants to get the next win and make it a great trip.”

Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Mickael Pietrus scored 13 points for the Celtics, who improved to 4-3 on the long road trip.

“These last two wins have been big,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “We felt like this game, we would have enough rest to play this game. We took two days off and that helped us.”

Brandon Jennings had 19 points for Milwaukee.

— Reported by Chris Jenkins of the Associated Press

Chris Paul’s Clippers lose to Hornets

Chris Kaman scored 20 points and the Hornets rallied for a 97-90 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night, spoiling Chris Paul’s return to New Orleans.

The Clippers were held to 11 points in the fourth quarter as they shot 4 for 23 from the field. Los Angeles also missed its last 19 3-point attempts.

After trailing throughout the first three quarters, the Hornets went ahead with an 11-2 run at the start of the fourth and led the rest of the way.

Jarrett Jack and Jason Smith each scored 17 as New Orleans snapped a five-game home losing streak and won for only the 12th time in 47 games this season.

Blake Griffin had 21 points for Los Angeles, which has lost three in a row for the first time this season. Paul, who forced a trade from New Orleans before the season after six years as the face of the franchise, added 16 points on 5-for-14 shooting.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Allen Iverson to play for a team in the Dominican Republic

Former NBA star Allen Iverson is joining a regional basketball league in the Dominican Republic for a month.

(LATEST UPDATE: Iverson’s manager denied the report.)

Team president Milton Nunez told The Associated Press on Thursday the 36-year-old guard will play for Pueblo Nuevo. He declined to say how much Iverson will be paid.

Iverson is to arrive Sunday and play for his second-place team that same day against GUG in Santiago province, Nunez said.

“He and his agent have told us that he has been training a lot and that even if he hasn’t been playing anywhere, he has what we need to help Pueblo Nuevo,” Nunez said.

— Reported by the Associated Press

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Rudy Fernandez needs back surgery, will miss rest of season

Denver Nuggets guard Rudy Fernandez will require surgery on his lower back and is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season.

Fernandez, 26, missed 12 games this season due to a lower back strain, and the injury recently flared up against Dallas on March 19, prompting further evaluation and more diagnostic testing. A date for the surgery has yet to be scheduled.

In 31 games for the Nuggets this season (one start), Fernandez averaged 8.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.03 steals in 22.9 minutes. He was acquired by Denver, along with Corey Brewer, from Dallas in exchange for a future second-round pick on Dec. 13, 2011.

Mavericks waive forward Sean Williams

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have requested waivers on forward Sean Williams.

Williams (6-10, 235) played eight games with the Mavericks after signing as a free agent on Dec. 21. In those appearances, he averaged 3.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 8.1 minutes while shooting .750 (12-16 FGs) from the field and .833 (5-6 FTs) from the free throw line.

Williams also saw considerable time assigned to the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League. He played 24 games with 23 starts for Texas and averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.54 blocks and 1.0 assist in 28.5 minutes while shooting .496 (132-266 FGs) from the field and .766 (85-111 FTs) from the free throw line.

The Mavericks roster now stands at 14 players.

Warriors sign center Mickell Gladness to 10-day contract

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent center Mickell Gladness to a 10-day contract, the team announced today.

Gladness, 25, made his NBA debut this season as a member of the Miami Heat, appearing in eight games over two different stints with the club. The 6’11” center made the Heat’s opening night roster and appeared in three games before being waived on February 7. He subsequently signed the first of two 10-day contracts with the Heat on February 12 and signed the second 10-day contract on February 28.

Prior to joining the Heat for their 2011-12 training camp, Gladness appeared in four games for the Dakota Wizards, the Warriors’ NBA Development League team, averaging 7.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.75 blocks in 20.8 minutes per contest. Overall, he has appeared in 81 D-League games over three seasons, averaging 4.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.41 blocks combined with Dakota and Rio Grande Valley. A product of Alabama A&M, Gladness went undrafted in the 2008 NBA Draft and played one season professionally overseas before joining the D-League for the 2009-10 campaign.

Gladness, who will wear #32, is scheduled to be in uniform for the team’s game tonight at Houston.

Assist-happy Bucks have won 6 straight games

This is no passing fancy.

At least the Milwaukee Bucks seriously hope not.

They are sharing the ball at a breathtaking pace during their six-game winning streak, piling up assists and leaving opposing defenses dazed and confused.

Those 35 assists against Portland in a 29-point runaway on Tuesday night?

Just more of the same for a Bucks team with suddenly serious designs on an Eastern Conference playoff berth.

Newcomer Monta Ellis led the way with nine assists and fueled a game-breaking run early in the third quarter to silence the Rose Garden crowd.

“He hasn’t surprised us,” said Bucks coach Scott Skiles. “He goes to the open man, and I think to his credit, he’s also trying to fit in.

“There are going to come moments when we’re going to need him to take the ball and go get baskets. He’s certainly capable of doing that.

“But he’s really making good reads. He’s hitting big guys diving to the goal. He’s hitting bigs on pick-and-pop. He’s spreading the ball around. He’s playing really well.”

— Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Chicago sportswriter Lacy J. Banks dies

Lacy J. Banks was an unconventional pioneer.

He was a trailblazer as the first African-American sportswriter for the Sun-Times, a job that led him to cover seven world championships involving Chicago teams.

He was a Baptist preacher for nearly 60 years, too, a side of himself he could uniquely intertwine into his career as a journalist.

And beginning in 2008 he became his own journalism subject, chronicling his health battles with prostate cancer, a brain tumor and heart disease in blogs he wrote for the Sun-Times.

He won his first two battles, but the last would conquer him. Banks, 68, died Wednesday.

Banks was the longest-serving sportswriter on the Sun-Times’ staff, joining the paper on Aug. 7,

1972, and remaining on staff until his death. For most of that time, he covered the Bulls and the NBA, ranking among the longest-tenured pro basketball writers in the country. His time on the beat spanned from the mid-1980s to last season, when he covered the Bulls into the NBA postseason.

— Reported by Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times