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Suns get first win over Mavericks in 9 tries

Jared Dudley

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The Phoenix Suns finally got the best of the Dallas Mavericks. Barely.

Jared Dudley scored 12 of his 18 points in a third-quarter comeback and Phoenix held on to beat Dallas 96-94 on Thursday night, the Suns’ first victory over the Mavericks in nine tries, four this season.

“This is definitely big for us,” Dudley said. “We’ve struggled against this more than any other team, especially at home.”

Dallas blew out the Suns in Phoenix 122-99 on Jan. 30.

Grant Hill scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half for Phoenix, but missed two free throws with 15.4 seconds left. Dallas had two chances after that, but Rodrigue Beaubois missed a driving layup, then couldn’t hit an open 18-foot jumper at the buzzer…

Marcin Gortat added 16 points and 12 rebounds as the Suns won their fourth straight home game, their longest streak in nearly two years. Steve Nash had 11 points and 11 assists.

Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points apiece for Dallas in the Mavericks’ fifth road loss in a row.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Magic end Bulls’ 8-game win streak

Dwight Howard

Jumps very high

Dwight Howard had 29 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 99-94 win over the Bulls on Thursday, snapping Chicago’s eight-game winning streak.

Chicago twice overcame double-digit deficits and led 91-89 with 2:56 to play after Derrick Rose passed to Carlos Boozer for a jumper.

Orlando responded with an 8-1 run started by Jameer Nelson’s lob to Howard for a dunk. Ryan Anderson hit a 3 and a pair of free throws in the game-deciding rally.

The Magic bounced back from a 100-84 loss at Charlotte, beating the league-best Bulls two nights after losing to the last-place Bobcats.

Boozer led the Bulls with 26 points. Rose added 17 points and nine assists, but shot just 6 for 22 from the field.

Jason Richardson scored 18 points and hit four 3-pointers for the Magic. Orlando hit 11 3-pointers.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Nets sign Gerald Green to second 10-day contract

The New Jersey Nets have signed forward Gerald Green to a second 10-day contract, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Green, who signed his first 10-day contract with the Nets on February 27, has played in five games, averaging 5.6 points and 2.0 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game.

Prior to joining the Nets, Green was named MVP of the 2012 D-League All Star Game and played in 22 games for the Los Angeles D-Fenders this season, averaging 19.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per game.

The 6-8 forward was selected in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft (18th overall) by the Boston Celtics, entering the draft out of high school. Green played two seasons for the Celtics, having his best year in 2006-07 with averages of 10.4 points and 2.6 rebounds over 81 games (26 starts), as well as winning the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Following his stint in Boston, Green appeared in a total of 30 games with Houston and Minnesota in 2007-08, and 28 games in 2008-09 with the Dallas Mavericks.

Hornets decline to keep Solomon Jones

Despite starting in Wednesday night’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, the New Orleans Hornets released center-forward Solomon Jones instead of signing him for the remainder of the season, the team confirmed Thursday afternoon.

Jones went scoreless in 11 minutes after starting in place of injured forward Gustavo Ayon in Wednesday night’s 99-98 loss to the Kings.

— Reported by John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Knicks recall Jerome Jordan from D-League

New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has recalled center Jerome Jordan from the Erie Bayhawks of the NBA Development League.

Jordan, 7-0, 240-pounds, scored 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds over 61 minutes in 13 games with New York this season. He appeared in five games with Erie this season, averaging 18.0 points, on .485 shooting, 8.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.80 blocks over 32.6 minutes.

Through agent, DeMarcus Cousins denies sending nude photo

STATEMENT FROM JOHN GREIG, DeMARCUS COUSINS’ AGENT:

“Rest assured that DeMarcus Cousins has not sent any nude photos to any woman at any time. Allegations that he has and internet websites that are reporting such are erroneous. These websites should take the images claiming to be DeMarcus down and apologize. It is a sad reflection of where our culture is that someone can send and post these type of things without any accountability.”

Lakers assign Darius Morris to D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned guard Darius Morris to the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Morris, a rookie out of Michigan, has appeared in 13 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 2.7 points and 1.1 assists in 10.3 minutes.

Selected by the Lakers in the second round (41st overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft, Morris appeared in 67 games (53 starts) in two seasons at the University of Michigan, averaging 9.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists. Morris became the 51st Wolverine to be drafted into the NBA and was an All-Big Ten Third Team selection last season. The first Wolverine to lead the Big Ten in assists since Gary Grant in 1988, Morris set a Michigan record for assists in a single season (235) last year.

This is the third Lakers’ player assignment of the season for the D-Fenders, who at 28-11, currently own the best record in the D-League. Morris will be available when the D-Fenders take on the Dakota Wizards on Saturday, March 10th at Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, CA.

Spencer Hawes anxious to return for 76ers

Remember Spencer Hawes? Starting center for the Sixers. Had a terrific start to the season and was a big reason as to why the team got off to such a tremendous start. He’s missed over a month of action now, but he seems close to putting on the uniform again.

After this morning’s shootaround in which the Sixers prepared for tonight’s home game against the Boston Celtics, Hawes met with the media for the first time in a few weeks. He looks good, not having put on any weight during his absence. In fact, he says he’s even lost a couple of pounds.

“It’s been encouraging the last couple of days to go out on the court, move around and not even think about it,” said Hawes of his strained Achilles’. The first time I tried to come back (a two-game stint) I was definitely favoring it. This time, checking with everybody who is observing me, they’re telling me it looks like it’s back to normal pretty much.”

— Reported by Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News (Blog)

All quiet for Mavericks in trade market

There’s a little more than a week left before the trade deadline and the Mavericks aren’t in the middle of the rumor mill.

“Our phone hasn’t been ringing at all about anybody and we’re not calling anybody,” owner Mark Cuban said. “I told Donnie to take calls, but we’re not making calls. There you have it.”

This isn’t normal around these parts. But it is expected.

The Mavs are trying to contend for a championship while maintaining the financial flexibility to create major space under the salary cap this summer. They aren’t going to make a deal before the deadline that reduces their odds to repeat.

— Reported by Tim McMahon of ESPN Dallas

Manu Ginobili making strong comeback after several days

After one game back in the lineup and two practices afterwards, Manu Ginobili said he’s pleased with his recovery as he comes back after a pulled oblique muscle that caused him to miss five games.

Ginobili said he felt good after playing more in the Spurs’ loss against Denver Sunday night than he initially expected.

“I played 23 minutes and was expecting to play 15,” Ginobili said. “I felt good. Of course, my muscles get tight still. I need to play for more than five games. But I felt good.”

Ginobili finished with eight points, hitting a pair of 3-point shots. He also logged eight minutes in the fourth quarter as the Spurs unsuccessfully attempted to rally against the Nuggets.

— Reported by Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News (Blog)