NBA News Blog – Page 1314 – NBA Blog

Hornets match club record with 10th straight win

The AP reports:

Chris Paul had 18 points and 17 assists, and the New Orleans Hornets matched a franchise record with their 10th consecutive victory, beating the Golden State Warriors 112-103 on Wednesday night.

David West added 22 points as New Orleans kicked off a three-game West Coast trip by equaling the club’s longest unbeaten run, also produced from Feb. 21-March 13, 1998. The Hornets also avenged a disappointing seven-point home loss to the Warriors back on Jan. 5 with their fifth straight road victory.

New Orleans, owner of the NBA’s longest active winning streak, also got 19 points from Trevor Ariza and 11 from former Warrior Marco Belinelli.

Monta Ellis scored 26 points in another big night for his bid to become Golden State’s first All-Star since Latrell Sprewell in 1997. Stephen Curry added 20 points and six assists a day after spraining his troublesome right ankle during practice and the Warriors shot 50.7 percent.

Spurs sign Larry Owens to second 10-day contract

The San Antonio Spurs today announced they have signed forward Larry Owens to a second 10-day contract. Owens signed his first 10-day contract with the Spurs on January 16 becoming the second call-up of the 2010-11 NBA Development League season.

Owens, a 6-7, 210-pound forward, has appeared in five games for the Spurs, averaging 1.8 points in 5.2 minutes per game. He is shooting .600 (3-5) from the field and .333 (1-3) from three-point territory.

Owens spent the past two seasons with the Tulsa 66ers. This year he started in all 23 games for Tulsa, averaging 12.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 31.1 minutes while shooting .462 (108-234) from the field, .373 (25-67) from three-point range and .743 (52-70) from the foul line. He scored in double figures 18 times, including a season-high 22 points vs. Iowa on November 26. Owens recorded a double-double in the season opener with 16 points and a season-high 13 rebounds at Bakersfield on November 19.

Magic waive Jason Williams

Jason Williams, also known as “White Chocolate” for his old flashy days when he could run around and play basketball and stuff, hasn’t been much of a factor on the Orlando Magic this season. And now the team has waived guard Williams, President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith announced today. The Magic’s roster stands at 13.

Originally selected in the first round (seventh overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft, Williams played in 777 career NBA regular season games with Sacramento, Memphis, Miami and Orlando, averaging 10.6 ppg., 5.9 apg., 2.3 rpg. and 1.20 stlpg. in 29.7 minpg. He has also played in 67 career playoff contests, averaging 8.3 ppg., 3.3 apg. and 1.9 rpg. in 25.9 minpg. Williams was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1998-99, currently stands as Memphis’ all-time leader in assists (2,041) and helped Miami capture the 2005-06 NBA Championship.

John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com reports:

Orlando reserve point guard Jason Williams, who has been upset for weeks over his lack of playing time, was released by the Magic on Wednesday prior to the game against the Indiana Pacers.

Williams has been vocal this season about his displeasure over his lack of playing time and did not accompany the team on the trip to Indianapolis. The 12-year NBA veteran appeared in just 16 games all season with the Magic, mostly in mop-up roles as the Magic’s third or fourth point guard.

Williams was signed late in the summer as the Magic’s third point guard, but said back in December he’s had a difficult time dealing with not being a part of the regular rotation. Magic President of Basketball Operations/GM Otis Smith said originally that the team would decide Williams’ fate upon getting back to Orlando after Friday’s game in Chicago, but instead decided to waive Williams Wednesday afternoon.

Williams (#44, 6’1”, 190, 11/18/75) played in 16 games this season for Orlando, averaging 2.1 ppg., 1.5 apg. and 1.4 rpg. in 10.7 minpg.

This could be the last we see of him in the NBA.

Raptors sign Trey Johnson to 10-day contract, release Sundiata Gaines

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have signed guard Trey Johnson to a 10-day contract. He is the sixth Call-Up of the 2010-11 NBA Development League season. To make room on the roster the Raptors released Sundiata Gaines early from his 10-day contract.

Johnson, 6-foot-5, 215 pounds is the leading scorer in the D-League this season averaging 25.8 points for the Bakersfield Jam. He has scored in double-digits in each of his 26 games, posting 20 or more points on 22 occasions and 30 or more in five games and a season-best 43 on December 15 at Austin. Johnson is also averaging 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting .510 percent from the field.

Johnson is in his fourth season with the Jam. He owns career D-League averages of 20.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 36.2 minutes. His head coach during the 2007-08 season was current Raptors assistant coach Scott Roth.

A product of Jackson State in Mississippi, Johnson played four games with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2008-09 campaign totaling four points and one rebound. In October he went to training camp with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Gaines was signed to a second 10-day contract Monday. He appeared in six contests with the Raptors averaging 5.8 points, 1.8 assists and 15.0 minutes.

Toronto’s roster stands at 15 players.

Spurs assign James Anderson to D-League

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have assigned rookie James Anderson to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

Anderson, a 6-6, 215-pound guard, has been out since November 11 when he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot. Before the injury, he appeared in six games for the Spurs, averaging 7.0 points and 1.5 assists in 17.7 minutes per game. He is shooting .424 (14-33) from the field and .500 (10-20) from three-point land.

Anderson is the first player the Spurs have assigned to the Toros this season. The Toros host the Reno Bighorns today at 11:00 a.m. at the Cedar Park Center.

Eric Gordon out 3-4 weeks with wrist injury

Los Angeles Clippers’ guard Eric Gordon did not travel with the team to Dallas for tonight’s game against the Maverick’s so he could remain in Los Angeles for further examination on his right wrist, injured in a fall this past Saturday in a game versus the Golden State Warriors.

Gordon was examined today by Dr. Steve Chin at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic. He was examined previously by Clippers’ team physician/orthopedist Dr. Steven Shimoyama and Dr. Roy A. Meals, a orthopedist specializing in hand-related injuries.

Their joint diagnosis is that Gordon is suffering from a sprained right wrist combined with a small bone chip fracture. He is expected to return to action in three to four weeks.

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Jazz move CJ Miles into starting lineup

The Utah Jazz are struggling lately. Deron Williams is frustrated. People aren’t happy. Minor changes are being made.

Jody Genessy of the Deseret News reports:

For the third consecutive game, the Utah Jazz will have a different lineup when they take to the Staples Center court tonight.

The Jazz’s starting small forward spot now belongs to C.J. Miles.

The sixth-year pro will replace Gordon Hayward in the opening lineup after the rookie replaced usual starter

Andrei Kirilenko at the 3 spot for one game (a 96-85 loss at Philadelphia).

This latest change comes on the heels of a four-game losing streak back East and just in time for a brutal back-to-back that includes tonight’s game against the two-time-defending-champion Los Angeles Lakers and Wednesday night’s home game against the NBA-leading San Antonio Spurs.

“The biggest thing I want to see is how our team responds,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. “We’ve lost the last eight quarters we’ve played. We need to see if we can get some life and get back into this thing.”

The Jazz are still a winning team at 27-17, sitting at 6th in the Western conference.

Bucks sign Garrett Temple to 10-day contract

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed guard Garrett Temple (6-5, 180) to a 10-day contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Temple, 24, has appeared in 30 NBA games (four starts) in stints with San Antonio, Houston and Sacramento over the last two seasons with career averages of 4.6 points and 1.1 rebounds in 11.8 minutes. He appeared in three games earlier this season with San Antonio.

Undrafted out of Louisiana State University, Temple has appeared in 48 games (41 stats) the last two seasons in the NBA’s Development League (D-League) and averaged 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals while knocking down 37.5 percent of his 3-pointers. He has split the 2010-11 D-League season between Erie and Rio Grande Valley and averaged 13.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steal and shot 38.7 percent from three in 18 games (11 starts).

The Bucks roster is now at 15 players.

Chris Bosh may not return for 1-2 weeks

The Miami Heat have not been at full strength lately, and it appears another week or two will go by before that situation is rectified.

Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald reports:

Heat forward Chris Bosh indicated Monday that he could be sidelined for an extended period of time due to his high ankle sprain.

Bosh injured his ankle more than a week ago when Omer Asik of the Chicago Bulls fell on his leg while diving for a loose ball. A week after the sprain, Bosh was still experiencing too much pain to run on a treadmill. On Monday, Bosh sat out another practice. Guard Eddie House also did not practice due to an ankle sprain.

“It’s quite boring to be me right now at work,” Bosh said. “I’m still just trying to feel it out. It’s a different situation. I’ve never had a high ankle sprain. I don’t really know how to gauge anything.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Bosh isn’t “ready for anything full speed, or side-to-side or with contact.” The coach also didn’t refute questions that Bosh could be out one or two more weeks.

The Heat are currently 31-13 and are the second seed in the Eastern conference, behind the Boston Celtics.

Gregg Popovich will be head coach of NBA 2011 West All-Star team

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will coach the Western Conference All-Stars for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, to be played on Sunday, Feb. 20, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

With San Antonio’s 113-102 win over the Golden State Warriors Monday, the Spurs (38-7, .844) have clinched the best record in the conference through games played Feb. 6.

This season, Popovich has guided the Spurs to the league’s best record, earning consecutive Western Conference Coach of the Month honors for games played in October/November and December. The Spurs have enjoyed double-digit winning streaks of 12 and 10 games this season.

In his 15th season as head coach, Popovich has led the Spurs to four NBA titles (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007) and is one of only five coaches in NBA history to have guided his teams to at least four championships. Popovich entered the season with a career mark of 736-362 and a winning percentage of .670, which ranked fourth in NBA history. His playoff career winning percentage of .618 (102-63) is the eighth best in NBA annals, while his 106 playoff wins are the third most in league history.

Popovich coached the West team during the 2005 All-Star Game in Denver, which the East won 125-115.

The coach of the East All-Stars will be determined by the team with the best record in the conference through games played Feb. 6. The Orlando Magic’s Stan Van Gundy, who coached last year’s East squad, is not eligible to coach this year’s All-Star Game.

The 2011 NBA All-Star Game will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.