Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Mavericks beat previously undefeated Hornets

The AP reports:

Jason Terry scored 26 points, including the go-ahead jumper in the final minute, and the Dallas Mavericks handed the New Orleans Hornets their first loss of the season, 98-95 on Monday night.

New Orleans, which had been off to a franchise-best 8-0 start, got 22 points from Chris Paul, but only two came in the second half.

Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and 10 rebounds to help the Mavericks stretch their winning streak to four games.

Peja Stojakovic added 17 points and Emeka Okafor pulled down 14 rebounds for New Orleans.

Robin Lopez out several weeks

An MRI performed on Suns center Robin Lopez revealed a moderate sprain of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his left knee.  Lopez is expected to be out several weeks.  Lopez will travel with the team when it departs on its four-game road trip Tuesday.

Lopez has started all nine games for the Suns in 2010-11, posting averages of 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 17.8 minutes.

Raptors assign Solomon Alabi to D-League

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have assigned rookie centre Solomon Alabi to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League. Alabi will continue to be included on the Raptors’ roster and will be placed on the team’s inactive list.

Alabi, 22, made his Raptors debut Saturday at Miami, going scoreless in eighteen seconds of action. He participated in five preseason contests, totaling 10 points and five rebounds in 24 minutes. He played for the Raptors’ entry in the 2010 Las Vegas Summer League where he averaged 8.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 18 minutes in five games. He shot .565 (13-23) from the field and .938 (15-16) from the foul line.

A native of Nigeria, Alabi, was named All-ACC Defensive Team in his two full seasons at FSU. He started all 67 games, leading the Seminoles to the NCAA Tournament twice and the ACC Tournament Championship Game as a redshirt freshman. He averaged a school record 2.1 blocked shots per game for his career. He also shot .534 per cent from the field in his two-plus seasons with the Seminoles.

The club acquired the draft rights to Alabi from the Dallas Mavericks on June 24. He was the 50th overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft.

Alabi is the fourth Raptor to be assigned to the D-League. Nathan Jawai was designated on two occasions in the 2008-09 season to the Idaho Stampede. P.J. Tucker was assigned twice to the Colorado 14ers during the 2006-07 season and Pape Sow was assigned to the Arkansas Rimrockers in the 2005-06 campaign.

Erie, which is led by head coach Jay Larranaga, has been appointed as Toronto’s D-League affiliate for the 2010-11 season.

Steve Nash is getting divorced

The AP reports:

Steve Nash has announced that he and wife Alejandra are in the process of a divorce.

The Phoenix Suns’ point guard and two-time NBA most valuable player revealed the situation in a statement Saturday, a day after the birth of the couple’s son, Matteo.

He said in the statement to Life & Style Magazine that he and his wife have lived separately for several months but remain firmly committed to raising their children “in the most positive, nurturing way possible.”

The couple, together for nine years and married since 2005, also has 6-year-old twin daughters, Lola and Bella.

Nazr Mohammed puts up 22/20 in loss

The AP reports:

The Utah Jazz are making a habit of comeback victories.

Deron Williams hit a running hook shot from seven feet out with 0.8 seconds left to cap a fourth-quarter rally and give the Jazz a 96-95 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night.

Williams finished with 17 points and nine assists for Utah, which overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to win its fifth consecutive game and fourth straight on the road.

Al Jefferson had 19 points, Paul Millsap 17, C.J. Miles 14 and Andrei Kirilenko 12 for the Jazz, who also had to overcome double-digit deficits in winning its previous four games.

InsideHoops.com reports:

In the loss, Nazr Mohammed in 36 minutes shot 10-of-16 for 22 points, 20 rebounds, two assists, four blocks and no turnovers. For the season, the 6-10, 250-pound Bobcats center is averaging 8.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 19.2 minutes per game.

Hornets release Joe Alexander

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have released forward Joe Alexander.

Alexander did not appear in a regular season game this season. He averaged 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in six preseason games (one start) with the Hornets.

The third-year pro has career averages of 4.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 67 regular season games.

The Hornets roster now stands at 14.

Kevin Love gets 31 points, 31 rebounds in Wolves win over Knicks

The AP reports:

kevin love

Kevin Love grabbed a franchise-record 31 rebounds and scored 31 points, the NBA’s first 30-30 game in 28 years, and the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from a 21-point third-quarter deficit to stun the New York Knicks 112-103 on Friday night.

“I just got a good mindset that every single one was mine,” said Love, who had 23 points and 24 rebounds in a loss to the Lakers on Tuesday.

Love grabbed 15 boards in the third quarter alone to will the Timberwolves to victory. Moses Malone was the last player to do it with 38 points and 32 rebounds for Houston against Seattle in 1982.

“It seemed like no matter what anybody did I was going to go and get those rebounds. I don’t know what to tell you,” Love said sheepishly. “I impressed myself. I don’t even know what to say to be honest with you.”

Beasley had 35 points and six rebounds for the Wolves, who were carried to their second victory in a row by the two players who are being advertised as the building blocks of the latest rebuilding project.

InsideHoops.com editor says: What an amazing performance by Love. Who does he think he is, Moses Malone? Thanks to Kevin, I’m going out of my way to watch the next few Wolves games, and I’m sure tons of others will, too.

David Lee to have elbow infection surgery, may miss two weeks

Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee did not travel with the team to Milwaukee on Friday, instead returning to the Bay Area for surgery to clean out an infection from the inside of his left elbow.

The Warriors said the surgery will be performed by Dr. Frank Chen, but they were unable to release a timetable for Lee’s return. Early estimations are that Lee will miss about two weeks.

Lee was injured in Wednesday’s victory over the Knicks, when his elbow caught Wilson Chandler’s face on a rebound and knocked out two teeth. Lee completed the game with a three-layered tape job that couldn’t completely restrain the blood from coming to the surface and his best game of the season (28 points, 10 rebounds).

Allen Iverson debut in Turkey likely Tuesday

The AP reports:

Former NBA All-Star Allen Iverson’s debut with Turkish basketball league team Besiktas has been postponed.

Team manager Murat Murtezaoglu told The Associated Press the 11-time NBA All-Star “did not feel ready” to play Friday and instead watched from the stands as his new team beat Oyak Renault 87-81.

Murtezaoglu said he expects Iverson to make his debut at Besiktas’ European Cup home game against Hemofarm Stada on Tuesday.