NBA News Blog – Page 901 – NBA Blog

Mike James to audition for Dallas Mavericks

In an attempt to convince the Dallas Mavericks that he can help them, veteran point guard Mike James is joining the D-League’s Texas Legends in time for Saturday’s game against Tulsa, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.

After playing for 10 NBA teams, most recently last season with the Chicago Bulls, James has cleared the D-League waiver process to become eligible to sign with the Legends as a free agent.

James arrived in town Thursday with no guarantees from the Mavericks, sources said, but the 37-year-old has been lobbying them to let him audition for a roster spot by playing in a few games with the Legends to prove he can help stabilize their backcourt.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Pacers re-assign Miles Plumlee and Orlando Johnson to D-League

The Indiana Pacers today re-assigned Miles Plumlee and Orlando Johnson to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s NBA Development League affiliate. The assignments are the record 88th and 89th of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons, while Plumlee and Johnson are two of the 46 players who have been assigned to the NBA D-League this season.

Plumlee (6-11, 255, Duke) re-joins the Mad Ants following four previous assignments when he played in six games and averaged 14.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 33.0 minutes. He has appeared in six games for the Pacers this season, averaging 1.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 3.7 minutes.

Selected 26th overall by the Pacers in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft, Plumlee was a four-year member of the Blue Devils, where he won an NCAA Championship in 2010.

Johnson (6-5, 220, UC-Santa Barbara) has appeared in three games for Indiana this season. In his previous two assignments with Fort Wayne, Johnson averaged 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals.

Selected in the second round (36th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings, Johnson was acquired by the Pacers via trade on June 28, 2012. In just three seasons at UC-Santa Barbara, Johnson became the Gauchos all-time leading scorer (1,825 points), and is the only player in school history to have scored 500 or more points in a season three times. His 674 points as a junior and 39 points in a game vs. Cal-Davis are also school records

Plumlee and Johnson are expected to be in available tonight when the team hosts Santa Cruz Warriors.

Fab Melo suffers concussion from running into a hotel door

Fab Melo was recalled from Maine of the Development League, but it was to get treatment for a concussion he received when he ran into a hotel door. Melo missed the Red Claws’ Dec. 31 win over Springfield and is questionable for Friday’s game with Erie.

Melo said he still feels concussion symptoms and is unsure when he can return.

“I still have a little headache sometimes. I can only focus on things for a certain time,” he said.

Melo, a first-round pick from Syracuse, has been making headlines, blocking 23 shots over a two-game period, including a league-record 14 Dec. 22 against Erie. In 12 games, the 7-footer is averaging 10.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks.

— Reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe

Chris Wilcox will not need surgery

Backup center Chris Wilcox is unsure when he will return from a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb and he will be reexamined next week. Wilcox has been wearing a brace on his hand since sustaining the injury Dec. 18 at Chicago.

He said doctors have informed him he will not need surgery.

“The doc told me I need to take some time off. I gotta let it heal; it’ll be a while,” he said. “Yesterday I got good news; they told me I didn’t have to have the surgery. Now I’m just trying to see what I’m comfortable with.”

Wilcox, who last season underwent surgery to repair an enlarged aorta, said he considers this injury a minor setback.

“It’s been tough for me,” he said. “But this is minor compared to what’s happened to me in the past. Anything other than that is nothing.”

— Reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe

Jrue Holiday gets triple-double in loss to Suns

After Luis Scola gave the Phoenix Suns a nice cushion late in the game, the 76ers were unable to complete a late rally and fell to the Suns, 95-89, Wednesday night at US Airways Center.

The loss wasted a triple-double (16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) by Jrue Holiday. The Suns, led by Scola’s 21 points, ended a six-game losing streak and beat a Doug Collins-coached Sixers team for the first time.

“I don’t want a triple-double if we don’t win,” Holiday said.

The Suns took their largest lead of the game early in the fourth quarter when Scola sank a jump shot for a 77-66 advantage. The Sixers steadily cut into the lead and finally got to within 87-85 when Holiday hit Dorell Wright for a layup with just over two minutes to play.

That was the closest the Sixers would get.

— Reported by John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Son of Clippers owner Donald Sterling found dead

The son of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was found dead of an apparent drug overdose at his Malibu home, authorities said Wednesday.

The body of Scott Ashley Sterling, 32, was found shortly after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Los Angeles County coroner’s Lt. Larry Dietz said.

The death cast a pall on what has been a joyous season for the Clippers, normally an NBA doormat but now among the league’s best teams. The team is in first place in its division and had a franchise-record 17-game winning streak that was snapped Tuesday.

Sterling, 77, a billionaire real estate mogul who purchased the team in 1981, and wife Shelley released a statement thanking friends for sympathy, asking for privacy and saying their son was diabetic, but did not indicate what role, if any, that may have played in his death.

— Reported by the Associated Press

NBA fines Charlie Villanueva $25,000 for flagrant foul on Isaiah Thomas

Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva has been fined $25,000 for his Flagrant Foul Two on Sacramento Kings guard Isaiah Thomas, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with four seconds remaining in the second quarter of the Pistons’ 103-97 win over the Kings at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Jan. 1.

Anderson Varejao remains out with knee injury

Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao is out for Cleveland’s game against Sacramento because of a bruised right knee.

Varejao, the NBA’s leading rebounder, will miss his seventh straight game. He hasn’t played since Dec. 18 when he injured the knee against Toronto.

Varejao returned to practice in a limited role Monday, but hasn’t gone through contact drills.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Warriors recall Kent Bazemore and Jeremy Tyler from D-League

The Golden State Warriors have recalled guard/forward Kent Bazemore and forward/center Jeremy Tyler from the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League, the team announced today.

Both players were assigned to Golden State’s D-League affiliate on Monday (December 31) and participated in the team’s 109-93 victory over the Sioux Falls Skyforce yesterday in Santa Cruz.

Boston Celtics recall Fab Melo from D-League again

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have recalled center Fab Melo from their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.

Melo, a 7’0” center, has appeared in 12 games for the Red Claws this season averaging 10.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.83 blocks per game which ranks second in the D-League. Melo recorded a triple-double against Erie on December 22 when he recorded 15 points, 16 rebounds and a D-League record 14 blocks. Melo followed that up the next game by recording 32 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks against Idaho on December 26.