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The Utah Jazz say forward Marvin Williams will not play against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night because of a concussion.
The Jazz say Williams is also doubtful to play Saturday against Houston after he didn’t pass an exam following his concussion suffered in a game Wednesday night against New Orleans.
— Reported by the Associated Press
The Golden State Warriors have assigned guard/forward Kent Bazemore to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League, the team announced today. He is slated to join Golden State’s D-League affiliate in time for the team’s regular-season opener tomorrow night at Reno (Friday, November 30).
Bazemore, 23, has seen limited action in six games with Golden State this season, recording a total of 10 minutes played. He was originally signed by the Warriors as a free agent on July 26, 2012, following a successful stint on the team’s Summer League squad in which he averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.50 steals and 1.75 blocks.
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Amar’e Stoudemire’s goal is to return around Christmas, with mid-December no longer a legitimate possibility, according to person familiar with the Knicks power forward’s thinking. The person said Stoudemire hasn’t begun running on the court following his surgery on Nov. 1.
The Knicks’ timetable of six-to-eight weeks from the left-knee-debridement surgery hasn’t changed. Under that time frame, the earliest he could be back is mid-December. The Knicks play the Lakers on Christmas Day.
Stoudemire played just one preseason game — in Montreal Oct. 19 — and his litany of knee-related mishaps since training camp began calls into question whether he will ever be able to make it back onto the court without reinjuring himself.
Stoudemire has had surgeries on both knees, and has a bulging disk in his back that forced him to miss 15 games down the stretch last season.’
— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post
The Houston Rockets today assigned rookies Terrence Jones and Scott Machado to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ NBA Development League affiliate. The assignment is the first for Jones and the second for Machado, and the 25th and 26th of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons.
Jones (6-9, 252, Kentucky) has appeared in seven games for the Rockets this season, averaging 3.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 10.4 minutes. Selected in the first round (18th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Rockets, Jones averaged 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 76 career games for the Wildcats. A member of the 2012 NCAA Championship team, Jones earned Second-Team All-SEC honors last season and was selected the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2010-11.
Machado (6-1, 205, Iona) returns to the Vipers having been assigned from Nov. 14-26, when he appeared in two games and averaged 16.0 points, 8.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds. In one game for the Rockets this season, Machado scored two points in three minutes. A four-year contributor at Iona, Machado was named MAAC Player of the Year in 2012 and finished with a Gaels’ record 880 career assists.
Jones and Machado are expected to join the Vipers today and be available tonight when the team visits the Tulsa 66ers.
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The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have signed free-agent guard-forward Mickael Pietrus (MY-kel PEE-trus).
Pietrus, 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, has shot .357 per cent (659-1846) from three-point range in his NBA career. He has connected at better than .350 per cent from beyond the arc in five of his past six seasons.
A veteran of nine NBA campaigns, Pietrus has averaged 8.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 21.5 minutes in 538 career games. He has appeared in 69 postseason outings, averaging 7.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 21.8 minutes. His best statistical season came in 2006-07 when he averaged 11.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 72 games with Golden State.
Pietrus was selected 11th overall by Golden State in the 2003 NBA Draft. He spent five seasons with the Warriors before splitting his last four years between Orlando, Phoenix and Boston.
Pietrus began his professional career in his native France with Pau Orthez. He played four seasons with the club, averaging 9.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 94 games.
To make room on the roster, the Raptors waived forward Dominic McGuire. McGuire appeared in 15 games and averaged 2.1 points and 3.4 rebounds.
The Boston Celtics announced today that they have recalled forward Kris Joseph from their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.
Joseph, a 6’7 forward, averaged 25.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 block in two games while on assignment. He made his NBA debut against the Milwaukee Bucks and recorded one rebound and one assist in three minutes of action on November 2.
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The Phoenix Suns have assigned guard Kendall Marshall to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, the club announced today. Suns Player Development Coordinator Lindsey Hunter will accompany Marshall to Bakersfield.
Marshall, the Suns’ first-round selection (13th overall) in the 2012 NBA Draft, has appeared in six games this season for Phoenix.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder has assigned guard Jeremy Lamb to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.
Lamb, who was originally acquired from the Houston Rockets along with Kevin Martin on Oct. 27, has appeared in eight games this season averaging 2.1 points in 4.3 minutes.
He will be in uniform when the Tulsa 66ers take on the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Nov. 30 at the SpiritBank Event Center.
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Doc Rivers wants the Boston Celtics to be tough – not violent.
The message came too late for Rajon Rondo.
The Celtics point guard was ejected from Wednesday night’s game against the Nets when he retaliated for a hard foul against Kevin Garnett by shoving Brooklyn forward Kris Humphries into the courtside seats. Rondo, Humphries and Nets forward Gerald Wallace were ejected, and Brooklyn held on to win 95-83…
Joe Johnson scored 18 points and Andray Blatche had 17 points and 13 rebounds as the Nets opened up a 21-point, first-half lead and took advantage of the loss of the Celtics’ All-Star to win for the ninth time in 11 games.
Garnett had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul Pierce added 14 points for Boston. Rondo had three assists before he was kicked out, ending his streak at 37 games with double-digits – tied for second-longest in NBA history.
The Nets led by eight after one quarter and scored 19 of the first 25 points in the second to make it 47-26. Boston cut the deficit to 14 points and trailed by 16 when Garnett took an off-balance jumper from the right baseline and Humphries leveraged him to the floor with his left arm.
Rondo trailed the play with a two-handed shove that sent Humphries into the courtside seats.
— Reported by Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press
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After their worst start in history, the Washington Wizards became a national punch line. On TNT, Charles Barkley compared them with the Washington Generals, and a local newspaper had photos of fans wearing paper bags over their heads at Monday’s 26-point loss to San Antonio.
The jokes can stop – at least for now.
Washington earned its first victory after starting the season with 12 straight losses, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 84-82 on Wednesday night.
”When you’re 0-12, guys are going to make fun. That’s our business, guys,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said…
Washington survived a scoreless 6:47 in the fourth when Jordan Crawford, who had 19 points, hit on a 3-pointer with 2:06 to play. The Wizards finally took the 84-82 lead on Emeka Okafor’s two free throws with 39.1 seconds remaining…
Trevor Ariza had 14 and Kevin Seraphin added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, which ended the third quarter on a 23-7 run to take a 68-59 lead, then padded its lead to 15 barely three minutes into the fourth…
Lillard and Nicolas Batum led Portland, losers of three straight, with 20. LaMarcus Aldridge had 17. Hickson had 15 points and 19 rebounds.
— Reported by the Associated Press