NBA News Blog – Page 918 – NBA Blog

Utah Jazz now 6-0 at home

After pulling a no-show in the first half, the Utah Jazz’s defense arrived in time to help them stay perfect at home.

Backup power forward Derrick Favors hit three clutch free throws down the stretch, and center Al Jefferson scored 28 points as the Utah Jazz rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 105-103 Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

But it was Utah’s defense down the stretch that sealed its sixth straight home win.

Jazz wings Randy Foye and DeMarre Carroll prevented Denver guard Ty Lawson from getting off a game-tying attempt in the final 3.6 seconds, and time ran out on the Nuggets.

“I knew they were going to try and get it to Ty Lawson or Gallo (Danilo Gallinari),” Carroll said. “When I saw Ty drive, I’ve been playing against him all summer, I knew he was going to try and make something happen and go to the goal. I just tried to collapse. He saw me and time ran out.”

— Reported by the Sports Xchange

Lakers did not call Brian Shaw during coaching search

Shaw won three championships as a Lakers player under Jackson and was part of two more on Jackson’s coaching staff from 2005 to ‘11. Shaw returns to Staples Center on Tuesday as the associate head coach of the Indiana Pacers, the right-hand man of coach Frank Vogel.

Shaw didn’t get a phone call from the Lakers after they fired Brown on Nov. 9.

“I’m in a good situation here in Indy, a situation where I have a job,” he said. “After how things ended for all of us in L.A. at the end of that last season I was there, there’s no reason for me to get my hopes up about anything because if that was the case, something different would have probably been done initially.”

Shaw interviewed to replace Jackson after the 2010-11 season. He found out he didn’t get the job after seeing media reports of Brown’s hiring.

— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times

Jazz guard Mo Williams wearing walking boot

Mo Williams remained in a walking boot Monday, as he missed his second consecutive game with a right foot injury he suffered in Friday’s 104-102 win over Sacramento.

The Jazz point guard, as of Monday, had not resumed basketball activities, but said he targeted Wednesday’s game at New Orleans for his return.

“It’s mostly the twisting and turning aspect of it,” Williams said.

The veteran landed awkwardly on his foot defending a 3-pointer by Sacramento’s Aaron Brooks in the first quarter Friday. He returned to the game in the second quarter but played less than two minutes. He did not dress for the Jazz’s loss at Sacramento on Saturday.

— Reported by Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune

Nets take first Brooklyn matchup with Knicks in overtime

The Nets won the crowd – and the game.

Things sure looked and sounded different for them in their first matchup against the New York Knicks in Brooklyn.

The Nets pulled out a 96-89 overtime victory on Monday night, tying the Knicks for first place on a breakthrough night for their franchise.

With their fans outnumbering and at times outchanting the Knicks’ counterparts for a change, the Nets improved to 7-1 in their new home, sending this new-look rivalry off to a stirring start before a sellout crowd of 17,732…

Jerry Stackhouse, wearing the No. 42 Jackie Robinson made famous in Brooklyn, hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:31 left in overtime as the Nets controlled the extra period of a playoff-like game that neither team led by more than seven.

Brook Lopez had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Deron Williams added 16 points and 14 assists as the Nets tied the Knicks atop the Atlantic Division at 9-4.

Carmelo Anthony had 35 points and 13 rebounds, but was only 10 of 16 at the free throw line. Tyson Chandler finished with 28 points and 10 boards, but no other Knicks player was in double figures.

Raymond Felton was just 3 of 19 from the field, but the Knicks had to stick with him with fellow point guard and former Nets star Jason Kidd out with back spasms.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Kings guard Aaron Brooks fined for throwing mouthpiece into stands

Sacramento Kings guard Aaron Brooks has been fined $25,000 for throwing his mouthpiece into the stands immediately following the Kings 104-102 road loss to the Utah Jazz on Nov. 23. The fine was announced today by Stu Jackson, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

Brooks is averaging 8.0 points and 2.0 assists per game for the Kings this season, and has started five of the 13 games he’s played.

Houston Rockets recall guard Scott Machado from D-League

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has recalled guard Scott Machado from Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley.

Machado (6-1, 205, Iona), who was assigned to Rio Grande Valley on Nov. 13, averaged 16.0 points, 8.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds in two starts with the Vipers. In Friday’s season opener against Bakersfield (11/23/12), Machado posted 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. In the second meeting with the Jam (11/24/12), he added 12 points, eight assists and a pair of steals.

Al Horford and Tim Duncan named Players of Week

The Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford and the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 19, through Sunday, Nov. 25.

Horford led the Hawks to a 4-0 week, averaging 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He recorded a career-high 10 assists on Nov. 21 as Atlanta topped the Washington Wizards 101-100. Horford’s 26-point, 13-rebound double-double in a 101-91 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Nov. 23 helped the Hawks to improve their road record to 4-2, tops in the conference.

Duncan helped the Spurs to a 3-1 week with averages of 22.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 blocks. He posted three consecutive point-rebound double-doubles in games against the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers. Duncan’s lone game last week without a double-double still showed a balanced stat line of 26 points, six assists, five rebounds and three blocks as the Spurs bested the Raptors 111-106 on Nov. 25 – a game in which Duncan recorded his 2,500th career block.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Jeff Teague, Boston’s Rajon Rondo, Charlotte’s Ramon Sessions, Denver’s Andre Iguodala, Houston’s Chandler Parsons, Memphis’ Rudy Gay, Miami’s Chris Bosh and LeBron James, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans.

Jazz assign guard Kevin Murphy to D-League

Utah Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey announced today that the team has assigned rookie guard Kevin Murphy to its NBA Development League (D-League) affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. He is expected to be in uniform for the Bighorns’ season opener against the Santa Cruz Warriors on November 30 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev.

Selected by the Jazz in the second round (47th overall selection) of the 2012 NBA Draft, the 6-6, 185-pound Murphy played four seasons at Tennessee Tech, where he averaged 15.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Murphy averaged 20.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists as a senior and finished his career as the Golden Eagles’ second all-time leading scorer (2,019 points).

Murphy becomes the sixth player in Jazz history to be assigned to the D-League, and the first since current Jazz teammate Jeremy Evans was in March 2011.

Nene rests Sunday but expected to play against San Antonio

After playing a surprising 29 minutes off the bench in the Wizards’ 108-106 double overtime loss to Charlotte, Nene slouched in his locker room stall, left foot in a bucket of ice, and joked with teammate Kevin Seraphin that he needed a teleporter to take him to the training room.

Nene eventually got up and moved around on his own strength afterward. But he was a spectator for Sunday’s light practice, looking on in a red T-shirt and leaving for the locker room afterward, accompanied by the team masseuse.

Coach Randy Wittman said he expects to have the Brazilian big man in uniform when the Wizards host San Antonio on Monday, though conditioning remains a concern for games that basically amount to training camp and preseason with Nene missing three months of action.

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post

Anthony Davis might miss two more weeks with ankle injury

It could be another two weeks before New Orleans Hornets rookie forward Anthony Davis recovers sufficiently from a stress reaction in his left ankle to resume playing.

Davis said Sunday after the team’s shootaround at a downtown hotel that a precautionary MRI following three ankle sprains in as many days revealed the problem, which is a precursor to a more serious stress fracture that would likely manifest itself without rest and rehabilitation.

Davis first injured his ankle June 30 in New Orleans, his first workout following the NBA draft. That slowed him in the early portion of the U.S. Olympic Team’s training camp in Las Vegas.

This latest issue, he said, is unrelated.

— Reported by Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune