NBA News Blog – Page 928 – NBA Blog

Durant helps Thunder edge Bulls 97-91

Kevin Durant scored eight of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Chicago Bulls 97-91 on Thursday night.

Durant iced the game with an off-balance jumper off one foot with 35.1 seconds to play.

Serge Ibaka scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half, and had a team-high nine rebounds for the Thunder, who beat the Bulls for the third time in their last four games at Chicago. Russell Westbrook chipped in with 16 points and 12 assists.

Luol Deng led the Bulls with 27 points, and Richard Hamilton added 20 points and eight rebounds. Joakim Noah had nine points, 13 rebounds and a team-high six assists.

Hamilton made a tying jumper with 2:52 to play, but then Durant took over, making a floater from the top of the key over Deng to keep the Bulls at bay…

It was a season-high point total for Durant, who entered averaging 20.8 points after scoring a league-best 28.0 points per game last season.

— Reported by Bradford Doolittle of the Associated Press

InsideHoops.com notes: Russell Westbrook shot just 7-of-22 for 16 points, though he dished 12 assists with just two turnovers… Thunder center Kendrick Perkins went scoreless in 20 minutes of play… Thunder guard Kevin Martin came off the bench to produce 15 points on just five shot attempts (he hit 8-of-9 free throws)… For the Bulls, Carlos Boozer struggled, shooting just 3-of-9 for 9 points, 11 rebounds and five turnovers.

NBA fans dicussed the game in this basketball forum topic.

NBA suspends Thomas Robinson for elbowing Jonas Jerebko

The Sacramento Kings’ Thomas Robinson has been suspended two games without pay for throwing an elbow to the neck of Jonas Jerebko of the Detroit Pistons, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Robinson was assessed a Flagrant Foul Two and ejected, occurred with 10:00 remaining in the fourth quarter of Sacramento’s 105-103 win over Detroit on November 7 at Sleep Train Arena.

Robinson will serve his suspension when the Kings host the San Antonio Spurs on November 9 and when the Kings play the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on November 11.

Warriors center Andrew Bogut out 7-10 days

Warriors center Andrew Bogut will not play in any of the team’s games over the next 7-10 days in an effort to continue to strengthen his surgically repaired left ankle.

Bogut has appeared in four of the team’s five games this season, averaging 6.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.00 block in 18.3 minutes per contest.

Chauncey Billups hopes to play for Clippers by early December

Los Angeles Clippers guard Chauncey Billups anticipates he will still be out a month and doesn’t think he will be back on the court in November.

“Barring any setbacks, I’m hoping in a month I’ll be back out there,” Billups said while on ESPN’s NBA Countdown on Wednesday. “I’m back practicing with the team so everything is looking good.”

If everything goes according to plan, Billups will make his return to the starting lineup sometime in early December before the Clippers go on a four-game road trip on Dec. 11.

— Reported by Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles

No date for John Wall return, yet

John Wall plans to visit a doctor in Washington on Thursday to get an update on the stress injury in his left knee. Wall found out about the problem five weeks ago, when he visited orthopedic specialist David Altchek in New York and the Wizards projected that he would miss at least eight weeks.

He isn’t expected to return until close to December, and while those close to him have hoped that he could return by Nov. 30 in New York, Wall said he doesn’t have a scheduled return in his mind.

“No target at all,” Wall said, shaking his head. “No. I wish I did.”

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post (Blog)

Mehmet Okur retiring from basketball

Mehmet Okur announced his retirement from basketball at age 33.

The Turkish forward played for nine years in the NBA averaging 13.5ppg and 7rpg in 634 games (460 in the starting five) with the Pistons, Jazz and Nets.

Last season, Okur started with Turk Telekom Ankara, averaging 12ppg and 8.2rpg in the TBL. When the NBA lockout ended he returned to the United States, where he played 17 games with the Nets, scoring 7.6ppg and pulling down 4.8rpg.

Okur decided to retire because of injuries that affected him over the last three seasons of his career.

— Reported by Sportando

Kobe Bryant starting to appear frustrated

Kobe Bryant didn’t waste any time leaving the court after the Los Angeles Lakers lost 95-86 to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. Bryant made a beeline to the locker room with a scowl on his face as the Lakers fell to 1-4 to start a season for the first time in his 17-year career.

Dwight Howard, meanwhile, was the last Lakers player to make his way through the tunnel, lingering on the court to hug a fan and toss each of his arm sleeves, as well as his uniform, into the crowd.

Bryant’s frustration was apparent long before his final exit: He got into it with referee Ed Malloy after being called for a charge in the second quarter; he punched the ball inbounds rather than passed it when there was less than a second left in the third quarter; and he was caught on camera staring down coach Mike Brown when he was sitting on the bench during a timeout in the waning moments of the fourth.

Howard said after the game the Lakers would be better off bottling up those negative emotions.

“I think sometimes as a team we got to be able to not really show our frustrations that much,” Howard said after L.A. fell to 1-12 with their preseason record included.

— Reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles

Jazz beat Lakers, who fall to 1-4

Al Jefferson scored 18 points and Randy Foye added 17 on five 3-pointers to lift the Utah Jazz over the Los Angeles Lakers, 95-86 on Wednesday night.

Mo Williams added 16 points on 8 of 13 shooting for Utah (2-3).

Kobe Bryant entered the game shooting nearly 60 percent but started 3 of 10 and finished 7 of 17 for 29 points as the Lakers fell to 1-4.

Dwight Howard added 19 points for the Lakers and Metta World Peace had 15.

The Jazz led by as many as 16 points early, but the Lakers were within five with 8:27 left before Foye hit three straight 3-pointers to give Utah a 79-68 lead with 6:40 remaining.

The Lakers held a huge advantage at the free throw line, making 32 of 46, including 15 of 17 for Bryant. The Jazz were 16 of 18 from the line.

— Reported by Lynn DeBruin of the Associated Press

Sixers hold Hornets to franchise low 62 points

Jrue Holiday had 14 points and 12 assists, and the Philadelphia 76ers held New Orleans to its lowest point total ever in a 77-62 victory over the Hornets on Wednesday night.

Evan Turner also scored 14, and Thaddeus Young and Lavoy Allen each added 12 points for the Sixers, who dominated the second half defensively. The Hornets committed 14 of their 24 turnovers after halftime and scored only 25 points during the final two quarters. Young also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Al-Farouq Aminu was the only Hornets player to score in double figures with 10 points to go with a career-high 16 rebounds. Ryan Anderson grabbed 10 rebounds and 7-foot reserve Jason Smith blocked five shots.

The Hornets, who lost for the first time in three games, played without first-round draft choices Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers. Davis was not cleared to return from a recent concussion and Rivers had a sprained finger on his left hand.

— Reported by Brett Martel of the Associated Press

InsideHoops.com notes: This game was an ugly brickfest… Hornets guard Eric Gordon also remains out… This game was a mess… Philly enjoyed a balanced scoring effort… This game was a disaster.

Zach Randolph leads Grizzlies to win over Bucks

Zach Randolph had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies shot 53 percent from the floor in a 108-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.

Rudy Gay added 17 points and Marreese Speights contributed 16 off the bench to help Memphis win its third straight after a season-opening loss.

Milwaukee, which was looking to start 3-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 season, shot just 38.5 percent from the field. Brandon Jennings led the Bucks with 19 points, but he was only 6 of 20 from the field. Monta Ellis added 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting.

The Grizzlies withstood a third-quarter rally and pulled away in the fourth.

— Reported by the Associated Press