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Live InsideHoops.com NBA Rookie Challenge game notes are being posted.
The Sophomores are leading, and their story has been the great outside shooting of Daniel Gibson.
For the Rookies, a bright spot has been the strong, quick and intelligent inside play of Al Horford.
NBA.com reports: Carmelo Anthony can not get enough of playing against the Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade. Melo was at it again on Tuesday, posting 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Nuggets won a one-point overtime thriller for their seventh straight win over Miami. Anthony has won eight of 10 meetings against D-Wade since both entered the league in 2003. Melo was fresh off a 27-point performance in Sunday’s win over the Cavaliers and LeBron James, also part of the draft class of 2003. While Wade and James have enjoyed more postseason success, Anthony has gotten the better of the two in the regular season. He is 8-2 against LeBron’s Cavs, the reigning Eastern Conference champs. Melo has rebounded nicely from an ankle injury that slowed him in late January. In his previous five games entering Tuesday’s action, Anthony averaged 31.6 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 55.7 percent from the field.
Cavaliers forward LeBron James experienced a right ankle sprain with 23.3 seconds remaining in the second quarter in last night’s Cavaliers game in Portland versus the Trail Blazers. He returned to start the second half and played the remainder of the game. He traveled with the team to Seattle following the game, was re-evaluated this morning and is currently listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s Cavaliers-SuperSonics game.
NBA.com reports: They knew what was coming, but weren’t even close to stopping it. With the Cavs down by one and 4.9 ticks left, Cleveland sent its inbounds pass to LeBron James, who demonstrated why he is truly the king of the clutch. James blasted past the defending Brandon Roy, seeped through LaMarcus Aldridge and went around the extended arms of Travis Outlaw to drain a game-winning last-second layup to give the Cavs a thrilling road triumph over the Blazers. It was the finishing touch to a 17-point fourth quarter for the King, who brought the Cavs back from an 11-point final-period deficit. “We stepped up too late,” Roy said of Portland’s defense on LeBron’s final drive. “Once he got to into the paint we didn’t want to foul him so a couple of guys shied away. We’ve got to force him into a jump shot in that situation.” Cleveland has now won five straight games on the road, its longest streak since April 1998.
The latest Varejao injury update, this time with a timeline:
Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao arrived back in Cleveland from the Cavaliers’ current road trip west Tuesday evening and was evaluated at Cleveland Clinic Courts by head team physician Dr. Richard Parker. He has a left ankle sprain (inversion sprain) with bone bruises, which he experienced during the third quarter of the Cavaliers/Lakers game in LA on Sunday afternoon. He will remain in Cleveland to continue his rehabilitation process and is currently estimated to be out 3 to 4 weeks.
This is official information as of 6:20 p.m. ET:
Cavaliers forward/center Anderson Varejao experienced a left ankle sprain during the third quarter of the Cavaliers game vs. the Lakers in LA, Sunday afternoon. X-rays taken at the arena were negative. He received an MRI today in LA, the results of which showed no additional injury beyond the sprain. He will continue to receive treatments in LA today and travel to Cleveland tomorrow morning. He will be evaluated at The Cleveland Clinic tomorrow night and his status will be updated after that. No timeline has been established for his return to the court at this point.
If I had to choose between LeBron James or Kobe Bryant for one game, it would probably come down to who their teammates are. LeBron looks to create for others a bit more, Kobe looks to take over the game himself. But both players are perfectly good at everything on offense. If a dude is open, Kobe can nail him. And LeBron can completely dominate all on his own, teammates or no teammates. Still, if I had to pick one or the other for one game, I’d probably still go with Kobe.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao left today’s game versus the Los Angeles Lakers with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter with a Left Ankle Sprain. X-rays taken at the Staples Center were negative. He will be re-evaluated tomorrow in LA and his status will be updated after that.
With Sasha Pavlovic’s recent injury, the last thing Cleveland needs is Varejao being hurt as well.
The start of the Cavaliers season was a mess due to injuries and unsigned players. Now, one of the two key guys who rejoined the team after the season had already started may be gone for a while. The AP reports:
Cavaliers guard Sasha Pavlovic could miss up to two months because of a sprained left foot, a blow to the defending Eastern Conference champions, who are playing their best ball this season. Pavlovic got hurt during the third quarter of Wednesday night’s win over Washington.
The Cavs have played great basketball over the last month. This hurts their flow.
Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes appeared in 189 games for the Wizards from 2002-05… Wizards guard Antonio Daniels and Cavs forward Ira Newble were teammates in San Antonio in 2000-01… Daniels attended high school at nearby Saint Francis DeSales in Columbus, OH… Wizards center Brendan Haywood was originally drafted by Cleveland with the 20th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft… Wizards assistant Phil Hubbard averaged 10.6 points per game as a player with the Cavaliers from 1981-89… Wizards Head Coach Eddie Jordan was drafted by Cleveland 33rd overall in the second round of the 1977 NBA Draft.