Denver Nuggets Blog – Page 75 – NBA Blog

Nuggets assign two to D-League

The Denver Nuggets have assigned C Cheikh Samb and G/F Sonny Weems to the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.

Samb, 7-1, 245, has averaged 0.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg and 0.83 bpg in six appearances with the Nuggets. Samb spent two stints with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League last season posting averages of 10.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and a league-leading 4.0 blocks in 19 games.

Weems, 6-6, 203, has yet to play for the Nuggets this season but averaged 9.2 ppg and 3.0 rpg in 22.2 mpg in five games for the Nuggets summer league entry in Las Vegas this past summer.

Samb and Weems mark the 10th and 11th player assignments to the NBA Development League this season and the first assignments to the 14ers in 2008-09.

Samb was acquired by the Nuggets from Detroit along with G Chauncey Billups and F Antonio McDyess in exchange for G Allen Iverson on Nov. 3.

Weems was acquired by Denver in a draft-night trade with the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for a 2009 second round drat pick.

Pistons sign Antonio McDyess

Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has signed free agent forward/center Antonio McDyess. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

McDyess played in the team’s first two regular-season games this season before being sent to Denver along with Chauncey Billups and Cheikh Samb as part of a trade for Allen Iverson. He was bought out of his contract in Denver and placed on waivers on November 6, 2008. In his two games this season, the former NBA All-Star averaged 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 19.0 minutes off the bench.

The Quitman, Mississippi native has led the Pistons’ bench in scoring in each of his four seasons with the club and finished fourth in the NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2005-06. McDyess was an NBA All-Star in 2001, earned All-NBA Third Team in 1999 and NBA All-Rookie First Team honors in 1996.

Dec 4: Spurs 108, Nuggets 91

The AP reports: Tony Parker scored 22 points, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili each added 21 and the San Antonio Spurs took advantage of a rare poor performance by Chauncey Billups since he arrived in Denver to whip the Nuggets 108-91 on Thursday night. The Nuggets had won 12 of 15 since acquiring Billups from Detroit in the Allen Iverson trade… In the first half, Billups scored just 3 points on 1-of-7 shooting and he doled out but a single assist. Billups scored nine points in the irrelevant fourth quarter to finish with 12. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 16, and J.R. Smith had 15 points and 10 boards off the bench. The Spurs shot 56 percent, racing out to a 61-41 halftime lead that put this one in the win column early—not a single time in their history have the Nuggets overcome a deficit of 20 or more points.

Dec 2: Nuggets 132, Raptors 93

The AP reports: Chauncey Billups had 24 points and 14 assists in Denver’s 132-93 rout of the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night in a game that was out of reach by halftime… Jermaine O’Neal returned from a sprained left ankle that had cost him three games and he scored 12 points to go with Chris Bosh’s 24, but they couldn’t keep the Raptors from being routed.

InsideHoops.com Notes: Carmelo Anthony shot 9-of-19 for 23 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Nene shot 8-of-9 for 19 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Corey Brewer out for season

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that forward Corey Brewer will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study done this morning revealed the extent of the injury, which occurred during Minnesota’s game vs. Denver on Saturday night. The date for surgery has yet to be determined.

“This is a tough situation for Corey and we feel for him,” said Timberwolves VP of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale. “Corey has worked extremely hard on his game. He was starting to really feel comfortable on the floor and was playing well. We’ll miss his energy, defensive mindedness and toughness moving forward.”

Brewer is still learning to play NBA basketball. Although versatile, athletic and a good defender, he’s not particularly skilled at any one thing yet. Unfortuantely, his development will have to wait.

In 20.5 minutes per game this season Brewer was shooting just 41.1% and averaging 6.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

Nov 30: Nuggets 104, Rockets 94

The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony’s right elbow was so sore, he couldn’t shoot, pass or dribble. Heck, he couldn’t even lift his toddler son, Kiyan, after the game. Good thing the Denver Nuggets have Chauncey Billups on their side now. Making up for Anthony’s absence—along with ‘Melo’s usual double-digit performance—Billups had 28 points and 10 assists to lead the Nuggets past Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets, 104-94 on Sunday night… Anthony scored just two points, halting his NBA-best streak of consecutive games in double figures at 222. That honor now goes to LeBron James, who has scored in double figures 134 straight times… Yao led Houston’s balanced production with 18 points but he was just 5-for-12 from the floor as Martin, Nene and Chris Andersen played terrific defense on the big man… Nene had 17 points and 10 boards for the Nuggets, who took a 48-44 halftime lead thanks to two 3-pointers from J.R. Smith in the closing minutes of the first half. Smith, who has been in and out of coach George Karl’s dog house for lapses in play and professionalism, finished with 19 points.

Nov 29: Nuggets 106, Wolves 97

The AP reports: With the game still close early in the second half, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups made sure Denver didn’t need another late comeback. Billups scored a season-high 27 points in three quarters, Carmelo Anthony added 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Nuggets beat Minnesota 106-97 on Saturday night. Denver closed with a 21-6 run in the fourth quarter to beat Minnesota 90-84 in Denver on Nov. 16. Anthony had the go-ahead dunk in that game. This time he and Billups keyed a 14-0 run midway through the third quarter to help Denver open a 80-63 lead. Billups said it was the team’s best quarter since he arrived in a Nov. 3 trade… Randy Foye scored a season-high 25 points to lead Minnesota. Al Jefferson had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Kevin Love had his first career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Love averaged 5.8 points in his previous nine games.

Nov 27: Hornets 105, Nuggets 101

The AP reports: Chris Paul led the Hornets with 22 points and 10 assists but came up six rebounds short of his third straight triple-double. Still, he took the game over late, scoring seven straight points for his team, including a 3-pointer from well behind the arc, with the shot clock running down, to tie it at 92 with 2:07 left… J.R. Smith led the Nuggets with a season-high 32 points. Denver tied it at 98 on Carmelo Anthony’s dunk with 37 seconds left, but the Hornets worked the ball to Posey, who made the 3 from the top right corner to give them the lead for good… Carmelo Anthony had 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting for Denver, showing more signs of coming out of a slump that had him making only 39 percent of his shots so far this season… Rasual Butler made his first seven shots for New Orleans and finished with 19 points. Peja Stojakovic had 17 and David West had 15, including a stick back of Paul’s near air ball that gave the Hornets a 98-94 lead with 52 seconds left.

Allen Iverson skips practice

The AP reports: Allen Iverson apparently chose family and food over practice — and he’ll be fined for it. Iverson was the only player who didn’t show up when the Detroit Pistons worked out on Thanksgiving.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I think practice should be optional on the select few major family-oriented holidays each season. But, naturally that’s the decision of the team/coach, not an individual player.

Nov 23: Nuggets 114, Bulls 101

The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and the Denver Nuggets rallied for a 114-101 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night… Anthony was struggling with his jumper, shooting less than 30 percent over his last four games. However, he finished 6-of-11 from the floor on Sunday, including a big 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter. He also had 13 rebounds and a season-high eight assists. “Melo was great,” said Chauncey Billups, who finished with 21 points and eight assists as the team moved to 8-2 since his acquisition… Ben Gordon scored 28 points for the Bulls, hitting 5-of-7 3-pointers. He also hit all nine of his free throw attempts. Gooden finished with 21 points as the Bulls lost for the ninth time in 10 visits to the Mile High City… Derrick Rose finished with 15 points, including a dazzling move in the third quarter where he flew down the lane, faked going to the left side of the basket, brought it back to the right, avoided Anthony’s block attempt and put it in, eliciting a gasp from the crowd.