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Miami Heat sign Luther Head

The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed free agent guard Luther Head. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are pleased to announce that we have signed Luther Head,” said Heat President Pat Riley. “Luther will bring us a prototype combo guard that can both handle the ball and shoot with tremendous proficiency. This is a positive step for the Miami Heat.”

Head, a 6’3”, 185-pound guard, has appeared in 22 games (four starts) this season for the Houston Rockets and averaged 4.8 points, 1.6 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 14.6 minutes of action while shooting 38.6 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from three-point range and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. In his four starts this season, he averaged 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.25 steals and 25.8 minutes.

Playing in his fourth NBA season, the former first round draft pick (24th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft has appeared in 255 career games (58 starts) and averaged 8.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.80 steals in 24.4 minutes while shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from beyond the arc and 76.6 percent from the line. He finished his Houston career among the best Rockets shooters in franchise history as he placed fourth in career three-point field goal percentage and eight in all-time three-point field goals made (383).

Head will wear number 13.

The Heat roster now currently stands at 15.

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Landry scores 22, Rockets beat Raptors 107-97

The AP reports: Carl Landry matched a career high with 22 points, Luis Scola added 20 points and 16 rebounds and the Rockets extended their home-court winning streak to 10 games with a 107-97 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. Yao Ming added 20 points and 11 rebounds, but struggled at times against Toronto big men Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani. That created opportunities for Landry and Scola, two energetic forwards who combined for 22 points and 11 rebounds in the second half to help Houston pull away… Bosh and Bargnani scored 25 points apiece and Jose Calderon matched a career high with 16 assists for the Raptors, who’ve lost seven of their last eight road games.

Rockets sign James White to 10-day contract

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard/forward James White of the NBA D-League’s Anaheim Arsenal to a 10-day contract. White becomes the 12th Call-Up of the season.

White (6-7, 200, Cincinnati) was averaging 25.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.18 steals in 34 games (33 starts) for the Arsenal this season. At the time of his Call-Up, White was tied for first in the D-League in points per game and was ranked tied for 12th in the league in field goal percentage. White posted 30 or more points in 12 contests with the Arsenal this season, including a season-high 47-point performance against Houston’s D-League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers (1/20/09).

Originally selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round (31st overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft, White had his draft rights sent to Indiana. He averaged 3.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in eight preseason games with the Pacers before being released prior to the regular season. White signed with the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 3, 2006, and was assigned to the Austin Toros of the NBA D-League on Dec. 15. In 15 games (11 starts) with the Toros, White averaged 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists. White was recalled twice by the Spurs and averaged 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists in six career games (two starts) with San Antonio. His experience also includes a stint with Turkish champions Fenerbahçe, where he averaged 8.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

At the University of Cincinnati, White earned Honorable Mention All-Big East honors as a senior. He finished his collegiate career ranked 44th on Cincinnati’s all-time scoring list with 1,088 points. White played his final three seasons at Cincinnati after spending his freshman year at Florida, sitting out the 2002-03 campaign at Cincinnati under NCAA transfer rules.

Read NBA fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Rockets overpower smaller Timberwolves 105-94

The AP reports: Without “Big Al” in the middle of their lineup, the Minnesota Timberwolves simply are not measuring up these days, especially when Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets come to town. One night after blowing a 17-point lead in the final six minutes, Yao towered over the Timberwolves with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks in Houston’s 105-94 victory over Minnesota on Sunday… Ron Artest scored 23 points and Aaron Brooks had 22 points and a career-high 10 assists for the Rockets, who had lost four in a row, and five of their last six, on the road… Foye scored 24 points and Craig Smith had 20 for the Timberwolves, who lost their sixth game in a row and fell to 1-8 since star center Al Jefferson went down for the season with a torn ACL.

Rose 16 in 4th, Bulls beat Rockets 105-102

The AP reports: Derrick Rose scored 16 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, and the Chicago Bulls rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the Houston Rockets 105-102 on Saturday night. Trailing 99-82 with just under six minutes left, the Bulls outscored the Rockets 23-3 the rest of the way to pull out a dramatic win in their first home game since the deaths of franchise icons Norm Van Lier and Johnny “Red” Kerr… Artest, who scored a season-best 32 points, argued vehemently for a foul and had to be escorted away by Dikembe Mutombo… Yao Ming added 17 points, Luis Scola scored 16 while grabbing 11 rebounds, but the Rockets let what looked like their first road win in more than a month slip away.

Rockets waive Luther Head

The Houston Chronicle (Jonathan Feigen) reports: With his playing time scarce and time running out on his contract, Rockets guard Luther Head was waived on Saturday to beat the deadline for players to be eligible for the postseason. Head will likely be replaced on the roster by high-scoring NBA Development League forward James White of the Anaheim Arsenal. The Rockets were close to signing White to a 10-day contract, a person with knowledge of the move said on Saturday, and White was held out of Saturday’s game… “He wants to play and it didn’t seem he would get the opportunity to play a lot there,” Head’s agent Mark Bartelstein said. “This is an opportunity to find a team and get a chance to play, maybe to play in the playoffs and to showcase him before he is a free agent this summer.”

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Ben Wallace hurt, Rockets beat Cavs 93-74

The AP reports: LeBron James missed shots, complained to the refs and went an entire game without an assist for the first time in his career. The Houston Rockets, meanwhile, showed they just might be contenders in the Western Conference with a 93-74 win over James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. Yao Ming scored 28 points and Ron Artest added 15 while harassing James on defense most of the night, leading the Rockets to their six consecutive win and ninth straight at home. “It is a big win,” said Yao, who hit 13 of 15 shots, despite Cleveland’s constant double-teams… James scored 21 points, but went 7-for-21 from the field with three turnovers… To make matters worse, forward Ben Wallace broke his right leg in the second quarter and will miss 4-6 weeks, the team said.

InsideHoops.com notes: For the Rockets, Yao had 28 points and 8 rebounds but 0 assists and 5 turnovers. Von Wafer shot 5-of-10, including 4-of-6 three-pointers, for 19 points off the bench. Ron Artest had 15 but needed 15 shots to get it. Luis Scola shot 5-of-7 for 14 points and 9 rebounds. The Cavs, however, only shot 33.8%. They were a force on the offensive boards thanks to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had 11 points and 13 rebounds, but shot badly. Mo Williams shot 8-of-18 for 21 points.

Artest scores 21 to lead Rockets over Blazers

The AP reports: The Houston Rockets got a validating victory on Tuesday night to continue climbing up the Western Conference standings. Ron Artest scored 21 points, Aaron Brooks had 20 and the Rockets moved past Portland in the West with a 98-94 victory over the Trail Blazers. Luis Scola had 15 points and 11 rebounds—his fifth straight double-double — for the Rockets, who came in trailing Portland by a half-game for fourth place in the conference… Brandon Roy scored 24 and LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points with eight rebounds for the Blazers, who’ve lost nine of their last 10 games in Houston.

Sam Cassell could wind up with Nuggets

The Orange County Register (Art Thompson) reports (via blog),With his playing career now in its twilight, veteran NBA guard Sam Cassell could wind up ending with the Denver Nuggets, who are in the market for a seasoned guard to aid them in the playoffs. The 39-year old Cassell recently was traded by the Boston Celtics, to the Sacramento Kings, for a second-round draft pick. The floundering Kings had no plans for Cassell and it was their intention, when the trade was made, to waive him immediately.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Cassell want to become an NBA coach. As reported by the above newspaper but also told to me by Cassell himself, George Karl seems willing to work with Cassell on it.

Tracy McGrady to have microfracture surgery

Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady will undergo season-ending microfracture surgery on his left knee in Chicago on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Rockets Team Physician Tom Clanton will assist Dr. Brian Cole with the procedure.

McGrady played in 35 games this season and finishes with averages of 15.6 points, 5.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds.

The Rockets have gotten used to playing without some or all of their top stars, and now it’ll be for a very extended period.