The AP reports: The seldom-used Donyell Marshall made the most of his rare appearance on the court Sunday, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Miami Heat 85-77. Andre Iguodala led the 76ers with 21 points, Thaddeus Young had 17 and Samuel Dalembert grabbed 12 rebounds for Philadelphia, which won its third straight and moved within two games of Miami for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Dwyane Wade, coming off a 50-point performance in a triple-overtime victory over Utah on Saturday, was held to 18. The NBA’s leading scorer looked tired after playing a career-high 52 1/2 minutes against the Jazz. He shot 8-for-21 in 34 1/2 minutes.
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Wade gets 50, Heat beat Jazz in 3OT
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade finished with 50 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in another dazzling show, Jermaine O’Neal added 28 points and the Heat pulled off two huge last-ditch rallies before beating the Utah Jazz in a triple-overtime epic, 140-129 on Saturday… Wade tied his career high in scoring, set new bests in minutes (52 1/2 ), field goals made (19) and attempted (39), plus passed Alonzo Mourning to become Miami’s all-time points leader… Mario Chalmers scored 23 points for Miami, which shot 35-for-39 from the foul line and moved a season-high seven games over .500 (36-29). The Heat also got back within 1 1/2 games of Atlanta for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, and improved to 5-0 in overtime this season. Deron Williams scored 30 points and had 13 assists for the Jazz, who also got a season-high 25 points from Kyle Korver, along with seven rebounds and six assists. Carlos Boozer finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz.
Wade does it again, lifts Heat past Celtics
The AP reports: It’s that time of year, where little aches and pains are starting to add up for Dwyane Wade. Sore knee, stiff ankle, that sort of thing. He tried to say it was a problem Wednesday. “I was only able to get 32,” Wade said, unable to hold in a laugh— knowing those 32 points were good enough for the Miami Heat. Wade continued his post-All-Star offensive tear, hitting the game-sealing 3-pointer with 34 seconds left, and the Heat held on to beat the injury-depleted Boston Celtics 107-99… Ray Allen hit his first six shots and finished with 27 for Boston, but only three of those came after halftime—as he missed six of his final seven shots. Leon Powe had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, who got 16 points from Paul Pierce.
Wade amazing, Heat beat Bulls 130-127 in 2OT
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade’s 3-pointer at the end of the first half was desperation. The one in the final seconds of regulation, dramatic. And the one that finally ended the game, unbelievable. Miami’s MVP candidate stole the ball from John Salmons with 3 seconds left, then made a running 3-pointer as time expired to lift the Heat to a wild 130-127 double-overtime win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night… Wade—who finished with 48 points and 12 assists in nearly 50 minutes, shooting 15-for-21 from the field—made a 3-pointer at the end of the first half, then another with 11.5 seconds left in regulation… Michael Beasley had 18 points, Mario Chalmers added 17 and Jamario Moon scored 13 for the Heat, who stayed within 1 1/2 games of Atlanta for the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. Ben Gordon scored a season-high 43 points for the Bulls, including eight 3-pointers. Salmons scored 29 and Derrick Rose added 23 for the Bulls, who are 0-3 against Miami this season and used only seven players Monday.
Australia: Kirk Penney wins 2009 NBL MVP
New Zealand Breakers star shooting guard Kirk Penney has been named the winner of the Andrew Gaze Trophy as the National Basketball League’s Most Valuable Player for the 2008/09 season, becoming the first New Zealander ever to win the NBL’s top award.
Penney registered 92 votes to narrowly take out the award from Sydney Spirit big man Matthew Knight on 90. Melbourne Tigers’ Nigerian import Ebi Ere came third with 89 votes, while Mark Worthington of the South Dragons (87) and Shawn Redhage of the Perth Wildcats (86) rounded out the top five in an extremely tight race.
Penney, who previously played for the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers in the American NBA, averaged 24.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 28 regular season games for the Breakers in 2008/09. He shot the ball at 45.6% from the field, 37.3% from three-point territory and 80.4% from the free-throw line.
The Tall Blacks star also led his team to their best-ever season, helping the Breakers to the Semi-Finals for the first time in club history.
Whilst Penney was delighted with the award, he was also disappointed that the Breakers’ season ended with a 2-0 sweep at the hands of the Melbourne Tigers.
“We, the players and coaches, definitely had a bit of a sour taste in how we lost to the Tigers. We felt like we should have played better and had a chance of winning the series,” Penney said of the award.
“I guess it is a little [bittersweet] because you want to win a championship, and they’re the memories that never leave you. But as a personal accolade it’s just a huge honour.”
Voting for the MVP award is conducted following each regular season game by the coaching staffs of each team, with the player amassing the most votes at the end of the season being declared the winner.
The NBL’s MVP award is named after Melbourne Tigers great Andrew Gaze, with the trophy being a specially commissioned sculpture of Gaze in action.
Shaun Livingston joins Tulsa in D-League
The Tulsa 66ers announced today they have acquired the fourth overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, point guard Shaun Livingston.
Livingston, at 6 foot 7 inches, has played in 149 regular season NBA games, including 60 starts for the Los Angeles Clippers from 2004-07. He played in four games for the Miami Heat earlier this season. He has career averages of 7.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.1 rebounds while shooting 44 percent from the field and 71 percent from the free throw line.
The Peoria, Illinois native led Peoria Central High to Class AA state titles in both 2003 and 2004 and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball as a senior in 2003-04, while also named to the 2004 McDonald’s All-America Team. Livingston became the fourth Illinois Mr. Basketball to jump directly from high school to the NBA, joining Darius Miles, Kevin Garnett and Eddy Curry.
Livingston will wear jersey number 14, and will be in uniform for tonight’s game against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In order to make room on the roster for Livingston, the 66ers released guard Derrick Dial due to an injury.
Wade scores 42 points as Heat beat Raptors
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade had 42 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and the Miami Heat beat Toronto 108-102 on Friday night, snapping a six-game losing streak against the Raptors… Michael Beasley scored 12 points and Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers and Chris Quinn had 10 as Miami won back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game streak from Jan. 24-28. The Heat had not beaten Toronto since a 92-89 home victory on April 3, 2007. Chris Bosh scored 34 points and Andrea Bargnani had 23 for Toronto, which has lost four straight.
Unhappy return for Shaq, as Heat top Suns 135-129
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 35 points and tied his career high with 16 assists, Michael Beasley and Daequan Cook both had career highs on the way to a combined 55 points off Miami’s bench. The Heat spoiled Shaquille O’Neal’s first trip back to South Florida since last year’s trade with a 135-129 win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night… Beasley scored 28 points—the most by a Heat player besides Wade this season—and nine rebounds. Cook added 27 points and Miami led for all but a portion of the opening minutes on the way to the second-highest point total in franchise history… O’Neal finished with 22 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 1:08 left. Steve Nash led Phoenix with 29 points and 10 assists, and Jason Richardson added 22 points for the Suns.
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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LeBron scores 42, Cavs beat Heat 107-100
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 42 points, Williams got 15 of his 30 points in the final 7:14 to lead a stirring rally, and the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the final minutes to beat the Heat 107-100 on Monday night… Wade’s dunk put Miami up 91-80 with 7:52 left. The Heat shot 2-for-17 with four turnovers the rest of the way, getting outscored 27-9—a far cry from Saturday night, when the Heat got 24 from Wade in the final quarter to pull off a stunning win over the New York Knicks… Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 12 points and had 15 rebounds—his fourth double-double on a four-game road trip—for Cleveland, which moved a full game ahead of idle Boston for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Jermaine O’Neal scored 16 points, Mario Chalmers added 15 and Moon had 11 for Miami, which shot 2-for-17 with four turnovers in the final 6:52 to waste what was a 91-80 lead.
InsideHoops.com note: Dwyane Wade had 41 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists (but 8 turnovers) and 7 steals.