The AP reports: LeBron James has taken plenty of hard hits in his career, but didn’t like the one he took from Minnesota’s Jason Collins on Friday night. “It was borderline dirty,” James said after scoring 25 points in Cleveland’s 107-85 victory, the Cavaliers’ 11th straight win. The play in question occurred in the third quarter when James broke through a double team at the top of the key and drove into the lane. As James was heading toward the basket, Collins struck him in the face with his upper arm. James went to the floor and Collins was charged with a flagrant foul. “That’s not part of the game,” James said. “Hard fouls are a part of the game. That was a little bit overboard.”
Category: Minnesota T-Wolves Blog
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NBA rule change on too many players on court
The NBA Board of Governors voted to approve a playing rules change in regards to “too many players on the court”, which will take effect beginning Friday, March 27.
Under the playing rules change, when a “too many players on the court” violation is called, a technical foul will be assessed against the offending team and the non-offending team will have the option of either accepting or nullifying the game action that occurred during the violation.
Option 1 — Accept Game Action
The non-offending team can opt to ACCEPT all play that occurred during the violation, including any points scored, with no adjustment of the game clock.
Option 2 — Nullify Game Action
The non-offending team can opt to NULLIFY all play that occurred during the violation, other than any acts of unsportsmanlike conduct or flagrant fouls or any points scored from free throws as a result of such actions.
Under this option, following the technical foul, the game clock would be reset to the time when the ball was put into play with too many players on the court and, depending on how the ball was originally put into play, play would resume in accordance with the following:
1) If the original play commenced with a throw-in, then the ball would be returned to the original throw-in spot and play commenced with a throw-in.
2) If the original play commenced with a missed free-throw attempt where the ball remained in play, then play would be commenced with a jump ball held at center court between any two players who were on the floor at the time play was suspended due to the violation.
3) If the original play commenced with a jump ball, then play would be commenced with a jump ball held at the original jump-ball spot between the same two players who participated in the original jump ball.
Young leads 76ers over T-Wolves, 96-88
The AP reports: Thaddeus Young scored 29 points and Andre Miller had 15 to lead the Sixers to a 96-88 win over the revamped Timberwolves on Wednesday night. The Sixers (37-33) pulled a half-game behind Miami in the Eastern Conference standings and upped their odds toward clinching their first winning record in four seasons. The Heat lost 90-88 at Indiana on Wednesday… Rodney Carney stuck it to his former team with 21 points and Craig Smith had 20 for the Timberwolves, whose new lineup couldn’t help them avoid their sixth straight loss.
Murray scores 30 as Hawks top Timberwolves
The AP reports: Flip Murray scored a season-best 30 points, and Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson each added 20 as the Atlanta Hawks won their season-high eighth straight home game, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-97 on Monday night. It was Atlanta’s eighth win in nine games and the Hawks are 28-7 at Philips Arena. It was the fifth straight loss for the Timberwolves… Al Horford added 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks. Bibby, who hit on nine of his first 10 shots, finished nine-of-13. He also had nine assists. Randy Foye led Minnesota with 19 points, while Kevin Love added 17.
Durant leads Thunder past Wolves 97-90
The AP reports: Kevin Durant had his best game since returning to the Oklahoma City lineup after missing seven games with a bum ankle. But it wasn’t Durant’s 30 points that caught the eye of his coach. “Like I told him before our last game, ‘Kevin, you can fill up the stat sheet, but you don’t have to worry about your points to help us win,”’ Thunder coach Scott Brooks said after the Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 97-90 on Sunday… Durant had eight rebounds and five assists, and Jeff Green added 17 points for the Thunder, who jumped on the lethargic Timberwolves early to make up for a humiliating, 42-point defeat the last time they visited Minnesota… Craig Smith scored 19 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota and Bobby Brown fueled a late Wolves run with 12 points in the fourth quarter.
Hornets beat Timberwolves 94-93
The AP reports: Chris Paul and David West reminded the New Orleans Hornets of what a luxury it can be to have pair of All-Stars working together in crunch time. Paul capped a 26-point, 10-assist, five-steal performance by setting up West’s dunk with 12.6 seconds left that gave the New Orleans Hornets a 94-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night… Kevin Love had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, one night after getting 17 points and 19 rebounds in a loss at San Antonio… Rasual Butler had 14 points for New Orleans and Hilton Armstrong, starting at center for Tyson Chandler, had 12 points. Ryan Gomes had 17 points for Minnesota, while Rodney Carney added 12, Foye 11 and Telfair 10.
Duncan sits as Spurs beat Wolves 93-86
The AP reports: Thinking already about the playoffs, Tim Duncan took the night off against a team the San Antonio Spurs won’t have to worry about once they get there. Resting his sometimes troubled knees in the final game of a back-to-back for San Antonio, Duncan watched from the bench as Tony Parker scored 24 points and carried the Spurs to a 93-86 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night… Sebastian Telfair and Kevin Love had 17 points apiece for Minnesota. Roger Mason had 15 points for the Spurs, who now await a bigger test Friday at home against the Boston Celtics. Against Northwest Division-worst Oklahoma City on Monday, the Spurs blew a 17-point lead. The Spurs struggled again early against Minnesota—only a game better than the Thunder—before putting the Wolves away in the fourth.
Love scores 22, Timberwolves beat Bobcats 108-100
The AP reports: Rookie Kevin Love scored 22 points, Rodney Carney and Ryan Gomes added 21 each and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Charlotte Bobcats 108-100 on Saturday night. Craig Smith had 15 points for the Timberwolves, who snapped a four-game skid against Charlotte and handed the Bobcats their third straight loss. Gerald Wallace had 26 points to lead Charlotte, Raja Bell scored 21 and D.J. Augustin finished with 18. The Bobcats, whose skid follows a team-record, six-game winning streak, entered the day one-half game behind Chicago and Milwaukee for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.
Knicks win third in row on road, 102-94 vs. Wolves
The AP reports: Nate Robinson fought through a stomach virus—he was throwing up on the bench— to finish with 25 points, and Wilson Chandler scored 24 points to spark the Knicks to their third straight win. “Definitely still have a long way to go, but we’re definitely headed in the right direction,” said Larry Hughes, who had 12 points… Ryan Gomes tied his season high with 28 points and Sebastian Telfair added 22 for Minnesota, which fell to 2-13 without Al Jefferson after turning the ball over 19 times.
Wolves snap 10-game skid, beat Memphis 104-79
The AP reports: Kevin Love had 19 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high four assists and the Timberwolves snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 104-79 victory against the Grizzlies on Wednesday night. Mike Miller, who for reasons unknown has been a reluctant shooter most of the season, had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Ryan Gomes scored 25 for the Wolves… O.J. Mayo had 18 quiet points and Mike Conley Jr. had 17 for the lethargic Grizzlies, who trailed by 21 points after one quarter and lost for the 11th time in 12 games.