NBA Teams – Page 1099 – NBA Blog

Trail Blazers hit 21 three-pointers vs Bobcats

Here’s the Oregonian reporting on the latest fun show put on by the Portland Trail Blazers, who continue to play like one of the best teams in the league:

Trail Blazers hit 21 three-pointers, destroy Bobcats

The Trail Blazers defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 134-104 Thursday night at the Moda Center, improving to 26-7 on the season and moving into the top spot in the Western Conference.

The Blazers, who are rewriting the franchise three-point record book this season, had another blistering night from behind the arc and threatened to establish an NBA record for long-range shooting in the convincing victory over the Bobcats.

The Blazers made 21 three-pointers — tying a franchise record they set earlier this season — as seven different players made at least one three. The starting lineup was particularly hot, making 14 of 16, but no one was cold as the Blazers shot 64 percent (21-33). Wesley Matthews went 5 for 6, Mo Williams went 3 for 5 and Damian Lillard went 6 for 6, becoming the second player in franchise history to make at least six threes without a miss. Terry Porter also accomplished the feat in 1992.

The 21 threes equaled the franchise record set Dec. 14 during a win at Philadelphia and the Blazers became the first team in NBA history to make 20 or more threes twice in the same season.

Denver Nuggets suspend Andre Miller two games

The Denver Nuggets, who have lost eight straight games and been in a free-fall lately, have suspended point guard Andre Miller for two games for conduct detrimental to the team, general manager/executive vice president of basketball operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Miller will miss Denver’s home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and will not travel with the team for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center.

Dwane Casey and Jeff Hornacek named NBA Coaches of Month for December, 2013

The Toronto Raptors’ Dwane Casey and the Phoenix Suns’ Jeff Hornacek today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in December.

Casey led the Raptors to an 8-6 (.571) record, including road wins over the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder. The six road wins Toronto posted tied for best in the conference in December (Maurice Cheeks led the Detroit Pistons to six road wins). The Raptors had five players account for double-digit scoring averages on the month, and closed December winning seven of their final nine games.

Hornacek guided the Suns to a 10-3 (.769) record, including wins over the Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers. Phoenix recorded a five-game winning streak between Dec. 4-15, the longest winning streak the Suns have had since January, 2011. The Suns, who rank eighth in the NBA in scoring at 103.7 ppg, eclipsed the 100-point plateau in 10 of their final 11 December contests.

Other nominees for Coach of the Month were Atlanta’s Mike Budenholzer, Golden State’s Mark Jackson, Indiana’s Frank Vogel, Los Angeles Clippers’ Doc Rivers, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Oklahoma City’s Scott Brooks, Portland’s Terry Stotts and San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich.

Jrue Holiday feeling at home in New Orleans

Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer on New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday:

Holiday hasn’t missed a game for the Pelicans, who improved to 14-15 with the win and remain on the fringe of playoff contention in the loaded Western Conference. During the first 29 games he averaged 15.3 points, 8.3 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 34.3 minutes.

“He has the ability to be one of the very few two-way players who plays a lot of minutes,” Pelicans coach Monty Williams said of Holiday.

Williams added that it’s rare that a player who goes so hard at both ends of the court will play more than 25 minutes.

“Jrue does it 35-40 minutes a night and he is about as tough as they come,” Williams said.

New Orleans Pelicans waive Lou Amundson

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has waived forward Lou Amundson.

Amundson appeared in 18 games for the Pelicans this season and averaged 2.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 10.2 minutes per game. The 6’9” forward has appeared in 345 games over the course of eight years in the NBA and holds career averages of 3.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 12.7 minutes per game.

The Pelicans roster now stands at 14 players.

Houston Rockets lament defensive intensity in loss to Kings

Here’s CSN Houston with an update on the Rockets:

Several players were asked about any New Year’s resolutions they might be making this year. Dwight Howard said he makes the same one every year, he said he just wants to win a championship.

After the Rockets New Year’s Eve loss at Toyota Center to the Sacramento Kings, 110-106, thoughts in his locker room from Howard and his teammates were far from that.

“We’ve got to learn from our mistakes. This team has beaten us twice the same way and we didn’t learn from it. Until we do, we’re going to continue to lose.” Howard said. “There’s nothing to talk about anymore, everybody’s got to do their part, play defense. It starts on the perimeter. I’m not blaming it on nobody, we’ve all got to play defense better.

“We’ve got to learn at some point. As a team, collectively, we’ve got to learn how to finish these games off and start these games. Until we do, we’re going to keep losing to teams who don’t have a better record than us.”

Al Horford health status update: Horford had surgery today, officially out for rest of season

Al Horford had surgery today, officially out for rest of season

Atlanta Hawks forward/center Al Horford had surgery today to repair a complete tear of his right pectoral muscle. The surgery was performed at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta by Dr. Xavier Duralde and accompanied by Hawks Team Physician Dr. Michael Bernot from the Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic.

Horford will now undergo a period of rest, treatment and rehabilitation. He will be out through the remainder of the season.

At the time of his injury, the 6-foot-10 forward/center led the team in scoring (18.6), field goal percentage (.567; 7th in league), rebounding (8.4) and blocks per game (1.5; 13th) while adding 2.6 assists in 33.0 minutes per game in 29 games (all starts).

New York Knicks waive Chris Smith and bring Jeremy Tyler back

The New York Knicks are struggling badly this season, and with a 9-21 record are tied for the third worst winning percentage in the league. Any help they can get, even at the end of the bench, is needed.

Today, Knicks President and General Manager Steve Mills announced that the team has signed forward Jeremy Tyler of the Erie BayHawks, the 10th Gatorade Call-Up from the NBA Development League this season, and waived guard Chris Smith.

Tyler, 6-10, 250-pounds, has averaged 18.0 points, on 47.8-percent shooting, and 10.2 rebounds over 31.0 minutes in six games (all starts) with the BayHawks. He originally signed with New York on Aug. 6, after playing for the Knicks’ entry in NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, NV, and was waived on Oct. 25 while recovering from a broken right fifth metatarsal.

The San Diego, CA-native, was originally selected by the Charlotte Bobcats in the second round (39th overall) of 2011 NBA Draft before having his rights traded to the Warriors. He holds career averages of 3.6 point and 2.5 rebounds over 10.1 minutes in 63 games (23 starts) over two seasons with Golden State and Atlanta. He played professionally in Israel (Maccabi Haifa) and Japan (Tokyo Apache) for two seasons after leaving San Diego HS following his junior season.

Smith, 6-0, 200-pounds, signed with New York on Sep. 10, and appeared in two games, playing two minutes. He was assigned to Erie on Nov. 18, where he played six games before being recalled on Dec. 17.

Tony Parker apologizes for photograph of him making controversial gesture

Here’s the Associated Press reporting:

San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker is apologizing for a photograph that shows him making the same gesture with anti-Semitic connotations also made by French soccer star Nicolas Anelka this weekend. The photograph shows Parker and a French comedian making a gesture known in France as a “quenelle,” which critics describe as inverted Nazi salute. Parker said Monday in a statement released by the Spurs that the photograph was taken three years ago.

And from InsideHoops.com:

Tony Parker released the following statement earlier today: “While this gesture has been part of French culture for many years, it was not until recently that I learned of the very negative concerns associated with it. When l was photographed making that gesture three years ago, I thought it was part of a comedy act and did not know that it could be in any way offensive or harmful. Since I have been made aware of the seriousness of this gesture, I will certainly never repeat the gesture and sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding or harm relating to my actions. Hopefully this incident will serve to educate others that we need to be more aware that things that may seem innocuous can actually have a history of hate and hurt.”

More from InsideHoops.com:

We believe Tony Parker simply made an innocent mistake. Parker’s a good guy.

That aside, Dieudonne M’bala M’bala’ is a disgusting, vile bigot. He is an “activist” and former “comedian” in France who basically runs around promoting hate.

Anyway, back to basketball!

Pau Gasol remains a key Laker

Here’s ESPN Los Angeles on the Lakers, who need the services of Pau Gasol if their aim is to win basketball games:

Granted, there’s no way of knowing if Pau Gasol would have made any difference in the Los Angeles Lakers’ past two losses, to the Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers, two decidedly sub-.500 teams that L.A. fell to by a combined nine points.

Even if Gasol fought through his upper respiratory infection and came close to his 14.7-point and 9.4-rebound averages, L.A. might have still lost with the way it missed 16 of the 23 3-pointers it took against the Jazz and turned the ball over 22 times against the 76ers.

But here is the unwavering truth that makes the outcomes of the games almost irrelevant when considering Gasol’s lost contributions, no matter how strong or how meager they would have been: He could have played.

It was Gasol’s decision to sit out as his team extended its season-high losing streak to five with a 111-104 defeat to Philly. It’s not like he has been bedridden or completely unable to exert himself physically. According to a team source, Gasol still showed up to Lakers shootaround to lift weights Sunday, and when he told longtime trainer Gary Vitti he wanted more time to get over the infection and was not going to play against the Sixers, Vitti said to not even bother showing up to the game.