NBA Teams – Page 1291 – NBA Blog

Paul Pierce triple-double helps Celtics beat Hawks

The Boston Celtics, who have already had their share of key injuries, had a quick scare seconds into the second half when Paul Pierce fell to the floor hard and was down for a bit before limping to the bench.

After a timeout, the 35-year old captain shook off the slight injury to his left leg, headed back onto the court and went back to work on his third triple-double of the season.

Pierce had 20 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, and Jeff Green scored 27 points to carry the Celtics to a 118-107 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night…

Jason Terry was 5 of 7 on 3-pointers and finished with 24 points for Boston, which won its second straight following a five-game losing streak. Brandon Bass scored 13 and Shavlik Randolph grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds with nine points…

Josh Smith led the Hawks with 18 points but shot just 7 of 23 from the floor and 0 for 6 in the second half. Mike Scott scored 19 and Jeff Teague added 17 points and seven assists…

Hawks F/C Al Horford missed the game due to an illness. … Rivers said before the game that the timetable for F/C Kevin Garnett’s return remained the same. ”I think it’s still two weeks,” he said. ”I don’t think it’ll be any longer than that. But if it’s two and a half, I don’t want to you to call me a liar or anything like that.” Garnett missed his fourth straight with what the team called ”left ankle inflammation.” … Boston G Courtney Lee returned after missing three games with a sprained left ankle.

— Reported by Ken Powtak of the Associated Press

J.R. Smith leads Knicks to 7th win in a row

J.R. Smith hasn’t had a run like this since high school.

No NBA reserve has in more than two decades.

Smith scored 37 points, his third consecutive 30-point outing, and the New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Bobcats 111-102 on Friday night for their season-high seventh straight victory.

”He is focused. He is dialed in. Locked in,” Carmelo Anthony said. ”He is playing extremely well and his confidence is sky high. We are following his lead.”

Anthony had 32 points and Raymond Felton added 18 for the Knicks, who have the longest current streak in the NBA. They built a 30-point lead that was reduced to single digits for the second game in a row.

Gerald Henderson tied a career high with 35 points for the Bobcats. Kemba Walker added 16, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 14 and Ben Gordon finished with 12.

Smith had 23 points at halftime, shooting 9 of 11 from the field. He is the first player with three straight 30-point games as a reserve since Ricky Pierce in 1990.

— Reported by Jeff Bernstein of the Associated Press

Raptors beat Pistons to end 5-game losing streak

Rudy Gay and the Toronto Raptors are out of the playoff picture and have just 10 games left before their season ends. That doesn’t mean they’re going to go quietly.

Gay scored 19 of his 21 points during a dominant third quarter and the Raptors ended a five-game skid with a 99-82 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.

Toronto led 46-45 at the break and took control by outscoring the Pistons 23-5 in the first eight minutes of the third period.

DeMar DeRozan also had 21 to help Toronto win a second straight meeting with the Pistons.

”Whatever he drank at halftime, he needs to keep drinking it,” coach Dwane Casey said of Gay, who was 7 for 11 from the floor in the third.

”Something clicked at halftime to get him going.” …

Amir Johnson added 20 points, including 10 during the second period that helped the Raptors take the lead for good.

Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Kyle Lowry added 11 assists…

Jonas Jerebko scored 20 points to lead the Pistons, who also got 17 from rookie Andre Drummond in their eighth straight home loss. Detroit made just six field goals in the third and often couldn’t seem to stop Gay once he got hot.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Tobias Harris helps Orlando Magic end losing streak

It’s clear the Orlando Magic are playing for next year, and Friday night was the first of what they hope will be some good signs during the season’s final weeks.

Orlando was up and down against the Washington Wizards, but when it came time to decide things, defense and some clutch offense from second-year forward Tobias Harris produced a 97-92 win for the Magic.

Harris scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Magic break an eight-game losing streak. Harris stopped Washington runs on at least four occasions during the game with timely shots. That included a 15-foot floater with 1:22 left in the game to put Orlando ahead 93-88 and three of four from the free throw line in the final 14 seconds that sealed the victory.

”Tonight was a good step for me,” said Harris, who came to Orlando from Milwaukee at the trade deadline. ”There have been times since being in a Magic uniform that I’ve struggled to close out games, but you’ve got to be ready when the opportunity comes and I took advantage of it.”

The Magic started Harris, three rookies – Maurice Harkless, Kyle O’Quinn and DeQuan Jones – and eight-year veteran Jameer Nelson, who left the game in the first quarter with a sprained ankle and did not return.

Harkless scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while second-year man E’Twaun Moore had 15 and rookie Andrew Nicholson scored 14…

The Wizards, by contrast, didn’t get much of anything from anyone other than John Wall and Martell Webster. Wall led Washington with 35 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Webster was the only other Wizard in double figures, scoring 19.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Bulls sign Malcolm Thomas to second 10-day contract

The Chicago Bulls announced today they have re-signed forward Malcolm Thomas to a second 10-day contract. Thomas, a 6-9, 225-pound forward, originally signed a 10-day contract with the Bulls on March 19, 2013.

Thomas has appeared in one game with Chicago this season, and also recorded three points and five rebounds in five games played with the Golden State Warriors earlier in the season. The 24-year old native of Columbia, Mo., is in his second season out of San Diego State.

Clippers keep Maalik Wayns for rest of season

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that they have signed guard Maalik Wayns for the remainder of the season.

Wayns has appeared in three games for the Clippers averaging 3.7 points, 2.3 assists and 9.3 minutes per game.

Wayns, who was the 23rd D-League to NBA “Call-Up” of the 2012-13 season, averaged 12.4 points and 3.0 assists in nine games (three starts) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League this season.

The 6’2” undrafted Villanova product started the season in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and appeared in 21 games for the Sixers. In those 21 games (one start), he averaged 2.7 points and 1.0 assist in 7.8 minutes of play.

Philadelphia 76ers having Allen Iverson bobblehead night March 30

Former Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson will be in attendance at Saturday’s (March 30) game at the Wells Fargo Center when the Sixers host the Charlotte Bobcats at 8:00 p.m.

Iverson will be introduced and salute the crowd on the court prior to tip-off. All fans in attendance at Saturday’s game will receive an Allen Iverson bobblehead, courtesy of Reebok.

“It’s always good to come back to Philadelphia,” said Allen Iverson. “I’m excited to be there for my bobblehead night, see the team and hear the roar of the fans I love.”

The Sixers next host the Charlotte Bobcats at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, March 30 at 8:00 p.m. All fans in attendance will receive an Allen Iverson bobblehead.

Warriors coach Mark Jackson shortens his rotation

The last two games, Warriors point guard Stephen Curry has played 43 and 46 minutes. His back up, Jarrett Jack, has played 33 and 35 minutes the last two games. Conversely, rookie reserves Draymond Green and Kent Bazemore totaled just over 8 minutes the last two games. Veteran Richard Jefferson hasn’t played at all.

Jackson has noticeably shortened his rotation. He’s primarily playing the five starters and Jack off the bench. He’s been mixing in forward Carl Landry and rookie center Festus Ezeli off the bench.

JACKSON: “It’s a combination of both shortening the rotation and reading (the situations). It doesn’t mean those guys aren’t going to play. … The good teams that I’ve been on, the good teams that I’ve watched, this time of year you shorten it.”

As the Warriors shift into playoff mode, Jackson is bracing his team for the intensity of the posteason. Possessions will matter more. The level of play will increase. That means less room for error, and less time for players deep on the bench.

— Reported by Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times (Blog)

Reggie Evans gets 22 points, 26 rebounds in Nets win over Trail Blazers

Reggie Evans’ Brooklyn teammates egged him on, making sure he knew just how many points and rebounds he had against the Trail Blazers.

In the end, Evans finished with a career-high 26 rebounds and matched his career best with 22 points, and Brooklyn beat Portland 111-93 on Wednesday night. Evans is the first NBA player to reach both those numbers in a game this season.

And to top it off, he was battling an infection that kept his right eye half-shut throughout the game.

”I just wanted to win, that’s it,” Evans said. ”But after a while your teammates get to tell you how many rebounds you got. Typical of my teammates: ‘Oh, you got this many. You got this many. You got this many.’ I just take whatever I can do.”

Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo called Evans’ performance ”absurd.”

It was Brooklyn’s 20th road win of the season, matching a franchise best. Brook Lopez added 28 points for the Nets, who built a big lead early and stretched it to as many as 30 points.

LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 24 points despite rolling his right ankle in the first half and briefly leaving the game…

Blazers rookie Damian Lillard, who is averaging just over 19 points, didn’t score before having 10 points in the third quarter. He finished with 15.

— Reported by Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press

Tim Duncan, Spurs edge Nuggets 100-99

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich treats the stretch run of the regular season like a series of final exams for his team.

The Spurs passed their latest – just barely.

Tim Duncan had 23 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks and the San Antonio Spurs escaped with a 100-99 win over Denver on Wednesday night when Nuggets veteran guard Andre Miller missed a short jumper at the buzzer.

”The schedule that we have is something that should be embraced and considered a great opportunity,” Popovich said, ”because it’s like taking a final exam every day or most days. To get ready for the playoffs, understanding the physicality, aggressiveness and competitiveness that’s necessary night after night in the playoffs.”

Denver dished out a heavy dose of that playoff intensity.

Danny Green added 20 points and Tony Parker had 18 points and 11 assists for the Spurs, who remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Oklahoma City in the race for the top spot in the Western Conference. Kawhi Leonard had 11 points and Tiago Splitter 10.

JaVale McGee had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Wilson Chandler scored 15 points and Miller 14 for the Nuggets, whose reserves outscored their Spurs counterparts 59-18. Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari added 12 points apiece and Andre Igoudala had 10.

— Reported by Raul Dominguez of the Associated Press