NBA Teams – Page 1330 – NBA Blog

Al Jefferson powers Jazz over Wolves 97-93

During his three years in Minnesota, Timberwolves fans saw everything Al Jefferson showed in a Utah Jazz uniform on Wednesday night. The endless pump fakes, the odd-angle jumpers, the tenacity on the boards.

Everything except the big fella running a coast-to-coast break and igniting what proved to be a game-deciding run.

Jefferson had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Paul Millsap scored 21 points to power the Utah Jazz to a 97-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

”He’s cat-quick now,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said with a smile. ”He’s always saying he’s a (small forward). That was a good look.”

Jefferson helped the Jazz overcome a sluggish start against his former team to pick up a rare road win against a Western Conference opponent. Utah now has four wins in 17 road games in the West.

Big Al spent three seasons in Minnesota after being traded from Boston as part of a package for Kevin Garnett, and he endeared himself to the long-suffering fan base here with his creative low post game. He was traded to Utah in 2010, partly so the Wolves could make room for Kevin Love in the frontcourt. Love is out with a right hand that is broken for the second time this season, and Jefferson had his way with the rest of the Wolves down low…

Derrick Williams had 24 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and Ricky Rubio had 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves, who shot a season-low 34 percent.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Hornets roll past Trail Blazers, 99-63

Anthony Davis stormed down the lane, soared over a cluster of players under the basket, snagged a missed layup as it bounced off the front rim and slammed it down.

With that, the worst scoring slump the Hornets’ celebrated rookie could ever recall at any level of basketball ended.

Davis had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets handed the Portland Trail Blazers their fifth straight loss, 99-63 on Wednesday night.

”When you see the ball go through – a free throw, jump shot, layup, dunk, whatever it is – the confidence just builds back up,” Davis said. ”When I got that first dunk, the confidence was rising and I just tried to keep feeding on it.”

Davis, whose 0-for-7 shooting night on Monday in Detroit made him 1 of 13 in his previous two games, was 10 of 17 against Portland. He scored on an array of dunks, tip-shots and even jumpers from as deep as 20 feet.

For Davis, it seemed like a just result after he went to the practice gym on Tuesday – while the rest of the team was given the day off – and worked on his shooting.

”I was trying to keep my mind right,” said Davis, who’s been selected to play in an exhibition game involving top young players during this weekend’s NBA All-Star festivities in Houston. ”I wasn’t going to take the day off.”

Ryan Anderson added 14 points and Jason Smith 13, both in reserve roles. Greivis Vasquez had 10 points and eight assists.

Damian Lillard had 12 points and Victor Claver 11 for Portland, which lost starting guard Wesley Matthews to a sprained right ankle early in the game and played poorly throughout, shooting 32.4 percent (24 of 74) and turning the ball over 18 times.

— Reported by Brett Martel of the Associated Press

Celtics hold on for 71-69 win over Bulls

Celtics coach Doc Rivers offered Kevin Garnett the night off to get him the rest he’s losing by playing in this weekend’s All-Star game.

Good thing for the Celtics that Garnett turned it down.

The All-Star center scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and added 11 rebounds to help the Celtics overcome historically poor shooting and beat the Chicago Bulls 71-69 on Wednesday night.

”I’m seeing everybody in here playing through everything. I’m no different from that,” said Garnett, who played 26 minutes. ”Everybody’s tired. I felt like that was unfair. If he wasn’t going to give everybody the night off, then that wasn’t an option. I just came out and gave what I could.”

Paul Pierce went only 2 for 12 from the floor, but he hit a 3-pointer that bounced around the rim and in to give Boston a five-point lead with 3 minutes to play. The Celtics shot just 36.8 percent but still had the advantage over the Bulls, who made just 36.5 percent of their shots.

”I told them before the game I wasn’t going to play Kevin much and there was a chance I may not play him,” said Rivers, who had wanted to leave Garnett home for Monday’s game in Charlotte but got talked into playing him there. ”I told them it’s going to be an ugly game. … And this is before the game.

Joakim Noah had 10 points and 16 rebounds, and Carlos Boozer had 11 and 11 for Chicago. Reserve Marco Belinelli added 12 points in under 20 minutes for the Bulls.

— Reported by Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press

Raptors beat Knicks 92-88 for 4th straight win

Reserve Alan Anderson scored 26 points in one of the few good offensive performances for either team, and the Toronto Raptors beat the New York Knicks 92-88 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.

DeMar DeRozan added 20 points for the Raptors, who overcame a 4-for-21 performance from Rudy Gay because Knicks star Carmelo Anthony was just as bad. Anthony finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds but shot 5 of 24 for the Knicks, who dropped their final two games leading into the All-Star break.

J.R. Smith led the Knicks with 26 points. Raymond Felton had 16 but shot 3 of 9, while Amare Stoudemire was 4 of 13 and had one particularly ghastly miss from right at the basket on his way to 10 points.

Gay finished with 11 points one night after hitting the go-ahead basket with 4.9 seconds left in a victory over Denver. That was his second such basket in three games since his trade from Memphis, but the Raptors had to look elsewhere this time for someone to pick them up in a game that was poorly played and poorly officiated.

They found it in Anderson, who finished a point shy of his career high. Kyle Lowry and John Lucas III both had 12 points, Lucas playing most of the second half after Lowry was ejected.

The Knicks shot 35 percent and settled for an ugly finish to their best first half in 16 years. They lost three of their final four games and take a 32-18 mark to the All-Star break…

Anthony said he was hurt early in the game when he was hit by DeRozan’s elbow, causing a deep contusion that caused numbness. He said he will wait to see how it feels before determining if he can start as scheduled in Sunday’s All-Star game.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Josh Smith, Al Horford lead Hawks past Magic 108-76

Josh Smith had 30 points and 10 rebounds and Al Horford added 26 points and 12 rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks blew past the Orlando Magic 108-76 on Wednesday night.

The Hawks led by as many as 38 points and decimated the Magic defense on the way to earning their ninth consecutive regular-season win over their division rivals.

Jameer Nelson and Andrew Nicholson led the Magic with 10 points apiece. No other Orlando players reached double-figures.

The Magic have now lost 24 of their last 27 games.

It was the last game for both teams before the All-Star break. Orlando heads to Charlotte on Feb. 19 and Atlanta next plays at Miami on Feb. 20.

Horford and Smith scored at will both inside and from the outside, and had a combined point total that equaled the Magic’s team total after three quarters…

The Hawks’ started the game just 1 for 10 from the field and had just a six-point cushion after one. They erupted in the second, though, outscoring the Magic 32-17 as they built a 21-point halftime lead…

Horford and Smith combined for 30 points and 17 rebounds in the half, just a shade under the 36 points and 18 rebounds the Magic had as a team.

— Reported by Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press

Kawhi Leonard 3-pointer helps Spurs edge Cavs 96-95

Kawhi Leonard made a 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds remaining to give the San Antonio Spurs a 96-95 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

Leonard’s clutch basket came after Dion Waiters’ jump shot with 9.5 seconds remaining put Cleveland ahead 95-93.

The Spurs, who have won 14 of 15, had stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili on the floor together for the first time since Jan. 13.

Kyrie Irving, who was held to a season-low six points, missed a desperation runner from the top of the key as time expired.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 24 points while Gary Neal scored 15.

Waiters scored 20 points to lead Cleveland, which has dropped three straight after winning a season-high three in a row…

Irving, who rolled his left ankle Monday against Minnesota, was 2 of 15 from the field with seven assists.

Tyler Zeller, who was scoreless in 25 minutes Monday, had 16 points, including 12 in the first half, for Cleveland.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Paul George gets triple-double, Pacers beat Bobcats 101-77

Paul George posted his first career triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists, and the Indiana Pacers snapped a two-game losing streak with a 101-77 rout of the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.

Tyler Hansbrough tied a season high with 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pacers starting in place of David West, who was sidelined by an eye injury.

Byron Mullens led the Bobcats with 19 points and Gerald Henderson chipped in 14.

The first quarter started as a shootout with Indiana and Charlotte combining for 59 points on 55.6 percent shooting. The Pacers held a 30-29 lead after the first before limiting the Bobcats to 23 percent shooting (14-for-61) over the final three quarters.

George opened the game with a corner 3-pointer and finished the opening quarter with 11 points.

The Pacers stepped up on the defensive end in the second quarter, holding Charlotte without a field goal for nearly three minutes and to only 17 points in the quarter on 5-of-20 shooting. But Indiana’s offense didn’t fare any better with 19 points in the second.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Danny Granger returning soon, but not yet, for Pacers

Danny Granger’s return to the Indiana Pacers will have to wait at least another week.

Any chance of the team’s leading scorer returning to game action tonight at Bankers Life Fieldhouse against the Charlotte Bobcats was derailed by the flu-like symptoms.

Coach Frank Vogel said Granger’s injured left knee “responded well” to Tuesday’s practice, but Granger might not have played tonight anyway.

“He probably wouldn’t be quite ready yet if he wasn’t sick,” Vogel said after the morning practice.

— Reported by Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star

Hedo Turkoglu suspended 20 games for violating NBA anti-drug program

Hedo Turkoglu of the Orlando Magic has been suspended without pay for twenty games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program by testing positive for methenolone, it was announced today by the NBA.

Turkoglu’s suspension will begin tonight when the Magic play host to the Atlanta Hawks at Amway Center.

Statement from Turkoglu: “While I was back home in Turkey this past summer, I was given a medication by my trainer to help recover more quickly from a shoulder injury. I didn’t know that this was a banned substance and didn’t check before taking it. “I take full responsibility for anything that goes into my body. This was a complete error in judgment on my part and I apologize to the Orlando Magic organization, the league, my teammates, and the Magic fans. I know I have let down a lot of people and I am truly sorry for my mistake.”

Statement from Orlando Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan: “Hedo unknowingly took a banned substance. There are more than 125 banned substances on the NBA List, and we spend a lot of time educating our players on the contents of that list and will certainly continue to do so moving forward. We believe this was an honest mistake.”

According to the Associated Press, “Turkoglu is making about $11.8 million this season. He has one more year remaining on his current deal. He was picked as the NBA’s most improved player in 2008 while with Orlando.”

Did Vince Carter commit beard violation?

The rules regarding the Mavericks’ beard pact are a bit fuzzy, so to speak.

Shaving the neck is definitely allowed. What about the cheekbones? That will determine whether sixth man Vince Carter has violated the pact of not shaving until the Mavs hit .500 again.

Carter’s beard is bushy, but it’s been lined up on the neck and cheekbones and his mustache has been well trimmed. According to his interpretation of the unwritten rules, Carter is still in compliance.

“I can’t have it in my eyes, bro. Sorry,” Carter said. “Have you seen Chris Kaman? I can’t do that, man. I didn’t make the rules. That’s the thing. I don’t know where all the rules came from. O.J. (Mayo) was like, ‘We can’t cut the beard.’ The beard is the beard.”

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas