NBA Teams – Page 1390 – NBA Blog

Grizzlies overcome slow start to beat Bulls

The Memphis Grizzlies were struggling early against the stingy Chicago Bulls, taking bad shots and committing turnovers.

Then the Grizzlies’ bench took over, providing the burst that helped Memphis beat the Bulls 80-71 on Monday night.

”I thought it was huge what they did,” Grizzlies guard Mike Conley said of the second-period play by the reserves. ”They came in and changed the game, changed the tempo. They got it going up and down a little bit. Got the ball movement where we like it to be.” …

Conley led Memphis with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting and four assists, while Zach Randolph added 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Rudy Gay had 12 points for Memphis but shot 5 of 13, continuing his slump. Wayne Ellington scored all 11 of his points in the second quarter, when the Grizzlies’ reserves provided the lift after a sluggish first period, when Memphis managed only 11 points for its lowest output in the opening quarter this season.

Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Marco Belinelli finished with 13 points. Luol Deng and Joakim Noah had 11 points apiece for the Bulls, but Deng was 4 of 17 from the field…

Both teams shot just better than 37 percent. But Memphis was 6 of 11 from 3-point range compared to the Bulls hitting only 2 of 11 long-range shots. The Memphis frontline of Gay, Randolph and Marc Gasol were a combined 10 of 34, while the Bulls starting frontline of Deng, Boozer and Noah made 16 of 42.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Serge Ibaka steps up in Thunder win over Spurs

Serge Ibaka ripped away an offensive rebound, got hacked in the process and found his way toward midcourt to flex his muscles in celebration.

Ibaka is a force to be reckoned with, and what better way to show it than by delivering his best game of the season against a rival who had a player take a jab at him on Twitter?

Ibaka tied his career best with 25 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-93 Monday night for their 11th straight win…

It was the first meeting for the teams since San Antonio’s Stephen Jackson made a threatening post about Ibaka on Twitter, drawing a $25,000 fine from the NBA…

Jackson just happened to make his return after missing the previous 14 games with a broken right pinkie finger…

The Spurs never found an answer for Ibaka, who had just four points while fighting foul trouble in Oklahoma City’s season-opening loss at San Antonio. He finished 10 for 16 from the field, led the Thunder to a 49-37 rebounding advantage and also blocked three shots…

”It was just another game on the list for us,” said Kevin Durant, who scored 19…

Parker and Nando De Colo had 14 points apiece to lead the Spurs. Manu Ginobili did not play because he bruised his left quadriceps in Saturday’s win at Boston.

Russell Westbrook chipped in 22 points and nine assists and Kevin Martin scored 20 for the Thunder, who had no interest in fanning the flames on the Ibaka-Jackson feud.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Jeremy Lin, Rockets beat Knicks in New York

His old fans booed him. His old friend clobbered him.

Otherwise, it was Linsanity all over again at Madison Square Garden.

Jeremy Lin had 22 points and eight assists in his return to New York, leading the Houston Rockets to a 109-96 victory Monday night that ended the Knicks’ 10-game home winning streak to open the season.

Cheered then jeered, and later floored by Tyson Chandler’s flagrant foul, Lin added another masterpiece to the ones he put together last season during the height of his memorable run. No longer the fan favorite he was when wearing the home uniform, Lin got a mixed reception when he left the game with 2:25 remaining and the Rockets leading by 16.

”It was a lot of fun playing out there and I think our team, we took a step in the right direction,” Lin said. ”And for me, it was great to be back and it was a lot of fun to play on that court again.”

James Harden had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who blew out the Knicks for the second time this season. They have won the last seven meetings, including a 131-103 rout in Houston on Nov. 23.

Rookie Chris Copeland scored a career-high 29 points for the Knicks, who played without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony and had their four-game winning streak snapped. They fell to 18-6, matching the record they finished last season with under Mike Woodson…

Felton scored 14 points but shot 7 of 18. Kidd was 2 for 9, and both committed three turnovers.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Clippers beat Pistons for 10th straight win

The Los Angeles Clippers are learning to adapt.

Playing their fourth road game in seven nights, they could have easily been overrun by the often overlooked Detroit Pistons.

Not this club.

Jamal Crawford scored 15 points and Chris Paul added 14 to lead the weary Clippers to their 10th straight win, 88-76 over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night…

No Clippers player scored more than 15 points, but they had five players score in double figures…

Blake Griffin also had 15 points for Los Angeles and Paul had seven assists. Griffin had two breakaway dunks in the last 30 seconds, one on a pass banked off the backboard by Matt Barnes…

Brandon Knight led the Pistons with 16 and Tayshaun Prince added 15. Detroit, which committed 17 turnovers, lost its fifth straight…

Both teams struggled in the first half, with the Clippers taking a 42-40 lead into the intermission despite shooting just 39 percent. Detroit hit 42.5 percent of its shots, but managed only one free throw and two offensive rebounds. The Clippers tried for the last shot of the half, but Prince stole the ball and two quick passes gave Greg Monroe a wide-open layup at the buzzer.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Glen Davis scores 28 points vs Timberwolves

The Orlando Magic had to figure out how to defend down low before they could make their move.

Using a second-half rally, Glen Davis and the Magic won their third straight with a 102-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

”It boiled down to who was going to be the aggressor, that team was going to win,” Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. ”That was my message at halftime. It was good to see our bigs respond to that kind of physicality.”

Orlando got manhandled inside by Minnesota’s front line in the first half, but Magic big men Davis and Nikola Vucevic pushed back in the second half to help their team to its third straight victory.

Davis scored a game-high 28 points and Vucevic had his third straight double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. J.J. Redick contributed 18 points and seven assists as Orlando rallied from 15 points down in the third quarter to snap Minnesota’s four-game win streak.

Kevin Love led Minnesota with 23 points and 15 rebounds and Nikola Pekovic added 19 points and 12 rebounds, but they did most of their damage in the first half when Minnesota shot 49 percent from the field while building a 61-49 lead at the break.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Kings recall Tyler Honeycutt from D-League

The Sacramento Kings recalled second-year forward Tyler Honeycutt from the Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-League today, according to Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. Honeycutt was assigned to the Bighorns on November 8, 2012.

The first D-League assignment in the NBA this season, Honeycutt averaged 10.9 points (.462 FG%, .357 3pt%, .786 FT%), 9.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2.3 steals, 1.7 blocks, and 31.1 minutes per game in seven contests, starting three. He recorded three double-doubles. Honeycutt recorded 18 points (8-11 FG, 2-2 3pt), 12 rebounds, four steals, and two blocks in 35 minutes off the bench in a 127-98 win over Bakersfield (December 7). The next night against Bakersfield, Honeycutt tallied 17 points (7-11 FG, 2-3 3pt, 1-2 FT), 15 rebounds, three assists, five steals, and two blocks in 40 minutes in the 106-86 win. His third double-double of the season came in a 134-124 triple-overtime loss on December 15 at L.A. Defenders as he recorded 18 points (7-15 FG, 1-4 3pt, 3-3 FT), 12 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and four blocks in 37 minutes in his third start of the season.

Selected in the second round (35th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Kings, Honeycutt finished his rookie campaign (2011-12) averaging 1.3 points per game (.333 FG%, .333 3pt%, .600 FT%) in 15 games off the bench for Sacramento, but has yet to see any action this season.

Pacers re-assign Miles Plumlee to D-League

The Indiana Pacers today re-assigned rookie Miles Plumlee to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ NBA Development League affiliate. The assignment is the 55th of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons, while Plumlee is one of 35 NBA players to have been assigned to the NBA D-League this season.

Plumlee (6-11, 255, Duke) re-joins the Mad Ants having played in four games for Fort Wayne during his previous assignments when he averaged 16.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 33.3 minutes. He has appeared in four games for the Pacers this season, scoring four points and grabbing five rebounds in 16 minutes. Selected 26th overall by the Pacers in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft, Plumlee was a four-year member of the Blue Devils where he won an NCAA Championship in 2010.

Plumlee is expected to join the Mad Ants today and be available tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 18, when the team hosts the Canton Charge at 7 p.m. ET.

Courtney Fortson named D-League Performer of Week

Courtney Fortson of the Los Angeles D-Fenders was today named NBA Development League Performer of the Week for games played Dec. 10-16.

A 5-11, 185-pound guard out of Arkansas, Fortson led the D-Fenders to a 2-0 record for the week, averaging 27.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 46.5 minutes. He scored a team-high 36 points in a 134-124 triple-overtime win over the Reno Bighorns, 134-124, on Dec. 15 to go with a team-high eight assists.

A second-year member of the D-Fenders, Fortson earned two GATORADE Call-Ups during the 2011-12 season and owns NBA career averages of 3.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 9.5 minutes in 10 games for the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets.

Other top performers considered include Austin’s Tyler Wilkerson, Bakersfield’s Damion James, Canton’s Jon Leuer, Erie’s D.J. Kennedy, Fort Wayne’s Miles Plumlee, Idaho’s Joel Freeland, Iowa’s Chris Wright, Los Angeles’ Darius Johnson-Odom, Maine’s Shelvin Mack, Reno’s Garrett Temple, Rio Grande Valley’s Tim Ohlbrecht, Santa Cruz’s Travis Leslie, Sioux Falls’ Andrew Goudelock, Springfield’s James Mays, Texas’ Darius Rice and Tulsa’s Jeremy Lamb.

Paul George and David Lee named NBA Players of the Week

The Indiana Pacers’ Paul George and the Golden State Warriors’ David Lee today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 10, through Sunday, Dec. 16.

George led the Pacers to a 3-0 week which included wins over Central Division rivals Cleveland and Detroit. George averaged 23.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks. He shot .474 from three-point range on the week and ranks eighth in the league with 54 made three-point field goals on the season.

Lee helped the Warriors to a 3-1 record which included wins at Miami and Atlanta. Lee tallied 22.8 points on .606 shooting from the field, 12.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals. He posted a point-rebound double-double in all four contests and extended his double-double streak to seven consecutive games – the longest such streak in the NBA this season.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin, Miami’s LeBron James, Minnesota’s Nikola Pekovic, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio’s Tony Parker and Toronto’s Jose Calderon.

Andrew Bynum says knees are improving

Andrew Bynum, out all season with chronically injured knees, said he feels closer to returning to the court for the 76ers.

Bynum will see orthopedic surgeon David Altchek on Thursday, and the Sixers center said he is optimistic.

“I am feeling much better,” Bynum said before Sunday night’s game at the Wells Fargo Center against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers. “When I see the doctor, hopefully, I will be cleared for impact.”

And Bynum is confident on his impact with his new teammates.

“I think I will do wonders for this team, because now we really don’t have a post threat, and I will help free up a lot of our guys,” Bynum said.

Bynum reiterated that now only his left knee is bothering him. And he said that he is feeling even better than he was last week when he talked to reporters.

— Reported by Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer