NBA Teams – Page 1407 – NBA Blog

Toronto Raptors sign Mickael Pietrus, waive Dominic McGuire

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have signed free-agent guard-forward Mickael Pietrus (MY-kel PEE-trus).

Pietrus, 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, has shot .357 per cent (659-1846) from three-point range in his NBA career. He has connected at better than .350 per cent from beyond the arc in five of his past six seasons.

A veteran of nine NBA campaigns, Pietrus has averaged 8.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 21.5 minutes in 538 career games. He has appeared in 69 postseason outings, averaging 7.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 21.8 minutes. His best statistical season came in 2006-07 when he averaged 11.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 72 games with Golden State.

Pietrus was selected 11th overall by Golden State in the 2003 NBA Draft. He spent five seasons with the Warriors before splitting his last four years between Orlando, Phoenix and Boston.

Pietrus began his professional career in his native France with Pau Orthez. He played four seasons with the club, averaging 9.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 94 games.

To make room on the roster, the Raptors waived forward Dominic McGuire. McGuire appeared in 15 games and averaged 2.1 points and 3.4 rebounds.

Celtics recall Kris Joseph from D-League

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have recalled forward Kris Joseph from their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.

Joseph, a 6’7 forward, averaged 25.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 block in two games while on assignment. He made his NBA debut against the Milwaukee Bucks and recorded one rebound and one assist in three minutes of action on November 2.

Andrew Bynum in lawsuits with neighbors

NBA superstar Andrew Bynum is suing his next door neighbors, claiming they’re violent, racist hooligans — but the neighbors have fired back … claiming Bynum is the REAL a-hole.

Bynum — a former member of the L.A. Lakers — claims that ever since he moved into his fancy home in Westchester, CA more than 7 years ago, he’s been constantly harassed by his neighbors, Ramond and Cindy Beckett.

According to his lawsuit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Bynum says … the Becketts have objected to his “profession, his race, his friends, his cars and his taste in music.” …

In their legal docs, the Becketts UNLOAD on the NBA star — claiming he’s guilty of the following misdeeds:

— brandishing FIREARMS in an attempt to intimidate the Becketts
— “apparently” using drugs and allowing weed smoke to drift next door
— blasting loud, profane rap music (including the song “Currency” by Trina)
— blasting his video games at “window-shaking volumes”
— letting his dogs run loose through the neighborhood
— constantly racing his luxury cars at dangerous speeds

— Reported by TMZ.com

Warriors hold off Nuggets 106-105 in wild finish

If there were ever a time to praise the benefits of replay, Warriors coach Mark Jackson found it.

Andre Iguodala’s 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded was waived off, and Golden State held on for a wild 106-105 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night after four replay reviews over the final 3.4 seconds.

Iguodala received a cross-court inbounds pass and connected from the left wing with a hand in his face, and Denver players celebrated by running off the court toward their locker room. But the Warriors stayed put and waited on yet another review by officials at the scorer’s table – then began their own cheers at raucous Oracle Arena when officials ruled the shot came just an instant after time expired…

David Lee hit a layup with 2:12 left on the way to a season-high 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting for the Warriors, who earned a hard-fought first win of the season against the Nuggets in the third meeting between the teams in a 20-day span.

Klay Thompson scored 21 points and Stephen Curry had 20 points and a season-best 10 assists as Golden State (9-6) won for the fourth time in five games and moved three games above .500 for the first time since it was 7-4 early in the 2010-11 season. The Warriors also have nine wins in their first 16 games for the first time since 2006-07.

Iguodala finished with 22 points, Danilo Gallinari added 20 points and nine rebounds and Ty Lawson 17 points and nine assists for the Nuggets, who escaped with a double-overtime victory here Nov. 10 before beating Golden State at home last Friday.

— Reported by Janie McCauley of the Associated Press

Short-handed Spurs fall to Heat, 105-100

When Gregg Popovich gives his best players a night off to rest, it’s not uncommon for the San Antonio Spurs coach to get letters from upset fans.

This time, he’s going to hear from an upset commissioner – even after Popovich’s short-handed team nearly knocked off the Miami Heat.

Ray Allen’s 3-pointer with 22.6 seconds left gave Miami the lead, LeBron James finished with 23 points and the Heat rallied to beat the Spurs 105-100 on Thursday night – digging deep despite San Antonio’s decision to have four top players resting at home in a move that bothered NBA Commissioner David Stern.

The Spurs played without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green, all sent back to San Antonio by Popovich, who said the move was in his team’s best interest…

Allen scored 20 points, Dwyane Wade added 19 and Chris Bosh finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, now 7-0 at home.

Neal had 20 points for the Spurs. Tiago Splitter scored 18 points, Nando De Colo added 15, Boris Diaw scored 12 and Bonner had 10 for San Antonio, which finished a six-games-in-nine-nights road trip with a 5-1 record. Bonner also had 10 rebounds, one more than he had grabbed all season entering the game…

San Antonio closed the first quarter on a 21-6 run, taking a 27-22 lead after the period, and simply did not go away. The Spurs led by as many as seven at one point, and after James Anderson made a pair of free throws with 0.6 seconds left in the third, San Antonio held a 76-73 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Phoenix Suns assign guard Kendall Marshall to D-League

The Phoenix Suns have assigned guard Kendall Marshall to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, the club announced today. Suns Player Development Coordinator Lindsey Hunter will accompany Marshall to Bakersfield.

Marshall, the Suns’ first-round selection (13th overall) in the 2012 NBA Draft, has appeared in six games this season for Phoenix.

Thunder assign Jeremy Lamb to D-League

The Oklahoma City Thunder has assigned guard Jeremy Lamb to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Lamb, who was originally acquired from the Houston Rockets along with Kevin Martin on Oct. 27, has appeared in eight games this season averaging 2.1 points in 4.3 minutes.

He will be in uniform when the Tulsa 66ers take on the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Nov. 30 at the SpiritBank Event Center.

Lakers awful at free throws so far this season

Forget Hack a Dwight.

Opposing teams may just want to adopt this strategy to win games: Hack the Lakers.

The Lakers rank 29th out of 30 NBA teams in free-throw shooting at 66.8 percent. In four of the Lakers’ eight losses, the margin between made and missed free throws exceeded the point differential between winning and losing. Among the worst Lakers players to send to the free-throw line include Dwight Howard (47.8 percent), Morris (56.5 percent), Jordan Hill (61.5 percent) and Antawn Jamison (63.2 percent).

“Stop talking about it. I don’t want to hear about it,” Howard said after going 3 of 12 from the line in the Lakers’ 79-77 loss Tuesday to the Indiana Pacers. “That’s my problem, thinking too much at the line.”

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News

Tyreke Evans wants to be the go-to guy

Evans has played well lately, averaging 21 points while shooting 54.8 percent from the field. So if the game is on the line, he wouldn’t mind having the ball.

“I want to try to take on that challenge if the coach puts the ball in my hands to make a play for me or one of my teammates,” Evans said after Wednesday’s practice. “That’s what I was trying to do (Tuesday) night. I thought I could have had the elbow jumper a little bit more, but I was looking for the assists, I was looking to pass the ball.”

Evans said the Kings usually look for the player who is hot late in games.

In the last two seasons, that’s sometimes meant finding Marcus Thornton, who has been a go-to guy in the fourth quarter.

Other times, the Kings have looked to DeMarcus Cousins. That’s been good in the past but hasn’t worked well in the last two losses.

— Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

Center Greg Monroe shining for Pistons

Through 16 games, Greg Monroe is on pace to put his name among the elite centers in the NBA.

Monroe is averaging 16.5 points and 9.4 rebounds.

But it’s his playmaking skill that makes him different from other bigs. His 3.6 assists per game put him third among NBA centers behind the Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol (4.8 entering Wednesday) and the Bulls’ Joakim Noah (4.0).

Coach Lawrence Frank said before Wednesday’s game that the assist total is part of the plan, and Monroe, 22, only has scratched the surface of his potential.

— Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press