NBA Teams – Page 1768 – NBA Blog

Thunder recall Robert Vaden from D-League

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has recalled guard/forward Robert Vaden from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

Vaden, who helped lead the 66ers to the D-League semifinals, averaged 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 32.3 minutes in four postseason games for the 66ers. During the regular season, he averaged 10.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 28.0 minutes in 45 games (17 starts).

He will join the Thunder for tonight’s first round playoff game against the Denver Nuggets. Game two will be played tonight at 7 P.M. inside the Oklahoma City Arena.

Casino owners pledge $1 million to keep Kings in Sacramento

It seems like the Sacramento Kings may eventually make the move to Anaheim, but there are plenty of signs that nothing is set in stone and it is at least somewhat possible the team stays where they are now.

Marcos Breton of the Sacramento Bee reports:

The United Auburn Indian Tribe has pledged $1 million to help keep the Kings in Sacramento, the tribe confirmed on Tuesday.

The investment is part of the $7 million that Mayor Kevin Johnson is raising from businesses in the Sacramento region as he attempts to demonstrate that the area can support an NBA franchise. The Kings are contemplating a move to Anaheim.

It’s still most likely that the team does wind up moving.

Cavs TV ratings still rank in top 10 in league

Bob Finnan of the News Herald reports:

The good news is the Cavaliers’ 3.93 average television rating was the seventh-best in the NBA.

The bad news? The Sports Business Journal reported the Cavs experienced a 54-percent drop on Fox Sports Ohio, the biggest yearly ratings decrease in at least seven years. The Cavs were the local ratings leader in 2009-10 in the NBA.

The Cavs’ huge drop can be traced to their 19-63 record and the loss of two-time MVP LeBron James in free agency.

A Cavs spokesman looked at the positive aspect of the story.

“We feel great that our ratings are clearly in the top tier of the league,” he said.

Danny Ainge defends trade of Kendrick Perkins

The Boston Celtics gained versatility but lost toughness in their trade of center Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Pieces they received in return — center Nenad Krstic and small forward Jeff Green — have not helped as much as a healthy Perkins did in the past. But Celtics general manager Danny Ainge still feels good about the trade. Publicly, at least.

CSNNE reports:

Danny Ainge tells Comcast SportsNet New England’s Greg Dickerson that he has no second thoughts — at the moment — about the trade that sent Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City.

But ask him again in a few months, and he might have a different answer.

“I would do the trade over again in a heartbeat, as of today,” said Ainge. “But at the end of the season, I’ll look at all the things and I’ll be the first one to say . . . some things that we could have done or that we didn’t, or things that we did do that we shouldn’t [have].”

The Celtics are definitely missing something without a dominant defensive center manning the middle. But, we must remember, the team feared losing Perkins to free agency, and that’s why the trade happened in the first place.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Melo scores 42, but Celtics beat Knicks 96-93 in Game 2

The AP reports:

Amare Stoudemire didn’t play in the second half and Chauncey Billups didn’t play at all, and still the Boston Celtics needed more late heroics from one of their Big 3 to beat the New York Knicks in Game 2 of their first-round series.

“We were lucky to win,” coach Doc Rivers said after Boston overcame Carmelo Anthony’s 42 points in a 96-93 victory on Tuesday night.

Kevin Garnett sank the go-ahead basket with 14 seconds left then stole the ball with 4 seconds remaining as the Knicks gave the Celtics all they could handle in falling into an 0-2 hole in the series…

Billups had a strained left knee and his status for Game 3 on Friday night at Madison Square Garden is uncertain. Stoudemire had back spasms but expects to be back when the best-of-seven series resumes.

Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with a career playoff-high 30 points, 14 of them in the first quarter when he kept driving to the basket…

Anthony matched his career playoff high for points and set a new high with 17 rebounds as the Knicks held a 53-37 advantage on the boards. Toney Douglas had 14 points in place of Billups.

Paul Pierce had 20 points after missing his first five shots, and Ray Allen, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer in Boston’s 87-85 win in the opener, scored 18.

D-Howard scores 33, Magic beat Hawks 88-82 in Game 2

The AP reports:

Dwight Howard had 33 points and 19 rebounds, Jameer Nelson added 13 points and eight rebounds to help the Magic hold off the Hawks 88-82.

The Magic evened the best-of-seven series, with Game 3 Friday night in Atlanta.

Orlando used a 10-1 run to close the third quarter to take an 11-point lead into the fourth and fought off a late Atlanta charge down the stretch. The Magic struggled from the field shooting just 34 percent and had 16 turnovers. But they defended well…

Jamal Crawford led Atlanta with 25 points and Josh Smith added 17, but they missed 15 shots between them and expended a lot more energy to get off attempts…

Orlando led 48-42 at halftime. The Hawks led by as many as 10 in the second quarter, 32-22, before a 12-2 run by the Magic tied it at 34-all. Howard had 10 points during the spurt, which included the Magic doing their best job of the series converting defensive stops into quick offense.

Dirk scores 33, Mavs beat Blazers 101-89 in Game 2

The AP reports:

Peja Stojakovic tied his career playoff best with five 3-pointers and had 21 points, and Jason Kidd continued his surprising scoring surge with 18 points, powering the Mavericks to a 101-89 victory on Tuesday night in Game 2 of their first-round series.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 33 points, but was practically a complementary player. He was at his best after the 30-something, former All-Stars built the lead, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter—including the team’s final 11— to help the Mavericks keep the Trail Blazers from ever making a serious push. He scored 18 in the fourth quarter of Game 1…

Portland had a lot of things go right, from LaMarcus Aldridge scoring 24 to Gerald Wallace and Wesley Matthews regaining their scoring touch after struggling in the opener. But the Trail Blazers got only 11 points from their bench, none in the second half. And while they were limiting Nowitzki to 5 of 15 shooting through three quarters, former All-Stars Kidd and Stojakovic were lighting them up…

Wallace and Andre Miller each scored 18 points for Portland. Matthews added 13. But Nicolas Batum’s 10 points and a free throw by Rudy Fernandez were all the points by reserves. Brandon Roy played 8 minutes and missed the only shot he took. The five backups who got into the game were a combined 4 for 11.

Another Heartbreaker for NY

By Scott Spangler

A crucial offensive rebound by Roger Mason gave the New York Knicks another chance, and they capitalized with a Jared Jeffries layup to go ahead 93-92 with 19.3 seconds remaining.

Garnett hit a tough hook in the lane over Jeffries to reclaim a one-point advantage for the Celtics just six seconds later.

It was Garnett again – this time on the defensive end – with a huge steal along the baseline. KG managed to get a timeout called to save possession as Boston holds on to win 96-93 in the second game of this best of seven.

Magic Look to Even Series 1-1

By Scott Spangler

They are launching grenades in Orlando. At the half, both teams hitting south of 40 percent. The Magic lead by six and need to build on a second-quarter outburst, which saw them outscore the Hawks 32-20.

A loss would put Orlando in dire straits heading to Georgia. Teams carrying a 2-0 lead end up advancing at a 94 percent clip.

Once again tonight, just about the only thing working for Stan Van Gundy is the play of Dwight Howard, fresh off his record-setting third consecutive Defensive Player of The Year Award. So far in this one, Howard has racked up 25 pts and 13 boards with about 6 minutes left in the third.

Despite shooting only 37 percent thus far, Atlanta is 6 of 15 from 3-point range. Add to that, the Hawks have only gone to the foul line seven times, converting four. Have I mentioned the massive (38-21) rebounding deficit? Well, there’s that, too.

The Magic are now up 55-48, about 5 minutes to go, third quarter.

Knicks/Celtics Update

By Scott Spangler

New York has been dominant on the glass, generating a ton more shots, but could only muster 32 percent from the floor. This left the Celtics trailing by only one point heading into the locker room, 45-44.

Word coming down now, Amare Stoudemire may be out for the rest of the night with back spasms. With PG Chauncey Billups already sidelined, this puts just about the entire load on Carmelo Anthony’s shoulders.

Early in the second half now, and Anthony is beginning to heat up, now with 24 pts on 9 of 20 shooting – he has also managed to haul in 13 boards.

The problem for New York now would be slowing down Celtic PG Rajon Rondo. He seems more than willing to take up Mike D’Antoni’s invite for some “shooting practice.” So far, 22 points, 9 of 14 from the field.

With just under 3 minutes left in the third, we have a six-point Boston advantage.