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Cavaliers sign Joe Smith

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed free agent forward/center Joe Smith to a contract, Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry announced today. Per league rules, terms of the contract were not released.

Smith, 33, played in 36 games (three starts) this season for the Oklahoma City Thunder and averaged 6.6 points on .454 shooting and 4.5 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game before being waived on March 1. He is eligible to be on the Cavaliers’ postseason roster.

The 6-foot-10, 225-pounder has played 13 years in the NBA, including spending part of last season with Cleveland after being acquired on Feb. 21, 2008 in a three-team trade in which the Cavs also acquired Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace and Delonte West. In 27 regular season games (one start) with Cleveland, Smith averaged 8.1 points on .512 shooting and 5.0 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game. He also played in all 13 postseason games during the 2008 Playoffs and averaged 6.6 points on .486 shooting and 4.6 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game.

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

Yao Ming angry at NBA refs

The Houston Chronicle (Jonathan Feigen) reports (via blog): “You know what, I had two offensive fouls tonight, three last night, two at the Minnesota game … and you can go on,” Yao Ming said. “Every time a defender player is on the ground, even if he just wants to sit down and have a rest, it’s my offensive foul. That’s unfair. “Why? If I’m on the defensive side and I’m in the same position, the foul is on us. They can’t call it two ways. When I try to post up and they have a head on my shoulder and lean on me and lean on my elbow and try to push me out and have the knee and have the two hands, and no call. I know I have 300 pounds. But the same way people push me, maybe it doesn’t affect much, but I have to really, really limit my strength to push back. “I guess I don’t need to worry about a flopper the next game. I don’t think Shaq is that type of player.”

The Raptors stink

The Toronto Star (Doug Smith) reports: The Raptors have not won more than three straight games this season and they’ve lost to such minnows as Oklahoma City and Memphis. They had an opportunity to make at least a mild statement in New York two weeks ago and they cowered. The friendly confines of the Air Canada Centre have been anything but – Toronto is 12-16 at home this season, hardly confidence-inducing. Still, optimism carries the day, not unexpectedly because the next time an NBA player says publicly his team has no chance might be the first. “I think if we play like that for 48 minutes we’ll win a lot of games in these last 20 games,” Jose Calderon said after Toronto’s latest loss, a 107-97 defeat administered in Houston on Tuesday.

Samuel Dalembert frustrated

Philadelphia 76ers center Samuel Dalembert is having a strange season. He’s rebounding well (8.7 rpg) and blocking shots nicely (1.8 bpg) in just 24.7 minutes per game. And shooting nicely at 49.5%.

But he’s scoring just 6.3 points per game, barely dishes any assists, and putting stats aside, he simply hasn’t been too special.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Kate Fagan) reports:

During Saturday’s loss to New Orleans, Dalembert played only 12 minutes, 47 seconds, and the Sixers were easily outrebounded. Dalembert started the game with the assignment of guarding power forward David West. West scored 14 points in the first quarter, and Dalembert’s minutes were limited for the rest of the game. Was Dalembert frustrated watching his team be outrebounded? “You can see me,” he said. “I’m very frustrated on the bench. . . . It’s very upsetting, but I cannot go out there and sub myself in.”

With Elton Brand out, it’ll be interesting to see if Dalembert gets more consistent minutes sometime later in the season. But time is running out.

Gay scores 35, Grizzlies beat Clippers 118-95

The AP reports: Rudy Gay scored 20 of his season-high 35 points in the third quarter and the Grizzlies completed their two-day stint at Staples Center with a 118-95 victory on Wednesday night, snapping an eight-game losing streak… Rookie center Marc Gasol had 20 points, along with eight rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. Hakeem Warrick, the only player left from the Grizzlies’ 2005-06 playoff team, added 17 points. Al Thornton scored 25 points for the Clippers, who lost their fourth straight and have lost 30 games by double-digit margins—the most in the league, one more than Memphis. Grizzlies rookie O.J. Mayo had 18 points nearly a year after playing his final regular-season game for USC.

Roy leads Blazers over Pacers 107-105

The AP reports: Brandon Roy was a bit taken aback when he got a call with 1.7 seconds left that would alllow the Trail Blazers to potentially beat the Pacers on a pair of free throws. But he wasn’t too stunned to make the shots, and the free throws were among Roy’s 28 points in Portland’s 107-105 victory over Indiana on Wednesday night… Marquis Daniels had 28 points for Indiana. Troy Murphy had 11 points and 13 rebounds for his ninth straight double-double. A 14-0 run early in the fourth quarter gave the Blazers a narrow lead, which they held until T.J. Ford’s jumper put the Pacers back up 99-97.

Boozer, D-Will lead Jazz over Rockets 101-94

The AP reports: Carlos Boozer had his best game since returning after missing three months with a knee injury, scoring 20 points and pulling down 17 rebounds as the Utah Jazz increased their winning streak to nine with a 101-94 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday… Deron Williams scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, including a 20-foot jumper with 21 seconds left after Houston got within three points. Williams also had 14 assists for the surging Jazz, who went 17-for-17 from the foul line and won their 10th straight home game. Ron Artest scored 25 points to lead Houston and Yao Ming had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists before fouling out with 1:23 left.

J-Ho scores 29, Mavs beat Spurs 107-102

The AP reports: Perhaps inspired by a tongue-lashing from their owner over their lackadaisical play in their previous game, the Mavericks bounced back by beating the rival San Antonio Spurs 107-102 Wednesday night. Josh Howard scored 29 points, including a key layup in the final minute, and Jason Kidd hit a clutch 3-pointer with 31 seconds left to seal the victory—but that was only part of the show. Jason Terry fed Kidd for that 3, then grabbed a rebound that led to the game-icing free throws with 10.8 seconds left. Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and Erick Dampier had nine points, four rebounds and pestered Tim Duncan into a bad night. Duncan was 7-for-21, with only eight points over the final three quarters… Tony Parker scored 37 points and Roger Mason had 23. Duncan had 19 points and 12 rebounds, but wasn’t his usual dominating self as the Spurs lost for the third time in four games.

Salmons leads Bulls in 110-88 win over Warriors

The AP reports: John Salmons had 23 points and seven rebounds, Joakim Noah added 14 points and 17 rebounds and the Bulls beat the Golden State Warriors 110-88 Wednesday night. Brad Miller finished with 19 points and six rebounds, Derrick Rose finished with 14 points and six assists, and the Bulls pulled into a tie with Milwaukee for eighth place in the Eastern Conference… Stephen Jackson led the Warriors with 19 points and six assists. Jamal Crawford scored 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting and Corey Maggette finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for Golden State, who led by 13 points in the first quarter.

Westbrook, Sefolosha lead Thunder past Wizards 88-83

The AP reports: The Oklahoma City Thunder are finding ways to win without their top two scorers. Russell Westbrook and Thabo Sefolosha made big baskets in the final 2 minutes Wednesday night, leading the Thunder to an 88-83 victory over the Washington Wizards for their first three-game winning streak of the season. Oklahoma City, which beat Dallas on Monday, was without both Kevin Durant (sprained ankle) and Jeff Green (back spasms) for the second straight game, with Durant missing all three wins… Antawn Jamison had 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who have been banged up all year and played without Caron Butler for the second straight game. Andray Blatche and Darius Songaila scored 14 points each.