The AP reports: The quick hands of Chris Paul helped the New Orleans Hornets steal a victory from the New Jersey Nets. David West scored 32 points and Paul made two key steals in the final minute in the Hornets’ 99-96 win Sunday night… Rasual Butler had 22 points for the Hornets, who extended their winning streak to four. Offensively, Paul finished with 14 points and nine assists. Harris and Vince Carter each had 26 to pace the Nets, winners of their two previous games… Harris also had 14 assists while Jarvis Hayes added 13 points.
Category: NBA Teams
NBA teams blog
Kobe scores 49 but Suns beat Lakers 118-111
The AP reports: Shaquille O’Neal scored 33 points and Phoenix overcame Bryant’s 49-point performance to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 118-111 on Sunday. Matt Barnes added 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Suns, without Steve Nash for the third straight game because of a sprained right ankle, defeated the Lakers for the first time in four tries this season. Pau Gasol added 30 for Los Angeles, loser of two in a row for just the third time this season… Leandro Barbosa added 22 points and Grant Hill 17 for the Suns, who improved to 6-2 since Alvin Gentry replaced the fired Terry Porter and returned the team to Mike D’Antoni’s fast-paced style. It was the Gentry-led Suns’ first win, though, over a team with a winning record.
Pistons beat Celtics 105-95 in East final rematch
The AP reports: The Detroit Pistons are back to their old mainstays and back to their old, winning ways. Richard Hamilton had 25 points, Tayshaun Prince scored 15 and each hit a 3-pointer in the final 80 seconds to help the Pistons beat the Celtics 105-95 on Sunday. Hamilton also had nine assists in his second straight start since Allen Iverson returned to Detroit because of a stiff back. “You can tell they’re playing the system they played before Iverson got there,” said Celtics forward Paul Pierce, who scored 26… Glen “Big Baby” Davis, starting in place of the injured Kevin Garnett, scored 18 and Pierce played all but 18 seconds as Boston lost to an Eastern Conference opponent at home for the first time this season.
Thunder waive Joe Smith
Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has waived forward Joe Smith.
Smith was acquired by the Thunder on August 13, 2008 along with guard Desmond Mason in a three-team trade that sent guards Luke Ridnour and Adrian Griffin to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Smith appeared in 36 games for the Thunder this season averaging 6.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per contest.
The Thunder roster now stands at 14 players.
Smith may now choose to sign with a playoff contender in need of help at the power forward and center spots. The Cavaliers have been reported by multiple media outlets as a possibility, especially with Ben Wallace out for an extended period with a major injury.
Read NBA fan reaction and discuss your own opinions in this forum topic.
Luol Deng’s leg not broken
Bulls.com (Sam Smith) reports: The Bulls got some good news Sunday when the x-rays for Luol Deng and Tim Thomas were negative. Both will be listed as day to day and uncertain about playing Tuesday in Charlotte. Deng and coach Vinny Del Negro had speculated after Saturday’s win over Houston that Deng could have a season ending stress fracture. Though that also raises the question of who will play and when. One of the big questions coming into Saturday’s game was the status of the starting lineup after the poor effort and big loss in Washington Friday, then the third loss in four games.
Jason Terry returns for Mavericks
The AP reports: Dallas Mavericks sixth man Jason Terry, out since early last month with a broken bone in his left hand, was active for Sunday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors.
Kobe has front tooth dislodged
The Orange County Register (Kevin Ding) reports (via blog): Kobe Bryant had one of his upper front teeth knocked backward when he took an elbow from Leandro Barbosa in the third quarter and will see Lakers team dentist Jeffrey Hoy as soon as the Lakers return to Los Angeles tonight.
Grizzlies waive Adonal Foyle
The Memphis Grizzlies reached a buyout agreement and waived center Adonal Foyle, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.
The 6-10, 270-pound center appeared in one game with the Grizzlies, logging three minutes on Feb. 24 at Cleveland, after the team acquired him from Orlando along with the Magic’s unprotected 2009 first round draft pick on Feb. 19.
As part of the three-team trade, also involving the Houston Rockets, the Grizzlies also received guard Mike Wilks and cash considerations, the Rockets acquired guard Kyle Lowry and forward Brian Cook, and the Magic received guard Rafer Alston.
A 12-year NBA veteran, Foyle is averaging 1.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.67 blocks in 5.3 minutes in six games with Memphis and Orlando this season. The Canouan native holds career averages of 4.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.63 blocks in 729 career games (269 starts) with Memphis, Orlando and the Golden State Warriors, who originally selected him in the first round (eighth overall) of the 1997 NBA Draft.
The Grizzlies’ roster now stands at 14 players.
Knicks dislike Jermaine O’Neal’s bulky knee brace
This from Saturday’s Knicks vs Heat game in Miami – The New York Times (Howard Beck) reports: The game was delayed for several minutes in the second quarter after the Knicks complained about Jermaine O’Neal’s bulky knee brace. Wilson Chandler, Jared Jeffries and Nate Robinson all hurt themselves banging into the brace’s hard plastic. Ken Mauer, the lead referee, initially signaled for the Heat to replace O’Neal, but O’Neal chose to ditch the brace instead. He put it back on for the second half, with a sleeve over it.
How LeBron can make the most money
The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Brian Windhorst) reports: Purely from a financial perspective, LeBron James would probably be best to pick up his option for the 2010-11 season and then extend that contract this summer to 2013 or 2014 to protect himself from the expected salary cap drop and subsequent reduction in max salary. By setting the start of the extension at 2011, James would be in position to reap the rewards of a favorable new CBA for max contracts because his deal would be automatically revised to meet the new max level. But if the cap collapses he’d also be assured of getting a raise on his $17 million salary in 2010-11 and there’s a chance he could actually be above the max contract level after the cap goes down. He would also be wise to build in a series of termination options to continue to apply pressure to the Cavs to surround him with talent while protecting a massive salary for many years. In his position, he will get whatever he asks for as long as it is allowed under the CBA.