The AP reports: The Minnesota Timberwolves may be able to thank the Los Angeles Clippers for the wakeup call six weeks ago that provided them with the turning point to their season. Not that they showed much gratitude Monday. Al Jefferson scored 20 points and tied a season high with 17 rebounds, and Craig Smith also had 20 points for the Timberwolves in their 94-86 victory over the Clippers. Minnesota has won seven of its past eight after losing 15 of 17… Rookie Eric Gordon led Los Angeles with 25 points and reserve Steve Novak had a career-high 18. The loss was the 13th in 14 games for the Clippers, coming off a 101-92 win against Milwaukee on Saturday that ended a 12-game skid.
Category: NBA Teams
NBA teams blog
Duncan’s block helps Spurs hold off Bobcats 86-84
The AP reports: Tim Duncan experienced the full spectrum of emotions in 10 seconds. First, he had a potential game-clinching shot blocked. Then he hustled back and blocked Raymond Felton’s tying shot attempt—only he swatted it so hard it landed in the hands of a wide-open Boris Diaw. Then he watched helplessly as Diaw’s game-winning 3-pointer bounced off the rim at the buzzer, giving Duncan a sigh of relief and his San Antonio Spurs a wild 86-84 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday… Duncan had 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, while Tony Parker added 13 points and 10 assists for the Spurs, who held the Bobcats to 36 percent shooting in their second straight win following a 22-point loss to Philadelphia that began their three-game road trip… Raja Bell scored 25 points in his best offensive performance since being acquired by the Bobcats last month. Diaw added 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Yao, Alston lead Rockets past Nuggets 115-113
The AP reports: The Denver Nuggets felt a bad call cost them a win against the Houston Rockets. Yao Ming scored 31 points, Rafer Alston added 18 points and 11 assists and the Rockets beat the Nuggets 115-113 on Monday. Denver’s Kenyon Martin missed two foul shots with 2.6 seconds left, and Yao got the rebound to clinch the win. But the Nuggets felt they had the go-ahead basket wrongly taken away on their previous possession. Yao missed with 18 seconds left, Martin rebounded and Denver coach George Karl called timeout. Linas Kleiza drove into the lane and passed to Nene for a dunk. But the basket didn’t count because referee Bennett Salvatore called a charge on Kleiza for running into Chuck Hayes… J.R. Smith scored 24, Nene had 23 and Martin 22 for the Nuggets, who lost for just the third time in 12 games… Von Wafer had 18 points and Luis Scola finished with 16 for the Rockets, who have won five of their last six games. Yao went 13-for-19 from the field— 5-for-8 in the fourth quarter.
Johnson, Bibby lift Hawks past Raptors 87-84
The AP reports: Jamario Moon’s key miss for Toronto set up Joe Johnson’s clincher for Atlanta. Johnson scored 28 points, including a jumper with 12.5 seconds left, Mike Bibby added 23 and the Atlanta Hawks rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 87-84 Monday despite missing two injured starters. Josh Smith, the Hawks’ only healthy regular up front, had 22 points and 14 rebounds as Atlanta sent Toronto to its sixth loss in a row. Al Horford was out for the fifth straight game because of a bone bruise in his right knee. Marvin Williams was absent after sustaining a concussion in Friday night’s loss at Golden State… Chris Bosh had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Nowitzki hits game-winner as Mavs beat 76ers 95-93
The AP reports: Despite missing 13 of his first 14 shots and 16 of 23 overall, the seven-foot forward (Dirk Nowitzki) hit a turnaround 17-foot jumper over Reggie Evans at the buzzer to give the Dallas Mavericks a 95-93 victory against Philadelphia, snapping the 76ers’ season-high seven-game winning streak… Nowitzki finished with 24 points, Jason Kidd had 22 points and 12 rebounds and Jason Terry added 20 for the Mavericks (24-17)… Lou Williams scored 25 points, while Andre Iguodala had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers (20-21), who are trying to climb above .500 for the first time since Nov. 23 when they were 7-6. Andre Miller added 12 points for Philadelphia, whose four-game home winning streak ended.
Duhon burns former team as Knicks top Bulls 102-98
The AP reports: Chris Duhon scored with 31.2 seconds left to help lift New York to a 102-98 victory over the Chicago Bulls in an afternoon Martin Luther King Jr. Day game. He wasn’t sure Monday morning if he would play… Duhon has flourished in coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense, averaging 12.3 points and 8.0 assists after scoring 19 Monday… Derrick Rose has justified his draft position, averaging 16.9 points and 6.4 assists. His 20 points Monday were the most for a No. 1 overall pick making his Madison Square Garden debut since LeBron James had 22 in 2004… Quentin Richardson led the Knicks with 24 points… Rose hit two jumpers and fed Luol Deng for a dunk for two of his six points during the spurt. Deng’s slam came in transition after Joakim Noah blocked Jared Jeffries’ shot. Deng finished with 20 points for Chicago.
Clippers re-sign Fred Jones
Prior to today’s game vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Clippers signed guard Fred Jones to a second 10-day contract.
A six-year NBA veteran, Jones has averaged 6.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 22.3 minutes in 10 games with the Clippers this season, making one start after originally signing as a free agent on December 28th. Jones was waived by Los Angeles on January 5th, and then signed to his first 10-day contract on January 8th.
Jones played 70 games with the Knicks last season, averaging 7.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 25.1 minutes. The Clippers are the fifth NBA team for Jones, who has appeared in 378 total games and is averaging 7.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his NBA career.
A star at the University of Oregon, Jones helped lead the Ducks to the Elite Eight of the 2002 NCAA Tournament and was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 14th selection of the 2002 NBA Draft. Jones played four seasons with Indiana, winning the 2004 NBA Slam Dunk Contest as a Pacer before signing with the Raptors prior to the 2006-07 season.
Jones joined Portland midway through the 2006-07 season in a trade, teaming up with current Clipper Zach Randolph and then going to New York along with Randolph in a five-player deal on June 28, 2007.
Jerome James season over
I am at today’s Chicago Bulls at New York Knicks game, and reporters have been told that the season of Jerome James is over. A complete bust in every way, the Knicks pay James millions of dollars per year to sit on the bench, take pre-game photos with fans, drink water and suffer injuries.
Here is New York Newsday: The Knicks revealed today that Jerome James suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon and is out for the season. Considering the severity of the injury — not to mention the complete disinterest in getting him back — we’ve likely seen the last of Big ‘Rome… Jerome will pick up his $6.6M player option for next season, but the Knicks will likely look to buy that out to free up a roster spot for 2009-10.
Jamal Crawford defending well
The Contra Costa Times (Marcus Thompson II) reports: Jamal Crawford, at 28 is entering the prime of his NBA career, and under Keith Smart’s tutelage, is learning things he’s never learned before. The dividends are already evident in his game. The results are most noticeable on defense, where Crawford has a reputation for being sub-par. He said he’s trying harder on that end of the floor, and for longer stretches, something he acknowledged he hadn’t always done. In times past, you wouldn’t have seen Crawford provide such solid help defense as he did Wednesday when he blocked a pull-up jumper by Sacramento’s Kevin Martin from behind. You wouldn’t have seen him hustle to contest a buzzer-beating attempt, as he did against Atlanta on Friday, blocking Zaza Pachulia’s heave into the stands near half-court. You wouldn’t have seen him getting excited and showing emotion when he makes a play on the defensive end, as he has lately.
Shaq makes a funny
The Toronto Sun (Terry Koshan) reports: The always quotable Shaquille O’Neal had one of the better post-game lines yesterday. When O’Neal was asked what it was like to hear a louder ovation for another player (Steve Nash), other than himself, O’Neal said: “Never happens.” But a reporter pointed out that Nash had a louder ovation during the warmup than O’Neal did. “They asked my permission,” said O’Neal, who finished with 16 points. O’Neal is getting long in the tooth, but still leaves a lasting impression on opponents.