NBA Teams – Page 2211 – NBA Blog

Players of Week: LeBron, Kobe

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 22, through Sunday, Dec. 28.

James guided the Cavaliers to a 3-0 mark, with home wins over the Rockets, Wizards and Heat, improving Cleveland’s mark at Quicken Loans Arena to 16-0, tops in the NBA. He averaged 26.0 points on 53 percent shooting, while adding 6.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists, as Cleveland improved to 26-4, the best start in franchise history. He finished with 27 points, including 19 in the second half, as Cleveland rallied to defeat Houston. He tallied 11 fourth-quarter points and finished with 33 points and nine assists in a comeback win over Miami.

Bryant led the Lakers to a 4-0 week, averaging 30.0 points on 54 percent shooting, to go with 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He tallied a game-high 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists, as the Lakers defeated Boston on Christmas Day, 92-83, snapping the Celtics’ 19-game winning streak. He capped off the week going 10-for-10 from the free throw line en route to scoring 31 points in a 130-113 victory over Golden State.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Miami’s Dwyane Wade, Orlando’s Rashard Lewis, Cleveland’s Mo Williams, Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace, Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey, Houston’s Yao Ming, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, San Antonio’s Tony Parker and Toronto’s Jermaine O’Neal.

Hornets struggling

The New Orleans Times-Picayune (John DeShazier) reports (via blog) on the current state of the Hornets: Getting steamrolled by the better teams isn’t earning the team any brownie points on the national scene. It’s not doing much for their image locally, either, because the folks in New Orleans are the ones who bought the season tickets with the expectation that their team would be among the elite and would challenge the Lakers for Western Conference supremacy. Their record says they are. Only the Lakers, at 25-5, have fewer losses in the West and for that, the Hornets are to be commended. The schedule is about to get particularly difficult, with consecutive road games against Portland, Denver, the Lakers and Utah following Tuesday’s game against Washington in New Orleans Arena. Those four games will be two back to backs, with the Portland-Denver and Lakers-Utah games separated by a two-day break. But the Hornets, with a 2-2 split on the trip, still could walk out of that blender in relatively decent shape.

Nets assign Sean Williams to D-League

New Jersey Nets forward Sean Williams was assigned to the Colorado 14ers, the Nets’ NBA Development League affiliate, it was announced today. Williams is the 15th NBA player to be assigned to his NBA D-League affiliate this season and joins Sonny Weems and Cheikh Samb, both currently on assignment from the Denver Nuggets, on the 14ers roster.

Drafted by the Nets with the 17th overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft, Williams has appeared in 16 games for New Jersey this season, averaging 1.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 11.1 minutes. Williams appeared in 73 games for the Nets last season, 29 as a starter, and averaged 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds.

Williams, 6-10, was a three-year contributor at Boston College where he averaged 5.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in 69 career games. During his senior season, Williams averaged 12.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.0 blocks in 15 games.

Williams is expected to join the 14ers tomorrow and be available when the team hosts the Fort Wayne Mad Ants at the Broomfield Event Center. Tip off is set for 9 p.m. ET.

Ricky Davis suspended 5 games

The NBA announced today that Los Angeles Clippers guard/forward Ricky Davis has been suspended without pay for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. Davis’ suspension will begin with tomorrow night’s game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Sacramento Kings.

Davis is playing 21.3 minutes per game this season, but doing very little: shooting 27.2% from the field for 4.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

Bryant leads Lakers past Warriors, 130-113

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant explained why the Celtics had a letdown and the Lakers didn’t following the rivals’ intense game several days earlier. “They had won 19 straight games, so they were due for a couple of bad ones,” Bryant said Sunday night after scoring 31 points in Los Angeles’ 130-113 romp over the Golden State Warriors… Derek Fisher added 19 points in the win and Sasha Vujacic had 17. Pau Gasol had 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Andrew Bynum chipped in with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Jamal Crawford returned to the Warriors’ lineup after missing two games with a groin strain and scored 22 points. Marco Belinelli and Brandan Wright had 14 points apiece, and Andris Biedrins had eight points and 17 rebounds.

Celts return to winning ways, 108-63 over Kings

The AP reports: The Celtics bounced back from back-to-back losses in emphatic fashion, beating the Sacramento Kings 108-63 Sunday night in one of the most one-sided wins in franchise history… The 45-point margin of victory matched the sixth biggest by the Celtics, who also beat the New York Knicks by that amount last season. The last time Boston had a bigger win was a 153-107 victory over the Baltimore Bullets on Nov. 27, 1970… John Salmons’ 11 points led the Kings. Francisco Garcia shot 1-for-7 before leaving in the first half with stiffness in his right calf. Kevin Garnett made 10 of 11 shots to lead the Celtics with 21 points and 11 rebounds despite playing just under 23 minutes. He now has 20,894 career points, moving past Bob Pettitt into 27th place all-time. Ray Allen added 19 on 7-for-8 shooting and Eddie House had 15 off the bench.

Cavaliers cool off Heat 93-86

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 33 points—four more than his good buddy Dwyane Wade—and took on the challenge of guarding the NBA’s leading scorer down the stretch as the Cavaliers remained the league’s only unbeaten team at home with a 93-86 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday night… Mo Williams scored 20 before fouling out and Ben Wallace had 14 rebounds for the Cavs (26-4), who won their sixth straight. In the final seconds, Wallace and Varejao played a game of volleyball over the basket, tipping missed shots repeatedly before one dropped through to seal Cleveland’s win… Miami rookie G Mario Chalmers strained his right hamstring in the fourth.

Paul, West lead Hornets past Pacers 105-103

The AP reports: Chris Paul scored 11 points in the game’s final 3:36 and David West hit a 17-foot fadeaway jumper with 2.5 seconds remaining to help the Hornets rally for a 105-103 win over Indiana on Sunday night. Paul and James Posey scored 19 points each for the Hornets (18-9). West added 18 points, Rasual Butler scored 15 and Peja Stojakovic had 12… Danny Granger led Indiana (10-20) with 34 points. Roy Hibbert scored 19 before drawing his fifth foul with 6:46 to play in the third quarter. He did not return. Troy Murphy had 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Pacers, who led by as many as 12 points early in the third quarter. No other Pacer scored in double figures.

Mavs beat Clippers 98-76 without Nowitzki

The AP reports: The Dallas Mavericks didn’t miss Dirk Nowitzki nearly as much as the Los Angeles Clippers missed Zach Randolph. Josh Howard had 29 points, nine rebounds and a career-best seven assists, leading Dallas to a 98-76 victory Sunday while Nowitzki served a one-game suspension… Despite the absence of Nowitzki and his 8.9 rebounds per game, the Mavericks held a 53-38 advantage on the glass. Five of their players had eight or more rebounds, including Erick Dampier, point guard Jason Kidd, James Singleton and reserve Brandon Bass… Marcus Camby returned to the Clippers’ lineup after missing the previous game due to his father’s death, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Al Thornton also had 16 points.

Anthony scores 32 in return, Nuggets beat Knicks 117-110

The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points after missing three games with a bruised right elbow, and the Denver Nuggets sent the Knicks to their sixth straight loss with a 117-110 victory Sunday… J.R. Smith added 16 points and Billups 14 for the Nuggets, who shot 57 percent from the field in the opener of a four-game road trip. Nate Robinson scored 20 points on just 5-of-17 shooting and David Lee had 19 for the Knicks, who have yielded an average of 115.5 points during their skid. They came in allowing teams to shoot 48.3 percent, highest in the NBA, and even Mike D’Antoni’s high-scoring offense can’t overcome that… Chris Duhon had 17 points and 11 assists for the Knicks, while Wilson Chandler also scored 17 points but shot only 6-of-19.