The AP reports: Derrick Rose showed another dimension to his already impressive game and led the Chicago Bulls to a victory just before they start a tough seven-game road trip. Besides his quick first step and fearless forays to the basket, Rose displayed his 3-point shot Saturday night while scoring 23 points and helping the Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers 104-91… Rose finished 3-of-5 on 3-pointers after going 2-for-9 in the first nine games… T.J. Ford led the Pacers with 16 points. Ford had a pair of baskets, one after a steal, as Indiana closed within two in the fourth before the Bulls took off… Nocioni scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds, Gordon chipped in 19 points and Rose added eight assists. Danny Granger had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Troy Murphy 12 points and 13 boards for the Pacers.
Category: NBA Teams
NBA teams blog
Nov 15: Celtics 102, Bucks 97 OT
The AP reports: Paul Pierce hit a 3-pointer on a second chance, and he and Allen hit all six of their free throws, lifting Boston to a scrappy 102-97 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night… Pierce scored 28 points and Allen finished with 27, combining to hit 23 of 24 free throws. Boston went 32-of-36 as a team. Milwaukee hit its share, too, going 30-of-38 with the teams combining for 62 personal fouls, nine technicals and one ejection… Bucks rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who finished with 14 points, hit two free throws to give Milwaukee a 95-93 lead, but Pierce answered with a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound by Garnett to put Boston up by one… Milwaukee, already without leading scorer Michael Redd (right ankle) and Charlie Villanueva (hamstring strain), finished 1-for-11 in overtime after rallying from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Nov 15: Rockets 91, Hornets 82
The AP reports: The Houston Rockets refused to let a big fourth-quarter lead slip away two nights in a row. Yao Ming scored 21 points, Tracy McGrady added 18 points and nine rebounds, and the Rockets bottled up Chris Paul in a 91-82 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday. Paul, who came in averaging 22 points, went 2-of-10 from the field and made all eight free throws to score 12. He had 12 assists, but the Hornets shot 41 percent (31-for-76) and were outrebounded 41-35. Luis Scola added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who led by 12 at the half and shot 53 percent (8-for-15) in the third quarter to take a 70-53 lead to the fourth. The Hornets couldn’t crack Houston’s double-digit lead until David West sank a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left… West scored 18 and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Hornets. Tyson Chandler added 16 points and Devin Brown scored 13.
Nov 15: Blazers 88, Wolves 83
The AP reports: Watch out NBA, Greg Oden is starting to clear the cobwebs from two injuries, giving Brandon Roy a monster presence down low for the young Portland Trail Blazers. Playing the first back-to-back of his career, the former No. 1 draft pick followed his first double-double with 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in 23 minutes. Roy then closed things out in the Blazers’ 88-83 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night… Roy, who was originally chosen by the Timberwolves but traded for Randy Foye on draft night, scored 24 points for the Blazers, including a driving layup and a fast-break dunk in the closing minute that gave them the lead for good… Al Jefferson had 26 points and six rebounds for the Timberwolves (1-7), who have lost seven in a row since an opening night victory over Sacramento.
Nov 15: Cavs 105, Jazz 93
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 16 of his 38 points in the final period, leading a second-half rally that gave the Cavaliers their seventh straight victory, 105-93 over the short-handed Utah Jazz… Cleveland, which is 8-2 overall and 6-0 at home, tied the game at 69 later in the quarter on Delonte West’s 3-pointer and finally took the lead for good, 76-74, on James’ two free throws with 30 seconds left in the period. That marked the Cavaliers’ first lead since they were up 25-23 with 10:59 left in the second period. Carlos Boozer, who led Utah with 17 points, is familiar with James’ ability. He played his first two seasons with the Cavaliers before signing with the Jazz in 2004… Mo Williams added 20 points for the Cavaliers, including a 3-pointer and a layup midway through the fourth quarter that pushed Cleveland’s lead to 95-84, its biggest since the first quarter… Paul Millsap led Utah in the first half with 11 points and finished with 15. The Jazz made 20 of 38 shots in the first two quarters but were 13-of-34 in the second half.
Nov 15: Sixers 110, Thunder 85
The AP reports: The Philadelphia 76ers expended quite a bit of energy in overcoming a 26-point deficit in their victory at Indiana. Yet they still had plenty of pep one night later. Thaddeus Young scored 23 points, Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala added 15 apiece, and the 76ers cruised past the struggling Oklahoma City Thunder, 110-85 on Saturday… Samuel Dalembert contributed 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Sixers, who won their third straight game to even their record at 5-5… Jeff Green scored 21 points and Kevin Durant added 13 for Oklahoma City, which fell to 1-9 and dropped its seventh in a row. Durant, who was the Rookie of the Year last season, shot just 6-of-18. Russell Westbrook also had 13 points and Johan Petro grabbed 12 rebounds.
Nov 15: Nets 119, Hawks 107
The AP reports: Devin Harris’ confidence is soaring, just like his scoring. Harris scored 33 points, Vince Carter had 29 and the New Jersey Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks 119-107 on Saturday night, completing a sweep of the two-day, home-and-home series… The Nets made 55 percent of their shots from the field (38 of 69) and set a season high in scoring for the second straight night… Joe Johnson scored 31 points for Atlanta, which has lost three straight after a 6-0 start. The Hawks played their fifth straight game without forward Josh Smith, who has a sprained left ankle. Center Zaza Pachulia was held out with a sore left shoulder… Marvin Williams and Flip Murray each had 14 points and Horford added 12.
Nov 15: Warriors 121, Clippers 103
The AP reports: In the first meeting between Baron Davis and Corey Maggette since they switched teams as free agents this summer, an undrafted rookie named Anthony Morrow stole the show. Morrow had 37 points and 11 rebounds in his first NBA start, leading the Golden State Warriors to a 121-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. His point total was the highest by a rookie this season, topping O.J. Mayo’s 33, and was the highest ever by an undrafted player in his rookie campaign… Andris Biedrins had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Warriors, who blew a 14-point lead before pulling away early in the fourth quarter. Biedrins recorded his 16th consecutive double-double, the team’s longest streak since Nate Thurmond’s 18 straight in 1971-72. Stephen Jackson had 20 points and 10 assists. Davis finished with 25 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who also got nice efforts from Chris Kaman and reserve Marcus Camby. Kaman had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Camby got 12 points and 11 boards. Cuttino Mobley finished with 19 points.
Spurs waive Desmon Farmer and sign Blake Ahearn
he San Antonio Spurs today announced they have signed guard Blake Ahearn. Per club policy terms of the contract were not released. At the same time the team announced that guard Desmon Farmer has been waived.
Ahearn is the first player called up from the NBA Development League in the 2008-09 season. He was in Minnesota’s 2008 training camp where he averaged 7.8 points and 1.2 assists in five games. After being waived by the Timberwolves he joined the Dakota Wizards. Ahearn was in camp with the Wizards prior to signing with the Spurs.
During the 2007-08 season the 6-2, 190-pound, Ahearn appeared in 41 games for the Wizards. He averaged 19.0 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game. He shot .486 (239-492) from the field, .439 (108-246) from three-point land and .960 (192-200) from the line. Ahearn was named the 2008 D-League Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the All D-League Second Team.
Ahearn was signed by the Miami Heat on 3/21/08. He spent the remainder of the 2007-08 season with Miami. In 12 games with the Heat he averaged 5.8 points, 1.6 assists and 1.6 rebounds.
Ahearn played his collegiate ball at Missouri State. In four seasons with the Bears, he averaged 13.8 points, 1.8 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 128 games. Ahearn earned First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors his junior and senior seasons. For his career Ahearn shot .423 (483-1,142) from the field, .408 (276-676) from three-point range and .946 (435-460) from the foul line. He finished collegiate career as the all-time leading free throw shooter in NCAA Division I history. Ahearn led the nation in free throw shooting his freshman, sophomore, and junior years.
Farmer was signed by the Spurs as a free agent on 9/17/08. He appeared in three games for the Silver and Black, averaging 4.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 18.0 minutes.
Celtics assign JR Giddens to D-League
Boston Celtics guard J.R. Giddens was assigned to the Utah Flash, the Celtics’ NBA Development League affiliate, it was announced today. In six preseason games with the Celtics, Giddens averaged 2.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 7.5 minutes.
Giddens, 6-5, was selected in the first round, 30th overall, by the Celtics in the 2008 NBA draft from the University of New Mexico. During his two-year career as a Lobo, Giddens averaged 16.1 points and 7.7 rebounds. As a senior, Giddens started all 33 of New Mexico’s games, and averaged career highs of 16.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Giddens shared Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Year and earned First Team All-Conference honors during his senior year.
Giddens, the season’s fourth player to be assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate, is expected to join the Flash in Orem, Utah in time for training camp this weekend.