The AP reports: The Charlotte Bobcats finally lost, but are still in the playoff hunt. The San Antonio Spurs won again and now await what might be a playoff preview. Tim Duncan had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the Spurs halted Charlotte’s franchise-record winning streak at six with a 100-86 victory Tuesday night. Roger Mason and Tony Parker added 21 points apiece for the Spurs, who will take a three-game winning streak into Thursday’s home game against the Los Angeles Lakers, a marquee meeting of the Western Conference’s top two teams… Raymond Felton had 15 points and Gerald Wallace 14 for Charlotte.
Category: San Antonio Spurs Blog
Spurs blog – San Antonio Spurs blog, with news, rumors and more
Parker scores 30, Spurs beat Suns 103-98
The AP reports: Tony Parker scored 12 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and the San Antonio Spurs sent the sliding Phoenix Suns home winless on their four-game road swing with a 103-98 victory Sunday. Parker punctuated his fourth 30-point game in his last seven outings with a win-cinching runner with 26.2 seconds left… Tim Duncan scored 17 points and helped hold Shaquille O’Neal to 14, his lowest total in his past five games. Shaq had averaged nearly 30 in his previous four outings. Roger Mason had 18 points for the Spurs and Michael Finley had 11, eight of which came in the fourth. Steve Nash led the Suns with 23 points and 11 assists. Leandro Barbosa had 20 points off the bench and hit all four of his 3-point attempts.
Gooden sits as Spurs roll over Wizards
The AP reports: Drew Gooden left the Chicago Bulls and their losing record last month before spending a couple weeks in woeful Sacramento. Watching his first game with the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night, Gooden said he can get used to this kind of winning. Tony Parker scored 19 points, Michael Finley had 12 and the Spurs treated Gooden to a dominant performance in a 100-78 victory over the Washington Wizards while San Antonio’s newest power forward sat on the bench in street clothes… Ime Udoka scored 13 points and reserve George Hill had 12 for San Antonio. The Spurs are more likely to have their hands full Sunday against Phoenix, and Thursday when they host the Los Angeles Lakers in the final meeting of the West’s top two teams.
Spurs sign Drew Gooden
The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they signed forward/center Drew Gooden for the remainder of the season. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Gooden, 6-10, 250 pounds, was waived by the Sacramento Kings on March 1 after being acquired from the Chicago Bulls in a trade on Feb. 18. This season he has appeared in 32 games, averaging 13.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 29.5 minutes while shooting .460 (166-361) from the field and .869 (86-99) from the foul line. Gooden has posted 11 double-doubles and has scored in double figures in 22 games, including seven contests with 20 or more. In 31 games with Bulls, he averaged 13.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 29.6 minutes, and in his only game with the Kings he posted 12 points and 13 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Originally selected out of the University of Kansas with the fourth overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies, Gooden has played for five NBA teams (Memphis, Orlando, Cleveland, Chicago and Sacramento). For his career he has appeared in 491 games, averaging 12.1 points (.470 FG%, .730 FT%), 8.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 28.5 minutes. Gooden enjoyed his best season in 2004-05 with the Cavaliers when he averaged a career-high 14.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 30.8 minutes while appearing in all 82 games.
Gooden, 27, has made three trips to NBA playoffs, including the 2007 NBA Finals where the Spurs defeated the Cavaliers. In 40 career playoff games, he has averaged 10.8 points and 8.7 rebounds in 28.0 minutes.
Gooden enjoyed a stellar collegiate career at Kansas. In three seasons with the Jayhawks he averaged 15.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.10 blocks and 1.10 steals in 98 games becoming just the second player in school history (Danny Manning) to record at least 1,500 points, 900 rebounds, 100 blocks and 100 steals. As a junior, Gooden helped lead Jayhawks to the 2002 NCAA Final Four. Along the way he was named First Team All-America in 2002 by the Associated Press, Sporting News and Basketball News. He also was named the 2002 Big 12 Player of the Year and a 2002 Wooden Award First-Team All-American.
Read basketball fan analysis and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.
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.
Spurs release Pops Mensah-Bonsu
The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have released forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu from his 10-day contract.
Mensah-Bonsu appeared in 3 games for the Spurs where he averaged 5.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 6.7 minutes. He also spent time with the Austin Toros, the Spurs affiliate in the NBA Development League. In eight games with the Toros, Mensah-Bonsu averaged 26.6 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.50 blocks in 39.8 minutes.
The Spurs roster stands at 14.
Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion here.
Rockets sign James White to 10-day contract
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard/forward James White of the NBA D-League’s Anaheim Arsenal to a 10-day contract. White becomes the 12th Call-Up of the season.
White (6-7, 200, Cincinnati) was averaging 25.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.18 steals in 34 games (33 starts) for the Arsenal this season. At the time of his Call-Up, White was tied for first in the D-League in points per game and was ranked tied for 12th in the league in field goal percentage. White posted 30 or more points in 12 contests with the Arsenal this season, including a season-high 47-point performance against Houston’s D-League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers (1/20/09).
Originally selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round (31st overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft, White had his draft rights sent to Indiana. He averaged 3.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in eight preseason games with the Pacers before being released prior to the regular season. White signed with the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 3, 2006, and was assigned to the Austin Toros of the NBA D-League on Dec. 15. In 15 games (11 starts) with the Toros, White averaged 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists. White was recalled twice by the Spurs and averaged 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists in six career games (two starts) with San Antonio. His experience also includes a stint with Turkish champions Fenerbahçe, where he averaged 8.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
At the University of Cincinnati, White earned Honorable Mention All-Big East honors as a senior. He finished his collegiate career ranked 44th on Cincinnati’s all-time scoring list with 1,088 points. White played his final three seasons at Cincinnati after spending his freshman year at Florida, sitting out the 2002-03 campaign at Cincinnati under NCAA transfer rules.
Read NBA fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.
Spurs rout Clippers 106-78
The AP reports: Home-court advantage for a potential showdown with the league-leading Lakers doesn’t appear a realistic possibility with the Spurs trailing them by 7 1-2 games despite Monday night’s 106-78 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers… Tony Parker had 26 points and 10 assists for San Antonio, which pulled away in the third quarter with four 3-pointers from Michael Finley. The Spurs, who came in with a league’s best assist-to-turnover ratio, had 28 assists and just eight turnovers against the Clippers… Tim Duncan, playing his second game after missing the previous three with a sore right knee, had 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists before sitting out the fourth quarter. The 11-time All-Star needs 18 points to overtake Scottie Pippen for 44th place on the career scoring list.
Roy, Aldridge score 26 each, Blazers beat Spurs 102-84
The AP reports: Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge each scored 26 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 102-84 victory over San Antonio on Sunday night, spoiling the return of Tim Duncan to the Spurs. The Spurs didn’t even play Duncan in the fourth quarter after Portland led by as many as 29 points. The All-Star forward had missed the last three games with a right quad injury. Steve Blake added 15 for the Blazers, who won their ninth straight at the Rose Garden Arena. Portland is 24-5 at home this season… Duncan, who leads the Spurs with an average of 20.7 points and 10.7 rebounds, had 14 points in his return.
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.