Timberwolves step up to beat Thunder 101-93

nikola pekovic

If the Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t able to catch the San Antonio Spurs in the race for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, Kevin Durant and Co. may look back to a late March night in Minnesota as the moment they let it slip away.

Barreling down on the Spurs with 11 victories in their previous 14 games, the rolling Thunder slammed into a 6-foot-11, Montenegrin road block and a feisty Timberwolves team they never saw coming.

Nikola Pekovic had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Ricky Rubio added 17 points and seven assists to help the Timberwolves stun the Thunder 101-93 on Friday night.

”We’ll be fine,” Durant said. ”You know, just a little bump in the road.”

Chase Budinger scored 13 points and Andrei Kirilenko played superb defense on Durant in the second half to help the Wolves deal the Thunder an unexpected setback in their pursuit of the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Durant had 36 points and seven rebounds, but was just 4 for 9 in the final 22 minutes. Russell Westbrook added 18 points and nine assists for the Thunder, who fell to 2 1/2 games behind the Spurs in the West after San Antonio beat the Clippers.

”I’m pretty sure he’s tired right now,” Kirilenko said of Durant.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Paul Pierce triple-double helps Celtics beat Hawks

paul pierce

The Boston Celtics, who have already had their share of key injuries, had a quick scare seconds into the second half when Paul Pierce fell to the floor hard and was down for a bit before limping to the bench.

After a timeout, the 35-year old captain shook off the slight injury to his left leg, headed back onto the court and went back to work on his third triple-double of the season.

Pierce had 20 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, and Jeff Green scored 27 points to carry the Celtics to a 118-107 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night…

Jason Terry was 5 of 7 on 3-pointers and finished with 24 points for Boston, which won its second straight following a five-game losing streak. Brandon Bass scored 13 and Shavlik Randolph grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds with nine points…

Josh Smith led the Hawks with 18 points but shot just 7 of 23 from the floor and 0 for 6 in the second half. Mike Scott scored 19 and Jeff Teague added 17 points and seven assists…

Hawks F/C Al Horford missed the game due to an illness. … Rivers said before the game that the timetable for F/C Kevin Garnett’s return remained the same. ”I think it’s still two weeks,” he said. ”I don’t think it’ll be any longer than that. But if it’s two and a half, I don’t want to you to call me a liar or anything like that.” Garnett missed his fourth straight with what the team called ”left ankle inflammation.” … Boston G Courtney Lee returned after missing three games with a sprained left ankle.

— Reported by Ken Powtak of the Associated Press

J.R. Smith leads Knicks to 7th win in a row

J.R. Smith leads Knicks to 7th win in a row

J.R. Smith hasn’t had a run like this since high school.

No NBA reserve has in more than two decades.

Smith scored 37 points, his third consecutive 30-point outing, and the New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Bobcats 111-102 on Friday night for their season-high seventh straight victory.

”He is focused. He is dialed in. Locked in,” Carmelo Anthony said. ”He is playing extremely well and his confidence is sky high. We are following his lead.”

Anthony had 32 points and Raymond Felton added 18 for the Knicks, who have the longest current streak in the NBA. They built a 30-point lead that was reduced to single digits for the second game in a row.

Gerald Henderson tied a career high with 35 points for the Bobcats. Kemba Walker added 16, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 14 and Ben Gordon finished with 12.

Smith had 23 points at halftime, shooting 9 of 11 from the field. He is the first player with three straight 30-point games as a reserve since Ricky Pierce in 1990.

— Reported by Jeff Bernstein of the Associated Press

Raptors beat Pistons to end 5-game losing streak

Rudy Gay and the Toronto Raptors are out of the playoff picture and have just 10 games left before their season ends. That doesn’t mean they’re going to go quietly.

Gay scored 19 of his 21 points during a dominant third quarter and the Raptors ended a five-game skid with a 99-82 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.

Toronto led 46-45 at the break and took control by outscoring the Pistons 23-5 in the first eight minutes of the third period.

DeMar DeRozan also had 21 to help Toronto win a second straight meeting with the Pistons.

”Whatever he drank at halftime, he needs to keep drinking it,” coach Dwane Casey said of Gay, who was 7 for 11 from the floor in the third.

”Something clicked at halftime to get him going.” …

Amir Johnson added 20 points, including 10 during the second period that helped the Raptors take the lead for good.

Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Kyle Lowry added 11 assists…

Jonas Jerebko scored 20 points to lead the Pistons, who also got 17 from rookie Andre Drummond in their eighth straight home loss. Detroit made just six field goals in the third and often couldn’t seem to stop Gay once he got hot.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Tobias Harris helps Orlando Magic end losing streak

It’s clear the Orlando Magic are playing for next year, and Friday night was the first of what they hope will be some good signs during the season’s final weeks.

Orlando was up and down against the Washington Wizards, but when it came time to decide things, defense and some clutch offense from second-year forward Tobias Harris produced a 97-92 win for the Magic.

Harris scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Magic break an eight-game losing streak. Harris stopped Washington runs on at least four occasions during the game with timely shots. That included a 15-foot floater with 1:22 left in the game to put Orlando ahead 93-88 and three of four from the free throw line in the final 14 seconds that sealed the victory.

”Tonight was a good step for me,” said Harris, who came to Orlando from Milwaukee at the trade deadline. ”There have been times since being in a Magic uniform that I’ve struggled to close out games, but you’ve got to be ready when the opportunity comes and I took advantage of it.”

The Magic started Harris, three rookies – Maurice Harkless, Kyle O’Quinn and DeQuan Jones – and eight-year veteran Jameer Nelson, who left the game in the first quarter with a sprained ankle and did not return.

Harkless scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while second-year man E’Twaun Moore had 15 and rookie Andrew Nicholson scored 14…

The Wizards, by contrast, didn’t get much of anything from anyone other than John Wall and Martell Webster. Wall led Washington with 35 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Webster was the only other Wizard in double figures, scoring 19.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Bulls sign Malcolm Thomas to second 10-day contract

The Chicago Bulls announced today they have re-signed forward Malcolm Thomas to a second 10-day contract.  Thomas, a 6-9, 225-pound forward, originally signed a 10-day contract with the Bulls on March 19, 2013.

Thomas has appeared in one game with Chicago this season, and also recorded three points and five rebounds in five games played with the Golden State Warriors earlier in the season.  The 24-year old native of Columbia, Mo., is in his second season out of San Diego State.

Clippers keep Maalik Wayns for rest of season

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that they have signed guard Maalik Wayns for the remainder of the season.

Wayns has appeared in three games for the Clippers averaging 3.7 points, 2.3 assists and 9.3 minutes per game.

Wayns, who was the 23rd D-League to NBA “Call-Up” of the 2012-13 season, averaged 12.4 points and 3.0 assists in nine games (three starts) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League this season.

The 6’2” undrafted Villanova product started the season in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and appeared in 21 games for the Sixers. In those 21 games (one start), he averaged 2.7 points and 1.0 assist in 7.8 minutes of play.

Philadelphia 76ers having Allen Iverson bobblehead night March 30

Former Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson will be in attendance at Saturday’s (March 30) game at the Wells Fargo Center when the Sixers host the Charlotte Bobcats at 8:00 p.m.

Iverson will be introduced and salute the crowd on the court prior to tip-off. All fans in attendance at Saturday’s game will receive an Allen Iverson bobblehead, courtesy of Reebok.

“It’s always good to come back to Philadelphia,” said Allen Iverson. “I’m excited to be there for my bobblehead night, see the team and hear the roar of the fans I love.”

The Sixers next host the Charlotte Bobcats at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, March 30 at 8:00 p.m. All fans in attendance will receive an Allen Iverson bobblehead.

Danny Granger to have left knee surgery, done for season

The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday that forward Danny Granger will miss the remainder of the season to undergo surgery on his left knee.

The decision was made after all conservative treatment options could not alleviate the soreness Granger encountered. After consultation between Granger, the Pacers’ medical staff and Dr. James Andrews, surgery became the preferred option.

Granger underwent a procedure in late October for patellar tendinosis. He returned Feb. 25 and played five games before continued soreness in the knee sidelined him. After further rehab did not ease the soreness, surgery was decided on. He is expected to be ready for training camp.

Metta World Peace has knee surgery, out at least 6 weeks

Lakers forward Metta World Peace, who injured his left knee in Monday night’s game against the Warriors in Oakland, underwent successful surgery today for a torn lateral meniscus.

The surgery was performed by team doctors Steve Lombardo and Dan Kharrazi of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Group in Los Angeles.

World Peace, who has averaged 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.70 steals in 70 games (64 starts) this season, is expected to be out a minimum of six weeks.