NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
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In a sign that the torn plantar fascia in his right foot has somewhat healed, Lakers forward Pau Gasol revealed in a tweet Tuesday that he’s no longer nursing crutches.
Gasol injured his foot in the Lakers’ win Feb. 8 over the Brooklyn Nets and was declared out for a minimum of six to eight weeks. Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni suggested that it’s possible Gasol won’t return until the Lakers will know their playoff aspirations.
— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)
Paul Pierce scored 26 points, including seven straight in overtime, and the Boston Celtics beat the Utah Jazz 110-107 on Monday night to close out a five-game road trip.
Pierce had a chance to win it in regulation, but his 19-footer at the buzzer rimmed out.
Alec Burks’ reverse layup pulled Utah to 108-105 with 37 seconds left in overtime. Kevin Garnett’s banked 3-pointer with 13 seconds left came after the shot clock expired, giving the Jazz another chance.
Paul Millsap was fouled before he could get off a 3, but made two free throws with 4.2 seconds remaining.
Courtney Lee added two free throws at the other end with 1.2 seconds left to bump Boston’s lead back to three, and Randy Foye’s 26-footer at the buzzer missed everything.
Avery Bradley added a season-high 18 points for Boston.
Gordon Hayward led Utah with 26 points, Millsap had 16 and Al Jefferson finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Celtics (30-27) were playing their fifth game in seven days, but didn’t seem to care down the stretch.
— Reported by Lynn DeBruin of the Associated Press
Wilson Chandler scored 23 points in place of an injured Danilo Gallinari, and Ty Lawson added 22 in the Denver Nuggets’ 119-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
Gallinari, the Nuggets’ leading scorer, sat out with a bruised left thigh. He wasn’t needed as the Nuggets won their ninth straight game at home, snapped the Lakers’ four-game winning streak and took the season series from their long-time nemesis 3-1.
The Lakers, who were shut out on the offensive glass in the first half, wanted to slow down the Nuggets but Denver outscored Los Angeles 33-3 in fast-break points.
Gallinari, who got hurt Friday night at Washington and was limited the next night at Charlotte, was an unexpected late scratch. Averaging 16.9 points, he had scored at least 19 in each of Denver’s first three games against the Lakers.
Chandler started in his place and Corey Brewer got extended minutes, too, finishing with 16 points.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 29 points, and Dwight Howard added 15 points and 14 boards but missed 11 of his last 12 free throws.
— Reported by Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press
Al Horford had 23 points and 22 rebounds, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Detroit Pistons 114-103 on Monday night for their fifth win in six games.
Josh Smith added 23 points for the Hawks, who were ahead 61-51 at halftime and led by as many as 26 in the third quarter.
The Pistons have lost three straight, all without guard Brandon Knight, who has a hyperextended right knee. Will Bynum was also out Monday because of a suspension.
Jeff Teague had 20 points for Atlanta, which shot 14 of 33 from 3-point range. Kyle Korver scored 15 points, all from beyond the arc.
Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 22 points, and Jonas Jerebko added 21.
Horford equaled his career high in rebounds.
— Reported by Noah Trister of the Associated Press
Bradley Beal scored 20 points, Nene had 11 points and nine rebounds, and the Washington Wizards beat the Toronto Raptors 90-84 on Monday night for their third straight victory.
A.J. Price and Martell Webster each added 12 points for the Wizards, who won for just the fifth time in 27 road games this season. Washington’s road record is the worst in the NBA.
John Wall had 10 points and seven assists, and Emeka Okafor had eight points and 13 rebounds as the Wizards won for the 14th time in 23 games.
The third overall pick in last June’s draft, and the Eastern Conference rookie of the month in December and January, Beal has scored 20 points or more in four of the past six.
DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and Kyle Lowry had 18 for the Raptors, who had won six of their previous seven.
It was a rough night for Toronto’s Rudy Gay who missed his first six field goal attempts before scoring on a driving dunk one minute into the fourth quarter. Gay shot 1 for 11 and finished with seven points, one more than his season low, set Dec 22 at Houston when he played for Memphis.
— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press
The Denver Nuggets will be without leading scorer Danilo Gallinari against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night as the forward sits out with a bruised left thigh.
Gallinari only played sparingly in a win over Charlotte on Saturday. He’s averaging 16.9 points this season.
Nuggets coach George Karl was fully expecting Gallinari to be in the starting lineup, saying before the game, ”I think he’s good. I didn’t even check today. He told me this morning it was fine.”
— Reported by the Associated Press
New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony will not be suspended for his brief altercation with Philadelphia 76ers center Spencer Hawes on Sunday night, ESPNNewYork.com reported.
Anthony hit Hawes in the back of the head while the two were battling for position for a rebound.
Hawes angrily confronted Anthony after being hit, but Hawes was pushed away by Knicks center Tyson Chandler.
— Reported by the Sports Xchange
Miami Heat forward LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Tuesday, Feb. 19 through Sunday, Feb. 24.
James led the Heat to a 4-0 week, which included road wins over the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 23.5 points (fifth in the conference), 9.3 assists (second in the conference), 2.25 steals (third in the conference) and 7.8 rebounds. James posted two double-doubles and a 16-point, 11-assist, 10-rebound triple-double on Feb. 23 at Philadelphia as the Heat became the first club in the East to reach 40 wins. At 40-14 (.741), Miami owns a six-game advantage over the next closest Eastern Conference team, the Indiana Pacers (35-21, .625).
Bryant led the Lakers to a 3-0 week, which included wins over the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers. He finished second in the conference in scoring at 31.3 ppg, and added 7.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Bryant closed the week with a 38-point, 12-rebound, seven-assist performance in Dallas, a 103-99 Lakers’ win. At 28-29 (.491), the Lakers are 2.5 games behind the Houston Rockets (31-27, .534) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Al Horford, Boston’s Jeff Green, Charlotte’s Kemba Walker, Golden State’s Jarrett Jack, Houston’s James Harden, Indiana’s Paul George, Memphis’ Zach Randolph, Miami’s Dwyane Wade, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Phoenix’s Goran Dragic and Toronto’s Rudy Gay.
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He’s always had the athletic gifts, but now he’s started to develop point guard habits, finding open cutters and shooters, connecting with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan for lobs. He looks much more comfortable controlling the offense than ever before.
Bledsoe has been a statistical anomaly so far this season. His per-36 minute stats are in line with his starting numbers, suggesting he could be an All-Star candidate with increased playing time.
He started — and performed well — during Paul’s recent injury stint. He averages 18.5 minutes with Paul having returned to the starting lineup. With more traditional shooting guards on the roster — Jamal Crawford, Willie Green and now a healthy Chauncey Billups — Vinny Del Negro has opted to mainly deploy Bledsoe at point guard, and rarely alongside Paul.
“I just come in and provide that spark that we need to get everybody involved,” Bledsoe said.
“He’s a good defensive player. He likes to play center field and gamble,” Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins said after a recent loss to the Paul-less Clippers. “He’s got great quickness and great athleticism. … Just that aspect of his game, his athleticism, is what creates problems.”
Though he’s generously listed at 6-foot-1, Bledsoe has a deceptively long 6-foot-7 wingspan and a 40-inch vertical, allowing him to steal passes and block shots most players his size aren’t capable of reaching. “Bledsoe is a very good pressure guy,” Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said earlier this season. “If you turn your back on him and expose the ball at all, they’re going to get it.”
— Reported by Jovan Buha of ESPN Los Angeles
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Amar’e Stoudemire has said all the right things about coming off the bench, but that has been easier to do given how much the Knicks were winning. Should the Knicks go cold, however, as they did in the four games prior to Sunday’s win, Stoudemire hinted he might not be so thrilled about it.
“As long as we’re winning. If we keep winning then we’re good,” said Stoudemire, who scored 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting. “When you start losing a little bit then you start thinking about it.”
Kenyon Martin was on the game day roster for the Knicks for the first time Sunday, but Mike Woodson wasn’t prepared to get him some court time just yet.
— Reported by Seth Walder of the New York Daily News