Kyrie Irving scores 35, Cavs beat Hornets

kyrie irving

Bright lights bring out the best in Kyrie Irving.

Coming off an impressive showing during All-Star weekend in Houston, Irving carried the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 105-100 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night.

Irving scored 20 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, including 11 in a row and 18 of 20, to help the Cavaliers break away from an 83-all tie in the final 4:23.

”In the fourth quarter especially when it’s winning time, obviously I want to win and my teammates want to win,” he said. ”Luckily, some shots went in.” …

The game featured two former No. 1 overall draft picks: Irving and Hornets center Anthony Davis. Irving made 13 of 22 shots and all seven of his free throws while having seven assists. Davis had 12 points and four rebounds…

Dion Waiters scored 16 points for the Cavaliers while C.J. Miles added 11.

Rookie Brian Roberts led New Orleans with 17 points, tying a season high. Robin Lopez scored 15 points before fouling out, while Greivis Vasquez added 13…

Hornets guard Eric Gordon didn’t play for precautionary reasons as he continues to recover from knee surgery. He has yet to play on back-to-back nights on orders of the team’s medical staff. Gordon, who is averaging 16.6 points, missed the final game before the All-Star break with a sprained right hand, but scored 20 points Tuesday in a 96-87 loss to Chicago.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Nets beat Bucks despite big game from Brandon Jennings

deron williams

Five points separated the Nets and the Bucks in their home-and-home set, and Brooklyn came away with two straight last-second victories.

Deron Williams scored 23 points and the Nets escaped with a 97-94 victory on Wednesday night after Milwaukee’s Monta Ellis missed a chance to tie the game with three foul shots in the final seconds.

”We did a good job of closing the game until the very end,” Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. ”We made it interesting. We got ourselves an 11-point lead and then did a poor job closing that. It’s hard to keep coming back, coming back, coming back, but we did it.”

Williams made two free throws and a 3-pointer that gave the Nets their biggest lead at 94-83 with 1:50 left to play. But Milwaukee ran off an 11-2 run down the stretch and pulled to 96-94 with 6.9 seconds left on two layup by Brandon Jennings.

Jennings scored 31 points and had 11 assists, Ersan Ilyasova had 12 rebounds and Larry Sanders had 12 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots for Milwaukee…

Sanders returned to the Bucks’ starting lineup Tuesday after missing four games with a lower back contusion…

C.J. Watson had 17 off the bench for Brooklyn. Andray Blatche scored 12 points and had 12 rebounds for the Nets

Williams, who had 19 points and nine assists Tuesday after sitting out the previous two games with inflammation in his ankles, played 33 minutes. He had eight assists and one steal…

Jennings had 18 points before the break, making all seven of his shots, and seven assists. Ersan Ilyasova had 10 points and seven of Milwaukee’s 23 rebounds.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Kings trade Thomas Robinson to Rockets

The Sacramento Kings today acquired forward Patrick Patterson, center Cole Aldrich, guard Toney Douglas and cash considerations from the Houston Rockets in exchange for forwards Francisco Garcia, Thomas Robinson and Tyler Honeycutt, according to Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.

“We are excited about the addition of Patrick, Toney and Cole,” said Petrie. “They will add skill and depth along with the potential for a different look to our roster. We all want to thank Francisco, Thomas and Tyler for their efforts and contributions.”

In Patterson, the Kings receive the 14 th overall selection of the 2010 NBA Draft (Kentucky) who averaged 11.6 points (.519 FGs, .365 3FGs, .755 FTs), 4.7 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game in 47 outings with the Rockets this season (started 38). The 6-9, 235-pound forward has posted career numbers of 8.4 points (.495 FGs, .347 3FGs, .723 FTs), 4.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game in 163 contests with Houston (started 45).

Aldrich is a 6-11, 240-pound center selected by Oklahoma City with the 11th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft (Kansas) and is averaging 1.7 points (.530 FGs, .704 FTs) and 1.9 rebounds in 74 career games with both the Thunder and Rockets.

Douglas is a third-year pro who tallied 8.1 points (.395 FGs, .377 3FGs, .882 FTs), 1.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.8 steals in 49 games with the Rockets this season. The 6-2, 185-pound guard was drafted by the New York Knicks out of Florida State and has notched career averages of 8.8 points (.406 FGs, .357 3FGs, .825 FTs), 2.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.9 steals in 224 career contests.

Garcia, whose years with the Kings (8th season) made him the longest-tenured player on the roster, was selected by the Sacramento as an early entry candidate out of Louisville with the 23rd overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft and is averaging 5.2 points (.376 FGs, .367 3FGs, .857 FTs), 1.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 17.8 minutes per game in 40 contests (started 15) this season. He has amassed career averages of 8.3 points (.433 FGs, .360 3FGs, .809 FTs), 2.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 22.2 minutes per game in 460 outings (started 128).

Robinson is averaging 4.8 points (.424 FGs, .577 FTs), 4.7 rebounds and 15.9 minutes per game in 51 contests as a rookie this season. He has scored in double-figures in seven games and grabbed 10 or more rebounds on five occasions. Robinson was selected by the Kings as an undergraduate (junior) out of Kansas with the fifth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Honeycutt, currently in his second NBA season, is averaging 0.9 points (.273 FGs, 0-2 3FGs, 2-2 FTs), 1.1 rebounds and 3.6 minutes per game in nine contests off the bench for Sacramento. He has recorded career averages of 1.2 points (.314 FGs, .200 3FGs, .714 FTs), 1.0 rebounds and 5.0 minutes per game in 24 outings. Honeycutt was selected by the Kings as a sophomore out of UCLA with the 35th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

James Harden scores 46, Rockets rally past Thunder

james harden

James Harden scored a career-high 46 points and Jeremy Lin added 29 as the Houston Rockets mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback for a 122-119 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.

Houston was down by 14 points with about seven minutes left. The Rockets used a 21-4 run to erase the deficit and take a 114-111 lead with 1:46 remaining. Harden stepped back under heavy pressure from Serge Ibaka to sink a 3 to tie it, before Lin connected on one seconds later to give the Rockets their first lead of the second half.

Harden, traded from Oklahoma City to Houston before the season, made a bucket before Ibaka made two free throws. Then came another 3 by Lin to extend the lead to 119-113…

Thabo Sefolosha led the Thunder with 28 points and had six 3-pointers, both career highs. His previous career high was 22, which he reached twice, most recently in 2008.

Westbrook also scored 28 points and added 10 rebounds and eight assists. Kevin Durant had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his second career triple-double…

Harden was 11 of 12 from the free throw line, made a career-best seven 3-pointers, had eight rebounds and six assists.

— Reported by Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press

Wolves center Nikola Pekovic drops 27 points, 18 rebounds on Sixers

Nikola Pekovic

Nikola Pekovic had 27 points and tied a career high with 18 rebounds to power the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 94-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

Derrick Williams had 17 points and eight rebounds and Andrei Kirilenko added 15 points and five assists in his return from a thigh injury for the Timberwolves, who won for the fourth time in their last 20 games.

Evan Turner scored 17 points and Jrue Holiday scored 16 after making his All-Star debut on Sunday for the 76ers, who couldn’t come up with an answer for Pekovic in the paint in a rough and tumble game. Philadelphia has lost seven straight road games and has won just six times away from home all season, the third fewest wins in the NBA.

The Timberwolves never trailed, thanks in large part to Pekovic bulldozing his way through the Sixers big men. He dominated Spencer Hawes and Lavoy Allen throwing an array of jump hooks, baseline spins and dunks at a Philadelphia front line that wanted no part of the hulking Montenegrin.

The Timberwolves led by as many as 19 points in the first half against a lifeless Sixers team that watched Holiday get into early foul trouble and Turner score just two points in the first 24 minutes. An exasperated Doug Collins tried to send a message to start the second half, sending Kwame Brown and Damien Wilkins out in place of Hawes and Allen.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Zach Randolph leads Grizzlies past Raptors

zach randolph

Zach Randolph had 17 points and 18 rebounds, Mike Conley scored 17 points and the Memphis Grizzlies won their fifth straight game Wednesday, beating the Toronto Raptors 88-82.

Toronto’s Rudy Gay came up short against his former team as the Raptors had their five-game winning streak ended.

Acquired from Memphis in a three-team trade on Jan. 30, Gay had 13 points and nine rebounds but struggled with his shooting, making just five of 15 attempts. He also had a game-high five turnovers.

Tony Allen scored 12 points and Tayshaun Prince had 11 as the Grizzlies won for the eighth time in nine meetings with the Raptors and posted their fourth straight win in Toronto.

— Reported by the Associated Press 

Paul George scores 27, Pacers wreck Knicks 125-91

paul george

Paul George scored 27 points and the Indiana Pacers powered their way closer to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the New York Knicks 125-91 on Wednesday night.

David West had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Lance Stephenson added 14 points for Indiana (33-21), which pulled within a half-game of the Knicks for second place in the East.

The Pacers shot 53 percent from the field, scored a season-high point total and had a season-best 28 assists against the Atlantic Division leaders. It was Indiana’s largest margin of victory this season and New York’s worst loss.

Tyson Chandler led New York with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony, the league’s No. 2 scorer, finished with 15 points on 7-for-21 shooting.

George, fresh off a strong performance in his first All-Star Game appearance, made 11 of 19 shots and grabbed eight rebounds.

New York was called for three individual technical fouls and a flagrant foul, and J.R. Smith was ejected…

New York shot just 33 percent in the first half. Anthony scored eight points on 4-for-10 shooting before the break.

— Reported by Cliff Brunt of the Associated Press

Patrick Patterson to Kings, Marcus Morris to Suns, Thomas Robinson to Rockets

The Houston Rockets have reached separate agreements on trades that will send Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas to Sacramento and Marcus Morris to Phoenix, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday.

The Rockets will receive Thomas Robinson, the No. 5 pick in last year’s draft, Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt from the Kings, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced and was still pending league approval.

In the other deal, the person said the Rockets will receive a future second-round pick from the Suns in exchange for Morris, who will join his twin older brother, Markieff, on the Phoenix roster.

“If I was to be traded, that’s where I would want to go,” Marcus Morris said outside the Rockets’ locker room. “I think Houston knew that. That’s all I did was talk about my brother and how happy I was to play with him. I’m excited. That’s all I can say.”

Patterson, Aldrich and Douglas walked out of the Toyota Center just as Houston was starting its game against Oklahoma City, on the eve of the trading deadline.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Clippers are not in a trading mood

The Clippers indicated Wednesday that they have no plans to make any trades before the NBA’s deadline Thursday at noon PST.

Even Coach Vinny Del Negro said after practice the team is not looking to make moves because he and his staff like the team that they have.

The most prevalent rumor had back-up point guard Eric Bledsoe and center DeAndre Jordan going to the Boston Celtics for center Kevin Garnett.

Because Bledsoe, 23, and Jordan, 25, are so young, Del Negro was asked whether he needed to talk with them about the rumors.

“No, because if I felt it was necessary, I would do that,” Del Negro said. “But there are a bunch of needs out there. Like you said, they are young players that teams covet and that’s a good thing. That’s a good thing for us. That’s a good thing for them.

— Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

Rockets weighing options to trade Marcus Morris

marcus morris

With the Rockets close to trading forward Marcus Morris, Morris was placed on the inactive list before Wednesday’s game as the Rockets considered options.

“Morris is being held out because the team is considering two possible trade options involving him,” a person familiar with the situation said.

Morris is averaging 8.6 points per game, making 38.1 percent of his 3-pointers, the second-best shooting percentage from beyond the arc of the Rockets regulars. After rarely playing last season, he has started 17 games and is among the first players off the Rockets’ bench.

— Reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle