NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
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Scottsdale police say Phoenix Suns forward Michael Beasley was cited last month on suspicion of speeding, driving on a suspended Arizona license and driving without a vehicle license plate or registration.
The Suns issued a statement Monday saying they discussed the matter with Beasley ”and at this time do not believe any further action by the club is warranted.”
A police report said Beasley was stopped Jan. 25 on suspicion of driving 71 mph in a 45 mph zone.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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That free agent in the Lakers’ frontcourt stands to make a lot of money this summer.
Sure, Dwight Howard will get paid too, but Earl Clark has gone from a career washout to a gradual climber up the NBA’s free-agent list in July.
“Obviously, not playing earlier and averaging those [low] numbers, I didn’t know where I would end up,” Clark said. “Playing good now and with other teams wanting you, you can pick your own destiny. It feels good to be in the driver’s seat.”
He’s quick to add that his first choice is the Lakers, who can sign the unrestricted free agent even though they are already well over the salary cap next season.
“This is my first team that gave me an opportunity. I love the guys here,” Clark said. “The organization and the style of play fits me. I really want to stay here.”
— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times
Chicago Bulls guard Nate Robinson and Golden State Warriors forward David Lee today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Jan. 28 through Sunday, Feb. 3.
Robinson led the Bulls to a 3-1 week, which included road wins over the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks. He averaged 17.8 points, tied for second in the conference with 2.50 spg and placed third in the East with 6.8 apg. Robinson has scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games for the Central Division-leading Bulls, who stand third overall in the East at 29-18 (.617).
Lee averaged 18.0 points, 14.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists as he helped the Warriors to a 4-0 week. He posted a point-rebound double-double in each contest, improving his NBA-leading double-double total to 31 on the year. The Warriors’ 30-17 (.638) record is good for second in the Pacific Division and fifth in the conference. Lee becomes the first Warriors player to win two Player of the Week awards in the same season since Baron Davis in 2005.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez, Denver’s Danilo Gallinari, Houston’s Omer Asik, Miami’s LeBron James and New York’s Tyson Chandler.
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Both on the court and along the sidelines, the Miami Heat will be well represented at this month’s NBA All-Star game.
LeBron James scored 30 points, Chris Bosh had 28 against his former team and the Miami Heat beat Toronto 100-85 Sunday for their 10th straight victory over the Raptors.
The victory guarantees Miami the top spot in the Eastern Conference as of Feb. 3, percentage points ahead of the New York Knicks. That means Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff will be in charge when the All-Stars suit up in Houston in two weeks.
”It’s awesome,” James said. ”It’s a testament to our coaches’ preparedness. As players we go out there and just try to execute their game plan. We’re happy for them.”
Spoelstra, the fifth-year coach who led the Heat to the NBA championship last June, called the All-Star nod ”a heck of an honor.” …
Dwyane Wade added 23 points as the Heat bounced back after Friday’s 102-89 loss at Indiana, ensuring their team Super Bowl viewing party would be a happy one…
Rudy Gay led the Raptors with 29 points and DeMar DeRozan had 27. Kyle Lowry scored 10 points and Aaron Gray matched his season high with 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who have lost four of five.
”They’re the champs,” DeRozan said. ”We couldn’t stop them. We couldn’t slow them down when they got it going.”
James finished with team highs of eight rebounds and seven assists and Bosh scored 13 in the fourth quarter for Miami, which improved to 12-11 on the road.
— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press
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In a season full of turmoil and frustration, this would have been a particularly exasperating loss for the Los Angeles Lakers.
One of the most accurate free throw shooters in NBA history had missed two, giving the Detroit Pistons one more chance at a game-winning shot. Kyle Singler lobbed the ball toward the basket, and rookie Andre Drummond stretched his 6-foot-11 frame and tried a one-handed dunk with Pau Gasol defending.
No good. The Lakers held on for a 98-97 victory.
”Every game is like a playoff game for us right now,” Los Angeles coach Mike D’Antoni said. ”And some crazy things happen in playoff games.”
Gasol had 23 points and 10 rebounds and was the last line of defense on Detroit’s final alley-oop attempt Sunday. The Lakers blew an 18-point third-quarter lead but overcame their late free throw struggles to win for the fifth time in six games.
Los Angeles has won two in a row without Dwight Howard. The All-Star center sat out again with a right shoulder problem…
Detroit was still without guard Jose Calderon, who the Pistons acquired from Toronto on Wednesday. The Spanish-born Calderon has not been available to play because of unresolved visa issues.
The Lakers trail eighth-place Houston by 3 1/2 games in the Western Conference playoff race. Bryant scored 18 points but shot poorly from the perimeter. After an airball with the score tied at 95, he decided to drive to the basket the next time down. Bryant muscled through a foul and scored a basket that was counted on a continuation call…
Bynum had 18 points and 10 assists for the Pistons, and Greg Monroe added 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Clark had 17 points for Los Angeles. Nash had 11 points and 10 assists…
Bryant had five assists, snapping his streak of five straight games with at least eight.
— Reported by Noah Trister of the Associated Press
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The Celtics keep rolling without Rajon Rondo.
Not even a late comeback by one of the NBA’s best teams could keep Boston from beating the Los Angeles Clippers 106-104 on Sunday and improve to 4-0 since a knee injury ended their star point guard’s season.
”A lot of people say that we don’t have a chance to go to the playoffs, we can’t do this, we can’t do that,” starting guard Avery Bradley said. ”We know we have each other and we’re going to go out there and fight for each other, no matter what, every single night.”
The Clippers played without their own brilliant point guard. Chris Paul missed his seventh straight game with a bruised right knee cap.
But they cut a 98-83 deficit to 103-101 on a 3-pointer by Eric Bledsoe with 56 seconds remaining. Then Bradley drew an offensive foul on Los Angeles’ Jamal Crawford with 26 seconds to go.
Paul Pierce then held on to the ball – and was surprised that the Clippers didn’t foul him – before making a 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left to clinch the win and finish with a team-high 22 points…
Jeff Green and Leandro Barbosa scored 14 points each for the Celtics and led a 52-point contribution from the bench. The Clippers were led by Bledsoe, replacing Paul, and Crawford, who made a 3-pointer at the buzzer, with 23 points each. Blake Griffin had 20 points and 11 rebounds…
Backup Celtics C Jason Collins, playing more because of Sullinger’s absence, had a season-high seven points. … Barnes returned for the Clippers after a one-game suspension for striking Minnesota’s Greg Stiemsma on Wednesday.
— Reported by Howard Ulman of the Associated Press
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra will coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game, to be played on Sunday, Feb. 17 (8 p.m. ET), at the Toyota Center in Houston.
The Heat (30-14, .682) clinched the best record in the conference through games played Feb. 3, by virtue of its 100-85 road win against the Toronto Raptors.
Spoelstra, in his fifth season as Miami’s head coach, led the Heat to its second NBA title last season. Spoelstra owns a career winning percentage of .631 (224-132). Since becoming Heat head coach, Spoesltra has guided the Heat to two division titles, two conference championships, and the 2012 NBA championship. He is tied for the franchise postseason record in victories (34), playoff series wins (seven) and winning percentage (.607), and he ranks second to Pat Riley in franchise history with 56 postseason games coached.
The West All-Stars will be coached by the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich. The Chicago Bulls’ Tom Thibodeau and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Scott Brooks coached in last year’s All-Star Game and were therefore ineligible for the honor this year.
The 62nd NBA All-Star Game will be played at the Toyota Center in Houston on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013 (8 p.m. ET), televised exclusively on TNT and broadcast exclusively on ESPN Radio in the U.S. The All-Star Game will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages.
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Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford fractured his nose late in Friday’s game against the Toronto Raptors but will play Sunday with a face mask against the Boston Celtics.
Crawford said he fractured his nose with 7:30 remaining in the fourth quarter after missing a free throw and bumping into Raptors guard Kyle Lowry. Crawford didn’t know it was actually a fracture until Saturday, when he was forced to sit out of Clippers practice and get fitted for a mask.
“I’ve never worn a mask before,” Crawford said after warming up with the mask. “It felt pretty good. I actually shot better than I thought I would. I try to not think about it.”
— Reported by Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles
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Dwight Howard will miss the Los Angeles Lakers’ game at Detroit on Sunday because of his ailing shoulder.
Howard was scratched from Friday night’s game at Minnesota with a sore right shoulder and returned to Los Angeles to receive platelet-rich plasma treatments. It’s the same injury that kept him out of three games in January.
Howard was with the team Sunday but says he’s still sore, and he wants to make sure this isn’t a recurring problem for the rest of the season.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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The Miami Heat today re-assigned Dexter Pittman to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s NBA Development League affiliate. The assignment is the record 124th of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons, while Pittman is one of the record 52 players to have been assigned to the NBA D-League this season.
Pittman (6-11, 285, Texas) returns to Sioux Falls having been assigned twice before this season, when he appeared in 12 games and averaged 13.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 25.8 minutes.
Originally selected by the Heat in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft, Pittman has appeared in four games for Miami this season, averaging 1.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.0 minutes. In 41 career games for the Heat, Pittman has averaged 2.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 7.9 minutes.
Pittman is expected to join the Skyforce today and be available on Wednesday, Feb. 6 when the team travels to face the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in Indiana at 7 p.m. ET.