Pau Gasol starts, helps Lakers beat Wolves

pau gasol

Pau Gasol knew he could play like this. Kobe Bryant and Ricky Rubio did, too. The only person in Laker land who seemed to doubt what the gifted post player could do was the man in charge.

Now maybe coach Mike D’Antoni will become a believer as well.

Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup and Bryant nearly had a triple-double in leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 111-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

”It was a good feeling out there,” Gasol said. ”Like the good old days.”

Bryant had 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and Steve Nash added 17 points and seven assists for the Lakers, who played without Dwight Howard due to a sore right shoulder. They have won four of their last five games and beat the Wolves for the 20th straight time, the longest active streak in the NBA.

”It’s been a rough season so far, no way around it,” said Gasol, who topped 20 points for just the third time this season. ”Just stay with it, keep playing. You never know when things can change direction. Just play your game when you’re out there. Tonight I was able to start, play more minutes, get a good flow. It was a good game.” …

Alexey Shved scored 18 points and Rubio had nine points and seven assists for the Timberwolves, who lost their sixth straight game. They trailed by 29 in the second quarter, but climbed within four in the fourth.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard named NBA Rookies of Month for January, 2013

Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal and Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in January.

Beal, who wins his second consecutive Kia Rookie of the Month award, led all Eastern Conference rookies in scoring (15.1 ppg) and three-point field goal percentage (.508), and finished second in minutes (32.9 mpg) and third in assists (2.5 apg). Beal became the first rookie since Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry in 2010 to shoot .500 or better from three-point range in a calendar month with at least 50 attempts.

Lillard, who wins his third consecutive Kia Rookie of the Month award, led all rookies in scoring (17.7 ppg), assists (6.8 apg) and minutes (39.6 mpg). Among all NBA players this season, Lillard ranks 19th in scoring (18.1 ppg), 13th in assists (6.5 apg) and seventh in three-pointers made (102). Lillard recorded his eighth game this season of 20-plus points and eight-plus assists on Jan. 23 during a 100-80 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month were Cleveland’s Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller, Detroit’s Andre Drummond and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis.

Atlanta Hawks sign Jannero Pargo to second 10-day contract

The Atlanta Hawks have signed veteran guard Jannero Pargo to a second 10-day contract, Hawks President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

Since signing his first 10-day deal on January 21, 2013, Pargo has averaged 5.2 points, 2.6 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 16.0 minutes (.400 FG%, .462 3FG%), appearing in five contests.

In his ninth NBA season, Pargo played in seven games earlier this year with the Washington Wizards, putting in 3.0 points and 2.0 assists in 14.6 minutes per contest (.250 FG%, 1.000 FT%). In 50 games last season with the Hawks, he averaged 5.6 points, 1.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 13.4 minutes (.415 FG%, .384 3FG%, .950 FT%).

In 441 career games (18 starts) with the LA Lakers, Chicago, Toronto, New Orleans, Atlanta and Washington, the 6-foot-1 University of Arkansas product is averaging 6.4 points, 2.0 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 15.4 minutes (.389 FG%, .351 3FG%, .867 FT%). He has also seen action in Russia (Dynamo Moscow) and Greece (Olympiacos Piraeus).

Bench helps Nets beat banged-up Bulls, 93-89

Bench carries Nets past banged-up Bulls, 93-89

The Brooklyn Nets kept going deeper down their bench to find a winning combination. The Chicago Bulls simply had nowhere to go.

Brook Lopez scored 20 points through three quarters, then the Nets turned to their bench to beat the short-handed Bulls 93-89 on Friday night.

With most of their best players in street clothes, the Bulls’ normally sturdy defense allowed the Nets to make 11 of 18 shots in the fourth quarter. Nine of the baskets were by reserves.

”It’s huge, especially when a lot of our starters didn’t have it going tonight,” Nets guard Deron Williams said. ”It was good that those guys came in and stepped up for us. Without them, we don’t win this game.”

Andray Blatche scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter and MarShon Brooks had nine of his 13 as the reserves scored the Nets’ first 20 points. A starter didn’t score until Joe Johnson’s 3-pointer gave Brooklyn an 86-80 lead with 2 minutes to play…

Johnson finished with 13 points for the Nets, who bounced back from a loss to Miami on Wednesday by beating another top Eastern Conference team.

Luol Deng scored 18 points and Taj Gibson had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls, who played without starters Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Kirk Hinrich while losing for just the third time in 11 games…

Nate Robinson had 12 points and 11 assists but shot just 4 of 16 in place of Hinrich, who returned to Chicago to get his right elbow examined. Marco Belinelli scored 18 points and Jimmy Butler had 12 off Chicago’s bench.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Melo scores 25 as Knicks beat Bucks 96-86

carmelo anthony

Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points, Amare Stoudemire had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and the New York Knicks extended their winning streak to three games with a 96-86 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

J.R. Smith had 17 points and Tyson Chandler pulled down 20 rebounds in New York’s fourth straight win over Milwaukee.

Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with 19 points and seven rebounds. Monta Ellis added 16 points and Brandon Jennings had 14.

The Knicks trailed for the majority of the game until late in the third quarter when they stormed back…

After Jennings’ layup made it 78-75, the Knicks went on an 8-2 run and never looked back. Iman Shumpert scored on a layup and Chandler followed with a dunk to make it 82-75. Marquis Daniels answered with a layup for Milwaukee but Shumpert made another basket and Felton followed with a 3-pointer to make it 87-77 before the Bucks called timeout with 4:58 to go…

The Knicks honored former New York City Mayor Ed Koch during a timeout in the first quarter. Koch died of congestive heart failure Friday at 88. … New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia was in attendance. … The Bucks had won 12 of 14 before losing four straight to the Knicks. … The Bucks are 0-12 when held to 90 points or fewer this season. They scored 88 in a loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

— Reported by Adriano Torres of the Associated Press

Rudy Gay has 20 in debut, Raptors rout Clippers 98-73

rudy gay

The way Blake Griffin saw it, a sloppy effort by the Los Angeles Clippers only made things easier for Rudy Gay and the fired-up Raptors.

Gay wowed a sellout crowd by scoring 20 points in his Toronto debut, leading the Raptors to a 98-73 rout of the short-handed Clippers on Friday night.

”The way we played had a big effect on their flow,” Griffin said. ”Not to take anything away from them – they did a good job – but our defense was terrible.”

The Clippers were pretty terrible on offense, too, setting season lows for points and field goal percentage (34.7). Los Angeles’ previous low in points was 76 at Brooklyn on Nov. 23, while its previous low in field goal percentage was 36.6 on Jan. 19 in a home win over Washington.

”We didn’t execute very well, we didn’t shoot it very well,” coach Vinny Del Negro said. ”We struggled in a lot of areas.”

Amir Johnson had 19 points and matched his career high with 16 rebounds for the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan also scored 19 as Toronto welcomed Gay with a winning effort two days after the high-scoring forward was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade that included Detroit…

John Lucas scored 17 and Aaron Gray had seven points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who handed the Clippers their fourth straight loss in Toronto and their largest defeat of the season…

Griffin had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who were without point guard Chris Paul (bruised right kneecap) for the sixth straight game…

Jamal Crawford scored 14 points, Caron Butler had 12 and Eric Bledsoe 10 for Los Angeles, which has dropped five of eight overall.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

David West scores 30, Pacers beat Heat 102-89

Indiana did it again Friday night.

And this time, the Pacers beat Miami at its own game.

David West scored 30 points, Paul George added 17 and Indiana became the second team to beat the defending champs twice this season with a 102-89 victory.

The Pacers (28-19) have won 13 in a row at home and two straight since ending a three-game losing streak earlier this week. They’ve also won three straight regular-season games over the Heat and have not lost to Miami since the Heat swept the final three games of the Eastern Conference semifinal series last spring.

For Miami (29-14), it was a frustrating night. While players and coaches promised to play a more physical game than the first one, the 87-77 loss on Jan. 8 also at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, it didn’t make much difference.

The Heat still got outrebounded, and allowed the Pacers to shoot a season-high 55.7 percent from the field. During one stretch, West made 11 straight baskets.

How frustrating was it? Three different Miami players and coach Erik Spoelstra drew technical fouls.

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

New York Knicks to host 150 Sandy Hook children, others

The New York Knicks will host 150 children, their families and teachers from Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.

Twenty or more children from the Newtown (Conn.) Choir from Sabrinas Encore Products will sing the national anthem before the Knicks’ game against the Sacramento Kings.

The Knicks organization visited Newtown, where 20 children and six adults were shot and killed at the school in December, on Tuesday.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Pacers expect Danny Granger return date to be before All-Star game

danny granger

Pacers coach Frank Vogel says Danny Granger could be back on the court before the All-Star break in mid-February.

Granger has been out all season with a patellar tendinosis in his left knee, but was cleared to participate in full contact practice for the first time Thursday. Vogel says he worked for 20 minutes in half-court sets.

In early November, the Pacers said Granger could miss up to three months after getting an injection in his injured knee. Granger has been mostly quiet since the announcement.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Celtics forward Jared Sullinger out for season after surgery

jared sullinger

Big injury hits keep striking the Boston Celtics. First starting point guard Rajon Rondo, and now a prized rookie who was having a solid first season.

The Celtics announced forward Jared Sullinger underwent successful lumbar disc surgery today at the New England Baptist Hospital. Surgery was performed by the medical staff at the New England Baptist Hospital which is under the direction of Celtics Team Physician, Dr. Brian McKeon. Sullinger is expected to be ready in time for training camp for the 2013-14 season.

Sullinger, a 6’9” forward, appeared in 45 games for the Celtics this season averaging 6.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game. He posted a season-high of 16 rebounds against Phoenix on January 9 and recorded a season-high of 16 points twice (November 18 against Detroit, December 25 against Brooklyn).