Durant scores 31 as Thunder stun Spurs again

The AP reports: Kevin Durant scored 31 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder continued to torment the San Antonio Spurs with a 96-95 victory Tuesday night… Russell Westbrook had 16 points and 10 assists for the Thunder, who fought off a furious rally from the Spurs to break a three-game losing streak and win in San Antonio for the first time since 2004.

InsideHoops.com notes: For the Spurs, Tim Duncan shot 9-of-12 for 21 points and 12 rebounds. Manu Ginobili scored 17, and Tony Parker was quiet with 11 points and as many turnovers as assists. Mike Finley shot just 5-of-16, and no one else stepped up.

Howard’s return sparks Mavs over Wolves, 108-88

The AP reports: Josh Howard had 14 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes in his return from an 11-game absence, Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points and 12 boards, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves 108-88 on Tuesday night. Howard has missed a total of 28 games due to various injuries this season, and each time he has returned seemingly without missing a beat… Jason Terry scored 21 points and Jason Kidd had eight points and 13 assists for the Mavericks, who shrugged off a blowout loss at Cleveland on Sunday and moved four games ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. Kevin Love had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who played their second straight game without Randy Foye and Craig Smith. It was the rookie’s 25th double-double, which is one more than the former MVP Nowitzki has.

76ers overcome Smith, Hawks 98-85

The AP reports: The Philadelphia 76ers proved they could win without Thaddeus Young. They might have to keep proving it over their final nine regular-season games. Andre Iguodala scored 19 points, Andre Miller added 18 points and 10 assists, and the 76ers overcame a season-high 33 points from Josh Smith and the loss of Young in their 98-85 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. Marreese Speights contributed 16 and Willie Green had 15 for the Sixers (38-35), who climbed within a half-game of the Miami Heat for fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race… Flip Murray added 19 and Joe Johnson had 11 for the Hawks (43-32), who haven’t won a road game over a team currently in playoff position since a victory on Feb. 11 at Detroit. Still, Atlanta holds the No. 4 spot in the postseason.

Wallace, Bobcats beat Lakers, again, 94-84

The AP reports: Continuing perhaps the most unlikely dominance of one team over another in the NBA, the Bobcats got 21 points and 13 rebounds from Gerald Wallace and used stifling defense to beat the Lakers 94-84 on Tuesday night and move within one game of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Raymond Felton added 16 points, D.J. Augustin scored 14 and Boris Diaw had 12 assists as the Bobcats frustrated Kobe Bryant and completed a season sweep of the Western Conference leaders, who have lost six of seven to Charlotte over the past four seasons… Bryant scored 25 points, but hit just 11 of 28 shots. Lamar Odom added 20 points as the Lakers slipped to three games behind Cleveland for the NBA’s best record and home-court for a possible finals matchup.

Cavaliers win 13th straight, beat Pistons 79-73

The AP reports: LeBron James made two crucial three-point plays down the stretch and finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds as the Cavaliers won their 13th straight game, 79-73 on Tuesday night over the Detroit Pistons, who gave the NBA’s best team all it could handle… With the win, Cleveland improved to 36-1 at home, won the season series from Detroit for the first time in 11 years, and became just the sixth team in NBA history to win 16 games in one month… Richard Hamilton scored 13 and Allen Iverson 11 for the Pistons, who were held to 35 percent shooting and shot off their mouths afterward… Delonte West scored 12, Anderson Varejao added 11 and several hustle plays, and the Cavaliers held off the Pistons in one of those old-school Eastern Conference street fights.

Big Ford game, Pacers beat Bulls 107-105

The AP reports: T.J. Ford’s shot with 3.9 seconds left gave the Pacers a 107-105 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night to tighten the race for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. All-Star Danny Granger, who scored 31 points, had built a reputation this season for making clutch shots. Despite that, the Pacers knew they were going to their point guard… Ford finished with 22 points and nine assists as a reserve… Troy Murphy had 15 points and 12 rebounds after missing the previous three games with a strained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Derrick Rose had 24 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, Kirk Hinrich had 20 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, and Tyrus Thomas added 20 points for the Bulls.

Shaq tells Robin Lopez to get tough

Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal gave teammate/backup Robin Lopez a severe talking to on Sunday. The Arizona Republic (Paul Coro) reports: “Put somebody on their (expletive) back,” Shaquille O’Neal said he told Robin Lopez. “Don’t let anybody oopsy-doopsy layup on you and be laughing at you. Have you ever seen me get dunked on? No, because I put (expletive) on their backs. Period. “If you’re going to be a big man, be a big man. Don’t be out there (expletive) around. Lay somebody on their (expletive) back. Period. Wilt (Chamberlain) told me that. Bill Russell told me that. Hakeem (Olajuwon) told me that. All the great big men told me that. . . . That’s what I’m trying to teach him, instead of just being out there like a loose tree blowing in the wind. Do something.”

Celtics shut Kevin Garnett down

The NBA champion Boston Celtics aren’t a championship team without star power forward Kevin Garnett. And with KG’s right knee still giving him some issues, they’re playing it safe. The AP reports:

Coach Doc Rivers announced after practice Tuesday that the team would be ‘shutting down’ their star forward after Garnett experienced continued soreness in the knee, first injured on Feb. 19 at Utah.

The Celtics are currently just behind the Orlando Magic in the Eastern conference standings. There is no danger of them falling any lower than their current #3 seed. The Atlanta Hawks are a distant #4 seed and are 12.5 games behind Boston for #3. So, the Celtics could lose every remaining game, and it wouldn’t affect their home court situation in the East playoffs. The Finals homecourt situation is another story. But getting back to the championship round would be infinitely harder without Garnett, so they are correctly making sure he gets healthy for the post-season.

Springfield, Massachusetts gets D-League basketball team

NBA Development League President Dan Reed announced today at a press conference at the Basketball Hall of Fame that HWS Basketball, LLC will be bringing an NBA D-League team to Springfield, Massachusetts for the 2009-10 season.  The team will play at Springfield’s MassMutual Center.

The new team will be owned and operated by Michael Savit who is the managing partner of HWS Basketball, LLC, a group of local investors.  Savit brings with him to Springfield and the NBA D-League a wealth of minor league operational and sports business experience, including time as Senior Vice President at the Cleveland-based International Management Group (IMG) and as the managing partner of minor league baseball teams in the South Atlantic League, Midwest League, Southern League, California League, Coastal Plain League and New York-Penn League.

Savit and his group have been awarded the right to relocate the NBA D-League team currently playing in Anaheim, California to Springfield.  While the local ownership group will have the option to retain rights to current Anaheim Arsenal players, they will announce a new name, colors, and a mascot for the Springfield team later on this spring.

“As the NBA D-League continues to move east, we’re very excited to bring a team to a place that not only has rich basketball history, but also boasts an impressive ownership group, strong civic leadership and community support,” said Reed.  “We’re thrilled to welcome such a well-respected and experienced operator in Mike Savit to our ownership ranks, and look forward to not only bringing our unique brand of affordable, family-friendly, and NBA-caliber basketball to Springfield, but becoming a vital part of the greater Springfield community.”

Today’s announcement featured Reed, Savit, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, James E. Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, University of Massachusetts men’s basketball head coach and Springfield native Derek Kellogg and George Ramirez, the deputy director and general counsel of the Department of Business Development, Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.   Rooney served as a master of ceremonies for the event.

“Today is an exciting day for Springfield!” said Savit.  “I’m thrilled to be a part of the group that brought professional basketball back to the game’s birthplace and I can’t wait to contribute to this city’s great basketball history and become part of the fabric of the community.”

“The National Basketball Association, Springfield and the MassMutual Center are a powerful combination,” said Rooney of the MCCA, which owns the venue. “The entire Pioneer Valley will undoubtedly embrace our new pro team, and we plan to be worthy partners with our top-tier service and state-of-the-art amenities.”

The team in Springfield will be affiliated with two NBA team parent-clubs, which will be able to assign their first and second year players to the club up to three times during a season. Thus far, the 2008-09 NBA D-League season has had 30 NBA players assigned on 39 occasions to NBA D-League affiliates to continue to develop their games. An announcement regarding Springfield’s NBA team affiliations will occur during the offseason.

Nuggets recall Sonny Weems from D-League

The Denver Nuggets have recalled G/F Sonny Weems from the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.

Weems, who was re-assigned to the 14ers on March 6, has averaged 20.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.9 apg and 1.05 spg in 19 outings during two separate stints for Colorado this season. His second stint with the 14ers was highlighted by several big games, including a 36 point (15-22 FG), nine rebound outburst at Erie on March 27.

Weems was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the second round (39th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft before being traded to Denver for a 2009 second-round draft pick. In 10 games for the Nuggets this season, Weems has averaged 1.3 ppg in 4.1 mpg.