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.

OKC Thunder sign Shaun Livingston

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard Shaun Livingston to a multi-year deal, Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.

Livingston, 23, is being called-up from the NBA Developmental League’s Tulsa 66ers, where he averaged 9.5 points, 6.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 29.4 minutes in 11 games (10 starts). At the time of his call-up, the 6’7’’ guard ranked seventh in the D-League in assists (6.0). He scored a season-high 22 points on March 27 at Rio Grande Valley Vipers and dished out a season-best 11 assists against Iowa Energy on March 12.

Originally selected by the L.A. Clippers in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft (#4 overall), he has appeared in 149 NBA games with L.A. Clippers and Miami.  The Peoria, Illinois native owns career averages of 7.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.1 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per contest.

Livingston, who will wear jersey #14 with the Thunder, becomes the 19th Call-Up of the 2008-09 season and the 137th player since the league began play in 2001.

Thunder recall D.J. White from D-League

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has recalled forward D.J. White from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

White was assigned to Tulsa for the second time this season on March 29.  During his most recent stint, White appeared in one game and recorded six points, one rebound, one assist, one steal and a block in 11 minutes.  Overall, he’s seen action in four games D-League contests averaging 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 30.8 minutes.

Huge Mayo game, Grizzlies beat Warriors 114-109

The AP reports: O.J. Mayo scored 24 points and had a career-high 10 assists, Rudy Gay added 21 points and the Grizzlies rallied from nine points down in the fourth quarter to beat the short-handed Warriors 114-109 on Monday night.. Memphis (19-54) did it behind Mayo, Gay and seldom-used reserve Hamed Haddadi, who came off the bench to score all of his career-high 10 points in the fourth quarter when the Grizzlies overcame a 90-81 deficit to win going away behind a late 25-5 run… Mike Conley added 21 points and six rebounds for the Grizzlies (19-54), who won for just the fourth time in 22 games. Monta Ellis had 29 points for Golden State, which suited up just eight players for the second straight game and lost its fifth in a row.

Williams, Boozer shine, Jazz beat Knicks 112-104

The AP reports: Utah led by 24 early in the fourth quarter, but for the second game in a row watched a big lead slowly erode into a deficit… Deron Williams had 24 points and 13 assists and Carlos Boozer added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who are becoming consistent in some very bad ways… Al Harrington scored 24 to lead the Knicks before getting ejected with two technicals for arguing a foul call with 22 seconds left… David Lee had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Nate Robinson and Jared Jeffries scored 11 each for the Knicks. Paul Millsap had 12 points and seven rebounds and Ronnie Brewer scored 17 for the Jazz, who survived another defensive collapse.

Jefferson has double-double, Bucks rock Nets

The AP reports: Richard Jefferson had 29 points and 10 rebounds against his former teammates and the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a season-high, five-game losing streak with a 107-78 victory over the reeling New Jersey Nets on Monday night. Charlie Villanueva added 20 points for the Bucks, who kept their slim hopes for a playoff berth alive by snapping a seven-game road losing streak and sending the Nets to their fifth straight loss, matching their season high… Chris Douglas-Roberts had 14 points and Brook Lopez added 10 points and 10 rebounds for New Jersey, which suffered its second embarrassing loss in 24 hours. Minnesota snapped a seven-game losing streak by beating the Nets on Sunday… Nets guards Vince Carter and Devin Harris sat most of the second half, combining for 19 points on 6-of-22 shooting.

Howard leads Magic past Heat, spoiling Zo’s night

The AP reports: On the night Miami retired Alonzo Mourning’s number, Orlando’s big man wrecked the party. Dwight Howard scored 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, passing Wilt Chamberlain as the youngest NBA player to reach the 5,000-board mark, and the Magic kept their grip on the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference by beating the Heat 101-95 on Monday night. Rashard Lewis scored 21 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining for Orlando (55-18), which stayed five games behind Cleveland and percentage points ahead of defending champion Boston in the East race… Dwyane Wade scored 13 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter for the Heat (39-35), whose edge over Philadelphia for the East’s No. 5 seed was trimmed to one game, despite the lift that came from seeing Mourning’s jersey being retired… Backup point guard Luther Head broke his left hand during the game and will miss four to six weeks, meaning there likely will be no way he’s available for Miami’s first-round playoff series.

Larry Brown says Adam Morrison couldn’t handle expectations

The Charlotte Observer (Rick Bonnell) reports (via blog): Bobcats coach Larry Brown made it clear Monday that Adam Morrison is no longer here because he didn’t want to be here, and couldn’t handle the pressure associated with being chosen third overall in the 2006 draft. “I was happy Adam got to leave because he was never comfortable here. You were hoping it would be a new lease on life for him. I still think it can be,” said Brown of the Feb. 7 trade that dealt Morrison to the Los Angeles Lakers. Brown said the other factors — the glut at shooting guard and small forward and Morrison’s recovery from a knee injury that cost him the previous season — were secondary to how expectations rattled Morrison.

Cavs want homecourt in playoffs

The Akron Beacon Journal (George M. Thomas) reports:  Rest is the last thing on the Cavaliers’ minds. With nine games left in the season, the Cavs have the league’s best record at 60-13. They are pushing for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, an edge that many observers believe the team needs to win its first NBA title. While it would be nice to sit out an occasional fourth quarter, Cavaliers forward LeBron James says he can’t. ”We’re fighting for a No. 1 seed and trying to continue to get better,” he said. ”You got to be careful with trying to get rest and things when you’re playing so well. You take someone out of the lineup when everything is going well — you may do it for one game or two games — it can mess up the whole thing.”