The AP reports: Dwight Howard had 28 points and 20 rebounds, leading the Orlando Magic to their third straight victory, 105-87 victory over the weary Jazz on Sunday night… Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz, coming off a triple-overtime loss in Miami a day earlier. The Magic got 16 points from point guard Rafer Alston and 14 from backup point guard Anthony Johnson… Utah point guard Deron Williams, who finished with 11 points and nine assists, left the game in obvious pain with 5:05 remaining in the second quarter after banging knees with Howard. He returned in the second half but struggled to spark the Jazz.
Bryant, balanced Lakers beat Mavericks 107-100
The AP reports: Bryant scored 28 points and led a late 12-0 run that put Los Angeles back in control, but Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom all had a big hand in Sunday’s 107-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Ariza scored a career-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Gasol made his first 10 shots, finished 12-of-13 and scored 25. Odom had 10 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots… Jason Kidd, who had nine points, nine assists and seven rebounds, said, “Kobe picked his spots when they had to have a basket.” Dirk Nowitzki added 20 for the Mavericks, but missed 14 of his 20 shots. James Singleton had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Conley, Milicic lead Grizzlies over Pistons 89-84
The AP reports: Darko Milicic had played 56 times at the Palace of Auburn Hills without ever reaching double figures in points or rebounds before Sunday. In his 57th try, he finally showed a glimpse of why the Pistons drafted him ahead of Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh. The No. 2 pick in the 2003 draft had 12 points and 11 rebounds to help the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Pistons 89-84… Mike Conley had 20 points for Memphis, which ended a seven-game losing streak to the Pistons. Detroit, which trailed by as many as 21 points in the first half, fell to 2-11 on Sundays… Antonio McDyess led the Pistons with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Richard Hamilton had 14 points and 12 assists.
Iguodala, Marshall lead 76ers over Heat 85-77
The AP reports: The seldom-used Donyell Marshall made the most of his rare appearance on the court Sunday, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Miami Heat 85-77. Andre Iguodala led the 76ers with 21 points, Thaddeus Young had 17 and Samuel Dalembert grabbed 12 rebounds for Philadelphia, which won its third straight and moved within two games of Miami for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Dwyane Wade, coming off a 50-point performance in a triple-overtime victory over Utah on Saturday, was held to 18. The NBA’s leading scorer looked tired after playing a career-high 52 1/2 minutes against the Jazz. He shot 8-for-21 in 34 1/2 minutes.
Johnson scores 35, Hawks beat Blazers 98-80
The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 35 points, Josh Smith had 19 points and eight rebounds, and the Hawks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 98-80 on Sunday for their fifth consecutive victory… Brandon Roy finished with 29 points for the Blazers, who have lost two of three. Portland dropped a half-game behind Denver for the Northwest Division lead and fell out of a three-way tie with the Nuggets and New Orleans Hornets for fourth place in the Western Conference… LaMarcus Aldridge had 13 of his 19 points in the third for Portland, which had won three straight and 12 of 13 against Atlanta.
Villanueva scores 19 as Bucks beat Celtics, 86-77
The AP reports: Charlie Villanueva scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and the Bucks used their defense to hold off the Boston Celtics 86-77… The Bucks shot 32.6 percent, scored 27 points off the Celtics’ season-high 25 turnovers and grabbed 14 of their 21 offensive rebounds in the second half. Richard Jefferson scored 17 points and Luc Mbah a Moute added 15 points and seven rebounds… The Bucks hounded Boston’s two leading scorers into dismal performances. Paul Pierce, averaging 20 points, had 15 on 4-for-15 shooting. Ray Allen, averaging 18.6, scored eight while going 2-for-11. Even Rajon Rondo felt the Bucks’ pressure as he finished with five on 2-for-10 from the floor, off his average of 11.5. Kendrick Perkins scored a career-high 26 points with 12 rebounds, including a career-best nine offensive.
Bargnani scores 27, Raptors beat Pacers 110-87
The AP reports: Two huge third-quarter dunks from Shawn Marion put the Toronto Raptors on the road to a rout. Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh took care of the rest. Bargnani scored 27 points, Bosh had 15 points and 13 rebounds and the Raptors used a big second half to beat the Indiana Pacers 110-87 on Sunday, snapping a seven-game losing streak with their biggest margin of victory this season… Pops Mensah-Bonsu scored a career-high 21 points and Jose Calderon added 15 points and 12 assists for Toronto, which had not won since a 118-110 home victory over Minnesota on Feb. 24… Troy Murphy had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, with T.J. Ford adding 15 and Jarrett Jack 13.
Daniel Goldstein fighting Brooklyn Nets
The New Jersey Nets want to move to Brooklyn and become the Brooklyn Nets — unless they change the “Nets” name, which is possible but the guess is they keep it — but they have not yet been able to start the project due to various legal issues. The New York Daily News (Mike Lupica) reports:
Ratner owns another building on Pacific, empty now except for one apartment, the one owned by Daniel Goldstein, who still lives there with his wife and their child and fights on 5½ years after Ratner officially announced his plans for Ratner World. When Goldstein moved to Brooklyn in the 1990s, he worked as a graphic designer. Now his full-time job is with Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and standing in there against Ratner and the Empire State Development Corp. He has been at this a long time, and plans to stay at it, even as Brett Yormark, the Nets CEO, promises that the Nets will be in Brooklyn for the 2011-12 season. “We’re like a resistance movement,” Goldstein was saying Saturday. Then he laughed and said, “Or maybe the U.S. soldiers who kept fighting in Japan after the war was over.”
Speaking now as a New Yorker who looks forward to being able to take the subway to both Knicks and Nets games, I think Daniel Goldstein is a jackass. More from the Daily News:
“There is no way the lawsuits can be resolved before the summer,” Goldstein said. “And if they haven’t broken ground before this year is over, there is a chance the whole thing falls apart.” He laughed then and said, “But that is all speculative. They are still adamant about building the arena and they are tough opponents and they have an approved project of this size in New York City. And they know that if they show signs of giving up, they could lose the rights to the land.”
And more:
Goldstein says that the offer was the same other people got from Ratner: 850 dollars per square foot. He says that he and his wife have their savings. He talks about the paycheck he receives from Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn. He talks about financial hardship and says that he doesn’t know how long he can stay at this.
Again, speaking as a biased New Yorker for a moment rather than an objective journalist, I hope Daniel Goldstein loses his job and can’t afford to keep this up much longer. I want to go see the Brooklyn Nets.
Nets still fighting for playoffs
The New York Post (Fred Kerber) reports: Even with the recent flubs, the Nets (28-37, a season-worst nine games under .500) are amid the six teams fighting for the last spot. They came out of Friday one-half game away from Milwaukee and Chicago, who were in a virtual tie for eighth, while being tied with the Knicks and Charlotte. “We can outscore anybody for three quarters. But when it comes down to fourth-quarter play, it’s about can we stop ’em?” Devin Harris said. “In games we won, we’ve done that. In the games we lost, we haven’t… We’re still right there. It’s not like [other] teams are moving up – they’re losing just as much as us.” That may be the biggest consolation for the Nets – pretty much everybody else stinks, too.
Barbosa’s late surge helps Suns beat Thunder
The AP reports: The way things have been going lately, the Phoenix Suns will gladly take a sputtering victory over Oklahoma City. The 106-95 win Saturday night lacked the impressiveness of Phoenix’s 140-118 romp over the Thunder three weeks ago, but it was good enough to snap a six-game losing streak, the Suns’ longest in four seasons… Leandro Barbosa scored 11 of his 22 points in the final 6 1/2 minutes. Nash added 18 points and eight assists for Phoenix but saw his career-best streak of seven 20-point games come to an end. Grant Hill added 16 points… Kevin Durant, back after missing seven games with a sprained right ankle, scored 22 and Russell Westbrook 20 for the Thunder, who led by 13 in the first half.