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.
Nuggets beat Clippers, spoil return of Camby
The AP reports: After getting a rousing ovation and a hug from a little girl sitting courtside who was wearing one of his old Nuggets jerseys, Marcus Camby watched Nene and Renaldo Balkman each post a double-double in Denver’s 107-94 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night… Camby struggled with his shot, scoring 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting and pulling down 11 rebounds. Balkman scored a career-best 22 points to go with his 11 rebounds—his second straight double-double playing in place of Martin (back)—and Nene scored 17 points and pulled down 10 boards. Carmelo Anthony added 18 points and J.R. Smith 17 for Denver. Al Thornton led Los Angeles with 19 points.
Parker scores 28 as Spurs beat Rockets 88-85
The AP reports: Tony Parker scored 28 points, Tim Duncan added 15 points and 12 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Houston Rockets 88-85 on Saturday night. Parker also had eight assists and Michael Finley added 17 points for the Spurs, who came up with two defensive stops in the final 15 seconds to beat the Rockets for the 12th time in the last 17 meetings. Ron Artest scored 21 points and Yao Ming had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who’ve lost two straight home games after winning the previous 12… Aaron Brooks scored 18 points for the Rockets, but went 7-for-18 from the field.
Gordon, Salmons lead Bulls over Hornets, 97-79
The AP reports: Ben Gordon scored 27 points, John Salmons added 24, and the Chicago Bulls pounded the surging New Orleans Hornets 97-79 Saturday night despite another strong effort by Chris Paul. Back home after an 0-3 road trip, the Bulls wasted little time taking it to a Western Conference contender… Paul scored 29 after back-to-back 30 point performances despite the Bulls’ best efforts to contain him… Salmons buried 5-of-8 3s, while Gordon rebounded from two subpar performances by hitting 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. Brad Miller added 15 points and nine rebounds for Chicago, which sandwiched dramatic losses at Miami and at Philadelphia in the old Spectrum around a blowout at Orlando.
Love scores 22, Timberwolves beat Bobcats 108-100
The AP reports: Rookie Kevin Love scored 22 points, Rodney Carney and Ryan Gomes added 21 each and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Charlotte Bobcats 108-100 on Saturday night. Craig Smith had 15 points for the Timberwolves, who snapped a four-game skid against Charlotte and handed the Bobcats their third straight loss. Gerald Wallace had 26 points to lead Charlotte, Raja Bell scored 21 and D.J. Augustin finished with 18. The Bobcats, whose skid follows a team-record, six-game winning streak, entered the day one-half game behind Chicago and Milwaukee for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.