The AP reports: The Houston Rockets got the easy win they needed before the challenging week to come. Yao Ming had 24 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks and the Rockets extended their home-court winning streak to 12 games with a 93-83 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. Luis Scola added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets, who inched ahead of Utah and New Orleans for fourth place in the Western Conference. Now comes the hard part, with games this week against Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio… Rudy Gay scored 21 points and Marc Gasol added 18 for the Grizzlies, who’ve lost 10 of 11 and seven of their last eight road games. O.J. Mayo, the Grizzlies’ leading scorer, had only 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting after scoring 32 in Memphis’ 104-93 win over Houston on Feb. 4… Kyle Lowry, the Grizzlies’ first-round draft pick in 2006, had nine assists for the Rockets.
Krstic hits 10-of-13, Thunder beat Sixers 89-74
The AP reports: Malik Rose set season highs with 14 points and seven rebounds, and Nenad Krstic added 20 points as the Thunder continued their strong play without their two leading scorers, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 89-74 on Sunday night… Oklahoma City has won four of five without Kevin Durant (ankle) and three of four without Jeff Green (back)… Andre Miller and Thaddeus Young led Philadelphia with 20 points apiece. Miller has scored at least 20 points in five straight games for the first time in his career. Andre Iguodala, who was averaging a team-best 18.1 points, was limited to nine on 3-for-11 shooting and committed six of Philadelphia’s 21 turnovers. The 76ers were held to their second-lowest scoring total of the season.
Harris scores 35, Nets beat Knicks 106-101
The AP reports: No way the New Jersey Nets could lose another close one. Not the way the New York Knicks bungled away the closing minutes. Devin Harris had 35 points and 10 assists, and the Nets ended a frustrating stretch of narrow defeats by edging the Knicks 106-101 on Sunday. Vince Carter added 25 points for the Nets, who had lost three of four, failing to pull out tight games against New Orleans, Boston and Orlando. This time they made the plays down the stretch, while the Knicks melted down amid an ugly combination of missed shots and turnovers in the final 2 1/2 minutes… David Lee had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who opened a five-game trip with their fifth loss in six games. Nate Robinson scored 17 points and fellow reserve Danilo Gallinari added 15.
Kings and Kenny Thomas want separation
The Sacramento Bee (Ailene Voisin) reports: The demise of Kenny Thomas, in fact, remains one of the hidden mysteries of the declining Kings empire. He is still the Kings’ best rebounder. He is still the Kings’ best post defender. He is still anchored at the end of the bench, except during road trips. Then he just stays home. Team officials recently decided that the brooding veteran was a negative influence on the youngsters and deleted him from the traveling squad. So what exactly did Thomas do to tick off his bosses besides gain 10 to 15 unwanted pounds? “I don’t know,” said Thomas, who was acquired from Philadelphia four years ago in the Chris Webber trade. “I DON’T know. I wish I could tell you. I don’t have any answers. It’s on them (the Kings). I’ve got one year left on my contract. They’ve got to move me. Why would I want to stay here? I played well in Houston, played well for Larry Brown in Philly. I’ve just accepted it. I’ll get on with my career when I get out of here.”
Chris Duhon has fallen off
New York Newsday (Alan Hahn) reports (via blog): Chris Duhon, who used to regularly log 40-to-48 minutes a game for D’Antoni earlier in the season, played just 25:44 and had five points and three assists with three turnovers. He now has 30 turnovers in his past seven games, which is a concerning average of 4.2 per game. The former Dukie is also struggling with his shooting — 22 for 56 (39.2 percent) from the floor over the past seven games — which, along with the turnovers, points to fatigue. And that doesn’t bode well for the Knicks, with seven back-to-backs (including this weekend’s, which ends tonight against the Nets)… Duhon has played with a sore back for most of the entire season. You often see him trying to stretch it before games and it’s impossible not to notice his lack of explosiveness on drives to the basket (as a result, he almost always will look to pass on the pick-and-roll play, which opponents have picked up on).
In Australia’s Finals, Chris Anstey charged with elbow strike
The National Basketball League (NBL) has announced that Melbourne Tigers’ player Chris Anstey has been cited on a charge of ‘Striking – with elbow’ and will face the NBL Tribunal.
The charge arose from an alleged incident with South Dragons’ player Rhys Carter in the third quarter of the Tigers’ Grand Final game against the Dragons at Hisense Arena on Sunday 8 March.
Anstey was charged after NBL General Manager Chuck Harmison viewed video footage of the incident and decided to refer the matter to the Tribunal.
The Melbourne Tigers have already informed the league office that they wish to have Anstey’s charge heard informally via telephone interviews.
Under League rules regarding Finals games, the charge must now be heard by NBL Tribunal Chairman Ken Madsen prior to the Tigers’ next match, which is Game Four of the Grand Final series on Wednesday 11 March at the State Netball Hockey Centre. A decision in the case is expected to be handed down no later than Wednesday morning.
Kevin Garnett out another week
The AP reports: Boston Celtics All-Star Kevin Garnett will miss at least two more games with a right knee sprain. Coach Doc Rivers said Sunday that Garnett won’t be back “earlier than next Sunday.”
InsideHoops.com note: Without KG and Rajon Rondo (minor ankle sprain), the Celtics today lost to the Orlando Magic, who are without starting point guard Jameer Nelson for the rest of the season.
Parker scores 30, Spurs beat Suns 103-98
The AP reports: Tony Parker scored 12 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and the San Antonio Spurs sent the sliding Phoenix Suns home winless on their four-game road swing with a 103-98 victory Sunday. Parker punctuated his fourth 30-point game in his last seven outings with a win-cinching runner with 26.2 seconds left… Tim Duncan scored 17 points and helped hold Shaquille O’Neal to 14, his lowest total in his past five games. Shaq had averaged nearly 30 in his previous four outings. Roger Mason had 18 points for the Spurs and Michael Finley had 11, eight of which came in the fourth. Steve Nash led the Suns with 23 points and 11 assists. Leandro Barbosa had 20 points off the bench and hit all four of his 3-point attempts.
No Rondo, Magic beat Celtics 86-79
The AP reports: Dwight Howard scored 18 with 15 rebounds, making a pair of free throws with 13.9 seconds left to ice it after Boston cut a 22-point deficit to three, and the Magic held on to beat the Celtics 86-79 on Sunday… “It was big for (us) to see where we are for the playoffs,” said Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu, who scored 16… Rashard Lewis scored 15 and Rafer Alston had 10 points and eight assists for Orlando, which won its fourth straight… Ray Allen had 17 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, scoring nine straight to make it 82-79 with 1:22 to play… Stephon Marbury, who made his first start since joining the Celtics on Feb. 27, started and scored four points in 20:30.
InsideHoops.com note: Rajon Rondo didn’t play. He’s out with a minor right ankle sprain.
D-Will scores 25, Jazz beat Raptors 109-101
The AP reports: Struggling to wake up when the game began, the Utah Jazz were wide-eyed and ready to go once the fourth quarter arrived. Deron Williams had 25 points and nine assists, Mehmet Okur had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the Toronto Raptors 109-101 on Sunday for their 11th straight win… Kyle Korver matched a season-high with 20 points despite a fitful, and brief, night of rest… Paul Millsap had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Andrei Kirilenko scored 18 for the Jazz, who have won eight straight over Toronto… Chris Bosh had 30 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, with Andrea Bargnani scoring 20 and Jose Calderon adding 10 points and 11 assists.