The AP reports: Ben Gordon got his shot going from the outside and Derrick Rose spent most of the night driving to the basket. The result was a 117-102 victory for the Chicago Bulls over the Milwaukee Bucks and sole possession of eighth place in the East… John Salmons added had 21 points for Chicago. Richard Jefferson led the Bucks with 27 points, Luc Mbah a Moute added a career-high 21 with 11 boards and Ramon Sessions had 20 points and 11 assists. Charlie Villanueva had 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Celtics beat Cavs at home to tighten East race
The AP reports: Paul Pierce scored 29 points, reserve Leon Powe had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Celtics beat Cleveland 105-94 to move within percentage points of the East-leading Cavaliers in the race for home-court advantage through the conference finals… Mo Williams scored 26 for Cleveland and LeBron James had 21, shooting just 5-of-15 from the field to go with 9-for-12 from the line. He spent the last 87 seconds of the game on the bench after the Cavaliers fell behind by 15 and couldn’t make a run.
Balanced Pistons beat Warriors for fourth straight
The AP reports: With an important game in the playoff race looming, the Detroit Pistons took care of business quickly Friday night. Richard Hamilton scored 22 points and Detroit beat the short-handed Golden State Warriors 108-91 for its fourth straight victory. Jason Maxiell had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Tayshaun Prince also scored 16 for Detroit, which got points from all 12 players. Rodney Stuckey had 14 points and eight assists… Jamal Crawford scored 25 points for Golden State, which lost for the fifth time in six games. Anthony Randolph added 17 in a career-high 47 minutes. His previous high was 28 minutes.
Wade scores 42 points as Heat beat Raptors
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade had 42 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and the Miami Heat beat Toronto 108-102 on Friday night, snapping a six-game losing streak against the Raptors… Michael Beasley scored 12 points and Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers and Chris Quinn had 10 as Miami won back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game streak from Jan. 24-28. The Heat had not beaten Toronto since a 92-89 home victory on April 3, 2007. Chris Bosh scored 34 points and Andrea Bargnani had 23 for Toronto, which has lost four straight.
Howard scores 26 as Magic top Nets 105-102
The AP reports: The Orlando Magic are getting back in a groove, and just in time. Dwight Howard had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and the Magic rallied to beat the New Jersey Nets 105-102 on Friday night. Up next: Sunday at Boston, which is second in the Eastern Conference and three games ahead of Orlando… Rashard Lewis added 21 points, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 13 for the Magic, who won their third straight game and fourth in their last five. Devin Harris had 25 points and nine assists, and Vince Carter had 19 points for the Nets, who went 1-for-8 over the last 6:16.
Bobcats beat Hawks 98-91 for 5th straight win
The AP reports: The Charlotte Bobcats are playing their best basketball of their brief history. The Atlanta Hawks are floundering, bickering and perhaps on the verge of collapse. Two teams going in vastly different directions were on display Friday night, with the Bobcats getting 21 points from Gerald Wallace and using a near-perfect first quarter to build a big lead and beat the dysfunctional Hawks 98-91 for their franchise record-tying fifth straight victory… Emeka Okafor added 17 points and 11 rebounds, Raymond Felton had 17 points and 10 assists, and Boris Diaw had 13 points and 13 assists as the fifth-year Bobcats matched their longest win streak set late last season—when they were long out of the postseason picture… Al Horford scored 15 points for the Hawks, who fell behind 36-21 after the first quarter, and saw their lead over Miami for in the race for home-court advantage in the first-round of the playoffs sliced to a half-game.
Glen Davis ejected after hard foul on Anderson Varejao
A flagrant-2 foul was called on Celtics power forward Glen Davis Friday night in Boston in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Early in the third quarter, Cavs forward/center Anderson Varejao had the ball and drove at the rim, coming alongside the left baseline.
As Varejao went up for his shot, Davis jumped with both his arms up, but brought both arms down, making contact with Varjao’s neck and shoulder area. There was enough of a follow-through motion for the refs to call it a flagrant-2.
I think the refs made the right call.
A few players from both teams rushed over to make sure no one started to fight, but nothing happened.
A flagrant-2 foul results in an ejection. So, Davis is gone from the game.
Doc Rivers became furious as the refs told him what was up. He must have not seen the replay.
And then pointless, silly technical fouls were called on LeBron James, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ray Allen for rushing over and sort of holding on to each other for a few seconds.
–Jeff
Mike Dunleavy out after surgery
The Indiana Pacers announced Friday that guard Mike Dunleavy underwent successful surgery for removal of a bone spur and repair of his right patellar tendon.
At the direction of the team, the surgery was performed by Dr. Richard Steadman at the Steadman-Hawkins clinic in Vail, Co., with the Pacers’ medical staff, Dr. Tim Hupfer, physical therapist consultant Dan Dyrek and head physical therapist/athletic trainer Josh Corbeil, in attendance.
Recovery will be lengthy and no timetable has been set. Dunleavy will miss the remainder of this season. Rehabilitation will begin immediately and will be under the supervision of the Pacers’ medical staff in Indianapolis. Updates will be forthcoming when appropriate.
Chuck Daly has pancreatic cancer
Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Daly has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, family spokesman Matt Dobek said today.
“Chuck is being treated for the cancer and the family is requesting privacy,” Dobek said. “When he was coaching, Chuck was always known as the Prince of Pessimism, right now Chuck Daly is the King of Optimism.”
Daly, who coached the Detroit Pistons to NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990, was dubbed by his Pistons’ players as “Daddy Rich,” for his dapper wardrobe. Daly served as head coach of the Dream Team, the 1992 Gold-Medal winning USA Basketball Olympic Team, which has been acknowledged by many as the greatest basketball team ever assembled. Daly was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994. The number 2 (for those 2 NBA Championships) was retired in his honor by the Detroit Pistons in 1997.
“Chuck was one of the most accessible sports figures ever, but right now he’s asking for privacy,” Dobek said. “His family is hopeful that friends, fans and the media will respect those wishes at this time.”
Lakers assign Sun Yue to D-League
The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned guard Sun Yue to the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.
“This is a great opportunity for Sun to gain additional playing time while still being able to continue on the NBA level,” said head coach Phil Jackson. “Your rookie year is a learning process and the more time you get on the court, the better you will be for it in the long run. I am impressed with Sun’s basketball talents and am hopeful that he will play for the Lakers for many years to come.”
Originally selected by the Lakers in the second round (40th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft, Sun signed with the Lakers the following summer (August 25, 2008) shortly after representing China as a member of the Men’s Olympic Basketball Team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Making his NBA debut on December 7 versus Milwaukee with four points on 2-of-3 shooting in five minutes, Sun has appeared in 10 games with the Lakers this season, totaling six points, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot in 28 minutes.