The AP reports: John Salmons had 23 points and seven rebounds, Joakim Noah added 14 points and 17 rebounds and the Bulls beat the Golden State Warriors 110-88 Wednesday night. Brad Miller finished with 19 points and six rebounds, Derrick Rose finished with 14 points and six assists, and the Bulls pulled into a tie with Milwaukee for eighth place in the Eastern Conference… Stephen Jackson led the Warriors with 19 points and six assists. Jamal Crawford scored 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting and Corey Maggette finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for Golden State, who led by 13 points in the first quarter.
Westbrook, Sefolosha lead Thunder past Wizards 88-83
The AP reports: The Oklahoma City Thunder are finding ways to win without their top two scorers. Russell Westbrook and Thabo Sefolosha made big baskets in the final 2 minutes Wednesday night, leading the Thunder to an 88-83 victory over the Washington Wizards for their first three-game winning streak of the season. Oklahoma City, which beat Dallas on Monday, was without both Kevin Durant (sprained ankle) and Jeff Green (back spasms) for the second straight game, with Durant missing all three wins… Antawn Jamison had 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who have been banged up all year and played without Caron Butler for the second straight game. Andray Blatche and Darius Songaila scored 14 points each.
Pierce shines, Celtics beat Nets 115-111
The AP reports: Paul Pierce scored 31 points and hit a game-winning 17-footer with 20.9 seconds to play—the last of three perfect plays down the stretch—to lead the Celtics to a 115-111 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night… Devin Harris, who had 25 points and 11 assists for New Jersey, missed a floater with 45.6 seconds to go and that set the stage for Pierce’s game winner… Rajon Rondo added 20 points as the Celtics shot 61.2 percent from the field in beating the Nets for the third time this season. Perkins had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Hughes, Gallinari lead Knicks over Hawks 109-105
The AP reports: Larry Hughes scored 23 points to continue his turnaround from a rocky start with his new team, and the Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 109-105 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night… Al Harrington had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Danilo Gallinari scored a career-high 17 points for New York, which got March off to a good start after a 3-10 February that damaged its hopes of making the playoffs in D’Antoni’s first season. Wilson Chandler finished with 18 points, and David Lee had 13 points and 14 rebounds for his 24th straight double-double… Al Horford had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who are trying to hold off Miami and Detroit for fourth place in the East but lost for the fifth time in seven games. Joe Johnson scored 18 points, Marvin Williams 17 and Josh Smith 16 as Atlanta’s lead over the Heat dropped to 1 1/2 games for home-court advantage in the first round.
Unhappy return for Shaq, as Heat top Suns 135-129
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 35 points and tied his career high with 16 assists, Michael Beasley and Daequan Cook both had career highs on the way to a combined 55 points off Miami’s bench. The Heat spoiled Shaquille O’Neal’s first trip back to South Florida since last year’s trade with a 135-129 win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night… Beasley scored 28 points—the most by a Heat player besides Wade this season—and nine rebounds. Cook added 27 points and Miami led for all but a portion of the opening minutes on the way to the second-highest point total in franchise history… O’Neal finished with 22 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 1:08 left. Steve Nash led Phoenix with 29 points and 10 assists, and Jason Richardson added 22 points for the Suns.
Cavaliers clinch playoff spot, beat Bucks 91-73
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 23 points, Delonte West had 13 with a career-high eight steals and the Cavaliers became the first team to clinch a spot in the NBA playoffs by beating the Milwaukee Bucks 91-73 on Wednesday night in a potential first-round series preview… Mo Williams scored 15 against his former team and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 14 for Cleveland, which lowered its magic for winning the Central Division to six. Richard Jefferson scored 29 for the Bucks, currently clinging to the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee was held to a season-low 73 points and 37 percent shooting by the Cavs, who are holding opponents to 88 points on their home floor.
Best Shawn Kemp dunks
Former NBA star Shawn Kemp was a dunk machine on the Seattle Sonics.
Playing power forward, Kemp threw down nasty dunks on anyone who came even remotely close to him.
Nicknamed “Reign Man,” (not “Rain Man”), Kemp in his prime years (around 1992-2000) was good for around 18 or 19 points and 10 or 11 rebounds per game. And at least one highlight dunk each night.
Here is a video of the best Shawn Kemp dunks of all time:
Miss South Carolina 2007 answers interview question about America
In the Miss Teen USA 2007 competition, Miss South Carolina answered a question asking why she thinks many Americans are unable to actually locate the United States on a map. Miss South Carolina’s answer to the question is one of television’s most brilliant minutes ever.
Listen and learn as Miss South Carolina gives what may be the worst answer in the history of civilization.
Miami Heat sign Luther Head
The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed free agent guard Luther Head. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are pleased to announce that we have signed Luther Head,” said Heat President Pat Riley. “Luther will bring us a prototype combo guard that can both handle the ball and shoot with tremendous proficiency. This is a positive step for the Miami Heat.”
Head, a 6’3”, 185-pound guard, has appeared in 22 games (four starts) this season for the Houston Rockets and averaged 4.8 points, 1.6 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 14.6 minutes of action while shooting 38.6 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from three-point range and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. In his four starts this season, he averaged 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.25 steals and 25.8 minutes.
Playing in his fourth NBA season, the former first round draft pick (24th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft has appeared in 255 career games (58 starts) and averaged 8.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.80 steals in 24.4 minutes while shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from beyond the arc and 76.6 percent from the line. He finished his Houston career among the best Rockets shooters in franchise history as he placed fourth in career three-point field goal percentage and eight in all-time three-point field goals made (383).
Head will wear number 13.
The Heat roster now currently stands at 15.
Read NBA fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.
Spurs release Pops Mensah-Bonsu
The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have released forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu from his 10-day contract.
Mensah-Bonsu appeared in 3 games for the Spurs where he averaged 5.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 6.7 minutes. He also spent time with the Austin Toros, the Spurs affiliate in the NBA Development League. In eight games with the Toros, Mensah-Bonsu averaged 26.6 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.50 blocks in 39.8 minutes.
The Spurs roster stands at 14.
Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion here.