The AP reports: Telling the packed arena more than once that “this is my house,” Dwyane Wade scored 46 points, 15 of them coming in a dramatic 19-0 spurt that erased a huge deficit in the final nine minutes and carried the Miami Heat to a 120-115 win over the Knicks on Saturday night… Wade also had 10 assists, Jermaine O’Neal scored 18 points and Jamario Moon added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat. Nate Robinson led the Knicks with 29 points off the bench, but missed the 3-pointer that would have tied it in the final seconds. Larry Hughes and Chris Duhon each scored 19 and David Lee had an 18-point, 13-rebound night for New York.
Lewis, Turkoglu shine, Magic beat 76ers 106-100
The AP reports: Even when All-Star Dwight Howard has a subpar game, the Orlando Magic can never be counted out. Not with their offensive arsenal. Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu scored 23 points each and the Magic tied a franchise record with 37 3-point tries in their 106-100 comeback win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. Courtney Lee contributed 18 points, Howard added 12 and Rafer Alston had 11 for the Magic (43-16), who rebounded from a disappointing 93-85 home loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday. The Magic improved to 21-9 on the road, the third best record in the NBA… Andre Miller had 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Andre Iguodala scored 22, Willie Green added 19 and Thaddeus Young had 18 for the Sixers, who fell back to .500 at 29-29.
Rockets waive Luther Head
The Houston Chronicle (Jonathan Feigen) reports: With his playing time scarce and time running out on his contract, Rockets guard Luther Head was waived on Saturday to beat the deadline for players to be eligible for the postseason. Head will likely be replaced on the roster by high-scoring NBA Development League forward James White of the Anaheim Arsenal. The Rockets were close to signing White to a 10-day contract, a person with knowledge of the move said on Saturday, and White was held out of Saturday’s game… “He wants to play and it didn’t seem he would get the opportunity to play a lot there,” Head’s agent Mark Bartelstein said. “This is an opportunity to find a team and get a chance to play, maybe to play in the playoffs and to showcase him before he is a free agent this summer.”
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Kevin Durant out 1-2 weeks
The Oklahoman (Darnell Mayberry) reports: Thunder forward Kevin Durant will miss up to two weeks with a Grade II ankle sprain, according to a team source. Durant is expected to miss seven to 14 days after rolling his right ankle in Friday’s game at Dallas when he stepped on the foot of Mavs forward Josh Howard while driving to the basket with 7:13 left in the first quarter. He remained in the game for about three minutes before walking off the court with a limp.
Australia: 2009 NBL Finals
The 2009 National Basketball League (NBL) Grand Final series will be an all-Victorian affair after the South Dragons defeated the Townsville Crocodiles to advance to the title round, where they will face cross-town rivals the Melbourne Tigers in a classic one versus two showdown.
The Dragons, who took out the minor premiership with a league-best regular season record of 22-8, defeated Townsville in the deciding Game Three of their Semi-Final series, 101-78, at Melbourne’s Hisense Arena tonight.
The league’s reigning Champions and this season’s number two seed, the Tigers, had previously advanced to the Grand Final series after defeating the New Zealand Breakers 2-0 in their own best-of-three Semi-Final series.
The Dragons’ victory tonight sets-up a clash of the top two ranked teams in the league, and the first all-Victorian NBL Grand Final since 1997, when the South-East Melbourne Magic (led by South Dragons current coach Brian Goorjian) defeated the Melbourne Tigers 2-1 in a classic three-game series.
Felton scores 26, Bobcats beat Warriors 112-109
The AP reports: Raymond Felton had 26 points and nine assists, and Emeka Okafor added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte (23-36), which won for just the fourth time in its last 13 games… Stephen Jackson had 33 points and eight assists for Golden State (20-38), but couldn’t help thinking about the pass that got away from him at the end while trying to inbound the ball to Kelenna Azubuike following Diaw’s go-ahead 3-pointer… Gerald Wallace finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, which snapped a four-game road losing streak to the Warriors. Andris Biedrins had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Golden State, which trailed by six points at halftime but opened the third quarter with a 16-5 run to take the lead. Biedrins had nine of his points during the spurt then later added a dunk to make it 73-68.
Martin scores 20, Kings beat Clippers 98-86
The AP reports: Bobby Jackson scored 18 points and Kevin Martin had 20 as the Kings built an early lead and cruised to a 98-86 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night… But with starter Beno Udrih out with a sprained ankle against the Clippers, Jackson made his fourth start of the year and played a season-high 37 minutes. He shot 6-of-8, hit three 3-pointers and also added four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block… Andres Nocioni had 17 for Sacramento, which snapped a three-game losing streak and had lost 17 of their previous 19. Francisco Garcia added 15 points, Rashad McCants 12 and Jason Thompson 10, while Spencer Hawes had a career-high 15 rebounds.
Lebron scores 30, Cavs beat Spurs 97-86
The AP reports: Pouring in 30 points and grabbing 14 rebounds before taking it easy after the third quarter, LeBron James and the Cavaliers shook off a terrible start to a four-game road swing with a 97-86 win over the Spurs, who again kept Tim Duncan in street clothes… Tony Parker, who averaged 38 points the last two games, was one of four Spurs with 11 points. Duncan missed his third consecutive game for San Antonio with a right quad injury but is expected to return as soon as Sunday. Delonte West added 17 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 10 for Cleveland, which will resume its four-game road swing Sunday at Atlanta. They’ll do so without Wallace, who is expected to miss four to six weeks after breaking his right fibula in a 93-74 loss to the Rockets on Thursday.
Shaq scores 45, Suns beat Raptors 133-113
The AP reports: A week shy of his 37th birthday, Shaquille O’Neal scored 45 points Friday night—his biggest offensive performance in six years—powering the Phoenix Suns to a 133-113 victory… Louis Amundson scored a career-high 20 as the Suns outscored the Raptors in the paint by a remarkable 90-36. Matt Barnes added 18. Grant Hill had 14 points and 12 assists, just two shy of his career high set 11 years ago for the Suns, who were without Steve Nash for the second straight game with a sprained right ankle. Former Suns star Shawn Marion led Toronto with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani added 21 points and Bosh 19.
Nuggets end skid against Lakers with 90-79 win
The AP reports: J.R. Smith scored 22 points and hounded Kobe Bryant all night and the Nuggets beat cold-shooting Los Angeles 90-79 to end to end a nine-game losing streak against the Lakers. The Nuggets got solid performances from reserves Smith and Chris Andersen, who tied a career high with seven blocks, pulled down 12 rebounds and chipped in 11 points, and their defense was, to a man, absolutely outstanding… Kobe Bryant scored 29 points but he needed 31 shots to do it, sinking 10 of them, and he was hounded by Smith in the fourth quarter when the Nuggets held the Lakers to 16 points and Bryant went 2-for-9… Lamar Odom was 5-for-17 and the bench was a combined 3-for-19.