B-Roy scores 24, Blazers beat Grizzlies 94-90

The AP reports: Brandon Roy had 24 points, including two key layups in the final minutes, and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Memphis Grizzlies 94-90 on Wednesday night. After trailing by 16 points, the Grizzlies went ahead 86-84 with less than 5 minutes to go. But Roy’s layup followed by Travis Outlaw’s 3-pointer with 2:31 left put the Blazers up 90-86. Marc Gasol made a pair of free throws for Memphis before Roy had another layup to make it 92-88. Rookie O.J. Mayo’s finger-roll narrowed it to 92-90 with 5.4 seconds left. Roy, coming off his second All-Star game appearance, made a pair of free throws for the final margin.

InsideHoops.com note: Mike Conley was big for the Grizzlies with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 10 assists. O.J. Mayo had 19 but needed 19 shots to do it. Rudy Gay scored 20 on 17 shots but didn’t do a lot else.

Ex-Nets Kidd, Wright help Mavs beat New Jersey 113-98

The AP reports: Jason Kidd and Antoine Wright celebrated the first anniversary of their trade from the New Jersey Nets a day early Wednesday night, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 113-98 victory over their former team. Kidd opened the game with three early 3-pointers and scored 23 points, one shy of his season high. He also had 10 assists and a quick-handed steal against Devin Harris—the youngster he was dealt for—during the game-breaking third quarter.. The Mavericks improved to 7-2 since Kidd was put in charge of the offense. This one was especially impressive as four starters cracked 20 points, and all five were in double figures. Josh Howard had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points and nine rebounds, and Erick Dampier scored 10.

C-Paul amazing, Hornets beat Magic 117-85

The AP reports: Chris Paul had 36 points and 10 assists, and the New Orleans Hornets handed the Orlando Magic their worst loss of the season, 117-85 on Wednesday night. Rasual Butler added 15 points, and David West had 14 for the Hornets, who’ve won their first two games following the All-Star break. Rashard Lewis had 17 points, and J.J. Redick 14 for Orlando, which shot poorly from the field and free-throw line. Dwight Howard had 12 points and was a non-factor for most of the last three quarters, when he scored only two points… Reserves Melvin Ely and Devin Brown each finished with 11 points, Peja Stojakovic had 10 and the Hornets shot 58 percent (46-of-79).

Hinrich scores 31, Bulls beat Bucks 113-104

The AP reports: Kirk Hinrich scored a season-high 31 points—including three straight baskets during a critical stretch in the fourth quarter—and the suddenly short-handed Bulls shook off the upheaval of a trade earlier in the day to beat the Bucks 113-104… Luol Deng added 21 for the Bulls, who were playing with a short bench after trading four players to Sacramento earlier in the day. Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro praised the remaining players for maintaining their focus… Richard Jefferson tied a season high with 32 points for the Bucks, who brought a three-game winning streak into the game despite playing without injured starters Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut and Luke Ridnour. Charlie Villanueva had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Wolves spoil O’Neal’s debut, beat Heat 111-104

The AP reports: Sebastian Telfair had a career-high 30 points and eight assists, Ryan Gomes added 20 points, and the Minnesota Timberwolves spoiled O’Neal’s debut in Miami by hitting a season-high 14 3-pointers and beating the Heat 111-104 on Wednesday night… Dwyane Wade finished with 37 points and 12 assists for Miami. Udonis Haslem added 17 points for the Heat, and O’Neal—who sustained a right eye injury in the third quarter and missed 13 minutes before returning late—had 13 in his first game since being acquired from Toronto last week… Kevin Love had 16 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota. Foye had 14 points for the Timberwolves, who also got seven points, nine rebounds and nine assists from Mike Miller and 10 rebounds off the bench from Brian Cardinal.

Gerald Wallace shines, Bobcats beat Pacers 103-94

The AP reports: Gerald Wallace scored 25 points to lead six players in double figures and Charlotte pulled away in the second half to win its first game since the All-Star break. Wallace had his best outing in just his second game back after sitting out because of a broken rib and a partially collapsed lung suffered during the Bobcats’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 27… Wallace, who also had 10 rebounds and seven assists Wednesday, was 5-of-17 from the field, but made 15 of 17 free throws… Ekema Okafor had 12 points and 12 rebounds, Raymond Felton added 16 points, Vladimir Radmanovic had 15, Boris Diaw 14 and Raja Bell 11 for Charlotte. Troy Murphy had 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Pacers, who played most of the game without All-Star forward Danny Granger.

Melo 26 points, Nuggets beat 76ers 101-89

The AP reports: Chauncey Billups took his coach up on the challenge and took over for the Nuggets. Billups scored 17 of his 22 points in the third quarter and rallied Denver back from a 16-point deficit to lead the Nuggets to their third straight win, 101-89 over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night… Carmelo Anthony had 26 points and 14 rebounds, and Nene scored 17 for the Northwest Division leaders. Denver looked sluggish in the first half and its poor shooting seemed indicative of a team coming off a lengthy All-Star break… Andre Miller gave him a good push with 17 points through the first 2-plus quarters, but strained his right calf with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the third.

Ilgauskas scores 22, Cavaliers beat Raptors 93-76

The AP reports: Even if they don’t make a move before the trade deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers think they’ve got enough for another run at the NBA Finals. LeBron James had 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 22 points in the Cavaliers’ 93-76 victory over Toronto on Wednesday night… Joey Graham had 15 points for Toronto, which has lost five straight to Cleveland. Jose Calderon added 13 points, and Andrea Bargnani has 11. Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, acquired from Miami on Friday, made their Toronto debuts. Marion started and scored 10 points in 40 minutes, while Banks came off the bench to score four points.

Tyson Chandler fails physical, traded voided, returns to Hornets

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that center Tyson Chandler will return to the Hornets after the original trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder was rescinded. The Thunder’s medical staff failed to clear Chandler after the physical.

“We were pleased to add Tyson to the Thunder roster,” said Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti . “During the course of the physical examination and outside consultations some questions arose that gave us cause for concern. We felt that this course of action was the best for our organization.”

“We welcome Tyson back with open arms,” said Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower. “We went into this trade to garner more frontcourt depth to add to our team as we continue our push towards the playoffs. We expect Tyson and the rest of our big guys to step up to the challenge.”

Forward Joe Smith, center Chris Wilcox and the draft rights to center Devon Hardin will immediately rejoin the Thunder.

Chandler is averaging 8.8 points and 8.3 rebounds this season through 32 games (all starts). He averaged a career-best 11.8 points to go along with 11.7 rebounds in 79 games (all starts) for the Hornets last season.

Chandler will re-join the Hornets in Los Angeles before their game against the Lakers on Friday.

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Al Jefferson has right knee surgery

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Al Jefferson underwent successful surgery today to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. The procedure was performed this morning by Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, N.Y. Jefferson suffered the injury during the Timberwolves Feb. 8 game at New Orleans and will be sidelined indefinitely as he begins rehabilitation.

Jefferson appeared in all 50 games for the Timberwolves this season prior to his injury, posting averages of 23.1 ppg (7th in NBA), 11.0 rpg (6th in NBA), and 1.7 bpg. The fifth-year center was one of just three players in the NBA (Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan) to post at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game this season. Jefferson also ranked fifth in the NBA with 30 double-doubles at the time of his injury and was shooting 49.7% from the field and a career-best 73.8% from the free-throw line.