The Toronto Sun (Terry Koshan) reports: The always quotable Shaquille O’Neal had one of the better post-game lines yesterday. When O’Neal was asked what it was like to hear a louder ovation for another player (Steve Nash), other than himself, O’Neal said: “Never happens.” But a reporter pointed out that Nash had a louder ovation during the warmup than O’Neal did. “They asked my permission,” said O’Neal, who finished with 16 points. O’Neal is getting long in the tooth, but still leaves a lasting impression on opponents.
Donte Greene enjoyed time in minors
The Sacramento Bee (Melody Gutierrez) reports: Donté Greene was by no means kicking and screaming for his return to the Kings. The rookie was having fun in Reno with the Bighorns of the NBA Development League. “I’m going to miss it – all the minutes and the guys,” Greene, 20, said Sunday after Kings practice. “I got pretty close with the guys over there.” In his five games with the Bighorns, Greene averaged 31.8 minutes, 20.4 points, 1.2 blocked shots and 4.2 rebounds, while playing shooting guard and small forward. In his last game with the Bighorns on Saturday, Greene scored 28 points. Greene said he went into the experience knowing the D-League could do him a favor.
Heat end long trip with 104-94 win over Thunder
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade’s legs were sore, Udonis Haslem had a bad back and Shawn Marion was too hurt to play. Even at the end of a seven-game, 12-day road trip, the Heat still had enough to pull through. Wade had 32 points and racked up most of his 10 assists while helping thwart Oklahoma City’s fourth-quarter rally as the Heat beat the Thunder 104-94 Sunday night to head home on a positive note… Yakhouba Diawara scored 14 points after starting in place of Marion (groin), and Jamaal Magloire and Mario Chalmers each added 13 points for Miami. Haslem had 11 points and a season-high 15 rebounds. Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 31 points, Jeff Green scored 22 and Russell Westbrook added 14 points and eight rebounds.
Stoudemire and Nash help Suns beat Raptors
The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 31 points, Steve Nash had a season-high 18 assists and the Suns beat Toronto 117-113 on Sunday afternoon, their ninth consecutive victory over the struggling Raptors… Jason Richardson added 17 points, Shaquille O’Neal and Matt Barnes each had 16 and Leandro Barbosa scored 14 for Phoenix. Stoudemire scored 11 points in the fourth as the Suns won the opener of a six-game road trip… Anthony Parker led Toronto with 26, Joey Graham scored a career-high 22 and Chris Bosh had 20 points and 12 rebounds as Toronto lost its fifth straight… Guard Jose Calderon (hamstring) sat for the eighth time in nine games, guard Jason Kapono was scratched because of flu-like symptoms and forward Jermaine O’Neal, who returned from a nine-game absence Friday, rested his sore knee. O’Neal is probable for Monday’s game at Atlanta.
Rudy Fernandez in dunk contest
The Oregonian (Jason Quick) reports (via blog): Trail Blazers guard Rudy Fernandez has won a fan vote to compete in the 2009 NBA Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend in Phoenix on Feb. 14, The Oregonian has learned. For the first time, the NBA this season opened a slot in the contest for a rookie, who would be chosen by a fan vote. Fernandez won the voting over Milwaukee’s Joe Alexander and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook.
InsideHoops.com editor says: I’m surprised. Of the three candidates, he was the one I thought should get the fewest votes.
Utah Jazz sign Jerry Sloan to extension
The Utah Jazz announced today the decision by Jerry Sloan to return as head coach for the 2009-10 season, which will mark his 22nd season at the helm of the Jazz.
“We have been blessed as an organization that Jerry Sloan has been with us as long as he has. Jerry is the standard for hard work and consistency,” said Greg Miller, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies. “Jerry has brought a level of credibility to the Utah Jazz that nobody else could. I am excited that we’ll have Jerry with us through 2010.”
Sloan has been Utah’s head coach since assuming the reigns from former head coach Frank Layden on December 9, 1988. The fourth-winningest coach in NBA history (1113-734), Sloan is the longest tenured active coach with one team in major professional sports, and is also the longest tenured head coach in NBA history. Earlier this season Sloan (1019-613 with Jazz) became the first NBA head coach to win 1,000 games with one team, and currently ranks 224 victories ahead of Red Auerbach (second in all-time wins with one team) and 360 wins ahead of San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich (third all-time), the only other active coach in the top five.
“I look forward to watching our team continue to grow and mature,” said Sloan. “I am grateful for all the opportunities Larry and Gail Miller have provided to me.”
Since Sloan’s hiring there have been a total of 225 coaching changes (counting interim coaches) in the NBA. Every team in the league has made at least two changes except for Utah. In addition five current NBA teams did not exist when Sloan took the helm in Utah, and two others were just over a month into their inaugural seasons. Sloan has coached 123 different Jazz players in regular season games during his time.
“We appreciate Jerry’s continued commitment to our organization,” said Utah Jazz President Randy Rigby. “His coaching style, approach to the game and values portray everything we could ever look for in a coach.”
Over his first 20 seasons, Sloan has produced two conference championships, seven division titles, 16 consecutive winning seasons, 12 seasons with 50-plus wins and 18 playoff appearances. He is seeking his third straight Northwest Division title in 2008-09.
Clippers beat Bucks to end 12-game slide, but lose Camby
The AP reports: Another game, another injury for the Los Angeles Clippers. Only this time, they managed to play through the adversity caused by Marcus Camby’s sprained left ankle in the fourth quarter and snap a 12-game losing streak. Camby and Brian Skinner each scored 18 points, and the Clippers pulled away in the in the final 6 1/2 minutes with help from reserve guard Ricky Davis to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 101-92 on Saturday night… Richard Jefferson scored 26 points for Milwaukee. Michael Redd, coming off a season-high 44-point effort in Friday night’s 129-122 win at Sacramento and averaging 30.3 points over his previous four games, finished with 21.
Nowitzki helps Mavs end 4-game skid and beat Jazz
The AP reports: Regardless of the source—or sources—of inspiration, Nowitzki gave a brilliant performance Saturday night, making 16 of 20 shots and scoring 39 points to carry the Mavericks to a 115-108 victory over the Jazz… He was 7-of-8 in the second half. He also was emotional all night, punctuating his toughest shots with screams or fist pumps… Kidd had 11 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds, Jason Terry added 22 points and Brandon Bass scored a season-high 17 to keep the Mavericks from matching their longest losing skid of the season… Deron Williams had 30 points and nine assists before fouling out in the last minute, and Mehmet Okur had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Utah.
Turkoglu scores 31 points in Magic’s win over Nuggets
The AP reports: The Orlando Magic believe in themselves. After a dominant road trip, the rest of the NBA is believing in them, too. Hedo Turkoglu scored 31 points, Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis had 23 each and the Orlando Magic completed a perfect four-game West Coast trip with a 106-88 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night… Dwight Howard had 14 points and 20 rebounds to help the Magic win their seventh straight and ninth in 10 games. It was Howard’s second straight 20-rebound game… Linas Kleiza, who had a season-high 26 points, led the Nuggets with seven points in the third.
Perfect Yao leads Rockets past Heat
The AP reports: Yao Ming wasn’t counting his shots Saturday night, but he knew how easily they were coming. Yao set a Houston record by going 12-for-12 from the field, and finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds in the Rockets’ 93-86 victory over the Miami Heat. Yao’s perfect shooting night eclipsed Joe Meriweather’s 10-for-10 game against Atlanta in 1976. Yao’s only miss came at the free-throw line, where he was 2-for-3… Rafer Alston added a season-high 22 points to help the Rockets improve to 2-1 since Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest were shelved to recover from injuries… Dwyane Wade shook off a bad first half to score 29 points for Miami.