The AP reports: Michael Redd had no idea what Andre Miller was about to do. Miller wasn’t sure, either. Miller opted for a 3-pointer over Redd with 28 seconds left to finish with 28 points, and the Philadelphia 76ers held on for a rare road win Wednesday night, 110-105 over the Milwaukee Bucks… After Milwaukee’s Richard Jefferson, who finished with 27 points, added a layup, Andre Iguodala made one of two free throws with 17 seconds to play and Charlie Bell missed an off-balance 3 with seconds to play that would’ve tied it… The Bucks again played without center Andrew Bogut, who missed his third straight game because of back spasms.
Nets easily top Memphis 100-89 for 3rd straight home win
The AP reports: It’s rarely this easy for the New Jersey Nets, especially in their own building. Vince Carter had 25 points and a season-high 12 assists, and the Nets beat the Memphis Grizzlies 100-89 on Wednesday night for their third straight home victory. Playing without leading scorer Devin Harris (sore right hamstring), the Nets enjoyed one of the most relaxing nights a team could have… Yi Jianlian added 20 points, and rookie Brook Lopez had 17 for the Nets, who are just 8-12 at the Meadowlands even after their longest home winning streak of the season. They are 10-6 on the road and returned to .500 overall at 18-18. Rookie O.J. Mayo scored 26 points, and Rudy Gay had 23 for the Grizzlies, who lost for the sixth time in seven games and fell to 0-9 this season when playing on the second night of back-to-back games.
Celtics fall at home, 89-85 to Rockets
The AP reports: The defending NBA champions dropped their sixth game in eight tries Wednesday night, falling to the Houston Rockets 89-85 on Von Wafer’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 44 seconds left. It was the Celtics’ first loss in Boston since a Nov. 14 defeat to Denver sent them on a 19-game winning streak… Yao Ming had 26 points and eight rebounds, clinching it on a putback with 12.9 seconds left to help the Rockets snap a three-game losing streak and a five-game road skid. “Yao is unstoppable,” said Rockets forward Ron Artest, who scored 17 points playing most of the game in foul trouble… Paul Pierce scored 26 points, and Kevin Garnett had 18 and eight rebounds for the Celtics, who opened the defense of their 17th NBA title with victories in 27 of their first 29 games… Glen Davis scored a season-high 12 for the Celtics.
Bargnani leads 9-man Raptors past Wizards 99-93
The AP reports: Down to nine players, the Raptors still easily beat worst-in-the-East Washington 99-93 on Wednesday night by making 54 percent of their field-goal attempts. Andrea Bargnani had 25 points on 8-for-9 shooting… Bargnani went 4-for-5 on 3s, and 4-for-4 on other field-goal attempts. Chris Bosh scored half his 18 points in the fourth quarter and added eight rebounds and six assists… Antawn Jamison scored a season-high 32 points for Washington, which hasn’t had Gilbert Arenas (left knee) or Brendan Haywood (right wrist) all season, and is without starting shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson, who has missed a week and is expected to be out at least another 1 1/2 weeks with a bad back.
Orlando builds big lead, holds on to beat Hawks 106-102
The AP reports: Putting on a show for the home folks, Dwight Howard had 23 points and 19 rebounds as Orlando preserved a 106-102 victory Wednesday night in a matchup of the top two teams in the Southeast Division. Orlando nearly squandered a 21-point advantage, catching a huge break when Mike Bibby missed a breakaway layup that should have made it a two-point game with just under 1 1/2 minutes remaining… Josh Smith led Atlanta with 21 points, but he missed all four of his free-throw attempts—the worst culprit in a 14-of-25 performance at the line that came back to haunt the Hawks at the end… Mike Bibby scored 17 points but was only 6-of-17 from the field. Joe Johnson, the Hawks’ leading scorer, was just 5-of-17 for 13 points—matching his second-lowest output of the season.
LeBron has easy night, Cavaliers rout Bobcats 111-81
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 21 points before grabbing an early seat on the bench, Mo Williams added 15 and Cleveland warmed up for its highly anticipated matchup with Boston by blowing out the Charlotte Bobcats 111-81 on Wednesday night, raising the Cavaliers’ record at home to 18-0… Daniel “Boobie” Gibson and Wally Szczerbiak scored 15 apiece and Anderson Varejao 14 as Cleveland shot 60 percent from the floor and improved to 28-6. Raymond Felton led Charlotte with 15 points and Gerald Wallace had 14 for the Bobcats, who went 0-3 against the Cavs this season losing by an average of 22 points per game.
Cavs waive Jawad Williams
The Cleveland Cavaliers have waived forward Jawad Williams, General Manager Danny Ferry announced today . Williams appeared in three games for Cleveland and scored two points and recorded one steal in four minutes.
If you have a reaction to this news, put it in this forum thread.
Nuggets trade Chucky Atkins to Thunder for Johan Petro
Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has acquired guard Chucky Atkins, a 2009 first round draft pick and cash considerations from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for center Johan Petro and the Thunder’s 2009 second round draft pick.
“We are excited to add Chucky to our team,” said Presti. “He brings a wealth of experience and a great work ethic to our program. We feel that he is someone who can bring an additional level of veteran leadership to the Thunder.”
Atkins (5-11/160), a nine-year NBA veteran, has played in 637 NBA games with seven teams averaging 10.4 points, 3.6 assists and 1.8 rebounds per contest. He has appeared in 14 games for the Denver Nuggets this season averaging 1.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.2 minutes per game.
The Orlando, Florida native went undrafted in the 1996 NBA draft despite averaging 14.6 points, 4.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game in four seasons at the University of South Florida. Atkins spent one season with the La Crosse Bobcats of the Continental Basketball Association and two seasons with Cibona Zagreb of the Croatian Basketball League before entering the NBA
Atkins, who appeared in all 82 games for the Orlando Magic as an NBA rookie during the 1999-2000 season, averaged 9.5 points and 3.7 assists on his way to being named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He had his best statistical year in 2004-05 as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers when he averaged 13.6 points, 4.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 35 minutes per contest.
Petro, 7-0, 247, has averaged 4.6 ppg and 4.3 rpg in 15.5 mpg in 22 contests (12 starts) with Oklahoma City this season.
A native of Paris, France, Petro was the 25th overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics and has posted career averages of 5.7 ppg and 4.5 rpg in 243 games over his three-plus seasons with the Oklahoma City franchise.
Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum thread.
Clippers waive Hassan Adams
The Los Angeles Clippers today waived guard/forward Hassan Adams it was announced by Clippers General Manager and Head Coach Mike Dunleavy.
The Clippers acquired Adams Jan. 7 in a trade from the Toronto Raptors along with cash considerations in exchange for a future conditional second round draft pick.
Adams has appeared in 12 games with the Raptors this season, averaging 0.9 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists in 4.3 minutes per game.
Grizzlies waive Shaun Livingston
The Memphis Grizzlies have waived guard Shaun Livingston, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.
The 6-7, 185-pound guard was acquired today with cash considerations from the Miami Heat in exchange for a 2012 conditional second round draft pick. Livingston averaged 2.3 points and 1.0 assists in 10.3 minutes in four games with Miami. He signed with the Heat as a free agent on Oct. 3, 2008.
Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum thread.
–InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner