Wade ignites Heat’s 101-96 OT win over Nets

The AP reports: Soaring for blocks and acrobatic dunks, Dwyane Wade stuffed the Nets. Wade scored 29 points, had three key blocks in the closing minutes and the Miami Heat overcame a 16-point deficit to beat New Jersey 101-96 in overtime Saturday night. Wade did it all in the Heat’s biggest comeback victory of the season. The superstar went up high for two blocks on dunk attempts by 7-footer Brook Lopez, including one in overtime and another late in the fourth quarter, and swatted Vince Carter’s jumper into the stands in the final minute of regulation… Trailing by 16 points in the first quarter, the Heat rode a season-high 19 points from Diawara and 17 points from Michael Beasley… Keyon Dooling had 23 points, and Carter had 20 for the Nets, who won in overtime a night earlier against the Atlanta Hawks.

Devin Harris did not play.

Bibby hits winner as Hawks beat Rockets 103-100

The AP reports: Mike Bibby made a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining, and Josh Smith scored a season-high 29 points in the Hawks’ 103-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Joe Johnson had a season-high 14 assists, the last when he drove from the perimeter and into the left side of the lane before passing to Bibby for the winner… Flip Murray finished with 17 points for Atlanta, which snapped a three-game losing streak to Houston. The Hawks won their sixth straight at home, improving to 15-2 this season at Philips Arena. Overall, Atlanta has won six of seven… Reserve Carl Landry scored 18 points, and Yao Ming had 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead Houston, which has dropped two straight and five of seven. Aaron Brooks missed a 3 from the left corner at the buzzer that would’ve forced overtime. Von Wafer had 17 points for Houston, and Brent Barry added 16.

Wallace leads Bobcats past Bucks, 102-92

The AP reports: The Charlotte Bobcats can look bad one night and good the next. They’ve played well for stretches then gone on long losing streaks. Newcomer Boris Diaw isn’t surprised. The good Bobcats showed up Saturday night, with Diaw scoring 21 points and Gerald Wallace 24 in a 102-92 win over Milwaukee. It came a night after the same Bucks held Charlotte to 75 points in the Bobcats’ 28-point loss… Richard Jefferson scored 19 points, and Michael Redd added 17 to go over 11,000 points in his career for the Bucks, who had won seven of 10 games and were trying to complete a four-game season sweep of Charlotte… Emeka Okafor added 14 points, and D.J. Augustin had 12 for the Bobcats, who had assists on 22 of 33 field goals and surpassed 100 points for only the 10th time this season.

Granger leads Pacers past Kings, 122-117

The AP reports: Danny Granger couldn’t quite keep up with Kevin Martin’s scoring pace, but unlike Martin, he made the most important shot of the game. Granger scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, making all six of his free throws in the final 1:30, to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 122-117 on Saturday night. Martin led Sacramento with a season-high 45 points. He made 13 of 24 shots, 12 of 12 free throws and a career-high seven 3-pointers, but missed two critical 3-pointers in the final minute… T.J. Ford had 16 points and seven assists, and Troy Murphy had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana. Bobby Jackson had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Brad Miller had 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Kings, who have lost eight of nine.

Tyson Chandler suspended, Joel Przybilla fined

Tyson Chandler of the New Orleans Hornets has been suspended one game without pay for throwing an elbow and striking Portland’s Joel Przybilla in the neck. In addition, Przybilla has been fined $7,500 for his role in the incident and assessed a Flagrant Foul Penalty One for a forearm to the chest of Chandler, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, in which Chandler was also assessed a Flagrant Foul Penalty Two and ejected from the game, occurred with 6:16 remaining in the third period of New Orleans’ 92-77 win over the Trail Blazers last night at the Rose Garden.

Chandler will serve his suspension tonight when the Hornets visit the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center.

Suns recall Alando Tucker from D-League

The Phoenix Suns have recalled swingman Alando Tucker from the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Suns President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Steve Kerr.

The 6-6, 205-pound Tucker was originally assigned to Iowa on Dec. 26 and appeared in two games, both wins, for the Energy.  The second-year player was selected by Phoenix with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft. 

The Suns (18-12) tonight host the L.A. Clippers (8-23) at US Airways Center at 7 p.m. as Phoenix attempts to win its third-straight game and improve to a season-high seven games above .500.

NBA taking no action in Carter-ref incident

The AP reports: The NBA did not take any action against Vince Carter of the New Jersey Nets nor a veteran official who used the word ‘boy’ during a confrontation with the eight-time All-Star during a game Wednesday in Detroit. Referee Derrick Stafford called two quick technicals on Carter after he argued an out-of-bounds call in the second quarter of the Pistons’ 83-75 victory. A furious Carter went after the official following his ejection and seemed to bump Stafford. Carter had to be held back by teammates. “We have spoken to both Vince and Derrick about their exchange during Wednesday’s game, and decided not to take any action with respect to the language that was used or any inadvertent contact that may have occurred,” the league said today in a statement provided in an e-mail from spokesman Tim Frank.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas out 2+ weeks

Cavaliers Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas underwent a follow-up examination of his left ankle at The Cleveland Clinic today.

He originally injured his left ankle during the December 10th game at Philadelphia. Since recovery from the injury had plateaued, another MRI and X-rays were performed. The original MRI taken immediately following the injury was consistent with a lateral ankle sprain.

The results of today’s MRI revealed a small chip fracture in the posteromedial talus of his left ankle, as well as the recovering sprain.

Ilgauskas will now undergo continued treatment including a period of left ankle immobilization to enhance healing over the next two weeks and his status will be updated after that as appropriate.

Pistons assigning two to D-League

The Detroit Pistons announced today that they will assign guard Alex Acker and rookie forward Walter Sharpe to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, on Friday, January 2.

Acker has appeared in five games this season averaging 1.4 points and 0.4 rebounds in 3.0 minutes per game.  He was originally drafted by the Pistons with the 60th overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft.

Sharpe was drafted by Seattle with the 32nd overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and was acquired by the Pistons on draft night in exchange for draft rights to D.J. White, the 29th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.  He has appeared in three games this season, averaging 0.7 points in 2.3 minutes per game.

No timetable has been set for their return.

Nets better on road than home

The New York Times (Jonathan Abrams) reports: In defiance of N.B.A. history and everyday logic, the Nets wear their record inside-out. On the road, they are one of the league’s top teams with a 10-5 record, with as many losses as the Cleveland Cavaliers. At home in the Izod Center, they are 5-12, better than only the Washington Wizards in the Eastern Conference. The end result is that the puzzling Nets are teetering around the break-even mark and in the middle of the pack in the conference. “Right now, we’re a better road team, for whatever reason,” Keyon Dooling said. “It’s kind of unorthodox. But we’ve got to keep chopping wood and trying to get better.” Coach Lawrence Frank has some theories, but solving the problem has been more difficult… According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 1955-56 Knicks are the only N.B.A. team to finish above .500 on the road (16-13) and below that mark at home (13-15). They went 6-9 in games played at neutral sites. The Boston Celtics, during the 2003-4 season, are the only team this decade to finish below .500 at home (19-22) and qualify for the playoffs, according to Elias.