The AP reports: The way he’s pouring in the points, Rashard Lewis just might shoot his way into the All-Star game. Lewis set the tone by scoring 16 of his 21 points in the first half and the Orlando Magic rolled over the Chicago Bulls 113-94 for their eighth win in nine games… Hedo Turkoglu added 18 points. Dwight Howard scored 15, and the Southeast Division leaders came through with a dominant performance after their seven-game win streak ended in a six-point loss at Detroit on Monday… Joakim Noah came through with a season-high 19 points and 11 rebounds. Larry Hughes scored 15 and Ben Gordon 18, but Chicago shot just 42 percent. Derrick Rose had a rough afternoon finishing with just 11 points and no assists.
Rockets re-sign Dikembe Mutombo
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the Rockets have re-signed unrestricted free agent center Dikembe Mutombo. Per team policy, financial terms were not released.
Mutombo (7-2, 260, Georgetown) has averaged 9.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.76 blocked shots in 1,187 career games (995 starts) with Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York and Houston. The NBA’s first four-time recipient of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001), Mutombo has averaged 3.3 points, 5.5 boards and 1.09 blocks in 258 games (83 starts) over four seasons with the Rockets. The second all-time leading shot blocker in NBA history (3,278) also stands 10th in blocked shots in Rockets annals (282). In NBA history, Mutombo ranks 17th in total rebounds (12,326), 10th in offensive boards (3,796) and eighth in defensive rebounds (8,530).
Last season with Houston, Mutombo averaged 3.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.23 blocks in 39 games (25 starts). He was also honored by Owner Leslie Alexander and the Rockets with “Dikembe Mutombo Tribute Night” on Mar. 26, 2008. Overall, Mutombo totaled 44 blocked shots (1.76 bpg) over his 25 starts. In 2006-07, Mutombo became the oldest player in NBA history to post 20 or more rebounds in a game with 22 boards at Denver (3/2/07). Mutombo also posted double-digit rebounding totals in 11 consecutive games (12/27/06-1/16/07), which was the fourth longest such streak of his career (16 games: 3/22/93-4/21/93; 15 games: 3/24/99-4/16/99; 14 games: 12/9/92-1/8/93).
Thunder hire Ron Adams as assistant coach
Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has hired Ron Adams as an assistant coach.
Adams brings 17 years of NBA coaching and player personnel experience to the Thunder. Most recently, Adams spent six seasons with the Chicago Bulls serving as an assistant coach, under three different head coaches, in his first five years. Most recently he held a personnel position as a Special Assignments Scout for the Bulls.
Prior to joining the Bulls, Adams worked as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks (1998-2003), Philadelphia 76ers (1994-96) and San Antonio Spurs (1992-1994). He also spent two seasons as a player personnel scout for the Portland Trail Blazers (1996-98).
Adams spent many years at the collegiate level, including being named head coach at Fresno State in 1972. The Fresno Pacific graduate started his coaching career at his alma mater as an assistant coach in 1972 and held similar positions at U.S. International, UC-Santa Barbara, Fresno State and UNLV.
Adams brings a wealth of international coaching experience having served as a coach and consultant to the Canadian national basketball program, two Japanese basketball teams and the Belgian national basketball program.
Adams will be on the bench tonight as the Thunder host the Golden State Warriors.
Charles Barkley arrested: DUI suspicion
The AP reports: Former NBA star Charles Barkley was arrested on suspicion of drinking and driving early Wednesday morning. An officer with a law enforcement task force that targets drunken driving saw Barkley run a stop sign around 1:30 a.m., said Gilbert police Lt. Eric Shuhandler. Barkley declined to submit to a breath test but was given a blood test. The results weren’t immediately available.
Blake, short-handed Trail Blazers beat Celtics
The AP reports: Even without All-Star guard Brandon Roy, the Portland Trail Blazers earned an impressive win Tuesday night. Steve Blake had 21 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 and the short-handed Blazers beat the Boston Celtics 91-86, sending the NBA champions to their third loss in four games… Reserve forward Travis Outlaw had 17 points for Portland and Greg Oden added 13 points and 11 rebounds despite injuring his ankle in practice Monday. Paul Pierce scored 28 points, making 14 of 15 foul shots, and Kevin Garnett had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics (28-5), who were at the end of a four-game road trip and have more losses since Dec. 25 than in the previous two months of the season… Rajon Rondo had 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Boston.
There was a controversial play late in the second quarter when the Trail Blazers scored while using six players on the court. The basket counted, but a technical foul resulted in a free throw for the Celtics. More details here.
Martin returns to help Kings edge Clippers
The AP reports: Playing his first game in nearly three weeks, Kevin Martin came off the bench to score 20 points and the Kings snapped a six-game losing streak by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 92-90 Tuesday night… Brad Miller had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and John Salmons also had 15 points for Sacramento, which lost 19 of its previous 22 games. Beno Udrih had 13 points and Jason Thompson added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Rookie guard Eric Gordon scored 24 points for the Clippers, while Paul Davis had a career-high 18. But he missed a foul-line jumper in the closing seconds that could have sent the game into overtime. Scoreless in the first half, Marcus Camby finished with 15 points and 24 rebounds. Bothered by a sore back, Baron Davis shot 3-of-17 and scored 11 points.
Mavericks rally from 29 down to stun Timberwolves
The AP reports: Jason Terry scored 24 of his 29 points in the second half, and Dallas rallied from a 29-point deficit to beat the Timberwolves 107-100 on Tuesday night. “The first half was ugly,” said Nowitzki, who had a bloody nose after being hit by Craig Smith on a drive to the basket in the third quarter… The Timberwolves led 70-41 early in the third quarter when the Mavericks started their comeback, the largest in franchise history… Al Jefferson scored 21 points, Ryan Gomes added 19 and Randy Foye had 18 for the Timberwolves, who blew the largest lead in franchise history… Josh Howard scored 23 and Kidd had 14 points and a season-high 16 assists for Dallas.
Redd scores 25 in Milwaukee’s win over Spurs
The AP reports: Tim Duncan missed the layup with 3.8 seconds to go and the Milwaukee Bucks hung on for a 100-98 victory over the Spurs on Tuesday night behind Michael Redd’s 25 points and 10 rebounds. Luke Ridnour scored 21 and Andrew Bogut added 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Bucks, who won for the sixth time in eight games and snapped San Antonio’s five-game winning streak… Michael Finley made eight of 10 shots and had 20 points for the Spurs, while Tony Parker added 19 points and 10 assists. The Bucks led by 11 with 2:31 left in the third quarter when Bogut scored on his second layup in less than two minutes… The Bucks’ front line of Jefferson, Luc Mbah a Moute and Bogut opened 7-of-8, and Milwaukee started with a 14-0 advantage in points in the paint before Parker finally got a short shot for San Antonio when he stole a pass from Charlie Villanueva and drove in for an easy layup to cut the Bucks’ 10-point lead to 23-20 with 2:14 to go in the first quarter.
Paul’s triple-double leads Hornets over Wizards
The AP reports: Chris Paul had 15 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds, tying a franchise record with his seventh career triple-double, and New Orleans beat the Washington Wizards 97-85 on Tuesday night… Rasual Butler scored 21 points and David West 20 for New Orleans, which led most of the way and never trailed by more than a basket in its third straight victory… Antawn Jamison scored 22 for Washington, while Mike James added 16 points and seven assists against the team that traded him to the Wizards this season. James struggled defensively against Paul, however, fouling out in the fourth quarter, when he also was called for a technical for arguing with officials… Tyson Chandler had 11 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans, while James Posey added 14 points.
Shaq helps Suns beat Grizzlies without Nash
The AP reports: While Shaquille O’Neal was moving into eighth place on the NBA scoring list, his Phoenix Suns teammates were putting on the defensive clamps. Leandro Barbosa scored 28 points, Shaquille O’Neal added 24 to move into eighth place on the NBA scoring list and the Phoenix Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies 101-89 Tuesday night without ailing star Steve Nash. The two-time MVP sat out with back spasms, but Barbosa filled in admirably. He connected on 10 of 18 shots and scored 22 points in the second half. Phoenix also overcame the loss of big man Amare Stoudemire, ejected in the second quarter after his second technical… Hakim Warrick led Memphis with 25 points, while Marc Gasol finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Rudy Gay had 14 points and O.J. Mayo scored 12, but he missed 16 of 20 shots—including his last 13.