The AP reports: Quentin Richardson had 34 points and 12 rebounds in one of his best games since coming to New York, and the short-handed Knicks held on to beat the Washington Wizards 122-117 on Saturday night. Richardson made seven 3-pointers, two shy of the franchise record, and fell a point shy of his highest-scoring game since the Knicks acquired him from Phoenix in June 2005. He scored 35 points against the Wizards on Jan. 17, 2007. Nate Robinson had a season-high 27 points, Wilson Chandler added 23, and David Lee had 22 points and 12 rebounds to help the Knicks snap a three-game losing streak. Antawn Jamison had 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards, who dropped their fifth straight and fell to 1-10, their worst since the 1966 Baltimore Bullets also opened 1-10. Caron Butler finished with 23 points, 19 in the second half.
Nov 22: Heat 109, Pacers 100
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade shook off flu-like symptoms to score 38 points, and the Heat outscored Indiana by 21 after halftime to beat the Pacers 109-100 on Saturday night… Shawn Marion had 18 points, nine rebounds and six steals, while Michael Beasley scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half for Miami. Udonis Haslem added 16 points for the Heat, who limited Indiana to 37 percent shooting in the second half on the way to outscoring the Pacers 61-40 in the final 24 minutes… Marquis Daniels scored 25 points, and Danny Granger added 23 for the Pacers, who fell to 1-4 on the road. Rasho Nesterovic scored 13 points, T.J. Ford added 11 and Brandon Rush had 10 for Indiana… Daniels scored 10 points in the first quarter, helping stake Indiana to a quick 31-20 edge. The Pacers opened the lead up to as many as 15 in the second, before settling for a 60-48 edge at the break—matching the most points Miami has allowed in any half this season.
Nov 22: Cavs 110, Hawks 96
The AP reports: LeBron James, who came in as the NBA’s top scorer averaging 29.5 points, finished with 24—19 in the second half—on 8-of-19 shooting. He added eight assists, seven rebounds and a few more highlight-package dunks as the Cavaliers improved to 10-3 to match their best start since the 1988-89 season… James got plenty of help as Mo Williams scored 23 points, Delonte West 19 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas 17 for Cleveland. The Cavs have won 15 of their last 18 games against the Hawks. Maurice Evans scored 21 points, Acie Law had 20 and Joe Johnson, who came in averaging 25.7, scored just four for the Hawks, who have lost five of seven after starting 6-0… Driving down the lane, James got a step on Al Horford, rose to the basket and dunked left handed over both Horford and Solomon Jones, making the pair of 6-foot-10, 245-pounders look like high schoolers.
Nov 22: Bucks 79, Bobcats 74
The AP reports: The Bucks held on for a 79-74 victory Saturday night in a game where both teams were without their top scorers. It showed. They each shot 37 percent and combined for 39 turnovers… Ramon Sessions scored 18 points and finally put it away by hitting two free throws with 13 seconds left, giving the Bucks their second straight win on a night where they lost another starter to injury… The Bucks also played their 11th straight game without Michael Redd (ankle), who didn’t make the trip and likely won’t play for another week. Sessions and Charlie Villanueva gave the Bucks a boost off the bench. Villanueva added 15 points and eight rebounds in his second game back from a hamstring injury helping Milwaukee overcome 21 turnovers. Charlotte was without Jason Richardson (knee) for a fifth straight game, and dropped its fourth straight in a difficult start to coach Larry Brown’s first season. Gerald Wallace scored 18 points, and Emeka Okafor added 16 points and 18 rebounds before fouling out.
Nov 22: Rockets 100, Magic 95
The AP reports: Yao Ming, Houston’s 7-foot-6 All-Star, outplayed Dwight Howard in nearly every phase Saturday night, scoring 22 points and taking down 13 rebounds while carrying a tired Houston Rocket team to a 100-95 victory over Howard and the Orlando Magic. The Rockets got 17 points each from Tracy McGrady and Rafer Alston, and 11 apiece from Ron Artest and Carl Landry. Houston shot 54 percent in the second half to break open a close contest and win for the fourth time in the last five games… Jameer Nelson led Orlando with 21 points and six assists, and Lewis added 18 points, but the Magic shot only 40.7 percent. Howard had three fouls in the first half and got his fourth less than a minute into the third period in trying to defend Yao. Howard finished with 13 points and nine rebounds… Magic F Hedo Turkoglu sat out the game because of the flu.
Shaq vs Oden Saturday night
Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal, now old and slowing down, still has game and once he retires will be known as one of the best ever at his position.
Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden missed the entire 2007-08 season but is playing this season and is considered a rookie. At a listed 285-pounds, Oden is much bigger than he was the day he was drafted first by the Portland Trail Blazers, and is still adjusting as he learns to play in the NBA while getting himself into proper shape.
Tonight at 9 p.m. ET the Blazers visit the Suns, and the two big-men will face each other for the first time.
In no way is this a true measure of how good Oden is, or how good he may someday become. Shaq, now 36 years old, is not himself anymore and putting up a modest 15.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Oden, putting up 9.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks on 51.2% shooting, may take another full year to get over his knee injuries and resulting surgeries, plus he still has to get in shape and develop a more sound offensive game.
Also, Shaq plays limited minutes. And Oden comes off the bench behind Joel Przybilla. So Shaq and Oden may only be on the court at the same time for brief stretches.
Still, it’s worth watching if you get it on local TV or have league pass.
Jermaine O`Neal day-to-day
The Toronto Raptors announced Saturday that centre Jermaine O’Neal sustained a strained left knee at the 11:37 mark of the fourth quarter during Friday’s game versus New Jersey. O’Neal had medical images taken of the knee Friday night that revealed no structural damage. His status is listed as day-to-day.
O’Neal had averaged 17 points and 13.5 rebounds over a five game stretch coming into Friday’s contest. He has posted averages of 12.9 points and 9.3 rebounds in 12 games this season.
Thunder fire coach PJ Carlesimo
The Oklahoma City Thunder announced today that PJ Carlesimo has been relieved of his duties as the team’s head coach.
“This was a very difficult decision to make,” said Executive Vice President/General Manager Sam Presti. “It is one that I felt was necessary at this time. I am very appreciative of the hard work and effort that PJ gave to this team and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Assistant coach Scott Brooks will take over as interim head coach of the Thunder.
Carlesimo was named head coach on July 5 2007, becoming the 15th head coach in franchise history. During his one-plus season Carlesimo guided the franchise to a 21-74 (.221) record.
Over the span of eight seasons Carlesimo holds a career coaching record of 204-296 (.408).
The team also announced that Paul Westhead was relieved of his duties as assistant coach.
Mobley not happy being traded
The Knicks and Clippers made a trade today that sent Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins to Los Angeles, and Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley to New York.
Mobley, an old shooting guard who can still play but whose career is winding down, isn’t happy about it.
Mobley today said the following to the Los Angeles Times (Lisa Dillman) “I’m a little upset… It was a surprise. I mean, I liked our team. I didn’t give up on our team. I don’t know what the owner was thinking, and don’t know what anyone was thinking… I thought we were going to come around. It’s hard. It’s hard because I like all the guys a lot. It’s tough.”
Knicks trade Zach Randolph to Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers acquired forward Zach Randolph and guard Mardy Collins from the New York Knicks today in exchange for forward Tim Thomas and guard Cuttino Mobley Clippers General Manager and head coach Mike Dunleavy announced today.
“In an attempt to make our team more competitive, we are excited about the acquisition of Zach Randolph,” Dunleavy said. “He is a 27-year old highly-skilled scorer and rebounder. Getting a player like Zach cost us two highly skilled veterans in Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas, but we feel that the move will help us both now and in the future. We wish nothing but the best of success for Cuttino and Tim with their new team.”
The six-foot-nine Randolph is known as one of the NBA’s most effective young post players, bringing a career 16.4 points per game scoring average and 8.2 rebounds in 467 career games to the Clippers. Randolph is a career 46 percent shooter from the field and averaged 17.6 points, a team-leading 10.3 rebounds in 69 games for the Knicks in 2007-08 while finishing 10th in the NBA with 40 double-doubles. Randolph is averaging 20.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in the first 11 games of the 2008-09 season.
The Michigan State product was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers in the first round (19th overall pick) of the 2001 NBA Draft. Randolph, 27, played six seasons in Portland, enjoying a break-out year in 2003-04 when he averaged 20.1 points and 10.5 rebounds for the Trailblazer en route to being named the NBA Most Improved Player of the Year. Randolph joined the Knicks prior to the 2007-08 season in a trade.
In his third pro season, the six-foot-six Collins is averaging 2.2 points and 1.7 assists in nine games this season. A former standout at Temple University, Collins was drafted by New York with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft. Collins has appeared in 107 career NBA games, with career averages of 3.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.
Cuttino Mobley joined the Clippers as a free agent on August 4, 2005 and was a key member of the club’s run to the 2005-06 Western Conference Semifinals, averaging 14.9 points that season and 13.3 points in 12 playoff games. A 10-year NBA veteran, Mobley is the Clippers third-leading scorer this season, averaging 13.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 2008-09.
“Cuttino and Tim are two veteran players that will help us work towards our joint goal of remaining competitive this season while also improving our long-term cap flexibility,” said New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh. “Zach is an extremely talented player who produces numbers that few players can and we thank him, and Mardy, for their efforts as Knickerbockers.”
Thomas, 6-10, 240-pounds, was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the seventh overall selection in the 1997 NBA Draft and enters his second tour with the Knicks. The Paterson, NJ-native has career averages of 11.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in 752 career games over 12 NBA seasons with Philadelphia, Milwaukee, New York, Chicago, Phoenix and L.A. Clippers. The Villanova product was acquired by New York during the 2003-04 season and averaged 12.9 points and 3.7 rebound in 95 games with the Knickerbockers before being traded to Chicago prior to the 2005-06 season. Last season with the L.A. Clippers, Thomas averaged 12.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in 63 games. In 10 games this season, Thomas is averaging 9.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
“Tim enjoyed a lot of success in our system a few years ago in Phoenix when he was a key part of a run to the Western Conference Finals,” Knicks Head Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I am also very familiar with Cuttino and his knowledge of the game, and his ability to spread the floor and defend.”
With this transaction, the Clippers roster now stands at a total of 14 players, with three players (Chris Kaman, Al Thornton, Paul Davis) remaining from the team that finished the 2007-08 season.