The Warriors had three players score 20 or more points and got to the free throw line 52 times in beating the Nets. For Golden State, Stephen Jackson had 23 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists. Andris Biedrins (8-of-11) had 23 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Corey Maggette (just 3-of-13) had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals. The Warriors hit just 34 of their 52 free throws. The Nets went 21-of-28 from the line. For New Jersey, Vince Carter had 20 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Starting center Josh Boone had 17 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Devin Harris (just 3-of-12) had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Ryan Anderson scored 12 off the bench. Brook Lopez had 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks off the bench.
Nov 1: Pistons 117, Wizards 109
The AP reports: Walter Herrmann, always a fan favorite with his Fabio-like long, blond hair, had the Palace crowd chanting “Wal-ter Herr-mann!” as he scored 16 points off the bench to help the Pistons improve to 2-0 with a 117-109 victory over the Washington Wizards… Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace, both former Wizards, were the only Detroit starters to play well—combining for 41 points and 18 rebounds—but Herrmann and his fellow reserves helped out with 55 points… Antawn Jamison led Washington (0-2) with 24 points and Nick Young added 23… Kwame Brown, picked No. 1 overall by Washington in 2001, had eight points in eight minutes for the Pistons.
Nov 1: Pacers 95, Celtics 79
The AP reports: Danny Granger scored 20 points, new point guard T.J. Ford added 19, and a sellout crowd watched the Pacers beat the defending champion Boston Celtics 95-79 on Saturday night in their home opener… Ford, the key acquisition in the trade that sent Jermaine O’Neal to Toronto, also had four assists. Backup point guard Jarrett Jack, picked up in a trade with Portland, added 11 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Garnett led Boston with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Pierce scored 15 points, but shot 3-for-15 from the field. Ray Allen finished with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting… The Celtics had 24 turnovers and shot 21-for-35 from the free-throw line on Saturday.
Nov 1: Hawks 95, Sixers 88
The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 35 points, including a long 3-pointer that clinched it with 11 seconds remaining, and the Hawks rallied from a 23-point deficit to stun the Philadelphia 76ers 95-88 Saturday night. The Hawks improved to 2-0 in their home opener, the team’s best start in a decade… The 76ers outhustled the Hawks, building a 20-8 rebounding edge at one point, and Atlanta couldn’t make anything. Starting forwards Smith and Marvin Williams combined to go 0-for-11 over the first two quarters… Mike Bibby added 19 points for the Hawks, and Zaza Pachulia came off the bench to add some much-needed defensive toughness. The burly center picked off eight rebounds in 21 minutes… Young led the 76ers with 22 points, but only five came after halftime. All five Philadelphia starters scored in double figures, including Elton Brand with 17 points and Iguodala with 16. Brand also had 16 rebounds.
Nov 1: Bobcats 100, Heat 87
The AP reports: A more aggressive Gerald Wallace scored 34 points Saturday, leading the hot-shooting, free-flowing Charlotte Bobcats past the Miami Heat 100-87 to end a month of frustration. After a winless preseason and an ugly loss at Cleveland to open the regular season, Wallace, Jason Richardson and Emeka Okafor led an efficient, hustling performance that gave the well-traveled Brown his 1,011th career win… Jason Richardson added 23 points and Okafor had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte, which shot 54 percent, controlled the boards and took advantage of Dwyane Wade’s off night to spoil Heat rookie coach Erik Spoelstra’s 38th birthday. Rookie Michael Beasley capped his opening week with 25 points for the Heat, who couldn’t build off Friday’s blowout win over Sacramento. Wade, hampered by foul trouble, added 19 points on 5-of-15 shooting, while Udonis Haslem scored 16 points.
Nov 1: Magic 121, Kings 103
The AP reports: Dwight Howard led the way for Orlando with 29 points and 14 rebounds, but he had plenty of help. Rashard Lewis scored 26 points, Hedo Turkoglu had 21 and Mickael Pietrus added 20 as the Magic shot 55 percent from the field in their best offensive game of the season… Sacramento, which has lost three straight games to start the season for the second year in a row, did have one thing to celebrate. Kevin Martin, who was just 7-of-29 from the field in the first two games, broke out of the slump with 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting. Martin drilled three 3-pointers, almost single-handedly keeping his team close for the first three quarters. Hawes contributed 14 points, and John Salmons and Thompson added 12 apiece for Sacramento.
Sean Williams asked Nets to skip option
The New York Post (Fred Kerber) reports: The Nets’ Sean Williams admitted yesterday he asked team president Rod Thorn not to pick up his option, which would have helped him get a new contract quicker and become a free agent. But he insisted he still wants to be a Net. “I told Rod I didn’t want him to pick up my option,” said Williams, whose third year – 2009-2010 at $1.629 million – was picked up on Thursday. “It had nothing to do with me not wanting to be here as part of this team because I love this team. “It’s part of the business. I want to get to my second deal as fast as possible.”
InsideHoops.com editor (Jeff) says: Williams is super-athletic and can apply it in ways that can help a team, but for the next few seasons will have to keep refining his game. Right now he’s more of a good 8th-10th man who can show flashes of being a good 6th man.
Wade getting lit up
The Palm Beach Post (Chris Perkins) reports: Guard Dwyane Wade (19 points on 5-for-15 shooting) stayed in foul trouble the entire night. And his defense has to be eyed suspiciously. In his last four games he’s allowed Memphis’ O.J. Mayo 28 points, New York’s Jamal Crawford 29 points, held Sacarmento’s Kevin Martin to nine points and allowed Charlotte’s Jason Richardson 23. Coach Erik Spoelstra won’t be happy with his team’s effort. It appeared Udonis Haslem (16 points, seven rebounds) was upset with his teammates the entire night.
Jerry Sloan out tonight
Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan is not with the team for tonight’s home game vs. the Los Angeles Clippers due to flu-like symptoms. Assistant coach Phil Johnson will coach the team tonight in Sloan’s absence.
Sloan is expected to accompany the team to Los Angeles on Sunday as the Jazz prepares to play the Clippers again Monday night in L.A.
Marcus Williams reflects on Nets
Marcus Williams was a backup point guard on the Nets and didn’t play tons of minutes because extremely good players were always ahead of him. Now he’s barely playing for the Warriors and the point guards ahead of him are lucky to even be in the league. Here’s the New York Daily News (Julian Garcia):
As for what went wrong in Jersey, Williams said playing behind a legend after being drafted in the first round of the ‘06 draft made it tough for him to get anything going personally. “I played behind Jason,” Williams said. “Obviously that prevented me from playing as much as I wanted to. And then they brought in Devin, and Devin was having a career year. You can’t really stop a guy from playing who’s having a career year. So I think situations and opportunities weren’t here.” Williams had a reputation for being out of shape while with the Nets, and not necessarily working hard enough to get into shape. He also suffered several injuries along the way that prevented him from earning steady playing time.
I don’t see Williams falling out of the league anytime soon. He’ll have a few more seasons to prove himself worthy of a job before that would happen.