Lakers hand Wizards 11th straight loss
March 22, 2010
LOS ANGELES (AP)—Kobe Bryant(notes) scored 20 of his 24 points on a variety of jumpshots during a dynamic second quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers sent theWashington Wizards to their 11th straight loss, 99-92 Sunday night.
Pau Gasol(notes) had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who won their sixthstraight after a three-game skid. The defending NBA champions had little troublewith woeful Washington in the first three quarters, jumping to a 26-pointhalftime lead after another memorable quarter by Bryant.
After hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 16 points in the final 5 1/2 minutesbefore halftime alone, Bryant fell one point shy of matching Alex English for12th place on the NBA’s career scoring list when he scored just two points inthe second half.
Hawks end skid vs. Spurs, make playoffs
March 22, 2010
ATLANTA (AP)—Marvin Williams(notes) scored 26 points to lead three scorers with 20 ormore points and the Atlanta Hawks beat San Antonio 119-114 in overtime on Sundaynight to clinch a playoff berth.
The Hawks got their first win over the Spurs in five years.
Joe Johnson’s(notes) jumper with 1:21 remaining in overtime gave Atlanta a 113-111lead. After a missed 3-pointer by San Antonio’s Matt Bonner(notes), Al Horford(notes) hit ajumper as the shot clock expired to push the lead to four points with 35 secondsremaining.
Horford had 22 points and 18 rebounds and Johnson had 20 points with 13assists as the Hawks ended a seven-game losing streak against the Spurs.
Manu Ginobili(notes) matched his season high with 38 points for San Antonio. TimDuncan(notes) added 29 points and 13 rebounds.
The Spurs had a rough start to perhaps their toughest stretch of the season.They are facing games against Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Lakers, Clevelandand Boston.
A tip-in by Horford tied the game at 105-all with 52 seconds remaining inregulation. After a miss by Ginobili, Johnson missed two shots on the Hawks’final possession of regulation.
The Hawks, who trailed by 14 in the first half, matched their biggestcomeback of the season.
Atlanta kept the lead most of the third period and second half but the Spursstayed close.
The Hawks clinched their third straight playoff spot and moved back into atie with Boston for third place in the Eastern Conference. They have won five oftheir past six games.
The Spurs had their third loss in their last 12 games.
Williams answered coach Mike Woodson’s call for more offense. Williams,averaging 10.2 points, scored 20 or more points for only the third time thisseason.
Williams scored 11 points in the last 5:17 of the first half, including asteal and jumper before the buzzer to give the Hawks a 53-51 halftime lead—their first lead since 4-2.
Williams’ shot capped a 23-9 run to end the half. Another highlight of therun was Josh Smith’s(notes) left-handed jam on an alley-oop pass from Johnson.
Notes: The Spurs’ previous loss to the Hawks came on Dec. 10, 2005, inAtlanta. … Williams’ 18 points in the first half marked his high points totalfor a game in his past nine games. … The Spurs fell to 16-17 away from SanAntonio with their second straight road loss.
Suns top Blazers for fourth straight win
March 22, 2010
PHOENIX (AP)—Jared Dudley(notes) scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarterand Grant Hill(notes) hit two key baskets, lifting the Phoenix Suns to a 93-87 victoryover the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night for their fourth straight win.
The loss ended Portland’s five-game winning streak and was only the TrailBlazers’ second defeat in nine games. It left them in eighth place in theWestern Conference.
Phoenix, meanwhile, moved into a virtual fifth-place tie with Oklahoma Citywith its fifth win in seven games during an 18-day homestand that ended Sunday.The Suns are 44-26, the first time this season they have been 18 games over.500.
The Suns accomplished all that despite having one of their worst shootinggames of the season, connecting on only 38.8 percent of their field goalattempts.
Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Steve Nash(notes) had17 points and eight assists, Jason Richardson(notes) scored 16 points, and Hillfinished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Brandon Roy(notes) led Portland with 23 points, but was only 8 of 25 from thefield. Andre Miller(notes) scored 22 points, LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) had 16, and Marcus Camby(notes)snared 16 rebounds.
A field goal by Dudley with 6:18 remaining put the Suns ahead for good,79-78. He followed with his second 3-pointer, making it 82-78.
After Aldridge missed two free throws, Hill scored on a layup and a jumper,giving the Suns an 86-78 advantage. The closest Portland got after that was twopoints, 89-87, on a 3-pointer by Roy.
The game began with a series of runs, but had little pace or rhythm becauseneither team was shooting well, and it was fitting that the score was tied at 47at halftime.
With the score at 7-all, Richardson scored seven consecutive points, but theTrail Blazers countered with 19-4 burst and led 26-18. The Suns followed withnine straight points, bridging the first and second periods, inching ahead27-26. The half was marked by 11 lead changes and seven ties.
Of the Suns’ first 18 points, Richardson and Stoudemire accounted for 17,with a technical foul shot by Nash the only other point by Phoenix. In fact,Richardson and Stoudemire combined for the Suns’ only seven field goals in thefirst period.
Camby had 10 rebounds, including four off the offensive glass, the openingquarter.
Phoenix was hurt early when Nash incurred two fouls in the first 6 minutesand sat out the next 12 minutes. When he did return, he hit four quick fieldgoals.
Aldridge and Miller carried the offensive burden for the Trail Blazers inthe first half, each scoring 12 points.
Neither the pace nor the rhythm improved in the third quarter, when theTrail Blazers shot 9 for 25 and the Suns a pathetic 4 for 22. But by the end ofthe quarter, Portland had a 68-64 lead, thanks to Miller, who matched the Suns’field goal production with four and scored 10 points. His driving andpenetration disrupted the Suns’ defense.
NOTES: The Suns recalled rookie forward Earl Clark(notes) from the Iowa Energy ofthe NBA Development League, where he averaged 20.7 points and 9.0 rebounds whileplaying 34.3 minutes in three games. … Portland swingman Rudy Fernandez(notes) didnot make the trip because of a left quad strain. … Entering Sunday’s play, theSuns led the league in scoring (110.1 points per game), field goal percentage(.491) and 3-point field goal percentage (.406). … Miller played in his 601stconsecutive game, the NBA’s longest active string of appearances.
Udrih’s 20 points, 17 assists lift Kings
March 21, 2010
LOS ANGELES (AP)—With rookie point guard and leading scorer Tyreke Evans(notes) backin Sacramento, the Kings needed someone to find the open man and make plays.Beno Udrih(notes) was more than able to fill the void.
Udrih had 20 points and a career-high 17 assists for only his seconddouble-double of the season, leading the Kings to a 102-89 victory over the LosAngeles Clippers on Sunday. He made eight of 17 shots and committed only oneturnover.
“We had to kind of employ a little bit of a different strategy on offense,but it’s something that we’ve done before and we’re definitely comfortablewith,” Udrih said.
Carl Landry(notes) had a team-high 24 points for the Kings, who improved to 6-10since the Feb. 18 trade in which they obtained Landry from Houston and sentKevin Martin(notes) to the Rockets. Spencer Hawes(notes) finished with 13 points and 10rebounds.
“We’re obviously young and don’t have the most experience, but we play hardevery night and we have a lot of room to grow together,” Udrih said. “From thebeginning of this year to where we are now, and with the talent we have, we’veshown a lot of growth.”
Evans, who leads all rookies in scoring (20.3) and minutes (37.3), will beevaluated Monday. He missed his sixth game of the season because of a mildconcussion, a bruised jaw, lacerated gums and chipped teeth. The injuries werethe result of an inadvertent elbow he took on Friday night from Milwaukee’sErsan Ilyasova(notes) while they were going for a loose ball.
The Kings are 2-4 without Evans in the lineup. He scored 20 or more pointsin 37 of his first 65 games, and was their leading scorer in both of theprevious meetings with the Clippers.
“We want him back as soon as possible,” coach Paul Westphal said. “He isa mismatch, no matter what position he plays. He is a great defender andcontributes tremendously to our lineup. We had great performances from our teamtoday. They showed a lot of heart.”
Westphal, whose roster averages the least amount of NBA experience in theleague, used his 27th different starting lineup with Francisco Garcia(notes) joiningUdrih in the backcourt. Garcia had 16 points in his second start this season.Garcia has played in only 17 games after missing the first 52 because of abroken right forearm.
The Clippers, who snapped an eight-game losing streak on Wednesday, got 23points from Eric Gordon(notes). Cris Kaman had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Point guard Baron Davis(notes), who had 13 points, played 30 minutes and didn’t getan assist until early in the third quarter when he set up a short hook shot byDrew Gooden(notes). Gooden had eight points, the fourth time he failed to reach doubledigits in 15 games since the Clippers obtained him from Washington.
“There is no explanation for our performance. It was just a lack ofeffort,” Davis said. “On a given night, not everyone is going to have itoffensively. But I think there are other things that can be done on the court.”
Jason Thompson’s(notes) hook shot gave the Kings their biggest lead 79-61 with 3:35left in the third quarter. The Clippers got as close as 81-74 on Steve Blake’s(notes)3-pointer with 9:14 to play, but Andres Nocioni(notes) responded with a 3-pointer forhis first points of the game and hit another 3 with 7:13 remaining to putSacramento up 91-77.
“It says something about the growth of our team,” Udrih said. “In thepast, we may get a lead, but then when they start chipping away, we startplaying more and more nervous and not as aggressive. But toward the end of thisgame, Coach said: ‘Don’t even wait to run it down. Just get right into it andstart attacking.’ And that kind of mindset translates well for us.”
NOTES: The Kings are 2-4 without Evans in the lineup. … Sacramento ended astreak of 10 consecutive road losses against Pacific Division teams since Jan.14, 2009 … The Kings were the team the Clippers beat for Kim Hughes’ first winas interim coach after five losses. They are 5-16 since he replaced MikeDunleavy on Feb. 4. … F Rasual Butler(notes) is the only player to appear in all 70games for Los Angeles. The last Clipper to play an entire 82-game season wasKaman in 2003-04, his rookie season. … The Kings shot 50 percent from thefield for the 17th time this season, but are only 8-9 in those games.
Granger’s 32 lift Pacers past Thunder
March 21, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—Danny Granger(notes) scored 32 points to help the Indiana Pacersbeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-101 Sunday.
Troy Murphy(notes) had 22 points and 13 rebounds and Roy Hibbert(notes) had 20 points andeight rebounds for the Pacers, who have won three of four.
Indiana shot 52 percent in the game. Oklahoma City, one of the league’s bestdefensive teams, allowed its highest point total of the season.
Jeff Green(notes) led Oklahoma City with 20 points. Kevin Durant(notes), the league’s No.2 scorer, finished with 16 points on 4 for 16 shooting.
The Thunder had won six of seven. It was the second time in less that a weekthat a hot team lost at Conseco Fieldhouse. Charlotte took a 6-game win streakto Indiana before losing 99-94 on Tuesday.
Indiana shot 55 percent in the first half to lead 59-48 at the break.
The Pacers stretched their lead quickly in the second half. A three-pointplay, then a 3-pointer by Murphy gave Indiana a 69-53 lead early in the thirdquarter. Another three by Murphy made it 74-53.
In an example of the Thunder’s futility, Indiana’s offense was out of syncwhen there was a scramble for the ball under the basket. The ball was saved, andGranger ended up with it with 3 seconds left on the shot clock. Granger faked,then drew a foul from Thabo Sefolosha(notes) as the shot clock expired. Granger madeboth free throws to give the Pacers a 78-55 lead.
Indiana shot 53 percent in the third quarter and led 93-74 at the end of theperiod.
Oklahoma City never led.
NOTES: Oklahoma City G James Harden(notes) missed his fifth straight game with aright hamstring strain. … Indiana G T.J. Ford(notes) sat out for the fifth straightgame with a strained left groin. … Twice in the first quarter, Granger stolethe ball from Durant, then scored a layup at the other end. … Indiana shot56.5 percent in the first quarter to lead 32-25. … Oklahoma City’s RussellWestbrook(notes) was called for a technical foul for comments he made while heading tothe bench late in the third quarter. … Former Indiana University player D.J.White(notes) entered the game in the fourth quarter to a loud ovation.
James excited for Ilgauskas to return
March 21, 2010
CLEVELAND (AP)—LeBron James(notes) hated to see Zydrunas Ilgauskas(notes) leave. He’ll beone of the first to welcome him back.
James called Ilgauskas “a good friend and a great teammate” hours beforeIlgauskas is eligible to re-sign with the Cavaliers. Ilgauskas, who was dealt toWashington at the NBA trade deadline as part of a three-team deal andsubsequently released, is eligible to rejoin Cleveland as early as Monday.
His agent, Herb Rudoy, said he will begin negotiations with Cavaliers GMDanny Ferry on Monday. Ilgauskas is in Cleveland and could rejoin the team asearly as Wednesday in New Orleans. His first home game would be next Sundayagainst Sacramento.
Lakers C Bynum out at least 2 weeks
March 21, 2010
LOS ANGELES (AP)—Andrew Bynum’s(notes) left Achilles’ tendon is not torn, and the LosAngeles Lakers think their starting center will be out for at least two weeks.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Sunday he can’t predict a return timetablefor Bynum, who strained his tendon early in the third quarter of Los Angeles’win over Minnesota on Friday night.
Bynum was inactive for the Lakers’ home game against Washington on Sunday,and he isn’t expected to play on Los Angeles’ ensuing five-game road trip.Jackson hopes Bynum will return early next month.
An MRI on Saturday showed the injury wasn’t as serious as the Lakersinitially feared, revealing no tears in Bynum’s heel. He has missed longstretches of the past two seasons with injuries.
Rockets beat McGrady, Knicks 116-112
March 21, 2010
NEW YORK (AP)—Aaron Brooks(notes) scored seven straight points down the stretch andthe Houston Rockets got strong efforts from the players they got for TracyMcGrady(notes) to beat the New York Knicks 116-112 Sunday.
Kevin Martin(notes), acquired by the Rockets from Sacramento in the three-team dealthat sent McGrady to New York, led Houston with 28 points. Rookie Jordan Hill(notes)and Jared Jeffries(notes), who went from the Knicks to the Rockets, played key rolesdown the stretch because of injuries and illnesses to Houston’s frontcourt.
Hill finished with a season-high 13 points, while Jeffries took a pair ofcharges in the final quarter.
McGrady finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 33minutes, but was scoreless in the fourth.
David Lee(notes) had 27 points and 20 rebounds for the Knicks, who blew an early17-point lead. Danilo Gallinari(notes) and Toney Douglas(notes) each scored 26, with Douglasmaking a franchise rookie-record six 3-pointers in the best game of his career.
Reserves Kyle Lowry(notes) and Chase Budinger(notes) each scored 18 points for theRockets, who rebounded from Friday’s loss to Boston to win for the fifth time insix games. Brooks finished with 16 points and Houston won despite getting littlefrom ailing forward Luis Scola(notes), then losing Shane Battier(notes) to a first-half kneeinjury.
Houston trailed by three before Brooks’ 3-pointer with 2:15 to go. AfterMcGrady was short on a jumper, Brooks broke the tie with a floater with 1:49left, then made it 114-110 with just under a minute remaining by knocking down along jumper.
The three-team deal at last month’s deadline also sent the Knicks’ 2012first-round pick to Houston. Moving Jeffries’ $6.9 million salary was the keyfor the Knicks, giving them about $32 million, tops in the league, in salary capspace this summer. The Rockets were able to land a coveted scorer in Martin,whom they envision playing alongside Yao Ming(notes) next season.
McGrady was a perennial All-Star but frequently injured in Houston. He hadmicrofracture knee surgery in February 2009 and returned in December, but theRockets played him only sparingly for six games before deciding he wouldn’t bein the rotation, then allowing him to leave the team and work out on his ownwhile they explored a trade.
Houston coach Rick Adelman said McGrady is still one of the best passers andplaymakers in the league, but said the former scoring champion just couldn’thelp the Rockets when he returned.
“He wasn’t ready to play. It’s a very simple explanation,” Adelman saidbefore the game. “He missed the year before, he came back and he wanted to comeback and play, but last year we played him on one leg and we had Yao and we hadRon Artest(notes) and we were able to do that for a while and get by. But this year itwas really hard to put him out there and play him when he really wasn’t ready.”
McGrady scored 26 in his Knicks debut on Feb. 20, but he hasn’t been able toplay with any consistency after his long absence. He was scoreless on 0-for-7shooting Friday in a victory over Philadelphia and his average was down to 10.6points in 15 games in New York entering Sunday.
McGrady was active early, playing the entire first quarter and finishingwith eight points and five rebounds in helping New York take a 32-17 lead.Houston charged back in the second, using a 12-0 run midway through the periodto grab a one-point lead on Hill’s basket. The Knicks took a 64-62 lead intohalftime.
Both teams shot at least 60 percent in the third quarter, which ended withNew York leading 94-92.
NOTES: Battier missed the second half after hyperextending his left kneelate in the second quarter. … McGrady also picked up a technical foul forcomplaining about a foul with 5:04 remaining in the third quarter. … Botheredby an upset stomach, Scola was limited to four points and one rebound in 22 1/2 minutes. He averaged 23.9 points and 13.0 rebounds in the previous eight games.
Cavs finish rare season sweep of Pistons
March 21, 2010
CLEVELAND (AP)—J.J. Hickson(notes) and Anthony Parker(notes) combined for 20 points in thedecisive third quarter and Cleveland beat Detroit 104-79 on Sunday to give theCavaliers their first season sweep of the Pistons in 30 years.
Cleveland held a double-digit lead most of the game, although the Pistonscut it to 55-47 on a basket by Jonas Jerebko(notes) with 10 minutes left in the thirdquarter. Hickson and Parker took charge, combining to score 16 of Cleveland’snext 19 points while Detroit went more than five minutes without a field goal.
By the time Anderson Varejao(notes) scored on a behind-the-back pass from MoWilliams(notes), Cleveland had increased its lead to 76-57. Cleveland led by as much as27 in the fourth quarter.
Hickson finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, Parker had 11 points andLeBron James(notes) had 15 points and seven assists while sitting out the fourthquarter. Leon Powe(notes) and Delonte West(notes) scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, offthe bench.
Cleveland has won 10 straight against Detroit, including last season’sfirst-round sweep in the playoffs. Cleveland hadn’t swept Detroit during aregular season since going 6-0 against the Pistons during the 1979-80 season.
Jason Maxiell(notes) had 16 points for Detroit and Charlie Villanueva(notes) had 11 offthe bench.
The Cavaliers are 12-1 since Shaquille O’Neal’s(notes) thumb injury left themwithout a true center on the roster. While Hickson has filled in admirably, thatmay soon change. Cleveland could have Zydrunas Ilgauskas(notes) back in time for itsnext game Wednesday at New Orleans.
Ilgauskas was dealt to Washington at the trade deadline as part of athree-team deal that brought Antawn Jamison(notes) and Sebastian Telfair(notes) to Cleveland.Ilgauskas’ contract was subsequently bought out, allowing him to re-sign withCleveland as early as Monday.
On Sunday morning, the Cavaliers quietly hoisted a banner celebrating thisseason’s second consecutive Central Division championship. Cleveland was thefirst team this season to clinch a division. Much like last year, noannouncement or formal ceremony was held to celebrate the third division titlein franchise history.
^Notes: Cleveland outrebounded Detroit in the first half 23-11. The Cavs hadas many offensive rebounds (11) as the Pistons had in the half. … James washonored before the game for becoming the youngest player to reach 15,000 pointsin his career (25 years, 79 days). He surpassed Kobe Bryant(notes) (27 years, 136 days)on Friday. … Darnell Jackson(notes) was recalled from the NBA Development Leagueafter spending one day with the Erie BayHawks. … Detroit’s Ben Wallace(notes) missedthe game after injuring both knees in a loss Friday to the Pacers. … RodneyStuckey(notes) returned to Cleveland after collapsing on the court there during atimeout on March 5. Sunday was his second game back.
Kings rookie Evans out against Clippers
March 21, 2010
LOS ANGELES (AP)—Rookie scoring leader Tyreke Evans(notes) did not make the trip toLos Angeles for the Sacramento Kings’ game against the Clippers because of aslight concussion and facial injuries he sustained in a double-overtime loss tothe Milwaukee Bucks.
Evans missed his sixth game of the season on Sunday. The point guard’sinjuries—including a bruised jaw, lacerated gums and chipped teeth—resultedfrom Ersan Ilyasova’s(notes) inadvertent elbow while they were going for a loose ballduring the final minute of regulation on Friday night.
X-rays and a CT scan Evans had Saturday came out negative. He will bere-evaluated on Monday before the Kings host Memphis.
He is averaging 20.3 points and in 37.3 minutes.