Heat use late run to beat pesky Sixers
February 4, 2012
PHILADELPHIA (AP)—With LeBron James running the show, Miami ran the Sixersout of their building.
Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, and James had 19 points and 12 rebounds tolift the Miami Heat to a 99-79 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
Needing a jumpstart in the fourth, James shifted to point guard, sparking adominant late run that put away the pesky Sixers. James led a makeshift lineupthat included Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller to a 15-0 spurt in the quarter. Itturned a tight one for 36 minutes into a comfortable victory and handed theSixers just their third home loss of the season.
Philadelphia 76ers ' Jrue … AP – Feb 3, 10:00 pm EST Mia-Phi Gallery
Wade used a pair of ferocious dunks during the game-changing run that pushedthe Sixers’ first sellout crowd of the season toward the exits.
“When he’s out there and we’re all on the same page on what we’re runningoffensively,” Wade said, “it makes us a dynamic team.”
Mario Chalmers scored 13 points and Chris Bosh had 12 to help the Heat in aneeded bounce-back game. James had six of his eight assists in the fourth.
“Tonight was probably the best game from start to finish, as far as playinghard and communicating on both ends, that we had all season,” James said. “Soit was a good win.”
James scored a season-high 40 points in a loss at Milwaukee on Wednesdaynight. The Heat held a tough practice Thursday in Philadelphia to get back ontrack. The Heat went broke down all aspects of the team via film and some honestcommunication.
“It was no-holds barred, no tongues being held,” James said. “If we’regoing to be held to a championship standard, we need to go out and play like it.No one can take things personal if someone says something to him. We’ve got totake constructive criticism.”
Thaddeus Young scored 16 points for the Sixers, who snapped a four-gamewinning streak.
The Sixers opened the week with wins against Orlando and Chicago. The Heatsquashed the home-week sweep.
Miami’s 113-92 win on Jan. 21 was Philadelphia’s only double-digit loss ofthe season. Entering the fourth, duplicating that feat seemed out of reach.
Unlike the Sixers, the Heat can turn to their stable of stars to crank upthe pressure.
Wade started the run easily enough with free throws. Haslem and Millerburied mid-range jumpers, James followed with a 3 and the game changed in ahurry.
The Sixers (12-3 at home) had grown used to the confetti gun blasting offafter each victory. By the time they dusted off the seldom-used inspirationalmovie scene video reel, it was too late. Wade, Bosh and James were headed towardthe bench, another win over the Sixers in the books.
“They started to crank it up and we took a few bad shots,” Young said.“We went cold and didn’t play together. We knew there would be some roughtimes, but we’ll be OK. We know we’re a good team. There won’t be any headsdown.”
The Heat played in Philadelphia for the first time since they blew asix-point lead with 95 seconds to play in Game 4 of their opening round playoffseries. Jrue Holiday hit a late 3 that sliced the deficit to one and LouWilliams made the go-ahead 3-pointer from the top of the arc over a lunging Wadewith 8.1 seconds left for an 86-82 win.
“Our first-round series against them was arguably the toughest, outside thefinals,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game.
Last season, opening round. This season, something deeper?
The Sixers had stamped themselves as a rising threat in the East. The Heatcouldn’t shake the upstart Sixers in front of 20,694 fans and never led by morethan seven in the first half.
The Sixers have done serious damage this season in the third quarter,putting teams away with big runs and tough defensive efforts. The Bulls scored11 points in the third Wednesday. The Magic scored only nine points Monday.
The defense was as tight as usual, limiting the Heat to 16. The offense (6of 18) never got going.
“The third quarter was a grind out,” Wade said.
Bosh’s putback ended an 0-for-10 start to the third for the Heat for atwo-point lead. While the Heat struggled, the Sixers couldn’t capitalize. EltonBrand and Tony Battie, two frontcourt starters, both went scoreless.
Andre Iguodala, who has cranked up his numbers when the Sixers need himmost, continued with the clutch stops. He intercepted a pass from Wade into thepost and drove the length of the court for a monster one-handed jam that hadfans jumping out of their seats. But he went only 4 for 10 from the floor for 10points.
The Sixers could never take the lead in the third and that cost them in thefinal minutes. James scored the last eight points of the third, including a longjumper that made it 67-63. Iguodala buried a 50-footer that was waved off afterreview.
Philadelphia’s winning streak was put to rest in the fourth.
“They just overwhelmed us in the fourth quarter,” coach Doug Collins said.“They put a push on us and we didn’t have any resistance, so credit to them.”
Notes: The Heat only made 11 of 20 free throws. They made up for that numberwith just nine turnovers. … The Sixers missed eight of their first nine shotsin the third quarter. … Brand was scoreless for the fifth time in 823 careergames and third time as a Sixer. … Former 76er Rick Mahorn, TV personalityJane Pauley, cartoonist Garry Trudeau and actress Mary Carey were all at thegame. … Not counting playoffs, the Heat have won nine straight over theSixers.
Wolves get past Nets despite Morrow’s 42
February 4, 2012
NEWARK, N.J. (AP)—Luke Ridnour made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:23left, Nikola Pekovic scored a career-high 27 points, and the MinnesotaTimberwolves beat the New Jersey Nets 108-105 on Friday night.
The Timberwolves overcame a career-high 42 points from Anthony Morrow, whoseeight 3-pointers in 11 attempts were the most in the NBA this season.
Kevin Love added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which surpassedits road victory total from last season by improving to 6-4. The Wolves, just5-36 on the road last season, have won three in a row away from home.
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Rookie Ricky Rubio finished with 10 points and 10 assists for the Wolves inhis point guard matchup with Deron Williams. Williams had 12 points and 14assists, but shot just 5 of 18 and had two costly turnovers in the final minute.
Rubio came up with a steal with about 1 1/2 minutes left, leading toRidnour’s 3-pointer that made it 102-99. The Wolves got the ball back afterreplays showed a ball went off Williams out of bounds, and Ridnour made two freethrows for a five-point lead.
But Morrow, who missed the last game with a sprained left ankle, converted afour-point play to make it 104-103 with 22 seconds left. Jose Barea and Ridnoureach made a pair from the line around Kris Humphries’ dunk to keep the lead atthree, and the Nets lost their final chance when Williams fumbled the balltrying to throw a pass, with Rubio eventually coming up with it and lofting itdowncourt as time ran out.
Humphries had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Pekovic, in his second year from Montenegro, made 11 of 14 shots. Hereplaced an ineffective Darko Milicic to start the second half and dominatedinside while also grabbing 11 rebounds. His layup erased the Nets’ last lead andtied it a 99 with 1:55 left.
The Wolves led 23-19 after one, then used a 13-1 run early in the second toopen a 36-22 lead on Michael Beasley’s follow with 8:15 remaining in the half.Morrow then hit a 3-pointer and suddenly the Nets were rolling, tearing off a23-5 spurt that gave them a 45-41 edge.
Morrow hit his fourth 3 of the period with 1:33 to go, and the Nets led50-49 at the break.
The Wolves trailed by one early in the third before Wes Johnson slammed downRubio’s lob pass, then hit a 3-pointer for a 63-59 lead. Love hit two freethrows, Rubio made a nifty move that had the crowd gasping to set up Johnson fora three-point play, and Pekovic hit two free throws to cap a 12-0 burst and makeit 70-59 with 5:17 left in the period.
The Nets cut it to 80-75 after three.
Notes: Morrow’s previous career best of 37 came on Nov. 15, 2008, for GoldenState, when he set an NBA record for most points scored by an undrafted rookie.… The Nets won’t play in Brooklyn until next season, but they’ll be in NewYork on Monday. The Nets will wear their jerseys from the New York Nets of theABA for the first of five games as part of the NBA’s Hardwood Classic nights.They played on Long Island from 1968-77, winning two titles. … Morrow waswincing as he came down the floor after rebounding the miss of Minnesota’s firstshot, but didn’t appear bothered again by the ankle injury. … Milicic hadmissed three games with an illness before returning Wednesday against Indiana.
Reserves lead Rockets past Suns 99-81
February 4, 2012
HOUSTON (AP)—Kevin Martin scored 16 points, Kyle Lowry had eight reboundsand nine assists and the Houston Rockets beat the Phoenix Suns 99-81 on Fridaynight.
Chase Budinger added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who gotanother strong effort from their reserves to beat the Suns for only the secondtime in the last nine meetings. Courtney Lee and Patrick Patterson also scored12 points apiece off the bench for Houston.
Marcin Gortat had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Shannon Brown scored 12 forthe Suns, who’ve lost five of their last seven. Houston had a 49-39 reboundingedge and held Steve Nash to six points and nine assists.
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The Rockets’ reserves scored 50 points and pulled down 23 rebounds. Theyalso preserved Houston’s big lead in the second half to let the starters restbefore Saturday night’s game in Minnesota.
Nash had four assists in the first six minutes, and the Suns took an early14-13 lead. Nash and Grant Hill went out for a rest with 3:50 left in the firstquarter, and Houston finished with a 15-6 spurt to take a 30-20 lead.
The Rockets’ reserves shot and rebounded well early in the second quarter topreserve the double-digit margin. Nash and Grant Hill returned, but Houstonstayed in control, stretching the lead to 45-28 on Budinger’s 3-pointer from thecorner.
Houston’s bench scored 21 points in the second quarter, and the Rockets led59-39 at the break. Houston outrebounded Phoenix 29-18 in the first half, withLuis Scola, Lowry and Patterson grabbing six boards apiece.
The Suns’ offense continued to sputter in the third quarter, even with Nashon the floor. Phoenix started the second half 4 for 10 from the field, and thedeficit hovered around 20.
Phoenix couldn’t slow Houston much, either. The Rockets shot 43 percent (9for 21) in the quarter and led 80-61, despite five turnovers.
Most of the starters from both teams sat out the final quarter, gettingvaluable rest since both play again Saturday. The Suns fly home to meetCharlotte, then face a demanding two-day trip with games in Atlanta on Mondayand Milwaukee on Tuesday.
The Rockets held Phoenix to 19 points in the fourth to win for the 21stconsecutive time when holding their opponent below 90 points.
Notes: The Rockets’ first-half points total was a season high. … Houstonsent first-round draft pick Marcus Morris to Rio Grande Valley, the team’sdevelopmental league partner. The 6-foot-9 Morris was selected by Houston withthe 14th overall pick, just after his twin brother Markieff was taken byPhoenix. Morris sprained his left ankle in a D-league game on Jan. 12, butgeneral manager Daryl Morey says Morris is cleared to play. Morris has averaged22 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in four starts for Rio Grande Valleythis season. … The Suns are 1-13 when trailing at halftime. … Phoenix lostto the Rockets for only the seventh time in the past 22 meetings.
Knight’s 26 help Pistons end 7-game skid
February 4, 2012
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP)—Rookie Brandon Knight scored a season-high 26points, holding his own against Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings and helping theDetroit Pistons snap a seven-game losing streak with an 88-80 victory over theBucks on Friday night.
Knight, who was outscored 21-0 by Jennings in a loss at Milwaukee on Monday,helped the Pistons build a 15-point lead in the third quarter.
Milwaukee went on an 11-0 run spanning the end of the third and beginning ofthe fourth, and Detroit led by only four with 2:54 remaining. Knight respondedwith a floater, followed moments later by a driving shot off the glass, and thePistons held on.
Detroit Pistons ' Brandon … AP – Feb 3, 10:50 pm EST Detroit Pistons ' Brandon … AP – Feb 3, 10:48 pm EST
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Jennings scored 20 points, but only seven after the first quarter.
Greg Monroe added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Tayshaun Prince had 13points for the Pistons. Shaun Livingston was the only other Milwaukee player indouble figures with 14 points.
The Bucks had won three straight, including a come-from-behind victory overMiami on Wednesday.
The Pistons led by as many as nine in the first quarter, but Jennings madeall five of his shots in the period and it was 26-all after one.
Jennings finished 7 of 19, and the Bucks shot only 35 percent as a team.Milwaukee trailed 51-41 at halftime and never seemed to click offensively afterscoring at least 100 points in each of its previous five games.
With Detroit up 58-52, Jennings tried a behind-the-back pass on a 2-on-1break to Beno Udrih. The play resulted in a turnover, and the Pistons slowlyincreased their lead.
Knight made a nice bounce pass in transition to Rodney Stuckey for a layupand a 64-53 advantage. Jonas Jerebko made it 70-55 with a dunk.
Milwaukee trailed 72-68 in the fourth, but Monroe scored inside to halt theBucks’ run. That wasn’t the last time the Bucks cut the deficit to four. It was80-76 and 82-78 late in the fourth, but Knight answered both times with abasket.
In their previous five games, the Pistons had allowed opponents to shoot 46of 89 from 3-point range. Milwaukee was only 3 of 17 on Friday—after making 10in each of its previous two games.
The Bucks also had only 10 assists—after six straight games with at least20.
Notes: Detroit is still without G Ben Gordon (shoulder) and F CharlieVillanueva. The team released an update on Villanueva’s troublesome right ankle,saying he has a “resolving posterior tibial tenosynovitis with small talotibalspurs.” He’s expected to need a few weeks of partial immobilization. … WithVanilla Ice performing at halftime at The Palace, the game drew 13,181.
Howard leads short-handed Magic by Cavs
February 4, 2012
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)—Dwight Howard scored 19 points, had 16 rebounds andblocked eight shots as the Orlando Magic outlasted the Cleveland Cavaliers102-94 on Friday night.
Jason Richardson also added 19 points in his first action in two games afterresting a sore knee. Hedo Turkoglu added 18 points and Ryan Anderson chipped in17.
The Magic won their seventh straight over the Cavaliers, despite playingwithout injured starting point guard Jameer Nelson and suspended reserve big manGlen Davis.
Orlando continues a stretch of nine games in 13 days Saturday at Indiana.
Alonzo Gee led Cleveland with 20 points, followed by Kyrie Irving with 18.
The Cavs have now lost three of their last four. Cleveland returns home tohost Dallas on Saturday and head to Miami Tuesday.
The Magic, who came in averaging 15.5 turnovers per game, had just fiveagainst the Cavs and opened up a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The Cavs got it down to 95-90 with 2:12 to play using the “Hack-a-Howard”strategy—fouling Howard intentionally and sending him to the free-throw line.
Howard missed four straight attempts from the line during one stretch beforesinking a pair to give the Magic a seven-point cushion and help close it out.
Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy had to make some pregame adjustments to hisrotation after Davis was suspended for two games prior to tip-off Friday forconduct detrimental to the team. He’ll also miss the Indiana game.
Van Gundy acknowledged before the game that he and Davis were involved in averbal incident during the morning walkthrough, but said nothing physical tookplace. He didn’t elaborate further, though added he said he didn’t expect thesuspension to go beyond two games.
Nelson continues to deal with concussion symptoms. Without a true thirdpoint guard behind Chris Duhon, the team released Larry Hughes followingWednesday’s win over Washington and signed free agent Ish Smith Thursday.
Smith had two early assists, including one on a dunk by Earl Clark, but alsohad three fouls in just five minutes of action early. He finished with fourassists in nine minutes of action.
Despite the missing bodies, the Magic managed to take a nine-point advantageinto the break, building their cushion hitting six first-half 3s. Richardsonalso hit five of his six attempts from the field for 11 points.
Cleveland also helped out, connecting on only 29 percent of its field goals(14 for 48). Jamison kept the Cavs close with an 11-point, 10 rebound effort inthe half.
Notes: Van Gundy said Nelson, who sat out his fourth straight game withconcussion symptoms, did do some limited, off-court physical activity Friday andhas a chance of returning Monday against the L.A. Clippers. … The Cavs playedwithout G Daniel Gibson (soft tissue infection in neck), G Anthony Parker (backstrain) and F Tristan Thompson (ankle sprain).
Mavericks’ Cuban, Carlisle fined $110K
February 4, 2012
DALLAS (AP)—Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and coach Rick Carlisle werefined by the NBA on Friday for their actions after becoming upset with theofficiating during a game earlier in the week.
Cuban was handed a $75,000 penalty for his critical remarks about theofficiating following a 95-86 home loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.
Carlisle was fined $35,000 for kicking a ball into the stands with 9:34 leftin the fourth quarter against the Thunder. He was ejected and apologized toCuban and the fans right after the game.
“I think it’s fair. It’s irresponsible for a ball to go in the stands.You’re subject to a fine,” Carlisle said during the shootaround before Fridaynight’s game against Indiana. “So I accept it and regret that the situationhappened even though it was accidental.”
Right after the game against the Thunder, Carlisle said the “incident wherethe ball got kicked into the stands, that can’t happen.”
Cuban was in Indianapolis for a Super Bowl event and not at the Mavericks’game Friday night.
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Celtics PG Rondo returns to face Knicks
February 4, 2012
BOSTON (AP)—Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo returned to the lineupfor Friday night’s game against the New York Knicks after missing the previouseight games with a right wrist injury.
Rondo was given a loud ovation when his name was announced in pregameintroductions. The Celtics went 6-2 in his absence.
Boston coach Doc Rivers said he had no plans with his guard’s minutes, butliked what he saw during the morning shootaround.
“I’ll go by how he’s playing,” Rivers said. “Your eyes will tell you. Helooked good. It’s different because he hasn’t had a lot of basketball.”
Rondo was injured when he took an awkward fall and landed with his wristunder his back on a flagrant foul by Toronto’s Linas Kleiza on Jan. 18.
Rivers said the team worked on some late-game situations during the morningshootaround. The Celtics blew a fourth-quarter lead against Cleveland on Sunday,and they almost gave up another lead when faced the Cavaliers in Cleveland onTuesday.
“We worked on some end of game stuff as a refresher,” Rivers said.
Rondo wore a brace on his wrist while shooting and taking free throws on thefloor about 90 minutes before the scheduled start.
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Oden undergoes fourth knee surgery
February 4, 2012
Greg Oden has not played since last December, when he needed surgery on his left knee.(Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—The Trail Blazers say center Greg Oden underwent anarthroscopic procedure Friday to “remove debris” from his right knee, hisfourth surgery since Portland selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2007draft.
The often-injured 7-footer had microfracture surgery on the same knee beforethe start of his rookie season, forcing him to postpone his NBA debut for ayear.
Since then, Oden has appeared in just 82 career games for the Blazers,averaging 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.
Oden hasn’t appeared in a game for the Blazers in two years. He alsounderwent surgery for a fractured kneecap in late 2009, then early last seasonhe had microfracture surgery on his left knee.
The latest procedure took place Friday afternoon in Vail, Colo. The Blazerssaid it was successful and that Oden remains out indefinitely.
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Hornets to reactivate Kaman
February 4, 2012
NEW ORLEANS (AP)—The New Orleans Hornets have decided to reactivate 7-footcenter Chris Kaman, who had been excused from team activities since last weekwhile the club sought to trade him, according to a person familiar with thedecision.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymitybecause the decision had not been announced. Kaman likely won’t join the Hornetsfor Saturday’s game at Detroit but probably will return Monday againstSacramento.
The person said the relationship between Kaman and Hornets coach MontyWilliams was fine. But when general manager Dell Demps hoped a trade woulddevelop quickly, Williams wanted to start working younger players into therotation.
Once a trade didn’t happen as quickly as they thought, it made sense tobring Kaman back, the person said.
Kaman, 29, was acquired by New Orleans in the multiplayer trade that sentChris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers before the season, but has struggled tofind a consistent role with the Hornets. He’s mostly backed up center EmekaOkafor.
His playing time and production have fluctuated significantly. He had aseason-high 20 points in 28 minutes at Denver on Jan. 9, but in the last twogames before he was deactivated, he had three points in seven minutes againstDallas and six points in 14 minutes against San Antonio.
In 17 games, Kaman has averaged 9.2 points and 6.6 rebounds. He is in thefinal year of a contract that pays him about $14 million this season, making hima potential trade target for a team that is interested in a former All-Starcenter with a large expiring contract that will clear salary cap space when theseason ends.
Kaman was first deactivated Jan. 25, while he was still with the team. Hewas then excused from all team activities and advised to stay home and await atrade.
In recent games, the Hornets have given increasing minutes to 6-foot-10power forward Gustavo Ayon of Mexico, an NBA rookie acquired in December from ateam in Spain’s top professional league. In the past six games that Kaman hasmissed, Ayon has had the first two double-digit scoring games of his career,with 16 points at Oklahoma City on Jan. 25 and 10 points against Phoenix onWednesday.
It remains to be seen how Williams will work Kaman back into the rotation.The Hornets still have until the NBA trade deadline March 15 to deal Kaman orany other player on the roster.
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Clippers, F Martin agree to 1-year deal
February 3, 2012
LOS ANGELES (AP)—The Los Angeles Clippers and free agent Kenyon Martinhave agreed to a one-year deal, returning the veteran forward to the NBA after abrief stint in China.
Martin’s agent, Andy Miller, confirmed Friday that the sides reachedagreement. The deal, believed to be worth the mini mid-level exception of $2.5million, is expected to be finalized as soon as Martin passes a physical.
Martin spent part of the season playing for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers inChina and was required to wait until their season ended before rejoining theNBA. However, he was cleared to return Thursday by FIBA, basketball’sinternational governing body.
The 34-year-old Martin averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds last season inDenver. The deal reunites him with former Nuggets teammate Chauncey Billups, nowa guard with the Clippers. Martin also has a home in Los Angeles.
Martin has averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in 11 NBA seasons,including a stint with New Jersey.
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