Stephen Curry had his first significant playing time in the past five games, playing nine minutes and scoring 12 points. John Wall recorded his third double-double in his past five games, scoring 20 points and dishing out 14 assists. The Jazz won their first road game since Feb. 12, against Memphis. Al Jefferson recorded 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists in their win over the Cavaliers. Van Gundy, who walked out with team doctors, was overheard complaining of chest pains. When asked about
Atlanta ends Thunder’s winning streak; Kevin Love scores 42 in win over Blazers
When Josh Smith is in the right frame of mind, meaning attack the basket and not settling for perimeter shots, the Atlanta Hawks are a difficult team to beat. In fact, when Smith scores at least 20 points, the team is undefeated. They improved to 11-0 in such situations as Smith scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder — the team with the NBA’s best record coming into the game — 97-90 Saturday night. It was an
Tweet of the Day: John Wall
Rondo replaces Curry in Skills Challenge
Two days ago, Rajon Rondo had nearly a week off for the All-Star break. Now he’s an extremely busy man. The star point guard of the Boston Celtics, added Wednesday to the Eastern Conference All-Stars as an injury replacement for Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, will also fill in for injured Stephen Curry of Golden State in the Skills Challenge on All-Star Saturday. The NBA announced the move Friday, hours before media availability begins in Orlando, Fla. Sheridan Hoops is on site and will
Notes from around the NBA: February 20, 2012
James, Durant Earn Weekly Honors The Miami Heat?s LeBron James and the Oklahoma City Thunder?s Kevin Durant today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Feb. 13, through Sunday, Feb. 19. James led Miami to a 4-0 week, averaging 27.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.0 steals. Durant helped Oklahoma City to a 3-1 week which included wins over the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets. Durant averaged 32.0 points and 8.0
Jeremy Lin added to Rising Stars Challenge; rosters set
In a major upset, global sensation Jeremy Lin was added to the player pool for the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend. Lin, the second-year point guard of the New York Knicks, was a late addition to the pool, as was Miami Heat rookie guard Norris Cole. TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal served as GMs and chose from a pool of 10 sophomores and 10 rookies. Here are there picks (O’Neal had the first pick): TEAM SHAQ Blake Griffin Greg Monroe Markieff Morris Ricky Rubio Jeremy Lin Kemba
NBA Post-Game Notes
Dwight Howard notched hit 23rd double-double of the season as the Sixers fell to 0-6 when their opponent scores 100+ points. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, theCeltics have held their last 26 opponents under 100 points. That’s tied for the 6th-longest such streak in a single season in the shot clock era. The Pacers arrived at their Cleveland hotel to find Miami’s team was also staying at the Ritz-Carlton. Vogel joked, claiming they deserved it. “Take that,” he said. “You don’t
Griffin, Rubio picked for Rising Stars Challenge
Wanna see Ricky Rubio throw lobs to Blake Griffin? How about John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins teaming up again, as they did at Kentucky? It could happen in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, which revealed its player pool Wednesday. As we reported Tuesday, the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge is no more. NBA assistant coaches picked the pool of nine rookies and nine sophomores listed below, but TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal will serve as GMs and draft teams Feb. 16 on the