New Orleans 94, Houston 92
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oct. 9 (AP) ?It was only fitting that the New Orleans Hornets' return to their temporary home will be remembered as a comeback.
Chris Paul scored 14 points and Hilton Armstrong had 10 of his 12 in the second half as the Hornets rallied from a 21-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Houston Rockets 94-92 Tuesday night in the preseason opener for both teams.
After Bobby Jackson drove for a layup to give the Hornets an 81-80 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Armstrong followed with a left-handed layup and Peja Stojakovic drilled a 3-pointer to push the lead to six.
The Rockets, playing their first game under new coach Rick Adelman, closed within 88-87 but had their chance to take the lead thwarted when newcomer Luis Scola was called for an offensive foul.
Stojakovic had 13 points on 5-for-13 shooting after missing most of last season after back surgery.
Yao Ming led the Rockets with 13 points in 17 1/2 minutes, and Tracy McGrady had four points and three turnovers in 15 1/2 minutes.
A crowd of 6,324 was on hand at the Ford Center, where there was a capacity crowd for 30 Hornets games over the past two seasons after their temporary relocation forced by Hurricane Katrina.
"It feels good just to get the chance again to say hello and goodbye again to some of the best fans that I've ever been around,'' Hornets coach Byron Scott said before the game.
But the Hornets, who were eliminated from the playoff race in the final week each of the last two seasons, needed some time to shake off their offseason rust.
New Orleans missed 17 of its first 19 shots and committed 10 turnovers to trail 30-9 after one quarter. Tyson Chandler scored the first three points of the game, but New Orleans was then outscored 24-6 during a 9 1/2-minute field goal drought.
Houston was able to maintain its lead while McGrady, Yao and Steve Francis remained in the game, but the Hornets started coming back as the Rockets' front-line players remained on the bench in the second half.
Chandler's two free throws capped a run of nine straight points to get New Orleans within 54-49, and the comeback was completed when second-round pick Adam Haluska hit back-to-back jumpers to start the fourth quarter to tie it at 70.
Haluska scored 12 points, including two free throws with 9.3 seconds left, in his debut and first-round pick Julian Wright had three points and eight rebounds in nine minutes.
Draft picks Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry didn't play for the Rockets, who fired Jeff Van Gundy after amassing the fourth-best record in the Western Conference before blowing a 2-0 lead against Utah in the first-round of the playoffs last season.
source : NBA.com
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Hornets Come Back To Beat Rockets
Nuggets Defeat Clippers In Preseason Opener
Denver 119, L.A. Clippers 107
DENVER, Oct. 9 (AP) ?Carmelo Anthony and Von Wafer each scored 17 points, leading the Denver Nuggets to a 119-107 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night in the first exhibition game for both teams.
Marcus Camby had 13 points and 23 rebounds for Denver. J.R. Smith scored 15 points, but was 0-for-7 on 3-pointers.
Tim Thomas led the Clippers with 19 points and Guillermo Diaz added 16. First-round draft choice Al Thornton had nine points and six rebounds.
The Nuggets were missing Chucky Atkins, who had a strained right groin, and didn't dress Nene or Eduardo Najera. Atkins is expected to miss one more exhibition game.
Clippers starters Cuttino Mobley, Sam Cassell and Chris Kaman did not play. Mobley sat out with a strained calf muscle.
source : NBA.com
Nuggets Defeat Clippers In Preseason Opener
Denver 119, L.A. Clippers 107
DENVER, Oct. 9 (AP) ?Carmelo Anthony and Von Wafer each scored 17 points, leading the Denver Nuggets to a 119-107 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night in the first exhibition game for both teams.
Marcus Camby had 13 points and 23 rebounds for Denver. J.R. Smith scored 15 points, but was 0-for-7 on 3-pointers.
Tim Thomas led the Clippers with 19 points and Guillermo Diaz added 16. First-round draft choice Al Thornton had nine points and six rebounds.
The Nuggets were missing Chucky Atkins, who had a strained right groin, and didn't dress Nene or Eduardo Najera. Atkins is expected to miss one more exhibition game.
Clippers starters Cuttino Mobley, Sam Cassell and Chris Kaman did not play. Mobley sat out with a strained calf muscle.
source : NBA.com
Kings Beat Sonics in Debut of New Coaches
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Full Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supersonics | 30 | 26 | 24 | 18 | 98 | ||||
| Kings | 33 | 26 | 27 | 18 | 104 |
Sacramento 104, Seattle 98
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 9 (AP) -- Kevin Martin scored 27 points to help the Sacramento Kings beat the Seattle SuperSonics 104-98 on Tuesday night in the debut of new coaches in Reggie Theus and P.J. Carlesimo.
Seattle rookie Kevin Durant, the No. 2 pick overall in the draft, struggled to contain Martin, who had 14 first-quarter points, and picked up his fourth foul in the second quarter on a charge. But Durant played well in the second half and finished with 12 points in 20 minutes.
Looking ready for the regular season, Martin was 7-of-11 from the field and made all 12 free throws for the Kings, who took a 59-56 lead into halftime and never trailed in the second half.
Mike Bibby scored 14 points, Brad Miller and John Salmons had 13, while Ron Artest added 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Damien Wilkins scored 18 points for Seattle, Delonte West had 14, Chris Wilcox scored 13 and Earl Watson added 12.
Theus returned to Arco Arena as Sacramento's coach. He played for the Kings in their inaugural Sacramento season in 1985-86. Carlesimo was on the other bench after the former San Antonio assistant left for Seattle during the summer.
On the court, veteran point guard Bibby was hustling on defense like he was trying to make the team, not be its star. Also notable was Miller, who lost 25 pounds in the offseason and had his hair styled in corn rows. He showed newfound quickness with a pair of dunks in the first half.
source : NBA.comYi, Bucks Rally Past Bulls
Milwaukee 93, Chicago 88
LA CROSSE, Wis., Oct. 7 (AP)-- Yi Jianlian made his debut for the Bucks, but fellow rookie Joakim Noah looked more like a polished pro in Milwaukee's 93-88 victory over the Chicago Bulls in the exhibition opener on Tuesday night.
Noah, who led Florida to back-to-back titles in college, was just as intense as he had been in his final game with the Gators when he entered late in the first quarter. The ninth pick of the draft opened with a slam and blocked Andrew Bogut's shot on the ensuing possession.
Noah finished with six points, four rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block in 23 minutes.
Yi, who fouled out in 16 minutes, came in with 59 seconds left to play in the first quarter to a raucous ovation and chants of "EE!'' He altered a shot by Thomas Gardner, who later dunked over him, but he struggled to defend the energetic Noah.
Yi, the 6-foot-11 power forward selected sixth, looked overmatched in his four minutes of play in the first half and picked up three quick fouls, the last for an illegal screen that sent him to the bench for a counseling session by Desmond Mason.
In the second half, Yi hit a 9-foot jumper and scored three points, but didn't have a rebound or an assist. Too often he looked tentative on offense, such as when he made a nice steal and had only Noah to beat. Instead of going to the basket strong, he neither hit the shot nor drew a foul.
Noah, meanwhile, heard his own name chanted among the hundreds of Bulls fans in the sellout crowd of 6,118 at the former CBA venue, the first time the Bucks had played there in eight years.
Bogut scored 14 points for the Bucks, Charlie Bell 13 and Royal Ivey 10. Chicago got 13 from Andres Nocioni and 10 apiece from Luol Deng, Ben Wallace and rookie Aaron Gray.
source : NBA.comHoward, Nowitzki Send Mavs Past Spurs
Dallas 88, San Antonio 67
Josh Howard scored 18 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 13 points and eight rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the San Antonio Spurs 88-67 on Tuesday night in the preseason opener for both teams.
Jose Barea had 13 points, 11 in the fourth quarter, and Brandon Bass had 10 points and seven rebounds for Dallas.
Manu Ginobili, Brent Barry and Matt Bonner all scored 14 points to pace the Spurs, who shot 31 percent from the field.
Dallas led by as many as 11 early in the third quarter, but San Antonio narrowed the deficit to 54-50.
Bass hit three straight shots and Jason Terry added a basket to cap an 8-3 run to close the quarter, helping Dallas build a 62-53 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Dallas held a 23-16 lead after one quarter behind Howard's eight points and four rebounds. The Mavericks built a 42-36 halftime advantage, with Howard leading the way with 13 points.
Both teams played their starters extensively in the opening three quarters, with the coaches going with reserves and rookies the rest of the way.
Daniels, Wizards Stop Cavaliers
Washington 81, Cleveland 62
It's a good thing the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards have a few more weeks to work out the kinks.
Antonio Daniels scored 12 points, Gilbert Arenas had nine in his first game back from offseason knee surgery and the Wizards beat the Cavaliers 81-62 on Tuesday night in an NBA preseason matchup of playoff teams from last season.
Superstar LeBron James scored only three points on 1-of-5 shooting and played just 15 minutes for the Cavs, who swept the Wizards 4-0 in the first round last April on their way to an Eastern Conference title.
Daniel Gibson started at point guard for Cleveland and had 13 points. The Cavs shot just 31 percent from the floor and had 27 turnovers, a stat certain to infuriate coach Mike Brown.
As the Cavaliers fired up brick after brick in the third quarter, one paying customer voiced his frustration toward Brown.
"Hey, Mike, do you have them take any shots at practice?'' he yelled.
It didn't look like it.
Arenas was relegated to the role of cheerleader during last season's first-round series against Cleveland after tearing up his knee in a game. A summer spent in grueling rehab sessions seems to have paid off as the All-Star moved well.
It's his touch that was off, as Agent Zero went just 2-of-11 from the floor.
About the only highlight in a first half filled with airballs, turnovers and playground-style hoops was a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Arenas that put the Wizards ahead 45-29 at the break.
Washington outscored Cleveland 29-14 in the second quarter.
Before the game, James, who caused a stir last week when he showed up at an Indians playoff game wearing a New York Yankees cap, predicted Cleveland would win the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox.
The Indians eliminated the Yankees in the first round on Monday.
"I think Cleveland is going to win,'' he said. "Like I've said before, if there was going to be a team who beat the Yankees, I wanted it to be the Indians. I think Cleveland will do the same thing it did in New York.''
The Cavaliers played without two key contributors from last season's team: guard Sasha Pavlovic and forward Anderson Varejao. The two restricted free agents recently turned down one-year qualifying offers from the club and their agents are holding them out for long-term deals they may never get.
Cleveland appears intent on moving on without the pair, who could both end up playing in Europe.
The Cavs, who will leave on an eight-day trip to China following Friday's game against Seattle, were also without guard Eric Snow, who underwent knee surgery last week and is expected to miss the entire exhibition season.
source : NBA.comDeng Expands His Game Overseas
What price freedom?
That's a question Bulls forward Luol Deng hopes he can answer now that he is a citizen of Great Britain. His family put down roots there after escaping the civil-war strife of his native Sudan, where Deng's father, the Minister of Transport, was jailed for three months.
Deng, who gained British citizenship last year, was granted political asylum there in 1993, when he was 8. Before that, Deng, his eight siblings and two aunts lived in Egypt while his parents were in London trying to gain asylum.
In return, Deng is trying to lead the British national team into the upper echelon of international basketball and to a berth in the 2012 Olympics in London.
''It's hard sometimes to repay a country back,'' Deng said. ''But the position we were put in, to just play basketball and try to develop the game there, that's something I know how to do. I just feel like going back and doing that for a country that did that for my family. It's not really a big commitment.''
So Deng spent the summer with the British team, traversing cities across Europe as it won six games to reach its first goal of advancing to the A Division of the European Championship.
The experience differed greatly from the pampered travels of an NBA team used to five-star hotels and dining.
''In Belarus, they had police officers [by the arena] with machine guns,'' Deng said.
''You had a roommate in small hotels in small cities. We tried to stay with pasta and chicken [for pregame meals], but a lot of times we got something else. I made a lot of trips to McDonald's.''
Deng's hunger to improve and his serious work ethic continue to impress the Bulls' front office.
And general manager John Paxson said he knows his ongoing contract negotiations with Deng's agent -- which could lead to a five-year contract worth more than $50 million before the season opens Oct. 31 -- will not change Deng.
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source : suntimes.com
Spain’s Unicaja Tames Grizzlies
Memphis is scheduled to play Estudiantes on Thursday before returning to the United States. The Grizzlies open the regular season at home against the defending champion Spurs on Oct. 31.
SIXERS WAIVE SHAGARI ALLEYNE
Philadelphia 76ers President Billy King announced today that the team has waived center Shagari Alleyne. The roster currently stands at 16.
Alleyne (7-3, 271) was an early entry candidate for the 2007 NBA Draft. He played his first three collegiate seasons at the University of Kentucky before transferring to Manhattan University prior to the start of last season. Due to NCAA transfer regulations, Alleyne was forced to sit out all of 2006-07 with the Jaspers.
During his three seasons at Kentucky, Alleyne appeared in 69 games with two starts, averaging 2.0 points, 1.4 and 0.91 blocks. For his career, he shot 57.0% from the floor and 65.2% from the foul line. Alleyne scored a career-high 16 points his junior season against Georgia State. His sophomore season, he tallied 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks against LSU and 11 points, 8 boards and 6 blocks vs. Morehead State.
A standout player at Rice High School in New York, Alleyne averaged 21.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks his senior season. As a junior, he helped lead Rice to city and state titles.
source : NBA.comGarbajosa, Calderon Excited To Play Host In Spain
MADRID–It was with a wry little smile that Jorge Garbajosa tried to explain what it will be like here for the Raptors.
"Obviously, it's going to be a little bit busy but it is a pleasure for us to come back to our city with the Raptors organization," the native of Madrid said of the final four days of the team's European working vacation. "We have some appearances and some different places to go but we will have a very good time."
Garbajosa knows there is basketball work that must be done, but he also knows there is much fun to be had and as the unofficial tour guide between now and Friday, he's right in the thick of planning it.
And as he walked away at the end of a brief conversation, after assuring even media representatives that he was the go-to guy if there were any questions to be answered or recommendations to be made, he threw in one last little promise.
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source : thestar.com
EDDY RX: 2 WEEKS ON SHELF
October 9, 2007 -- COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Knicks' season did not implode yesterday. Eddy Curry - who injured his shoulder Friday during a drill - is expected to be back for the opener in Cleveland on Nov. 2.
An MRI revealed Curry has a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and the team indicated he'll be out about two weeks.
That means he could miss five of their seven exhibition games, including last night's preseason-opening 101-92 victory over the Sixers at the University of South Carolina campus. But that's nothing compared to what might have been.
"I think it's definitely good news," Curry said at the morning shoot-around. "Going in, we were just hoping the rotator cuff was healthy. It was. It was unharmed, so it's definitely good news."
The Knicks won't set a timetable until today, after team orthopedist Dr. Answorth Allen studies the MRI. The Knicks want to confirm that local doctors didn't miss anything and that surgery is not required - their belief now.
"If this is going to be a long-term thing, yeah [it hurts]," coach Isiah Thomas said. "But if [he's] going to miss a couple of weeks and we're going to fall apart in a couple of weeks, then we shouldn't be doing this."
Curry claimed it was "very realistic" he could be ready next Wednesday in Boston, but that's a big stretch. It's not his decision. The Knicks' medical staff plan to be extra cautious, especially in the wake of rushing back David Lee and Quentin Richardson last season and allowing Jamal Crawford to play with a stress fracture.
Zach Randolph made a sharp debut last night with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. But he may not see much time with Curry.
"He's got to get right," Randolph said of Curry. "That's the most important thing. He's not going to be out for no month. We definitely want to get chemistry ... but it's preseason."
source : nypost.com
Pistons Beat Undermanned Heat
Detroit 103, Miami 86
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Oct. 8 (AP) -- Tayshaun Prince scored 13 points and Chauncey Billups added 12 to help the Detroit Pistons beat the undermanned Miami Heat 103-86 in the exhibition opener Monday night.
The Heat were missing Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade and Alonzo Mourning, who all stayed in Florida to deal with injuries. Udonis Haslem and Antoine Walker spent the night on the bench.
Detroit had its regular lineup, other than unsigned Chris Webber, and dominated from beginning to end.
Richard Hamilton scored 11 for Detroit, including a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line, while Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess combined for 15 rebounds in 42 minutes.
source : NBA.com
Randolph Leads Knicks To Preseason Win Over 76ers
New York 101, Philadelphia 92
COLUMBIA, S.C., Oct. 8 (AP)-- New York coach Isiah Thomas knew what he had in standout forward Zach Randolph.
New York's biggest offseason acquisition scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the Knicks' 101-92 victory over Philadelphia on Monday night as both teams opened preseason play.
Thomas was clearly focused on improving his team's performance upon his arrival.
Randolph could help the Knicks a lot this season.
He averaged 23 points and 10 rebounds for Portland last year. The Knicks traded Steve Francis and Channing Frye to the Trail Blazers in a draft-night deal for the 6-foot-9 Randolph. New York also got Fred Jones and Dan Dickau, who has since been waived.
Randolph showed his worth quickly against the 76ers. He hit consecutive outside jumpers as New York led 11-5. Randolph made his next three shots and the Knicks took a 40-28 lead.
Thomas had hoped to see Randolph and last year's top scorer, Eddy Curry, paired on the front line. But Curry went back to New York after an MRI revealed a labral tear in his right shoulder. He will be evaluated by the team's orthopedist Tuesday.
David Lee led the Knicks with 18 points.
Andre Miller had 17 points to lead Philadelphia.
source : NBA.com
