Magic 123, Warriors 117
OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 3 (AP) -- After Dwight Howard nearly cost the Orlando Magic the game in the final minute of regulation, he helped them win in overtime.
Howard scored four of his 18 points in the extra session and the NBA's top road team pulled off a hard-fought 123-117 victory against Golden State on Monday night to snap the Warriors' six-game winning streak.
Howard missed a dunk with 18.7 seconds left in regulation and was fouled, but smacked the padding on the basket standard for an automatic technical. Stephen Jackson hit a free throw for the infraction, then Howard converted both of his chances from the stripe - on a play that sent Golden State star Baron Davis to the bench for good with his sixth foul.
But Monta Ellis missed the first of two free throws with 17.4 seconds left and a 3-pointer at the buzzer. That came after Rashard Lewis made two free throws for the Magic to tie the game at 109 with 13.4 seconds left.
Jackson scored all 25 of his points after halftime in only the Warriors' second defeat in 11 games since an 0-6 start.
Jameer Nelson had 22 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, Keith Bogans also scored 22 points and Lewis added 20 for the Magic, who are 11-2 on the road this season and 16-4 overall under first-year coach Stan Van Gundy.
Ellis finished with 22 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and seven assists and Davis scored 19 points to go with nine assists for the Warriors, who certainly had their chances in this one.
Lewis' 3-pointer tied the game at 105 with 1:10 to play in the fourth quarter, then Hedo Turkoglu missed a long 3 from the top of the arc with a chance to give the Magic a lead. Turkoglu fouled Jackson on the other end and he converted both free throws with 24.5 seconds left. But Turkoglu still finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and two steals.
Jackson missed his first seven shots before playing like the forward who earned Western Conference player of the week honors. Howard, who got the same recognition in the East last week, watched as Orlando blew a nine-point fourth-quarter lead.
The Magic turned a five-point lead into a 90-81 cushion on one play with 11:24 left, when Turkoglu scored and was fouled and Warriors coach Don Nelson was whistled for a technical after apparently making it known he thought Al Harrington drew a charge.
Then Golden State scored seven straight points, including Davis' three-point play to make it 90-88. Andris Biedrins had a three-point play to give Golden State a brief lead with 7:22 remaining. Biedrins had his fourth double-double in six games with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Both teams played on consecutive nights but looked plenty fresh after the Warriors won at Seattle and Orlando against the Lakers in Los Angeles.
Lewis, the Magic's second-leading scorer behind Howard, didn't score his first points until making a running hook with 6:41 left in the second and Orlando led 57-48 at halftime. The Warriors shot 3-for-17 from 3-point range in the opening half.
Adonal Foyle returned to the Bay Area after the Warriors parted ways with the 10-year veteran and the team's longest-tenured player in August. Foyle had spent his entire career with Golden State, and received a warm welcome.
A video tribute was shown for Foyle before the game and he waved in all directions to greet the crowd, which gave him a standing ovation. The video board read "Thanks for a decade of commitment.''
source : NBA.com
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Orlando Needs Overtime To Beat Warriors
Atlanta Snaps Losing Streak In Philadelphia
Utah 110, Miami 101
SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 3 (AP) -- Mehmet Okur can't match Shaquille O'Neal's strength in the paint, so he moved outside. Way outside.
Okur scored 25 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead the Utah Jazz to a 110-101 victory over the reeling Miami Heat on Monday night.
"I felt great. My team does such a good job creating open shots for me. We really executed,'' said Okur, who missed Utah's last game with back spasms.
O'Neal didn't follow Okur out to the 3-point line, so the Jazz center was often all alone as he made four of five from beyond the arc.
When the Jazz didn't find Okur on the perimeter, their passes connected with Deron Williams slicing to the hoop or Carlos Boozer on the low block. Of their 42 field goals, the Jazz, who are the league leaders in assists at 26.6 per game, had assists on 38. Andrei Kirilenko had nine assists along with 10 points and seven rebounds.
"The way our team is structured if they double on anybody or try to hedge up on anybody, then somebody is going to get open. If we do the right thing and pass the ball, we get plenty of layups,'' Utah coach Jerry Sloan said.
Boozer had 24 points and 15 rebounds while Williams added 24 points and 15 assists to give the Jazz their eighth straight win at home.
Ricky Davis made two free throws to cut Utah's lead to 94-92 with 3:44 to play, but the Jazz went on a 9-2 run to clinch the game. Okur made a 3-pointer from the left side to cap the spurt that put the Jazz ahead 103-94 with 1:19 to play.
Dwyane Wade led Miami with 26 points and 10 assists but missed a crucial shot during Utah's final run and went just 6-of-12 from the free throw line.
"I think Dwyane has a little bit of fatigue,'' Miami coach Pat Riley said. "He's normally an 82-83 percent (free throw shooter) and in big fourth quarters, he'll make eight or 10 in a row. He's just off a little bit.''
Jason Williams and Davis both scored 15 points for the Heat, who have lost four of their last five games.
"They played physical, good, hard-nosed, get-to-the-basket basketball. There were a couple times where they beat us on simple cuts to the hoop,'' said O'Neal, who scored 12 points in 22 foul-hampered minutes.
Alonzo Mourning tied his season-high with 13 points for Miami and Daequan Cook had 11.
Utah won its last game, 120-96 over the Los Angeles Lakers, without Boozer, who nursed a sprained right ankle, and Okur.
But the Jazz needed their two big men against the Heat, who shot 53 percent from the field and outscored the Jazz 54-48 in the paint.
"They're a team that has been struggling but they came at us real hard tonight,'' Deron Williams said.
The Heat were hurt by their ineptitude at the free throw line where they went 16-of-31.
The win snapped a seven-game Jazz losing streak against Miami. Utah last defeated the Heat, 97-85, on Jan. 15, 2004.
"This team brings out the best in you,'' Wade said about the Jazz. "I thought we played a great game but they just made more plays when it counted to win the ballgame.''
For the third straight time, Riley was denied his 1,200th win. It may not get any easier as the Heat have four more games on their six-game Western Conference road trip.
Behind Wade's 14 first-half points, Miami led by as many as eight points early and shot 60 percent to lead 53-52 at halftime.
source : NBA.com
Results Of 3rd December
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Full Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trail Blazers | 31 | 19 | 28 | 28 | 106 | ||||
| Grizzlies | 24 | 33 | 23 | 25 | 105 |
source : NBA.com
Utah Jazz: Sloan Will Be Back
That the Jazz announced a contract extension for coach Jerry Sloan before Monday's game was hardly a surprise, with the two sides having agreed to the basics of the deal as far back as training camp.
That the extension added only one year to Sloan's contract, however, did come as a surprise, accompanied by questions about whether Sloan's 21st season in Utah possibly will be his last.
Past Sloan extensions typically have added two years to his contract. Jazz owner Larry Miller portrayed the 65-year-old Sloan as eager to continue as coach but more comfortable committing to one year rather than two.
"I just take it a year at a time, a day at a time and that's all I've ever done," said Sloan, who took over as Jazz coach in December 1988 and is the longest tenured coach in major pro sports. "The rest of it really isn't a big deal."
The prospect of this being his last contract is "the furthest thing from my mind," Sloan added.
Miller questioned in an October interview with the Tribune whether Sloan's priorities had changed since getting remarried and called it "really iffy" that Sloan would continue as coach past the 2008-09 season. Those issues have been addressed, Miller said Monday.
"What was interesting to me," Miller said, "was that he was more definitive than he'd been before about, 'Yeah I want to be here' and 'I know I want to be here
one more year' and I got the feeling that he finally relaxed and trusted us."
Miller made the analogy of Sloan in previous negotiations having the insecurity of a ninth-grader worried about being cut from the team. There's evidently still some of that in Sloan, judging from his comments about the new deal.
"I didn't want to put them in any bind," Sloan said. "Anytime they want to dispose of me, whatever they want to do, I hope it's an amicable situation. I never want to put anybody against a wall and tell 'em I want a 10-year contract or something like that.
"There are coaches in that locker room [that] are better coaches than I am. I think I've just been lucky."
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source : sltrib.com
Dwight Howard, Stephen Jackson Win Weekly Honors
NEW YORK, Dec. 3, 2007 – The Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard and the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Jackson today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 26 through Sunday, Dec. 2.
Howard led the Magic to a 3-1 week, averaging 23.8 points and 15.3 rebounds in 38.8 minutes. On Nov. 28 at Seattle, Howard tallied a career-high 39 points, to go along with 16 rebounds and five blocks. Howard recorded his eighth career 20-point/20-rebound game on Nov. 30 at Phoenix scoring 30 points and grabbing 23 rebounds. This is Howard’s second Player of the Week nod this season.
Jackson led the Warriors to a 4-0 week averaging 23.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.8 steals in 41.5 minutes. The Warriors are 8-1 in the nine games since Jackson’s return to the team, after going 1-6 without him. On the defensive end, at Houston on Nov. 29, Jackson helped limit Tracy McGrady to 11 points (15 points under his average entering that game) and helped hold Kevin Durant to six points (14.4 points under his average entering that game) at Seattle on Dec. 2.
Here is a closer look at the week for Howard and Jackson:
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
Nov. 26 @ Portland: Tallied nine points, 14 rebounds and three blocks in an 85-74 win over the Trail Blazers.
Nov. 28 @ Seattle: Poured in 39 points to go along with 16 rebounds and five blocks in a 110-94 win over the SuperSonics.
Nov. 30 @ Phoenix: Collected 30 points, 23 rebounds and two blocks in a 106-110 loss to the Suns.
Dec. 2 @ L.A. Lakers: Notched 17 points, eight rebounds and five blocks in a 104-97 win over the Lakers.
Stephen Jackson, Golden State Warriors
Nov. 26 vs. Phoenix: Posted 32 points and nine rebounds in a 129-114 win over the Suns.
Nov. 28 @ Sacramento: Tallied 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and five blocks in a 103-96 win over the Kings.
Nov. 29 vs. Houston: Registered 19 points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals in a 113-94 win over the Rockets.
Dec. 2 @ Seattle: Collected 20 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 109-96 win over the SuperSonics.
Other nominees for Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Detroit’s Chauncey Billups, Indiana’s Jamaal Tinsley, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Kaman, New Orleans’ Chris Paul and Utah’s Deron Williams.
source : NBA.com
Duncan Probably OK: Star's Knee, Ankle Injuries Overshadow Spurs' Victory
The Franchise collapsed in a heap on the floor, writhing in pain and clutching his knee. Instinctively, Spurs center Francisco Elson knew that this was no good at all.
"Anybody going down is scary," Elson said. "But especially if it's Tim Duncan."
Indeed, the sight of Duncan in a heaving, crumpled pile on the floor during the first half of the Spurs' 100-79 victory over Portland on Sunday was enough to suck the oxygen out of the AT&T Center.
The preliminary diagnosis — bruised right knee, sprained right ankle but no apparent ligament damage — should serve as a defibrillator to restart the hearts of Spurs fans everywhere.
Duncan, injured when he got tangled up with Portland's James Jones with 7:40 left in the second quarter, likely will sit out Wednesday's game against Dallas and possibly more.
X-rays taken at the arena were negative, though the Spurs will await the results of an MRI today before breathing a full sigh of relief.
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source : mysanantonio.com
Marbury’s Father Dies During Knicks’ Loss
NEW YORK, Dec. 2 (AP) -- Don Marbury, the father of Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury, died Sunday night during the team's home loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Team spokesman Jonathan Supranowitz said no other information was immediately available, other than Don Marbury wasn't at Madison Square Garden when he died. Stephon Marbury was escorted out the arena by security shortly after the game.
Stephon Marbury, whose aunt recently died, scored 21 points Sunday night.
source : NBA.com
