četvrtak, 23.12.2010.
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS DECIDE TO GO WITHOUT THE GAME PLAN: Larry Brown OUT, Paul Silas IN
NBA TOP TEN PLAYS OF THE DAY: DECEMBER 22ND
WEDNESDAY'S GAME RECAPS
Boozer scores 30 points in Bulls’ victory - The Chicago Bulls are 9-3 since Carlos Boozer returned after missing the first 15 games with a broken hand. He showed why Wednesday night—at the Washington Wizards’ expense. Boozer had 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, played the final 7 minutes with five fouls and scored the clinching points in the Bulls’ 87-80 victory over the Wizards... Boozer and Derrick Rose, who finished with 25 points, had sparked the Bulls on a run to take the lead in the third quarter. The duo combined to score 23 of the Bulls’ 27 points in the quarter and Chicago moved into the lead midway through the period with a 13-0 run, holding Washington scoreless for nearly 4 1/2 minutes.
Hamilton scores 35 points, Pistons rout Raptors - This time, the Detroit Pistons weren’t going to let a big lead slip away. Richard Hamilton scored a season-high 35 points, Rodney Stuckey had 21 and the Pistons beat Toronto 115-93 on Wednesday night, snapping a five-game losing streak against the Raptors. Charlie Villanueva had 18 points and former Raptors star Tracy McGrady scored a season-high 17 to help the Pistons win for the third time in four games since blowing a 25-point lead to Toronto... The Pistons fell one point shy of matching a season high and ended an eight-game road skid, winning away from home for the first time since Nov. 14 at Sacramento... Leandro Barbosa scored 21 points, Linas Kleiza had 19 and Andrea Bargnani 16 for Toronto. DeMar DeRozan and Ed Davis each scored 10 points and Jose Calderon had 13 assists for Toronto, the third straight time he’s reached double digits. The Raptors had a season-high 24 turnovers, eclipsing the 21 they had in a Nov. 5 road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Healthy Johnson, Hawks beat Cavaliers 98-84 - Joe Johnson’s first game with 20 points in almost a month helped the Atlanta Hawks recover from a sluggish start against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Johnson scored 23 points in his best game since his return from surgery on his right elbow to lead the Hawks past Antawn Jamison and the Cavaliers, 98-84 on Wednesday night. Johnson missed nine games after the surgery and then struggled to regain his form in his first three games back in action. He returned to the form of the All-Star who has averaged more than 20 points in each of his first five seasons in Atlanta... Al Horford had 18 points, Marvin Williams added 17 and Smith had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks. Mo Williams had 18 points and Daniel Gibson added 12 for Cleveland. The Cavaliers have lost 12 straight on the road and 12 of 13 overall.
Celtics beat 76ers 84-80 for 14th straight win - Point guard Rajon Rondo, after getting off to the best start of his career, has missed six of the 14 wins. Backup Delonte West missed the last 12. Shaquille O’Neal sat out four. Jermaine O’Neal hasn’t played since the winning streak began. And Kendrick Perkins, the starting center on last season’s Eastern Conference champions, hasn’t gotten on the floor all season. “Usually, when you’re on a winning streak, everybody’s healthy, everybody’s playing well and you’re rolling,” Rivers said Wednesday night after the Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 84-80 for their 14th win in a row. “You could make the case it’s the opposite with us.” Ray Allen scored 22 points, and Paul Pierce recovered after missing his first seven shots to score 11 with four key baskets in the second half. Shaquille O’Neal had 13 points and nine rebounds, but he missed two free throws with 1:02 left and Boston nursing a two-point lead.
Knicks run past Thunder to snap 3-game skid - Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points, Wilson Chandler added 21, and the Knicks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-98 on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak. Rookie Landry Fields had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who took advantage of an Oklahoma City team that appeared to leave its legs in Charlotte. New York got its transition game going late in the first half, never really slowed down in the second, and beat the Thunder for the first time in four meetings... In a game featuring the NBA’s top two scorers, Stoudemire nearly matched league leader Kevin Durant, who finished with 26. But Stoudemire had far more help, with the Knicks putting six players in double figures. Raymond Felton added 12 points and 10 assists.
Sloan moves to 3rd place on wins list, Jazz beat Timberwolves - No deficit is too big for the Utah Jazz to overcome and no lead is too great for the Minnesota Timberwolves to squander. That much has been clear all season, especially Wednesday night. Al Jefferson had 23 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks against his former team and Jerry Sloan moved into sole possession of third place on the career victories list in the Jazz’s 112-107 victory over the Timberwolves. Jefferson scored 21 points in the second half and Deron Williams added 25 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the Jazz, who came back from 12 points down at the start of the fourth quarter... Kevin Love had 25 points and 19 rebounds and Michael Beasley added 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolves. They have lost seven straight games and 15 of their last 17 to take their usual place in the Northwest Division cellar... Paul Millsap had 23 points and 11 rebounds and converted two three-point plays in the final 2 minutes to help the Jazz rally.
Okafor leads Hornets past Nets, 105-91 - The New Orleans Hornets built a lead that was too big to blow in the final seconds this time. Emeka Okafor and Chris Paul made sure of that. Okafor had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Paul added 12 points and 14 assists, and the Hornets beat New Jersey 105-91 on Wednesday night to snap a demoralizing two-game skid in which leads at Detroit and Indiana vanished in the final seconds... David West and Marcus Thornton each scored 18 points and Marco Belinelli added 14 for the Hornets, who led by as much as 22 points, at 100-78 on Okafor’s running hook with six minutes left in the fourth quarter. New Orleans also outrebounded New Jersey 48-30, and Williams said Okafor had “a lot to do with our rebound margin.” ... Devin Harris had 21 points and eight assists for New Jersey, which led briefly in the first half but by no more than a point. Harris scored on an array of jump shots and slashing drives that wrong-footed Hornets defenders on several occasions. He just didn’t have enough help. Brook Lopez had 16 points, while Sasha Vujacic added 12 and Derrick Favors 10 for the Nets, who shot 45.7 percent (37 of 81).
NBA-best Spurs beat Anthony-less Nuggets - Manu Ginobili scored 22 points and buried the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the fourth, and the San Antonio Spurs beat Denver—playing without All-Star Carmelo Anthony following the death of his sister—109-103 on Wednesday night for their 10th victory in a row... Gary Neal also had 22 points for the Spurs, who outscored the Nuggets 29-14 in the fourth quarter as Denver made just two field goals in the final 5 minutes... Ty Lawson and J.R. Smith led the Nuggets with 22 points apiece, and Kenyon Martin played 17 minutes in his season debut after missing the first 26 games while recovering from knee surgery... Richard Jefferson scored 16 points and rookie Tiago Splitter had 12 points and nine rebounds in his most meaningful game yet with the Spurs.
Rockets beat Clips for 4th straight win - Kevin Martin didn’t have time to talk after leading the Rockets to a sloppy victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. He was already out the door and down the hallway, heading to a red-eye flight home with the team looking forward to a four-day Christmas break. Martin made his statement on the court by scoring 28 points, including four free throws in the final 16 seconds, and the Rockets held off the stubborn Clippers 97-92 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory after nearly blowing an 18-point lead in the second half... Luis Scola added 22 points and Battier had 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets, who never trailed and recorded their third wire-to-wire victory—one more than they had all of last season... Rookie Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 24 points and tied a season high with 18 rebounds—his 17th straight double-double and 23rd overall.
THURSDAY'S GAME NOTES
Miami Heat - update: Mike Miller participated in the Miami Heat’s entire practice on Wednesday, but the club is going to continue to monitor his minutes for the next while. Miller says his hand feels fine, now it’s just a matter of getting him back into game shape.
INJURY LIST - UPDATE
Rajon Rondo (ankle): isn’t likely to play on Christmas, but is getting closer
Jermaine O’Neal (knee): was supposed to return last night but had a bout with the flu
Carmelo Anthony (personal): missed last night due to a death in the family, expected back after Christmas
Jason Maxiell (finger): dislocated a finger last night and is listed day-to-day
Brian Cook (ankle): out three more weeks
Chris Kaman (ankle): out of his walking boot, still out indefinitely
George Hill (toe): didn’t travel with the team to tonight’s game in Orlando
Amir Johnson (back): left last night’s game with back spasms, day-to-day
