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Whoever thinks that all jocks are dumb must not be a fan of the NBA. The world's top basketball league sports its fair share of blockheads and goons, but, by and large, is replete with guys whose agility is as mental as it is physical.
Such is the nature of the game itself. You can be a star in The Association by running faster, jumping higher and dunking harder than most. Just ask Blake Griffin, the depth of whose game is often overshadowed by his nightly aerial acrobatics with the Los Angeles Clippers.
But true superstardom in the NBA requires a certain cerebral brilliance and psychological edge. Michael Jordan was always an elite athlete, but what set him apart from high-flying contemporaries like Dominique Wilkins and Clyde Drexler was his psychopathic competitive drive and otherworldly understanding of the history and complexities of basketball.
The same goes for these seven guys—All-Stars, all-time greats and role players alike—who've hung around the league by way of brains as much as brawn, if not more so.
Such is the nature of the game itself. You can be a star in The Association by running faster, jumping higher and dunking harder than most. Just ask Blake Griffin, the depth of whose game is often overshadowed by his nightly aerial acrobatics with the Los Angeles Clippers.
But true superstardom in the NBA requires a certain cerebral brilliance and psychological edge. Michael Jordan was always an elite athlete, but what set him apart from high-flying contemporaries like Dominique Wilkins and Clyde Drexler was his psychopathic competitive drive and otherworldly understanding of the history and complexities of basketball.
The same goes for these seven guys—All-Stars, all-time greats and role players alike—who've hung around the league by way of brains as much as brawn, if not more so.
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Kobe and Vanessa Bryant are staying together. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar and his wife both announced they've called off their divorce Friday on social media.
Shortly after Vanessa posted the news on Instagram, Kobe confirmed it on Facebook less than an hour before the Lakers hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"I am happy to say that Vanessa and I are moving on with our lives together as a family," Bryant wrote. "When the show ends and the music stops, the journey is made beautiful by having that someone to share it with. Thank you all for your support and prayers!"
Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce in December 2011, seeking to end a marriage that began in April 2001 and survived a sexual assault accusation against the five-time NBA champion guard. The Bryants have two daughters, Natalia and Gianna.
But Kobe and Vanessa haven't acted much like a divorcing couple in the past year. Vanessa and the Bryant daughters have attended many Lakers home games, waiting for Bryant to emerge from the Lakers' locker room and leaving Staples Center together.
"We are pleased to announce that we have reconciled," Vanessa posted on Instagram. "Our divorce action will be dismissed. We are looking forward to our future together."
Vanessa Bryant stood by her husband when he was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman in Colorado in 2003, saying Kobe Bryant was only guilty of "the mistake of adultery." A year after the accusation, prosecutors dropped the charges because the woman did not want to go ahead with a trial.
Bryant is the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history in his 17th season with the Lakers, who drafted him in 1996. He is leading the NBA in scoring this season, and is very likely to play in his 15th NBA All-Star game next month in Houston.
Bryant met his wife at a music video shoot in 1999, when Vanessa Laine was 18 years old. They became engaged six months later.
Kobe Bryant, wife Vanessa call off their divorce | NBA-com
Shortly after Vanessa posted the news on Instagram, Kobe confirmed it on Facebook less than an hour before the Lakers hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"I am happy to say that Vanessa and I are moving on with our lives together as a family," Bryant wrote. "When the show ends and the music stops, the journey is made beautiful by having that someone to share it with. Thank you all for your support and prayers!"
Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce in December 2011, seeking to end a marriage that began in April 2001 and survived a sexual assault accusation against the five-time NBA champion guard. The Bryants have two daughters, Natalia and Gianna.
But Kobe and Vanessa haven't acted much like a divorcing couple in the past year. Vanessa and the Bryant daughters have attended many Lakers home games, waiting for Bryant to emerge from the Lakers' locker room and leaving Staples Center together.
"We are pleased to announce that we have reconciled," Vanessa posted on Instagram. "Our divorce action will be dismissed. We are looking forward to our future together."
Vanessa Bryant stood by her husband when he was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman in Colorado in 2003, saying Kobe Bryant was only guilty of "the mistake of adultery." A year after the accusation, prosecutors dropped the charges because the woman did not want to go ahead with a trial.
Bryant is the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history in his 17th season with the Lakers, who drafted him in 1996. He is leading the NBA in scoring this season, and is very likely to play in his 15th NBA All-Star game next month in Houston.
Bryant met his wife at a music video shoot in 1999, when Vanessa Laine was 18 years old. They became engaged six months later.
Kobe Bryant, wife Vanessa call off their divorce | NBA-com
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Saturday night's NBA action included a handful of blowout games, all of which featured an endless array of highlights, and some interesting tidbits to think about for the next few nights, until something else comes along to contradict that new thought.
It was a strange night for gamblers, as favorites went down left and right.
Atlanta was favored by three points but lost by 10 to the Washington Wizards, the Detroit Pistons were favored by two points but lost by three to the Jazz, Chicago was favored by 8.5 points but lost by 16 to the Suns, Memphis was favored by a point but lost by 21 points to the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers were favored by 13 points but ended their afternoon losing by three to the Magic.
So with such a strange night in the league, there's a lot that's just got to be left up to the old adage, "Anybody can beat anybody else on any given day." It's just that most of those games decided to fall on this day.
Let's take a look at just what did happen Saturday night and figure out what we should be able to take away from this weird day of basketball.
Read More: 8 Takeaways from Saturday Night's NBA Action | Bleacher Report
It was a strange night for gamblers, as favorites went down left and right.
Atlanta was favored by three points but lost by 10 to the Washington Wizards, the Detroit Pistons were favored by two points but lost by three to the Jazz, Chicago was favored by 8.5 points but lost by 16 to the Suns, Memphis was favored by a point but lost by 21 points to the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers were favored by 13 points but ended their afternoon losing by three to the Magic.
So with such a strange night in the league, there's a lot that's just got to be left up to the old adage, "Anybody can beat anybody else on any given day." It's just that most of those games decided to fall on this day.
Let's take a look at just what did happen Saturday night and figure out what we should be able to take away from this weird day of basketball.
Read More: 8 Takeaways from Saturday Night's NBA Action | Bleacher Report
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Rebuilding?
Rebuilt.
Every year, fate smiles on a misbegotten sports team. But the 2012-13 Houston Rockets? No one even thought fate would crack a grin. Heck, no one even thought fate would remember they were in the room.
Their roster was like a sandcastle decimated by an ocean wave. Of their top five per-game scorers last year, not one is with the team this year. In the face of such turnover, teams don't think of making the playoffs, or even sniffing the playoffs.
They hope to be competitive in most of their games. They hope for another piece in the following year's draft. And they hope they don't embarrass themselves along the way.
And yet, despite a three-game losing streak, if the playoffs began today, Houston would be the seventh seed.
Even in Inception, the dreams never went on for half a season.
Could this be real? James Harden is a top-five scorer. Chandler Parsons is a top-10 small forward. Omer Asik's rebound rate is tied for fifth in the NBA. Jeremy Lin is fifth in the NBA in steals per game.
The power forward rotation is solid. The backup center has at times been dominant. The backup guards have been big surprises.
The NBA's youngest team is also the second-highest scoring team and in eighth place in point differential.
All of these stats are surprises. But there's another, perhaps bigger, surprise.
This team is a pleasure to watch. And not just because they score like crazy.
It's because they seem to be crazy about each other.
Look at this play and you'll see what I mean. Asik blocks the shot. Harden races to save the ball before it goes out of bounds. Lin takes it upcourt and finds Asik for the flush. Unselfish—the Rockets are ninth in the league in assists per game—uncomplaining and enthusiastic, the Rockets look for all the world like they're enjoying themselves out there and caring about each other's success.
When's the last time you could say that about an NBA franchise?
Daryl Morey didn't intend to choose character guys. He chose guys who were undervalued, based on advanced statistics.
But maybe Morey stumbled onto something. Doesn't it stand to reason that guys who are statistically underrated would be character guys? I've never heard of an underrated diva, an underrated prima donna, an underrated bad attitude. It appears the side benefit of underrated players is this: Houston, we have no problems. (Unless you want to count Royce White. Since the Rockets haven't missed him, I don't.)
Other teams have rebuilt quickly before: the Boston Celtics became instant contenders when they added Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Likewise with the Miami Heat's enlistment of LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
But Houston didn't do it with superstars. They did it with young, relatively unknown guys who had something to prove.
Asik wanted to prove he was a starter. Harden wanted to show the NBA he was both a starter and a superstar. Parsons wanted everyone to know he deserved to be drafted much higher than 38th overall. Lin wanted to serve notice that Linsanity was not a fluke.
The result: a young, hardworking and enjoyable group of guys who have to earn everything they get...and are doing just that. These are guys the NBA just didn't fully appreciate. There's a reason the Thunder won 27 more games the year after they drafted Harden than they did the year before. Asik didn't play close to 36 minutes per game last year with the Bulls, but if he had, his 2.5 blocks and 13 rebounds per game would have led the league. Parsons was the SEC Player Of The Year in 2011: that's the SEC, as in the conference Kentucky plays in. Lin's run in February 2012 was arguably the NBA's most auspicious debut of all time—and he did it with New York's two star players out with injuries.
But hey, if the NBA didn't appreciate them, we in H-Town are glad to make up for it.
Rome may not have been built in a day. But Houston has been rebuilt in one offseason, and to paraphrase The Six Million Dollar Man, it's better, stronger and faster. The Rockets are way over their predicted victory total, way under the cap and way cool to root for.
And the good news is they're just getting started.
Houston Rockets' Success Is NBA's Biggest, Brightest Surprise | Bleacher Report
Rebuilt.
Every year, fate smiles on a misbegotten sports team. But the 2012-13 Houston Rockets? No one even thought fate would crack a grin. Heck, no one even thought fate would remember they were in the room.
Their roster was like a sandcastle decimated by an ocean wave. Of their top five per-game scorers last year, not one is with the team this year. In the face of such turnover, teams don't think of making the playoffs, or even sniffing the playoffs.
They hope to be competitive in most of their games. They hope for another piece in the following year's draft. And they hope they don't embarrass themselves along the way.
And yet, despite a three-game losing streak, if the playoffs began today, Houston would be the seventh seed.
Even in Inception, the dreams never went on for half a season.
Could this be real? James Harden is a top-five scorer. Chandler Parsons is a top-10 small forward. Omer Asik's rebound rate is tied for fifth in the NBA. Jeremy Lin is fifth in the NBA in steals per game.
The power forward rotation is solid. The backup center has at times been dominant. The backup guards have been big surprises.
The NBA's youngest team is also the second-highest scoring team and in eighth place in point differential.
All of these stats are surprises. But there's another, perhaps bigger, surprise.
This team is a pleasure to watch. And not just because they score like crazy.
It's because they seem to be crazy about each other.
Look at this play and you'll see what I mean. Asik blocks the shot. Harden races to save the ball before it goes out of bounds. Lin takes it upcourt and finds Asik for the flush. Unselfish—the Rockets are ninth in the league in assists per game—uncomplaining and enthusiastic, the Rockets look for all the world like they're enjoying themselves out there and caring about each other's success.
When's the last time you could say that about an NBA franchise?
Daryl Morey didn't intend to choose character guys. He chose guys who were undervalued, based on advanced statistics.
But maybe Morey stumbled onto something. Doesn't it stand to reason that guys who are statistically underrated would be character guys? I've never heard of an underrated diva, an underrated prima donna, an underrated bad attitude. It appears the side benefit of underrated players is this: Houston, we have no problems. (Unless you want to count Royce White. Since the Rockets haven't missed him, I don't.)
Other teams have rebuilt quickly before: the Boston Celtics became instant contenders when they added Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Likewise with the Miami Heat's enlistment of LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
But Houston didn't do it with superstars. They did it with young, relatively unknown guys who had something to prove.
Asik wanted to prove he was a starter. Harden wanted to show the NBA he was both a starter and a superstar. Parsons wanted everyone to know he deserved to be drafted much higher than 38th overall. Lin wanted to serve notice that Linsanity was not a fluke.
The result: a young, hardworking and enjoyable group of guys who have to earn everything they get...and are doing just that. These are guys the NBA just didn't fully appreciate. There's a reason the Thunder won 27 more games the year after they drafted Harden than they did the year before. Asik didn't play close to 36 minutes per game last year with the Bulls, but if he had, his 2.5 blocks and 13 rebounds per game would have led the league. Parsons was the SEC Player Of The Year in 2011: that's the SEC, as in the conference Kentucky plays in. Lin's run in February 2012 was arguably the NBA's most auspicious debut of all time—and he did it with New York's two star players out with injuries.
But hey, if the NBA didn't appreciate them, we in H-Town are glad to make up for it.
Rome may not have been built in a day. But Houston has been rebuilt in one offseason, and to paraphrase The Six Million Dollar Man, it's better, stronger and faster. The Rockets are way over their predicted victory total, way under the cap and way cool to root for.
And the good news is they're just getting started.
Houston Rockets' Success Is NBA's Biggest, Brightest Surprise | Bleacher Report
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This one won't be solved in one week or one year.
Kevin Durant and LeBron James play a perpetual game of anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better. It's the NBA's best individual rivalry since Magic Johnson and Larry Bird owned the 1980s. The one-upmanship never ends.
And right now, Durant is on top.
The Oklahoma City Thunder forward narrowly edged his Miami Heat counterpart in MVP voting by USA TODAY Sports' NBA power rankings committee. These are the two best players in the NBA by most measures, but picking between them is like splitting hairs.
DURANT: His 41 points lead Thunder to 30th win
LEBRON: His late missteps cost Heat win in Utah
Our committee — USA TODAY Sports' Adi Joseph, Kevin Spain and Jeff Zillgitt; Hoopsworld-com's Steve Kyler and Lang Greene; and the Detroit Free Press' Vincent Ellis — has gone back and forth seemingly every week. Things remain largely up in the air, and next week, James could be on top again.
Here's how close they were, plus the three other runners-up (voting before Monday's games; points on a 7-5-3-2-1 scale):
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder: three first-place votes, 34 points
LeBron James, Miami Heat: two first-place votes, 32 points
Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers: one first-place vote, 24 points
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks: 11 points
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers: three points
Also receiving votes were the San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan (two points) and Tony Parker (one) and the Houston Rockets' James Harden (one).
Durant had the upper hand in the team race, too, by a much easier margin. The Thunder, with the best record in the NBA, swept our team power rankings.
Here's the top five (points on a 30-29-28-...-3-2-1 scale):
Oklahoma City Thunder: six first-place votes, 180 points
Los Angeles Clippers: 174 points
San Antonio Spurs: 167 points
Miami Heat: 162 points
Memphis Grizzlies: 156 points
The rookie of the year voting has gone similarly for the past month and a half, with Damian Lillard nearly always sweeping the votes. But this week offered a slight upset. Lillard's comfortable edge on the opposition has slimmed as top pick and preseason favorite Anthony Davis has played more games.
Davis stole one first-place vote from Lillard. Here is the top three (points on a 5-3-1 scale):
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers: five first-place votes, 28 points
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets: one first-place vote, 16 points
Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons: six points
Also receiving votes were the Charlotte Bobcats' Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (three points) and Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal (one).
NBA power rankings: Kevin Durant, LeBron James still battling
Kevin Durant and LeBron James play a perpetual game of anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better. It's the NBA's best individual rivalry since Magic Johnson and Larry Bird owned the 1980s. The one-upmanship never ends.
And right now, Durant is on top.
The Oklahoma City Thunder forward narrowly edged his Miami Heat counterpart in MVP voting by USA TODAY Sports' NBA power rankings committee. These are the two best players in the NBA by most measures, but picking between them is like splitting hairs.
DURANT: His 41 points lead Thunder to 30th win
LEBRON: His late missteps cost Heat win in Utah
Our committee — USA TODAY Sports' Adi Joseph, Kevin Spain and Jeff Zillgitt; Hoopsworld-com's Steve Kyler and Lang Greene; and the Detroit Free Press' Vincent Ellis — has gone back and forth seemingly every week. Things remain largely up in the air, and next week, James could be on top again.
Here's how close they were, plus the three other runners-up (voting before Monday's games; points on a 7-5-3-2-1 scale):
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder: three first-place votes, 34 points
LeBron James, Miami Heat: two first-place votes, 32 points
Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers: one first-place vote, 24 points
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks: 11 points
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers: three points
Also receiving votes were the San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan (two points) and Tony Parker (one) and the Houston Rockets' James Harden (one).
Durant had the upper hand in the team race, too, by a much easier margin. The Thunder, with the best record in the NBA, swept our team power rankings.
Here's the top five (points on a 30-29-28-...-3-2-1 scale):
Oklahoma City Thunder: six first-place votes, 180 points
Los Angeles Clippers: 174 points
San Antonio Spurs: 167 points
Miami Heat: 162 points
Memphis Grizzlies: 156 points
The rookie of the year voting has gone similarly for the past month and a half, with Damian Lillard nearly always sweeping the votes. But this week offered a slight upset. Lillard's comfortable edge on the opposition has slimmed as top pick and preseason favorite Anthony Davis has played more games.
Davis stole one first-place vote from Lillard. Here is the top three (points on a 5-3-1 scale):
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers: five first-place votes, 28 points
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets: one first-place vote, 16 points
Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons: six points
Also receiving votes were the Charlotte Bobcats' Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (three points) and Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal (one).
NBA power rankings: Kevin Durant, LeBron James still battling
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2006/12/07
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Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday he has been assured he will get a chance to present the NBA's Board of Governors with a counter offer to a proposed deal that could move the team to Seattle.
It was the latest twist in a week of various rumors and reports since news first broke last Wednesday that the team's owners, the Maloof family, were in negotiations to sell the team to a Seattle group led by Chris Hansen.
Johnson, a former NBA All-Star, said he is continuing to develop a plan to keep the team where it has played since 1985.
That includes finding a local ownership group that can counter the $525 million that Hansen's group reportedly would pay as well as help build an arena in Sacramento.
The arena efforts appeared to get a significant boost when entertainment group AEG, which last year had agreed to be a partner with the city in building an arena, told The Sacramento Bee that it was still interested in the project.
AEG chief executive Tim Leiweke said Johnson and NBA commissioner David Stern had asked him to "re-engage on the issue," according to The Bee. He also told the newspaper that, "to the commissioner's credit, I don't think he ever forgot about Sacramento."
Johnson said a new arena is a must for the team to stay in Sacramento.
Johnson, in remarks reported by The Bee, also called "outrageous" the reported $525 million offer from Hansen, which would be the most ever paid for an NBA team. Johnson said he continues to work on putting together an ownership group that could counter the offer and has received permission from NBA Commissioner David Stern to present that directly to the NBA's Board of Governors, which is expected to meet in April.
A Sacramento offer would not have to include a relocation fee, that would likely be at least $30 million, or repay a $77 million loan the city gave the Maloofs.
The Sacramento ownership group would likely include Mark Mastrov, the founder of 24-Hour Fitness. He made a failed attempt to buy the Golden State Warriors in 2010.
As has been the case since reports first surfaced of a possible sale, there was no official comment from Hansen's group, the NBA or the Maloofs.
Johnson said he remains optimistic the team will stay in Sacramento.
"We want this to be the final act of a saga that's gone on for far too long," he said.
Johnson added, "I hope Seattle gets another team. They deserve another team. They didn't deserve to lose their team in the first place. It just won't be the Sacramento Kings if we have anything to do with it."
In what some in Sacramento also were portraying as a potentially significant breakthrough, Johnson also said he would not be opposed to the Maloofs remaining as part of the ownership group "if they want to remain a part of this team and this community."
The Seattle Times reported last week that one potential snag in the negotiations between the Maloofs and the Seattle group was that the Maloofs wanted to retain a small percentage of the team, which would allow them to remain involved in the operations of the franchise. That has been characterized as a potential "deal-breaker" between the Maloofs and the Seattle group.
A USA Today story, meanwhile, stated that Johnson's goal is to "force the NBA's hand" by showing that Sacramento also has a viable new ownership group and arena plan, with one option being for the NBA to consider awarding Seattle an expansion team while allowing the Kings to stay.
Stern has consistently said in recent years that the NBA is not interested in expanding, and it's unclear if the NBA's stance on that has changed.
The USA Today story said league insiders would "be eager to approve a move to Seattle." But it also reported that Sacramento is beginning a fight "that could turn ugly here."
Hansen is believed to want to complete the sale in time to meet the NBA's deadline of March 1 to apply for relocation for the 2013-14 season.
A Yahoo-com report Monday said the NBA's relocation committee was briefed last week on the outline of a deal between Hansen and the Maloofs.
Hansen has a tentative deal with the City of Seattle and King County to build a new arena in the Sodo District once he and his investment group secure a team.
Plans to build a $490 million arena were approved by the Seattle City Council and the Metropolitan King County Council last October, though the city remains in the environmental-review process to evaluate locations.
City council member Tim Burgess said Tuesday that the council hasn't been informed of any possible sale. He said the council's Central Staff, in meetings it has held in recent weeks related to issues resulting from the arena deal, had gotten "hints that something might be happening. But there were no specifics shared."
Seattle has been without an NBA team since 2008, when the Sonics were relocated to Oklahoma City by new owner Clay Bennett.
Sacramento mayor says NBA will allow counter offer for Kings | NBA | The Seattle Times
It was the latest twist in a week of various rumors and reports since news first broke last Wednesday that the team's owners, the Maloof family, were in negotiations to sell the team to a Seattle group led by Chris Hansen.
Johnson, a former NBA All-Star, said he is continuing to develop a plan to keep the team where it has played since 1985.
That includes finding a local ownership group that can counter the $525 million that Hansen's group reportedly would pay as well as help build an arena in Sacramento.
The arena efforts appeared to get a significant boost when entertainment group AEG, which last year had agreed to be a partner with the city in building an arena, told The Sacramento Bee that it was still interested in the project.
AEG chief executive Tim Leiweke said Johnson and NBA commissioner David Stern had asked him to "re-engage on the issue," according to The Bee. He also told the newspaper that, "to the commissioner's credit, I don't think he ever forgot about Sacramento."
Johnson said a new arena is a must for the team to stay in Sacramento.
Johnson, in remarks reported by The Bee, also called "outrageous" the reported $525 million offer from Hansen, which would be the most ever paid for an NBA team. Johnson said he continues to work on putting together an ownership group that could counter the offer and has received permission from NBA Commissioner David Stern to present that directly to the NBA's Board of Governors, which is expected to meet in April.
A Sacramento offer would not have to include a relocation fee, that would likely be at least $30 million, or repay a $77 million loan the city gave the Maloofs.
The Sacramento ownership group would likely include Mark Mastrov, the founder of 24-Hour Fitness. He made a failed attempt to buy the Golden State Warriors in 2010.
As has been the case since reports first surfaced of a possible sale, there was no official comment from Hansen's group, the NBA or the Maloofs.
Johnson said he remains optimistic the team will stay in Sacramento.
"We want this to be the final act of a saga that's gone on for far too long," he said.
Johnson added, "I hope Seattle gets another team. They deserve another team. They didn't deserve to lose their team in the first place. It just won't be the Sacramento Kings if we have anything to do with it."
In what some in Sacramento also were portraying as a potentially significant breakthrough, Johnson also said he would not be opposed to the Maloofs remaining as part of the ownership group "if they want to remain a part of this team and this community."
The Seattle Times reported last week that one potential snag in the negotiations between the Maloofs and the Seattle group was that the Maloofs wanted to retain a small percentage of the team, which would allow them to remain involved in the operations of the franchise. That has been characterized as a potential "deal-breaker" between the Maloofs and the Seattle group.
A USA Today story, meanwhile, stated that Johnson's goal is to "force the NBA's hand" by showing that Sacramento also has a viable new ownership group and arena plan, with one option being for the NBA to consider awarding Seattle an expansion team while allowing the Kings to stay.
Stern has consistently said in recent years that the NBA is not interested in expanding, and it's unclear if the NBA's stance on that has changed.
The USA Today story said league insiders would "be eager to approve a move to Seattle." But it also reported that Sacramento is beginning a fight "that could turn ugly here."
Hansen is believed to want to complete the sale in time to meet the NBA's deadline of March 1 to apply for relocation for the 2013-14 season.
A Yahoo-com report Monday said the NBA's relocation committee was briefed last week on the outline of a deal between Hansen and the Maloofs.
Hansen has a tentative deal with the City of Seattle and King County to build a new arena in the Sodo District once he and his investment group secure a team.
Plans to build a $490 million arena were approved by the Seattle City Council and the Metropolitan King County Council last October, though the city remains in the environmental-review process to evaluate locations.
City council member Tim Burgess said Tuesday that the council hasn't been informed of any possible sale. He said the council's Central Staff, in meetings it has held in recent weeks related to issues resulting from the arena deal, had gotten "hints that something might be happening. But there were no specifics shared."
Seattle has been without an NBA team since 2008, when the Sonics were relocated to Oklahoma City by new owner Clay Bennett.
Sacramento mayor says NBA will allow counter offer for Kings | NBA | The Seattle Times
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The strong play of the Toronto Raptors' reserves was marred by a questionable call on Wednesday.
Chicago's Luol Deng hit an 18-foot pull-up jump shot to give the Bulls a 107-105 lead with 3.3 seconds left in overtime. Toronto called a timeout and on the ensuing inbound Amir Johnson got hold of the ball.
Bulls forward Joakim Noah fouled Johnson as he threw the ball, but the referee didn't call a personal foul. Instead, the Raptors had to inbound the ball again with a second left on the clock.
Jose Calderon's shot from three-point range bounced off the rim to seal the Chicago win.
"There was pretty much nobody else to pass to, so I decided to go to the basket and try to draw a foul," said Johnson. "I thought it was a shooting foul but the ref said it was on the floor. You just have to check that call up. I thought I shot the ball.
"I tried to even fall on the floor just to kind of sell the foul a little bit more. I was just trying to get it up as quick as possible because I knew we were running out of time."
Head coach Dwane Casey was also disappointed in the officiating, particularly the non-call on Johnson.
"I hope the league looks at that last play of the game when Amir Johnson gathers the shot going up," said Casey. "I don't know who he's passing to, but I just hope they watch it. I hope they watch it.
"That's all I'm going to say about it, because it's a very questionable, marginal call at the end of the game."
Casey then added: "We'll see what the ruling is."
Missed call
That missed call ruined a strong performance by Toronto's (14-25) ailing bench. Johnson, who played through a nagging ankle injury after entering the game for Aaron Gray with just over seven minutes left in the first, had five points and 10 rebounds.
Alan Anderson, who had to have a tooth repaired before Wednesday's game after it was damaged Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets, led the Raptors with 27 points. The six-foot-six guard did most of his damage from beyond the arc, making 4-of-9 three-point attempts.
Kyle Lowry scored 26 points, and added seven assists and five rebounds even after tweaking his ankle in the 113-106 loss to the Nets.
Lowry felt that he and the rest of the reserves had something to prove after Toronto's bench was outscored 43-7 in the Raptors 107-96 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
"The bench did not play well during the Milwaukee game and we didn't give the team anything," said Lowry. "We made a conscious effort to play better and give the team a little bit more."
Anderson agreed with his partner in the backcourt.
"We just need every guy ready when they come off the bench to give us any kind of spark," said the veteran guard.
The crowd and Casey were obviously frustrated by the officials throughout the game.
With four minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, the 18,674 fans in attendance at the Air Canada Centre started a loud "Ref you suck" chant, while Casey was called for a technical foul with 1:20 left in the third after he argued a call by the officials.
Casey in refs' ear
The tech was a long time coming, as Casey has been in the refs' ear for most of the quarter.
Carlos Boozer scored a season-high 36 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for Chicago (22-15). His 21 double-doubles lead the NBA's Eastern Conference. Deng had 19 points and seven assists for the Bulls, while Noah had a double-double with 16 points and 14 boards.
DeMar DeRozan was the Raptors' best starter, scoring 18 points.
The Raptors made it close in the final minutes of the fourth, pulling to within two on Ed Davis's layup with 1:43 left in the quarter. Deng then hit two free throws for Chicago to pull ahead 99-95.
Lowry was fouled on the next play and, after video review, officials decided it was a three-point play. He made two of his free throws to pull Toronto to within two with 1:16 left in the fourth.
Chicago guard Marco Bellinelli made one of his two free throws to give the Bulls a 100-97 lead, but Lowry responded for the Raptors, making a two-foot jump shot. Landry Fields grabbed a key defensive rebound for the Raptors to give Toronto a chance at taking the lead.
Johnson was fouled on a rebound and his first free throw tied it 100-100. Missed shots by both teams forced the extra time.
Anderson made a driving jump shot to make it 104-103 with 1:32 left in the first overtime period. Toronto regained possession on a jump ball, but was stripped of the ball at the other end of the court. He earned his sixth foul of the game trying to recover the ball, ending his night with 54.7 seconds left in overtime.
Chicago guard Nate Robinson hit one of two free throws with 15.1 seconds left in overtime to expand the Bulls' lead to 105-103.
Toronto's reply didn't take long. Lowry tied the game 105-105 with 8.7 seconds to go on a five-foot driving jump shot, forcing Chicago to call a 20-second timeout so head coach Tom Thibodeau could draw up the winning play for Deng.
Chicago vs Toronto - Recap - NBA - Sports - CBC.ca
Chicago's Luol Deng hit an 18-foot pull-up jump shot to give the Bulls a 107-105 lead with 3.3 seconds left in overtime. Toronto called a timeout and on the ensuing inbound Amir Johnson got hold of the ball.
Bulls forward Joakim Noah fouled Johnson as he threw the ball, but the referee didn't call a personal foul. Instead, the Raptors had to inbound the ball again with a second left on the clock.
Jose Calderon's shot from three-point range bounced off the rim to seal the Chicago win.
"There was pretty much nobody else to pass to, so I decided to go to the basket and try to draw a foul," said Johnson. "I thought it was a shooting foul but the ref said it was on the floor. You just have to check that call up. I thought I shot the ball.
"I tried to even fall on the floor just to kind of sell the foul a little bit more. I was just trying to get it up as quick as possible because I knew we were running out of time."
Head coach Dwane Casey was also disappointed in the officiating, particularly the non-call on Johnson.
"I hope the league looks at that last play of the game when Amir Johnson gathers the shot going up," said Casey. "I don't know who he's passing to, but I just hope they watch it. I hope they watch it.
"That's all I'm going to say about it, because it's a very questionable, marginal call at the end of the game."
Casey then added: "We'll see what the ruling is."
Missed call
That missed call ruined a strong performance by Toronto's (14-25) ailing bench. Johnson, who played through a nagging ankle injury after entering the game for Aaron Gray with just over seven minutes left in the first, had five points and 10 rebounds.
Alan Anderson, who had to have a tooth repaired before Wednesday's game after it was damaged Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets, led the Raptors with 27 points. The six-foot-six guard did most of his damage from beyond the arc, making 4-of-9 three-point attempts.
Kyle Lowry scored 26 points, and added seven assists and five rebounds even after tweaking his ankle in the 113-106 loss to the Nets.
Lowry felt that he and the rest of the reserves had something to prove after Toronto's bench was outscored 43-7 in the Raptors 107-96 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
"The bench did not play well during the Milwaukee game and we didn't give the team anything," said Lowry. "We made a conscious effort to play better and give the team a little bit more."
Anderson agreed with his partner in the backcourt.
"We just need every guy ready when they come off the bench to give us any kind of spark," said the veteran guard.
The crowd and Casey were obviously frustrated by the officials throughout the game.
With four minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, the 18,674 fans in attendance at the Air Canada Centre started a loud "Ref you suck" chant, while Casey was called for a technical foul with 1:20 left in the third after he argued a call by the officials.
Casey in refs' ear
The tech was a long time coming, as Casey has been in the refs' ear for most of the quarter.
Carlos Boozer scored a season-high 36 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for Chicago (22-15). His 21 double-doubles lead the NBA's Eastern Conference. Deng had 19 points and seven assists for the Bulls, while Noah had a double-double with 16 points and 14 boards.
DeMar DeRozan was the Raptors' best starter, scoring 18 points.
The Raptors made it close in the final minutes of the fourth, pulling to within two on Ed Davis's layup with 1:43 left in the quarter. Deng then hit two free throws for Chicago to pull ahead 99-95.
Lowry was fouled on the next play and, after video review, officials decided it was a three-point play. He made two of his free throws to pull Toronto to within two with 1:16 left in the fourth.
Chicago guard Marco Bellinelli made one of his two free throws to give the Bulls a 100-97 lead, but Lowry responded for the Raptors, making a two-foot jump shot. Landry Fields grabbed a key defensive rebound for the Raptors to give Toronto a chance at taking the lead.
Johnson was fouled on a rebound and his first free throw tied it 100-100. Missed shots by both teams forced the extra time.
Anderson made a driving jump shot to make it 104-103 with 1:32 left in the first overtime period. Toronto regained possession on a jump ball, but was stripped of the ball at the other end of the court. He earned his sixth foul of the game trying to recover the ball, ending his night with 54.7 seconds left in overtime.
Chicago guard Nate Robinson hit one of two free throws with 15.1 seconds left in overtime to expand the Bulls' lead to 105-103.
Toronto's reply didn't take long. Lowry tied the game 105-105 with 8.7 seconds to go on a five-foot driving jump shot, forcing Chicago to call a 20-second timeout so head coach Tom Thibodeau could draw up the winning play for Deng.
Chicago vs Toronto - Recap - NBA - Sports - CBC.ca
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Kobe Bryant has been voted to his NBA-record 15th consecutive All-Star start, leading four Los Angeles players into next month's game. Lakers teammate Dwight Howard and the Clippers' Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will join Bryant in the Western Conference lineup for the Feb. 17 game in Houston. Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, the MVP of last year's game, rounds out the five.
Kevin Garnett held off Chris Bosh in fan balloting, giving the East two Boston Celtics and two Miami Heat players. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will represent the defending champions and receive passes from Rajon Rondo. New York's Carmelo Anthony is the other starter.
Bryant finished with 1,591,437 votes, edging James by about 7,800 to finish as the leading vote-getter and break a tie with Shaquille O'Neal, Jerry West and Karl Malone for the most consecutive starting nods.
The NBA's leading scorer is a four-time MVP of the All-Star Game and last year became its career scoring leader.
Garnett beat Bosh, who took to Twitter to stump for votes in the final days of balloting, by about 25,000 votes. He tied Bryant and O'Neal for second all time with his 15th selection behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was selected to 19 games.
It's the second straight year that Los Angeles teams will make up four players. Last year it was Bryant, Paul, Griffin and Andrew Bynum, who was dealt to Philadelphia in part of the deal that sent Howard from Orlando to the Lakers. The ballot changed this season, eliminating the center position. Fans were required to vote for three frontcourt players and two guards.
They picked an interesting mix in the East. Anthony and Garnett exchanged words during a game on Jan. 7, and Anthony was suspended one game by the NBA when he tried to confront Garnett afterward in the tunnel area at Madison Square Garden and by the team bus.
Rondo was injured in the playoffs two years ago after getting tangled up with Wade and landing awkwardly on his arm, part of what's become a tense rivalry between the Celtics and Heat.
Reserves will be announced next Thursday. Coaches will vote for seven players in their conferences: two guards, three frontcourt players and two players regardless of position. They can't vote for a player on their own team.
2013 NBA All-Star Game -- LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant among starters - ESPN
Kevin Garnett held off Chris Bosh in fan balloting, giving the East two Boston Celtics and two Miami Heat players. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will represent the defending champions and receive passes from Rajon Rondo. New York's Carmelo Anthony is the other starter.
Bryant finished with 1,591,437 votes, edging James by about 7,800 to finish as the leading vote-getter and break a tie with Shaquille O'Neal, Jerry West and Karl Malone for the most consecutive starting nods.
The NBA's leading scorer is a four-time MVP of the All-Star Game and last year became its career scoring leader.
Garnett beat Bosh, who took to Twitter to stump for votes in the final days of balloting, by about 25,000 votes. He tied Bryant and O'Neal for second all time with his 15th selection behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was selected to 19 games.
It's the second straight year that Los Angeles teams will make up four players. Last year it was Bryant, Paul, Griffin and Andrew Bynum, who was dealt to Philadelphia in part of the deal that sent Howard from Orlando to the Lakers. The ballot changed this season, eliminating the center position. Fans were required to vote for three frontcourt players and two guards.
They picked an interesting mix in the East. Anthony and Garnett exchanged words during a game on Jan. 7, and Anthony was suspended one game by the NBA when he tried to confront Garnett afterward in the tunnel area at Madison Square Garden and by the team bus.
Rondo was injured in the playoffs two years ago after getting tangled up with Wade and landing awkwardly on his arm, part of what's become a tense rivalry between the Celtics and Heat.
Reserves will be announced next Thursday. Coaches will vote for seven players in their conferences: two guards, three frontcourt players and two players regardless of position. They can't vote for a player on their own team.
2013 NBA All-Star Game -- LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant among starters - ESPN
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Maybe New York Knicks owner James Dolan was on to something.
According to Fred Kerber of the New York Post, Dolan employed two technicians to use sensitive microphones to record all in-game chatter surrounding Carmelo Anthony.
Dolan's decision was a reactionary strike in response to a feud between Anthony and Kevin Garnett that began on the hardwood inside Madison Square Garden when Garnett threw some choice words Anthony's direction reportedly involving Anthony's wife (via NESN-com).
The confrontation extended first to the hallway leading to the Boston Celtics locker room, where Anthony awaited Garnett. Anthony then moved out to the Celtics bus, waiting for Garnett to appear.
NBA commissioner David Stern reportedly threatened "sanctions from the league" for any team attempting to eavesdrop on opponents, but conceded that Dolan's did not violate any rules (according to Mark Woods via ESPNNewYork-com).
What if the microphones weren't meant for "eavesdropping," though? What if they weren't even meant to protect a franchise's star player from a war of words spilling over into the eyes (and ears) of the watchful media?
What if they were installed simply for the enjoyment of the fans dying to hear the in-game chatter of the sport's most colorful characters?
Wouldn't that be something?
NBA Players We Want Mic'd Up | Bleacher Report
According to Fred Kerber of the New York Post, Dolan employed two technicians to use sensitive microphones to record all in-game chatter surrounding Carmelo Anthony.
Dolan's decision was a reactionary strike in response to a feud between Anthony and Kevin Garnett that began on the hardwood inside Madison Square Garden when Garnett threw some choice words Anthony's direction reportedly involving Anthony's wife (via NESN-com).
The confrontation extended first to the hallway leading to the Boston Celtics locker room, where Anthony awaited Garnett. Anthony then moved out to the Celtics bus, waiting for Garnett to appear.
NBA commissioner David Stern reportedly threatened "sanctions from the league" for any team attempting to eavesdrop on opponents, but conceded that Dolan's did not violate any rules (according to Mark Woods via ESPNNewYork-com).
What if the microphones weren't meant for "eavesdropping," though? What if they weren't even meant to protect a franchise's star player from a war of words spilling over into the eyes (and ears) of the watchful media?
What if they were installed simply for the enjoyment of the fans dying to hear the in-game chatter of the sport's most colorful characters?
Wouldn't that be something?
NBA Players We Want Mic'd Up | Bleacher Report
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That will be $300 an hour
Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni, on his team's difficulties in the first half of the season: "If we can erase memories, I'll have to go to somebody's couch and try to erase my memory bank."
Oh, now they're BFF?
Boston center Kevin Garnett, on being All-Star teammates with Carmelo Anthony after they nearly came to blows during and after a recent game over salacious comments Garnett made to Anthony: "From my understanding, me and Melo are fine. I don't anticipate any friction. You know, I'm a man, he's a man. I don't think that situation will boil over into this and spoil the All-Star weekend. I think we're much more professional than that."
JaVale being JaVale
Denver Coach George Karl, on center JaVale McGee's tendency to try to impress: "I think JaVale tries to find the spectacular and forces the spectacular when if you just let Andre Miller and Ty [Lawson] let us orchestrate the game, something big time will happen. But I want him to be more Tim Duncan-like. I tell him I like Tim Duncan. I want Tim Duncan."
He meant it as a compliment
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, on Miami's defense getting its tenacity from Heat President Pat Riley: "You guys know Riley. You know what a psychopath he is with numbers and statistics. He plays percentages really well. He knows the high percentage of Steve [Nash] coming off of pick-and-roll and picking teams apart. He knows the high percentage of leaving me on the backside. So, he says, 'We're going to stay home and take our chances with everybody else.'"
Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni, on his team's difficulties in the first half of the season: "If we can erase memories, I'll have to go to somebody's couch and try to erase my memory bank."
Oh, now they're BFF?
Boston center Kevin Garnett, on being All-Star teammates with Carmelo Anthony after they nearly came to blows during and after a recent game over salacious comments Garnett made to Anthony: "From my understanding, me and Melo are fine. I don't anticipate any friction. You know, I'm a man, he's a man. I don't think that situation will boil over into this and spoil the All-Star weekend. I think we're much more professional than that."
JaVale being JaVale
Denver Coach George Karl, on center JaVale McGee's tendency to try to impress: "I think JaVale tries to find the spectacular and forces the spectacular when if you just let Andre Miller and Ty [Lawson] let us orchestrate the game, something big time will happen. But I want him to be more Tim Duncan-like. I tell him I like Tim Duncan. I want Tim Duncan."
He meant it as a compliment
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, on Miami's defense getting its tenacity from Heat President Pat Riley: "You guys know Riley. You know what a psychopath he is with numbers and statistics. He plays percentages really well. He knows the high percentage of Steve [Nash] coming off of pick-and-roll and picking teams apart. He knows the high percentage of leaving me on the backside. So, he says, 'We're going to stay home and take our chances with everybody else.'"
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With another weekend of NBA action gone, Sunday's slate of games did not disappoint in terms of storylines and even exciting, down-to-the-wire action that left us not only exhausted, but begging for as much more as possible.
The Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder ran into an overtime conflict, we learned a bit more about what the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics are capable of, watched as the Dallas Mavericks took another step in the right direction and witnessed with mouths agape Andre Drummond's amazing athleticism.
Not only were we able to learn a few things about some individual teams, but there were also a few things going on with individual players who had monster games themselves.
So, let's take a deeper look at what went down in Sunday night's action and really figure out what we can learn from Sunday night's games.
Read More: 8 Takeaways from Sunday Night's Stellar NBA Action | Bleacher Report
The Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder ran into an overtime conflict, we learned a bit more about what the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics are capable of, watched as the Dallas Mavericks took another step in the right direction and witnessed with mouths agape Andre Drummond's amazing athleticism.
Not only were we able to learn a few things about some individual teams, but there were also a few things going on with individual players who had monster games themselves.
So, let's take a deeper look at what went down in Sunday night's action and really figure out what we can learn from Sunday night's games.
Read More: 8 Takeaways from Sunday Night's Stellar NBA Action | Bleacher Report
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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry grew up watching his dad, Dell, make a name for himself as an NBA three-point shooter.
In 1987-88, his second NBA season, Dell Curry took 81 three-pointers, a big number in those days.
Today, Stephen takes about that many in 11 or 12 games.
Stephen Curry is at the forefront of a three-point revolution that has seen NBA teams go to an evolving strategy of spreading the floor and adjusting to the disappearance of the dominant big man inside.
In 1979-80, the first season of the three-point field goal in the NBA, teams attempted 5.5 combined per game.
Last season, teams shot 36.8 combined threes per games, and this season they're on pace to shoot 40. "That's pretty crazy," said the younger Curry, who himself attempts 6.9 three-pointers per game this season.
The Eastern Conference-leading New York Knicks average 28.7 threes. If that continues, they will attempt 2,353 this season, breaking the league record of 2,284 set by the 2008-09 Knicks.
In that debut season of three-point shots, teams averaged 227.
Not that Knicks coach Mike Woodson has setting a record as a goal.
"I didn't know that. I don't care about that. You gotta make them," Woodson said.
Stephen Curry is not alone. New Orleans Hornets forward Ryan Anderson has shot 317 threes this season and is on pace to shoot more than 600. On Monday, Curry made 6-of-8 threes in the Warriors' 106-99 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, and Anderson made 7-of-14 in the Hornets' 114-105 victory against the Sacramento Kings.
Considered a gimmick or novelty when introduced to the NBA 33 years ago — "I can recall pretty heated discussions about adopting the three-pointer in the NBA," former Phoenix Suns owner and general manager Jerry Colangelo said — the three-pointer has become not only a staple of offenses, but a vital shot necessary to win regular-season games and titles. In last year's NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Miami Heat made 42.9% of their threes in the five-game series. Game 5 was a clinic. They hit on 53.8%, including 7-of-8 by reserve forward Mike Miller.
In the 2010-11 playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks made 39.4% of their three-pointers, including 41.1% in their six-game Finals victory against the Miami Heat. In their four wins, they made 42% on threes, including 42.3% in the decisive Game 6.
"It's been one of the reasons the game has gotten better to watch aesthetically," said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle.
"The ball moves a lot better than it did 10, 11 years ago. And now guys coming up through AAU, high schools and colleges know they have to be skilled at shooting long-range shots as well as being able to run, jump and dunk."
Read More: NBA teams fully embracing the three
In 1987-88, his second NBA season, Dell Curry took 81 three-pointers, a big number in those days.
Today, Stephen takes about that many in 11 or 12 games.
Stephen Curry is at the forefront of a three-point revolution that has seen NBA teams go to an evolving strategy of spreading the floor and adjusting to the disappearance of the dominant big man inside.
In 1979-80, the first season of the three-point field goal in the NBA, teams attempted 5.5 combined per game.
Last season, teams shot 36.8 combined threes per games, and this season they're on pace to shoot 40. "That's pretty crazy," said the younger Curry, who himself attempts 6.9 three-pointers per game this season.
The Eastern Conference-leading New York Knicks average 28.7 threes. If that continues, they will attempt 2,353 this season, breaking the league record of 2,284 set by the 2008-09 Knicks.
In that debut season of three-point shots, teams averaged 227.
Not that Knicks coach Mike Woodson has setting a record as a goal.
"I didn't know that. I don't care about that. You gotta make them," Woodson said.
Stephen Curry is not alone. New Orleans Hornets forward Ryan Anderson has shot 317 threes this season and is on pace to shoot more than 600. On Monday, Curry made 6-of-8 threes in the Warriors' 106-99 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, and Anderson made 7-of-14 in the Hornets' 114-105 victory against the Sacramento Kings.
Considered a gimmick or novelty when introduced to the NBA 33 years ago — "I can recall pretty heated discussions about adopting the three-pointer in the NBA," former Phoenix Suns owner and general manager Jerry Colangelo said — the three-pointer has become not only a staple of offenses, but a vital shot necessary to win regular-season games and titles. In last year's NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Miami Heat made 42.9% of their threes in the five-game series. Game 5 was a clinic. They hit on 53.8%, including 7-of-8 by reserve forward Mike Miller.
In the 2010-11 playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks made 39.4% of their three-pointers, including 41.1% in their six-game Finals victory against the Miami Heat. In their four wins, they made 42% on threes, including 42.3% in the decisive Game 6.
"It's been one of the reasons the game has gotten better to watch aesthetically," said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle.
"The ball moves a lot better than it did 10, 11 years ago. And now guys coming up through AAU, high schools and colleges know they have to be skilled at shooting long-range shots as well as being able to run, jump and dunk."
Read More: NBA teams fully embracing the three
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A year ago, I met with Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant to discuss his 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006. It was for a story on the 50th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game.
Bryant's 81 is the closest anyone has come to matching or surpassing Chamberlain's 100.
One of the questions I asked Bryant: "Have you ever watched the replay of that 81-point game?"
He said no. "There's nothing I could have learned from that game," Bryant told me. "It was just pure fluke, a freak of nature-type thing."
For the first time, he watched that game on Tuesday afternoon. NBATV replayed it on the seven-year anniversary.
Bryant had that seven-year itch to finally watch it, and Bryant live Tweeted while watching.
"I can't believe I've never watched this game till now," Bryant Tweeted.
And: "After my first bucket I realized their rotations weren't sharp or early."
And: "This game was the 1st and only game my grandma has seen me play as a pro, On my late grandfather's bday no less#countonfamily"
Bryant responded to a fan who wanted to know what Bryant did with the shoes he wore in that game. "@4yearsenior I sent them to the hall of fame," Bryant replied on Twitter and @nikebasketball Tweeted, "Here is the proof @kobebryant @4yearsenior #countonkobe" with a photo of the shoes in the Hall of Fame.
When I talked to Bryant, I wanted to know why he didn't watch it, just to see if he had a chance at 100 points.
""If I did watch it, it would only (upset me) if I saw I really could have had 100," Bryant said.
On Tuesday, Bryant Tweeted, "Watching the game now, the easy shots I missed, I could of had 100 pts! #countonkobe"
He followed that up with, "Down 14, I'm heating up...at this point I wouldn't pass a kidney stone #countonkobe"
Let's take a closer look at Bryant's claim that he had a shot at 100 points. Bryant made 18-of-20 free throws. For the sake of it, let's say he made all 20. That's 83 points.
According to a shot chart at nba-com/stats, Bryant made 9-of-10 in the restricted area and 4-of-9 in the rest of the painted area. Let's give him two more makes and four more points. That brings him to 87. He made 8-of-14 on remaining two-point shots outside of the paint. Give him two more shots. That brings him to 91 points. He made 7-of-13 three-pointers. That's already 53.8%. To get nine more points, he needs three more threes – 10-of-13 on threes isn't impossible but certainly not probable, even for Bryant.
Based on the number of shots Bryant took (46) against Toronto, he needed to make seven more shots based on my scenario. His line would have read: 35-of-46 from the field, including 10-of-13 on threes and 20-of-20 from the foul line – that's 76.1% from the field, 76.9% on threes and 100% from the line. You can see how difficult 100 is, in any era.
It was a Kobe-esque performance as were the live Tweets. At the conclusion, @nikebasketball asked Bryant what it was like watching the game.
Bryant replied: "I felt like I was looking at a Salvador Dali painting#masterpiece"
Someone asked Bryant what music, if any, he listened to before the game. Bryant replied, "I listened to the sounds of silence."
Here's to you, Mr. Bryant:
"Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains within the sound of silence."
Redick's future with Magic should be determined soon
Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick loves Orlando. His wife, Chelsea, loves Orlando. She grew up in Florida and graduated from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. They don't want to move. They will if they have to.
And they should find out soon if they are staying in the area for the next few seasons or re-locating for future NBA seasons.
Redick is in the final year of his three-year, $19.6 million deal that pays him $6.19 million this season. Preferably, Redick wants to remain with the Magic, with whom he has spent his seven NBA seasons and emerged as a more than serviceable shooting guard.
But Redick also wants a raise. How much are the rebuilding Magic willing to pay Redick? Or the better question is: how much is Redick willing to accept to remain with Orlando?
Will Orlando get a hometown discount from Redick and keep him? That's what the Magic are in the process of finding out.
There is strong interest from around the league in Redick, a career 39.7% three-point shooter. He is a decent drive-and-kick player and while not considered a defensive stopper, he is not the defensive liability he was earlier in his career, thanks to prodding from former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.
If it emerges that Redick and Orlando can't find common ground on a salary, don't be surprised if the Magic trade him by the Feb. 21 trade deadline. If the Magic can't keep him, they want to get something for him.
Read More: Kobe Bryant relives his 81-point performance: NBA A-Z
Bryant's 81 is the closest anyone has come to matching or surpassing Chamberlain's 100.
One of the questions I asked Bryant: "Have you ever watched the replay of that 81-point game?"
He said no. "There's nothing I could have learned from that game," Bryant told me. "It was just pure fluke, a freak of nature-type thing."
For the first time, he watched that game on Tuesday afternoon. NBATV replayed it on the seven-year anniversary.
Bryant had that seven-year itch to finally watch it, and Bryant live Tweeted while watching.
"I can't believe I've never watched this game till now," Bryant Tweeted.
And: "After my first bucket I realized their rotations weren't sharp or early."
And: "This game was the 1st and only game my grandma has seen me play as a pro, On my late grandfather's bday no less#countonfamily"
Bryant responded to a fan who wanted to know what Bryant did with the shoes he wore in that game. "@4yearsenior I sent them to the hall of fame," Bryant replied on Twitter and @nikebasketball Tweeted, "Here is the proof @kobebryant @4yearsenior #countonkobe" with a photo of the shoes in the Hall of Fame.
When I talked to Bryant, I wanted to know why he didn't watch it, just to see if he had a chance at 100 points.
""If I did watch it, it would only (upset me) if I saw I really could have had 100," Bryant said.
On Tuesday, Bryant Tweeted, "Watching the game now, the easy shots I missed, I could of had 100 pts! #countonkobe"
He followed that up with, "Down 14, I'm heating up...at this point I wouldn't pass a kidney stone #countonkobe"
Let's take a closer look at Bryant's claim that he had a shot at 100 points. Bryant made 18-of-20 free throws. For the sake of it, let's say he made all 20. That's 83 points.
According to a shot chart at nba-com/stats, Bryant made 9-of-10 in the restricted area and 4-of-9 in the rest of the painted area. Let's give him two more makes and four more points. That brings him to 87. He made 8-of-14 on remaining two-point shots outside of the paint. Give him two more shots. That brings him to 91 points. He made 7-of-13 three-pointers. That's already 53.8%. To get nine more points, he needs three more threes – 10-of-13 on threes isn't impossible but certainly not probable, even for Bryant.
Based on the number of shots Bryant took (46) against Toronto, he needed to make seven more shots based on my scenario. His line would have read: 35-of-46 from the field, including 10-of-13 on threes and 20-of-20 from the foul line – that's 76.1% from the field, 76.9% on threes and 100% from the line. You can see how difficult 100 is, in any era.
It was a Kobe-esque performance as were the live Tweets. At the conclusion, @nikebasketball asked Bryant what it was like watching the game.
Bryant replied: "I felt like I was looking at a Salvador Dali painting#masterpiece"
Someone asked Bryant what music, if any, he listened to before the game. Bryant replied, "I listened to the sounds of silence."
Here's to you, Mr. Bryant:
"Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains within the sound of silence."
Redick's future with Magic should be determined soon
Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick loves Orlando. His wife, Chelsea, loves Orlando. She grew up in Florida and graduated from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. They don't want to move. They will if they have to.
And they should find out soon if they are staying in the area for the next few seasons or re-locating for future NBA seasons.
Redick is in the final year of his three-year, $19.6 million deal that pays him $6.19 million this season. Preferably, Redick wants to remain with the Magic, with whom he has spent his seven NBA seasons and emerged as a more than serviceable shooting guard.
But Redick also wants a raise. How much are the rebuilding Magic willing to pay Redick? Or the better question is: how much is Redick willing to accept to remain with Orlando?
Will Orlando get a hometown discount from Redick and keep him? That's what the Magic are in the process of finding out.
There is strong interest from around the league in Redick, a career 39.7% three-point shooter. He is a decent drive-and-kick player and while not considered a defensive stopper, he is not the defensive liability he was earlier in his career, thanks to prodding from former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.
If it emerges that Redick and Orlando can't find common ground on a salary, don't be surprised if the Magic trade him by the Feb. 21 trade deadline. If the Magic can't keep him, they want to get something for him.
Read More: Kobe Bryant relives his 81-point performance: NBA A-Z
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2006/12/07
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Back in July, there was widespread belief the New York Knicks would take a financial hit after Jeremy Lin signed with the Houston Rockets.
Apparently, Lin's departure hasn't affected the bottom line.
According to Forbes Magazine, the Knicks are the NBA's most valuable team. The magazine's most recent franchise valuations say the team is worth $1.1 billion. The Lakers are second on this year's list, valued at $1 billion. The Brooklyn Nets are ninth on Forbes' list, valued at $530 million.
The magazine reports that the Knicks' value rose 41 percent over the past season thanks to the ongoing renovation of Madison Square Garden, an increase in television ratings and merchandising sales, and the team's on-court success (the Knicks won their first playoff game in 11 seasons in 2012).
Forbes reports that the $980 million renovation of Madison Square Garden, scheduled to be completed this summer, has helped produce $243 million in revenue for the Knicks, the highest profit in the NBA.
The renovation has changed seating configuration at the Garden, putting a majority of seats closer to the court.
The new seating allowed the Knicks to raise season-ticket prices by an average of 49 percent after the 2010-11 season.
The renovation also gave MSG an opportunity to generate revenue from new advertising opportunities and to revamp its luxury boxes, thereby increasing the prices for them.
"This is all a significant increase in revenue," Richard Tullo, the director of research at the Wall Street firm Albert Fried & Company, said last month.
In addition, ratings for Knicks games were up 74 percent compared to the same period last season, according to Forbes.
Last season, thanks to a boost from Lin's remarkable run, the MSG Network's telecasts of Knicks games averaged a 3.30 Nielsen household rating, making it the highest-rated regular season ever on MSG. Ratings are on a similar pace this season. Knicks merchandise sales are also strong, though that accounts for a small portion of revenue for the team.
According to figures released by the NBA, the Knicks jersey was the top-selling jersey in the league from April 2012 through Nov. 26, 2012.
Lin was partially responsible for the team's strong jersey sales. But the Knicks elected not to match Houston's three-year, $25.1 million offer to the point guard over the summer.
Two marketing deals with Taiwanese-based companies were not renewed with the Knicks after Lin left, but that does not appear to have affected the Knicks' bottom line.
The Madison Square Garden stock price fell from $38.91 on July 3 to $34.73 on July 23, shortly after the Knicks elected to let Lin walk. At the close of trading on Tuesday, the stock was valued at $49.50.
According to Forbes, the average NBA team is worth $509 million, a 30 percent increase from last season.
The Knicks ranked second in the NBA valuation last year, behind the Lakers. They were worth $780 million, according to Forbes.
Apparently, Lin's departure hasn't affected the bottom line.
According to Forbes Magazine, the Knicks are the NBA's most valuable team. The magazine's most recent franchise valuations say the team is worth $1.1 billion. The Lakers are second on this year's list, valued at $1 billion. The Brooklyn Nets are ninth on Forbes' list, valued at $530 million.
The magazine reports that the Knicks' value rose 41 percent over the past season thanks to the ongoing renovation of Madison Square Garden, an increase in television ratings and merchandising sales, and the team's on-court success (the Knicks won their first playoff game in 11 seasons in 2012).
Forbes reports that the $980 million renovation of Madison Square Garden, scheduled to be completed this summer, has helped produce $243 million in revenue for the Knicks, the highest profit in the NBA.
The renovation has changed seating configuration at the Garden, putting a majority of seats closer to the court.
The new seating allowed the Knicks to raise season-ticket prices by an average of 49 percent after the 2010-11 season.
The renovation also gave MSG an opportunity to generate revenue from new advertising opportunities and to revamp its luxury boxes, thereby increasing the prices for them.
"This is all a significant increase in revenue," Richard Tullo, the director of research at the Wall Street firm Albert Fried & Company, said last month.
In addition, ratings for Knicks games were up 74 percent compared to the same period last season, according to Forbes.
Last season, thanks to a boost from Lin's remarkable run, the MSG Network's telecasts of Knicks games averaged a 3.30 Nielsen household rating, making it the highest-rated regular season ever on MSG. Ratings are on a similar pace this season. Knicks merchandise sales are also strong, though that accounts for a small portion of revenue for the team.
According to figures released by the NBA, the Knicks jersey was the top-selling jersey in the league from April 2012 through Nov. 26, 2012.
Lin was partially responsible for the team's strong jersey sales. But the Knicks elected not to match Houston's three-year, $25.1 million offer to the point guard over the summer.
Two marketing deals with Taiwanese-based companies were not renewed with the Knicks after Lin left, but that does not appear to have affected the Knicks' bottom line.
The Madison Square Garden stock price fell from $38.91 on July 3 to $34.73 on July 23, shortly after the Knicks elected to let Lin walk. At the close of trading on Tuesday, the stock was valued at $49.50.
According to Forbes, the average NBA team is worth $509 million, a 30 percent increase from last season.
The Knicks ranked second in the NBA valuation last year, behind the Lakers. They were worth $780 million, according to Forbes.
Join:
2006/12/07
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29893
Tim Duncan was selected to his 14th All-Star Game, Spurs teammate Tony Parker is joining him, and the Chicago Bulls also had two reserves chosen Thursday for next month's game in Houston.
Joakim Noah and Luol Deng were picked from the Bulls, who have stayed in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race despite the season-long absence of point guard Derrick Rose. Noah is one of five first-time All-Stars for the East, along with New York's Tyson Chandler, Indiana's Paul George, Cleveland's Kyrie Irving, and Philadelphia's Jrue Holiday. Miami's Chris Bosh, picked for his eighth All-Star team, rounded out the East squad.
West forwards David Lee (Golden State), LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland) and Zach Randolph (Memphis) all were picked for the second time. Houston's James Harden was chosen for the first time and joins former Oklahoma City teammate Russell Westbrook, headed to his third straight All-Star game.
Duncan wasn't chosen last year for the first time in his career but has bounced back with a terrific season at age 36, averaging 17.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots, his best statistics since 2009-10.
The co-MVP of the 2000 All-Star Game joined a group that includes Michael Jordan for fifth-most selections. Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, both voted to start, and Shaquille O'Neal all were picked 15 times. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the career leader as a 19-time All-Star.
The reserves were voted by the head coaches from each conference, who had to select two guards, three frontcourt players and two players regardless of position. They were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams.
With centers Chandler and Noah, East coaches passed on Brooklyn's Brook Lopez, the leading scorer for a resurgent team that is right behind the Knicks for the Atlantic Division lead. Perennial All-Stars Deron Williams and Joe Johnson of the Nets also missed out, as did Boston's Paul Pierce. Lee gave the Warriors their first All-Star since Latrell Sprewell in 1997, but coach Mark Jackson and his team hoped for more. However, Stephen Curry wasn't selected despite averaging 20.9 points. He's the league's eighth-leading scorer and the highest one who won't be in Houston for the Feb. 17 showcase.
Lee called his selection "bittersweet" because Curry -- the first person to send him a congratulatory text -- wasn't picked.
"In our practice facility, there's that All-Star chart and it stops at '97 and there hasn't been any since. So the whole team was really excited with the improved record this year and to get one or both of our guys on there," Lee said. "I'm really excited to be the one that goes and represents our team. I wish Steph could be a part of it and maybe he'll still be able to. I'm just very, very excited. It's been a long time for the Bay Area fans. Not only to have an All-Star, but to be winning games."
Voted as East starters by fan voting along with Garnett were Miami's LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, New York's Carmelo Anthony and Boston's Rajon Rondo.
The West starting five is Bryant and Dwight Howard of the Lakers, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, and Clippers teammates Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
The Clippers were hoping for a third All-Star, but sixth-man Jamal Crawford wasn't picked.
Commissioner David Stern would choose the replacement if any players are injured.
Randolph leads the NBA with 27 double-doubles and becomes the first Grizzlies player with multiple selections.
"It is truly an honor to be named by the NBA's coaches to the 2013 Western Conference All-Star team," he said in a statement. "I am grateful for this opportunity and look forward to playing with the best players in the world."
The leaders of the teams with the best winning percentage in their conference through games of Feb. 3 will be the coaches. Miami's Erik Spoelstra has the inside track on the East spot, while San Antonio's Gregg Popovich and the Clippers' Vinny Del Negro are battling for the West honor since Scott Brooks, whose Thunder have the league's best record, is ineligible after coaching last year. Irving, the reigning Rookie of the Year, and Holiday were rewarded for outstanding individual seasons even though their teams are well below .500. Irving is the Cavaliers' first All-Star since James, the only other East player averaging at least 20 points and five assists.
"It's one of the best days of my life," Irving said Thursday night, shortly after also being honored as Cleveland's professional athlete of the year award at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards. "It's a big deal for me and it's a big deal for the city of Cleveland to be picked as an All-Star for the first time. I'm turning 21 on March 23 and to be with those guys, to see those names on TV, that was truly a blessing."
The 22-year-old Holiday, the youngest All-Star in franchise history, is averaging 19.0 points and 9.0 assists but feared the 76ers' 17-25 mark would work against him.
"I thought so. I definitely thought so. I think anybody else probably would, too," he said while watching a Philadelphia Flyers game. "We're not getting on a winning streak or anything like that. I just tried to stay positive and not talk about it."
2013 NBA All-Star Game -- San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls get two each as reserves - ESPN
Joakim Noah and Luol Deng were picked from the Bulls, who have stayed in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race despite the season-long absence of point guard Derrick Rose. Noah is one of five first-time All-Stars for the East, along with New York's Tyson Chandler, Indiana's Paul George, Cleveland's Kyrie Irving, and Philadelphia's Jrue Holiday. Miami's Chris Bosh, picked for his eighth All-Star team, rounded out the East squad.
West forwards David Lee (Golden State), LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland) and Zach Randolph (Memphis) all were picked for the second time. Houston's James Harden was chosen for the first time and joins former Oklahoma City teammate Russell Westbrook, headed to his third straight All-Star game.
Duncan wasn't chosen last year for the first time in his career but has bounced back with a terrific season at age 36, averaging 17.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots, his best statistics since 2009-10.
The co-MVP of the 2000 All-Star Game joined a group that includes Michael Jordan for fifth-most selections. Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, both voted to start, and Shaquille O'Neal all were picked 15 times. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the career leader as a 19-time All-Star.
The reserves were voted by the head coaches from each conference, who had to select two guards, three frontcourt players and two players regardless of position. They were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams.
With centers Chandler and Noah, East coaches passed on Brooklyn's Brook Lopez, the leading scorer for a resurgent team that is right behind the Knicks for the Atlantic Division lead. Perennial All-Stars Deron Williams and Joe Johnson of the Nets also missed out, as did Boston's Paul Pierce. Lee gave the Warriors their first All-Star since Latrell Sprewell in 1997, but coach Mark Jackson and his team hoped for more. However, Stephen Curry wasn't selected despite averaging 20.9 points. He's the league's eighth-leading scorer and the highest one who won't be in Houston for the Feb. 17 showcase.
Lee called his selection "bittersweet" because Curry -- the first person to send him a congratulatory text -- wasn't picked.
"In our practice facility, there's that All-Star chart and it stops at '97 and there hasn't been any since. So the whole team was really excited with the improved record this year and to get one or both of our guys on there," Lee said. "I'm really excited to be the one that goes and represents our team. I wish Steph could be a part of it and maybe he'll still be able to. I'm just very, very excited. It's been a long time for the Bay Area fans. Not only to have an All-Star, but to be winning games."
Voted as East starters by fan voting along with Garnett were Miami's LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, New York's Carmelo Anthony and Boston's Rajon Rondo.
The West starting five is Bryant and Dwight Howard of the Lakers, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, and Clippers teammates Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
The Clippers were hoping for a third All-Star, but sixth-man Jamal Crawford wasn't picked.
Commissioner David Stern would choose the replacement if any players are injured.
Randolph leads the NBA with 27 double-doubles and becomes the first Grizzlies player with multiple selections.
"It is truly an honor to be named by the NBA's coaches to the 2013 Western Conference All-Star team," he said in a statement. "I am grateful for this opportunity and look forward to playing with the best players in the world."
The leaders of the teams with the best winning percentage in their conference through games of Feb. 3 will be the coaches. Miami's Erik Spoelstra has the inside track on the East spot, while San Antonio's Gregg Popovich and the Clippers' Vinny Del Negro are battling for the West honor since Scott Brooks, whose Thunder have the league's best record, is ineligible after coaching last year. Irving, the reigning Rookie of the Year, and Holiday were rewarded for outstanding individual seasons even though their teams are well below .500. Irving is the Cavaliers' first All-Star since James, the only other East player averaging at least 20 points and five assists.
"It's one of the best days of my life," Irving said Thursday night, shortly after also being honored as Cleveland's professional athlete of the year award at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards. "It's a big deal for me and it's a big deal for the city of Cleveland to be picked as an All-Star for the first time. I'm turning 21 on March 23 and to be with those guys, to see those names on TV, that was truly a blessing."
The 22-year-old Holiday, the youngest All-Star in franchise history, is averaging 19.0 points and 9.0 assists but feared the 76ers' 17-25 mark would work against him.
"I thought so. I definitely thought so. I think anybody else probably would, too," he said while watching a Philadelphia Flyers game. "We're not getting on a winning streak or anything like that. I just tried to stay positive and not talk about it."
2013 NBA All-Star Game -- San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls get two each as reserves - ESPN
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He was always the mystery man in the middle, 00 on a team where 33 drew the spotlight and 32 the laughs, a proudly impassive, hugely talented, ever elusive presence.
Robert Parish, “The Chief,” rarely talked to the media and never hung around with Celtics teammates after a game. Associates say he would not answer his phone, letting messages go to voicemail. After leaving the team in 1994, he let his connection to the Green fray and fade, even to the point of selling off his 1986 world championship ring for spending money.
So it was a surprise when this resolute loner picked up the phone at his home in North Carolina on the third ring.
“People shouldn’t feel sad; they should help me get a job,” said the Hall of Fame center with the deep voice on the other end. “I need a coaching job in the NBA. I’m restless and I need money. ”
At 8 the following morning, a jovial Parish, looking as if he could still hit that rainbow jumper over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, stretches out on an enormous couch, sips mineral water, and answers questions for nearly two hours.
Parish, 59, said that Bird and McHale, both of whom have held coaching and front office jobs in the league (McHale is the coach of the Houston Rockets), have done nothing to help him in his quest to return to the NBA, although he says he has reached out to them. He calls his Hall of Fame teammates “acquaintances.” “In my case, I don’t have any friends,’’ Parish said. “I saw Kevin at an event; he said he was going to call me. He never called. I called Larry twice when I was at the Indiana Pacers; he never returned my call. And not just Larry. Across the board, most NBA teams do not call back. You need a court order just to get a phone call back from these organizations. I’m not a part of their fraternity.”
Bird has a rather different recollection. Traveling, he sent a concise text in response to questions from the Globe: “Robert never called me for a job. Period.”
McHale, for his part, expressed remorse in a voicemail. He said he tried to hire Parish when he was in Minnesota, but “I went back and checked . . . we were actually reducing spots at the time. Then I was let go from Minnesota.”
He says he saw Parish later, when McHale worked for TNT.
“I feel terrible about the whole thing, but I just didn’t have a position,’’ McHale said. “I would have loved to have hired Robert if something would’ve came up.”
Parish said he never called former teammate and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge directly, but he has talked to the Celtics.
“You would think Danny would’ve stepped up and said something,’’ he said. “I think he’s got a little pull with the organization. But I didn’t take it personal. I understood.’’
He won championships with these guys, so why no love?
“I know it’s hard to believe,” he said with a shrug, “But trust me, that’s right.”
Pressed for a further explanation, he answered, “I don’t know. I would not consider myself part of Larry’s inner circle, like he’s not in my inner circle. Same thing with Kevin. He’s not in my inner circle; I’m not in his inner circle. Same thing with Danny. You know we respect each other. We had the camaraderie, obviously, collectively, on the team because of our success on the court. But off the court, you know, we weren’t hanging out going to dinner, drinks, going to the movies, double dating, whatever you wanted to do. We weren’t doing any of that.”
Parish is pressed on his relationship with Ainge.
He responds by reaching back in time, telling a story about how Celtics president Red Auerbach and coach K.C. Jones once asked him to take fewer shots because Dennis Johnson and Ainge wanted more scoring opportunities. The Chief readily agreed.
“Danny is selfish, even after I made the sacrifice for him and DJ, he still asked to be traded.’’
Parish said that Bill Walton, whom he calls “the most honest person I ever met, besides my parents,” has given him some realistic advice.
“He said most teams are not going to call you back, it’s not personal, it’s protocol. Don’t take it personal, don’t be insulted by it. It’s just the way it is.”
Several years ago, his representatives reached out to all 30 NBA teams. Only two called him back. Now he’s trying harder. “I’ve been guilty of that, too, not returning phone calls.’’ he said. “We all have. “
He says he’s not angry at his teammates, either.
“I have never sat here and said those [expletive] didn’t call me back. Not one time. I am very proud of this fact.”
Named one of 50 greatest
Nobody played in more NBA games than the Chief. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 and had been named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996.
One of the most unselfish players ever to play, Parish was so stoic that teammate Cedric Maxwell started calling him “Chief” after the uncommunicative Native American in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’’
Not anymore.
“I want to get the word out,” Parish said. “NBA coach, assistant coach, front office, or television would be fine.’’
The Celtics hired him in 2004 for public relations work, but Parish found the $80,000 salary too low. “I want to make it clear, I’m not whining, and the Celtics owe me nothing. But having said that, you would think at least I would have a conversation about a coaching job, since that’s what I want to do.” Parish, who earned roughly $24 million in 21 years in the NBA, says he needs a job with a substantial six-to-seven-figure salary. “I don’t want to have to start over. I’m not homeless and I’m not penniless, but I need to work.”
Parish, who lives in an immaculate, tastefully decorated tan stucco home on the edge of a golf course, says his money was drained away because he wasn’t working and he was “too generous” with family, friends, and significant others.
“There’s no need in crying about that now. I’m not making no excuses ’cause I’m to blame. I enjoyed it. I don’t want to come across as Poor
Robert Parish, “The Chief,” rarely talked to the media and never hung around with Celtics teammates after a game. Associates say he would not answer his phone, letting messages go to voicemail. After leaving the team in 1994, he let his connection to the Green fray and fade, even to the point of selling off his 1986 world championship ring for spending money.
So it was a surprise when this resolute loner picked up the phone at his home in North Carolina on the third ring.
“People shouldn’t feel sad; they should help me get a job,” said the Hall of Fame center with the deep voice on the other end. “I need a coaching job in the NBA. I’m restless and I need money. ”
At 8 the following morning, a jovial Parish, looking as if he could still hit that rainbow jumper over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, stretches out on an enormous couch, sips mineral water, and answers questions for nearly two hours.
Parish, 59, said that Bird and McHale, both of whom have held coaching and front office jobs in the league (McHale is the coach of the Houston Rockets), have done nothing to help him in his quest to return to the NBA, although he says he has reached out to them. He calls his Hall of Fame teammates “acquaintances.” “In my case, I don’t have any friends,’’ Parish said. “I saw Kevin at an event; he said he was going to call me. He never called. I called Larry twice when I was at the Indiana Pacers; he never returned my call. And not just Larry. Across the board, most NBA teams do not call back. You need a court order just to get a phone call back from these organizations. I’m not a part of their fraternity.”
Bird has a rather different recollection. Traveling, he sent a concise text in response to questions from the Globe: “Robert never called me for a job. Period.”
McHale, for his part, expressed remorse in a voicemail. He said he tried to hire Parish when he was in Minnesota, but “I went back and checked . . . we were actually reducing spots at the time. Then I was let go from Minnesota.”
He says he saw Parish later, when McHale worked for TNT.
“I feel terrible about the whole thing, but I just didn’t have a position,’’ McHale said. “I would have loved to have hired Robert if something would’ve came up.”
Parish said he never called former teammate and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge directly, but he has talked to the Celtics.
“You would think Danny would’ve stepped up and said something,’’ he said. “I think he’s got a little pull with the organization. But I didn’t take it personal. I understood.’’
He won championships with these guys, so why no love?
“I know it’s hard to believe,” he said with a shrug, “But trust me, that’s right.”
Pressed for a further explanation, he answered, “I don’t know. I would not consider myself part of Larry’s inner circle, like he’s not in my inner circle. Same thing with Kevin. He’s not in my inner circle; I’m not in his inner circle. Same thing with Danny. You know we respect each other. We had the camaraderie, obviously, collectively, on the team because of our success on the court. But off the court, you know, we weren’t hanging out going to dinner, drinks, going to the movies, double dating, whatever you wanted to do. We weren’t doing any of that.”
Parish is pressed on his relationship with Ainge.
He responds by reaching back in time, telling a story about how Celtics president Red Auerbach and coach K.C. Jones once asked him to take fewer shots because Dennis Johnson and Ainge wanted more scoring opportunities. The Chief readily agreed.
“Danny is selfish, even after I made the sacrifice for him and DJ, he still asked to be traded.’’
Parish said that Bill Walton, whom he calls “the most honest person I ever met, besides my parents,” has given him some realistic advice.
“He said most teams are not going to call you back, it’s not personal, it’s protocol. Don’t take it personal, don’t be insulted by it. It’s just the way it is.”
Several years ago, his representatives reached out to all 30 NBA teams. Only two called him back. Now he’s trying harder. “I’ve been guilty of that, too, not returning phone calls.’’ he said. “We all have. “
He says he’s not angry at his teammates, either.
“I have never sat here and said those [expletive] didn’t call me back. Not one time. I am very proud of this fact.”
Named one of 50 greatest
Nobody played in more NBA games than the Chief. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 and had been named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996.
One of the most unselfish players ever to play, Parish was so stoic that teammate Cedric Maxwell started calling him “Chief” after the uncommunicative Native American in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’’
Not anymore.
“I want to get the word out,” Parish said. “NBA coach, assistant coach, front office, or television would be fine.’’
The Celtics hired him in 2004 for public relations work, but Parish found the $80,000 salary too low. “I want to make it clear, I’m not whining, and the Celtics owe me nothing. But having said that, you would think at least I would have a conversation about a coaching job, since that’s what I want to do.” Parish, who earned roughly $24 million in 21 years in the NBA, says he needs a job with a substantial six-to-seven-figure salary. “I don’t want to have to start over. I’m not homeless and I’m not penniless, but I need to work.”
Parish, who lives in an immaculate, tastefully decorated tan stucco home on the edge of a golf course, says his money was drained away because he wasn’t working and he was “too generous” with family, friends, and significant others.
“There’s no need in crying about that now. I’m not making no excuses ’cause I’m to blame. I enjoyed it. I don’t want to come across as Poor
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
For the first 32 games of the season, the Washington Wizards were a sorry bunch -- winning only four times. The comical comparison was the Washington Generals -- the punching bag for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Not so much anymore.
Emeka Okafor had 15 points and 16 rebounds, helping the host Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 86-73 on Saturday night for their seventh victory in the last 10 games.
"We are the team we thought we were supposed to be," Okafor said.
The run began before John Wall returned from a left knee injury, and now the injury-riddled team is healthy again.
"We have back all the players. There is our team," Nene said. "We gonna shut up people's mouths. That's what we're going to do."
Rockets 119, Nets 106: James Harden scored 29 points, Chandler Parsons added 16 points and a career-high 11 assists and host Houston posted its 12th consecutive win over the Nets. Jeremy Lin had 14 points, nine assists and six turnovers for the Rockets.
The Rockets reinstated suspended rookie forward Royce White, and he's due to report to the team's developmental league affiliate on Feb. 11.
White, the 16th overall pick in the draft, has been on the inactive list all season as he worked on an arrangement with the team to balance his acknowledged anxiety disorder with the demands of the NBA schedule.
76ers 97, Knicks 80: Jrue Holiday scored a career-high 35 points, and host Philadelphia cruised past New York.
Cavaliers 99, Raptors 98: First-time All-Star Kyrie Irving made a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to give Cleveland a victory in Toronto. Irving finished with 32 points.
"He's just playing at an unbelievably high level right now," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said.
Spurs 108, Suns 99: Tony Parker had 31 points, and host San Antonio won its eighth straight. The Spurs were without Tim Duncan (sore knee) and coach Gregg Popovich (illness) for a third consecutive game.
Bobcats 102, Timberwolves 101: Gerald Henderson made a 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left to help Charlotte snap a 16-game home losing streak.
NBA: Washington Wizards no longer a punch line - San Jose Mercury News
Not so much anymore.
Emeka Okafor had 15 points and 16 rebounds, helping the host Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 86-73 on Saturday night for their seventh victory in the last 10 games.
"We are the team we thought we were supposed to be," Okafor said.
The run began before John Wall returned from a left knee injury, and now the injury-riddled team is healthy again.
"We have back all the players. There is our team," Nene said. "We gonna shut up people's mouths. That's what we're going to do."
Rockets 119, Nets 106: James Harden scored 29 points, Chandler Parsons added 16 points and a career-high 11 assists and host Houston posted its 12th consecutive win over the Nets. Jeremy Lin had 14 points, nine assists and six turnovers for the Rockets.
The Rockets reinstated suspended rookie forward Royce White, and he's due to report to the team's developmental league affiliate on Feb. 11.
White, the 16th overall pick in the draft, has been on the inactive list all season as he worked on an arrangement with the team to balance his acknowledged anxiety disorder with the demands of the NBA schedule.
76ers 97, Knicks 80: Jrue Holiday scored a career-high 35 points, and host Philadelphia cruised past New York.
Cavaliers 99, Raptors 98: First-time All-Star Kyrie Irving made a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to give Cleveland a victory in Toronto. Irving finished with 32 points.
"He's just playing at an unbelievably high level right now," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said.
Spurs 108, Suns 99: Tony Parker had 31 points, and host San Antonio won its eighth straight. The Spurs were without Tim Duncan (sore knee) and coach Gregg Popovich (illness) for a third consecutive game.
Bobcats 102, Timberwolves 101: Gerald Henderson made a 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left to help Charlotte snap a 16-game home losing streak.
NBA: Washington Wizards no longer a punch line - San Jose Mercury News
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Watching the Los Angeles Lakers beat down the Utah Jazz on Friday and take down the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday is enough to make me believe a deal has been struck: The Laker community will be confrontational -- the way Kobe Bryant likes it -- and in return Bryant will share the ball the way everyone else has wanted.
So there was Bryant, snapping at Steve Nash for passing up a shot Friday night. Or Kobe with a look of disgust on his face when Metta World Peace was clogging his path by posting up on the right block Sunday afternoon. You know what else happened on a regular basis this weekend? Kobe Bryant dishing out 14 assists per game as if he were gunning for John Stockton's record, not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring crown.
There wasn't a contract drawn up by lawyers for everyone to sign. Not even so much as a handshake deal. But everyone seems to be happier after the Lakers' proved able to, in Bryant's uncouth terms, "finally beat a team that's worth a s---" with a 105-96 victory over the Thunder. "There's been no discussion, but it's been great," Lakers guard Steve Nash said. "He's been making plays for everybody. No matter how we do this or how it looks, when he plays for his teammates, draws a crowd and makes the right read, we're a different team."
While Bryant's passing was the talk of the Lakers' locker room, the passer himself was more pleased with the no-nonsense atmosphere.
"We're doing a real good job of holding each other accountable," Bryant said. "That makes a big difference."
The best sequence that summarized both of the changes came in the fourth quarter, with the Lakers clinging to a one-point lead. Bryant, dribbling on the right side, saw World Peace in his way. Kobe made a face as if he'd just bitten an onion soaked in lemon juice and dismissively waved World Peace out to the corner.
"What the f--- are you doing?" Bryant later recounted his thoughts at that moment.
Friday, Bryant had used the same terminology to express his displeasure at Nash making an unnecessary extra pass. That night he also expounded on the current climate in Lakerland: "The culture right now is a confrontational one, which you want. You can't just sweep things under the rug all the time. They don't get better by doing it. You have to be able to confront things."
On Sunday, World Peace vacated the spot and left Bryant a lane to drive to the hoop. Bryant drove past Serge Ibaka, but rather than challenge one of the NBA's top shot-blockers Bryant found a cutting Earl Clark, who took the ball and slammed it home.
Kobe got things his way, and everyone else got a chance to shoot the ball. For what it's worth, the Lakers are 7-14 when he scores 30 points this season and 3-0 when he has 11 or more assists.
"When he distributes the ball like that, guys are ready to catch it," Lakers forward Pau Gasol said. "He sets everybody up and sets up such a good energy on offense and it carries over to the defensive end. It's worked great." Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni's joy from looking at a box score with 29 assists and six players in double-digit scoring was tempered when his eyes caught the Lakers' record, which is still under .500 at 19-25. You also wonder if D'Antoni's happiness is diminished by the essential scrapping of his offensive philosophy to accommodate this bigger, slower team.
"We're a team that posts the ball," is how Bryant described the Lakers' newfound identity. "We play inside-out."
Does that sound like a typical Mike D'Antoni team to you? But the urgency of their situation has forced everyone to abandon his comfort zone. Nash has gone from directing the show to becoming a spot-up shooter (he made 6 of 11 shots in both of Kobe's 14-assist games). Pau Gasol is coming off the bench, but still scoring more than his season average. Dwight Howard had only seven field goal attempts (he did shoot 10 free throws).
"I think the key for us is to not look at the past and how we played in the past individually and say, 'Well, I had success doing it this way,'" Nash said. "Look at how you can get involved and impact with the way that we're playing."
The Lakers are still four games behind the Houston Rockets for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. Even though the Lakers aren't a playoff team yet, they finally have started to play like one. The ongoing question: Is it the fancy passing, or a passing fancy?
NBA - Kobe Bryant confronts the Lakers' issues head-on - ESPN
So there was Bryant, snapping at Steve Nash for passing up a shot Friday night. Or Kobe with a look of disgust on his face when Metta World Peace was clogging his path by posting up on the right block Sunday afternoon. You know what else happened on a regular basis this weekend? Kobe Bryant dishing out 14 assists per game as if he were gunning for John Stockton's record, not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring crown.
There wasn't a contract drawn up by lawyers for everyone to sign. Not even so much as a handshake deal. But everyone seems to be happier after the Lakers' proved able to, in Bryant's uncouth terms, "finally beat a team that's worth a s---" with a 105-96 victory over the Thunder. "There's been no discussion, but it's been great," Lakers guard Steve Nash said. "He's been making plays for everybody. No matter how we do this or how it looks, when he plays for his teammates, draws a crowd and makes the right read, we're a different team."
While Bryant's passing was the talk of the Lakers' locker room, the passer himself was more pleased with the no-nonsense atmosphere.
"We're doing a real good job of holding each other accountable," Bryant said. "That makes a big difference."
The best sequence that summarized both of the changes came in the fourth quarter, with the Lakers clinging to a one-point lead. Bryant, dribbling on the right side, saw World Peace in his way. Kobe made a face as if he'd just bitten an onion soaked in lemon juice and dismissively waved World Peace out to the corner.
"What the f--- are you doing?" Bryant later recounted his thoughts at that moment.
Friday, Bryant had used the same terminology to express his displeasure at Nash making an unnecessary extra pass. That night he also expounded on the current climate in Lakerland: "The culture right now is a confrontational one, which you want. You can't just sweep things under the rug all the time. They don't get better by doing it. You have to be able to confront things."
On Sunday, World Peace vacated the spot and left Bryant a lane to drive to the hoop. Bryant drove past Serge Ibaka, but rather than challenge one of the NBA's top shot-blockers Bryant found a cutting Earl Clark, who took the ball and slammed it home.
Kobe got things his way, and everyone else got a chance to shoot the ball. For what it's worth, the Lakers are 7-14 when he scores 30 points this season and 3-0 when he has 11 or more assists.
"When he distributes the ball like that, guys are ready to catch it," Lakers forward Pau Gasol said. "He sets everybody up and sets up such a good energy on offense and it carries over to the defensive end. It's worked great." Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni's joy from looking at a box score with 29 assists and six players in double-digit scoring was tempered when his eyes caught the Lakers' record, which is still under .500 at 19-25. You also wonder if D'Antoni's happiness is diminished by the essential scrapping of his offensive philosophy to accommodate this bigger, slower team.
"We're a team that posts the ball," is how Bryant described the Lakers' newfound identity. "We play inside-out."
Does that sound like a typical Mike D'Antoni team to you? But the urgency of their situation has forced everyone to abandon his comfort zone. Nash has gone from directing the show to becoming a spot-up shooter (he made 6 of 11 shots in both of Kobe's 14-assist games). Pau Gasol is coming off the bench, but still scoring more than his season average. Dwight Howard had only seven field goal attempts (he did shoot 10 free throws).
"I think the key for us is to not look at the past and how we played in the past individually and say, 'Well, I had success doing it this way,'" Nash said. "Look at how you can get involved and impact with the way that we're playing."
The Lakers are still four games behind the Houston Rockets for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. Even though the Lakers aren't a playoff team yet, they finally have started to play like one. The ongoing question: Is it the fancy passing, or a passing fancy?
NBA - Kobe Bryant confronts the Lakers' issues head-on - ESPN
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2006/12/07
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Andre Iguodala made a free throw with 0.4 seconds remaining after forcing a turnover to deny a last-second shot by Indiana, as the Denver Nuggets beat the Pacers 102-101.
Iguodala finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and had the defensive play of the game when he stole the ball from Paul George as the Pacers' guard maneuvered for a last-second shot.
Iguoadala signaled for time out with 0.5 seconds remaining. On the inbounds, Andre Miller lobbed a pass toward the basket that Iguodala and George both went after with George making contact and getting called for the foul.
After missing four consecutive free throws earlier in the fourth quarter, Iguodala coolly sank the tiebreaker and missed the second on purpose and the buzzer sounded as the ball rattled off the backboard.
GRIZZLIES 103, 76ERS 100
Marc Gasol scored a season-high 27 points and Rudy Gay had 26 to help Memphis rally from 17 points down to beat Philadelphia.
Jerryd Bayless scored a season-high 21 points to help the Grizzlies win without point guard Mike Conley, out with a sprained left ankle.
The Grizzlies rallied from their double-digit deficit to take control late in the fourth. Bayless missed a jumper, Gay grabbed the rebound and made it 101-100 on a bucket with 13.3 seconds left. Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young missed a short attempt in front of the basket and the Grizzlies grabbed the rebound.
Gay was fouled and made both free throws for a three-point cushion.
Nick Young couldn't get the tying shot off at the buzzer for the Sixers.
Evan Turner scored a season-high 27 points, Thaddeus Young had 23, and Jrue Holiday added 18 points and 10 assists.
ROCKETS 125, JAZZ 80
James Harden scored 25 points and Houston handed Utah its worst home loss in franchise history.
The Jazz had won six straight at home but simply couldn't keep pace in transition. They were outscored 26-2 on the break and shot just 39.5 percent. Their previous worst defeat at home was by 33 points to Milwaukee on Nov. 18, 1980.
Carlos Delfino and Marcus Morris each hit four 3-pointers for Houston, which made 16 of 34 from beyond the arc. Omer Asik had 19 rebounds as the Rockets (25-22) won their third straight.
Houston led by 21 points in the second, by 35 in the third and kept pouring it on fourth.
Randy Foye led Utah with 12 points.
KINGS 96, WIZARDS 94
Isaiah Thomas made a floater with a second to play, capping a seesaw finish as Sacramento broke a four-game losing streak.
Thomas dribbled down the clock after the Wizards tied the game on Martell Webster's short jumper with 7.9 seconds to play, then drove down the middle and put the ball in with a soft touch from 9 feet. Thomas had 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and also had seven assists. Francisco Garcia scored 17 points for the Kings in a game that included 16 ties and 11 lead changes.
Emeka Okafor scored a season-high 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and John Wall had 19 points and six assists for the Wizards.
BULLS 93, BOBCATS 85
Jimmy Butler scored a career-high 19 points and Nate Robinson added 15 as Chicago won for the seventh time in nine games.
Luol Deng returned to the Bulls' lineup after missing five games with a hamstring injury, and scored 12 points in 31 minutes. Chicago won three of five without Deng as his absence was eased by the strong play of Butler, who returned to a reserve role.
Joakim Noah finished with 13 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists for Central Division-leading Chicago.
Kemba Walker and Ben Gordon led the Bobcats with 18 points apeice. Charlotte has lost nine of its last 11 games.
WARRIORS 114, RAPTORS 102
David Lee had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Stephen Curry scored 17 points before leaving with an injury, and Golden State beat an Eastern Conference opponent for the first time in four games this month.
Klay Thompson scored 19 points, Carl Landry had six of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and Andrew Bogut returned from an injury to also score 12 for the Warriors. Harrison Barnes and Jarrett Jack each scored 14 for Golden State, which wraps up a four-game road trip at Cleveland on Tuesday.
Aaron Gray had a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and Ed Davis had 12 for the Raptors, who have lost seven of nine. Alan Anderson, Jose Calderon and Terrence Ross each scored 11 for Toronto.
NETS 97, MAGIC 77
Deron Williams had 20 points and nine assists to help Brooklyn sweep the four-game season against Orlando and win its its eighth straight at home.
The Nets rebounded from their first two-game losing streak under P.J. Carlesimo.
Brook Lopez scored 16 points and Joe Johnson had 13 for the Nets, who tied a franchise record with their 11th victory in January and can break it when they host the NBA champion Miami Heat on Wednesday.
Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Magic, who lost their sixth staight and 17th in their last 19. Their last two losses had each been by two points, but they were blown out of this one early.
NBA wrap: Nuggets snatch last-second win | Stuff.co.nz
Iguodala finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and had the defensive play of the game when he stole the ball from Paul George as the Pacers' guard maneuvered for a last-second shot.
Iguoadala signaled for time out with 0.5 seconds remaining. On the inbounds, Andre Miller lobbed a pass toward the basket that Iguodala and George both went after with George making contact and getting called for the foul.
After missing four consecutive free throws earlier in the fourth quarter, Iguodala coolly sank the tiebreaker and missed the second on purpose and the buzzer sounded as the ball rattled off the backboard.
GRIZZLIES 103, 76ERS 100
Marc Gasol scored a season-high 27 points and Rudy Gay had 26 to help Memphis rally from 17 points down to beat Philadelphia.
Jerryd Bayless scored a season-high 21 points to help the Grizzlies win without point guard Mike Conley, out with a sprained left ankle.
The Grizzlies rallied from their double-digit deficit to take control late in the fourth. Bayless missed a jumper, Gay grabbed the rebound and made it 101-100 on a bucket with 13.3 seconds left. Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young missed a short attempt in front of the basket and the Grizzlies grabbed the rebound.
Gay was fouled and made both free throws for a three-point cushion.
Nick Young couldn't get the tying shot off at the buzzer for the Sixers.
Evan Turner scored a season-high 27 points, Thaddeus Young had 23, and Jrue Holiday added 18 points and 10 assists.
ROCKETS 125, JAZZ 80
James Harden scored 25 points and Houston handed Utah its worst home loss in franchise history.
The Jazz had won six straight at home but simply couldn't keep pace in transition. They were outscored 26-2 on the break and shot just 39.5 percent. Their previous worst defeat at home was by 33 points to Milwaukee on Nov. 18, 1980.
Carlos Delfino and Marcus Morris each hit four 3-pointers for Houston, which made 16 of 34 from beyond the arc. Omer Asik had 19 rebounds as the Rockets (25-22) won their third straight.
Houston led by 21 points in the second, by 35 in the third and kept pouring it on fourth.
Randy Foye led Utah with 12 points.
KINGS 96, WIZARDS 94
Isaiah Thomas made a floater with a second to play, capping a seesaw finish as Sacramento broke a four-game losing streak.
Thomas dribbled down the clock after the Wizards tied the game on Martell Webster's short jumper with 7.9 seconds to play, then drove down the middle and put the ball in with a soft touch from 9 feet. Thomas had 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and also had seven assists. Francisco Garcia scored 17 points for the Kings in a game that included 16 ties and 11 lead changes.
Emeka Okafor scored a season-high 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and John Wall had 19 points and six assists for the Wizards.
BULLS 93, BOBCATS 85
Jimmy Butler scored a career-high 19 points and Nate Robinson added 15 as Chicago won for the seventh time in nine games.
Luol Deng returned to the Bulls' lineup after missing five games with a hamstring injury, and scored 12 points in 31 minutes. Chicago won three of five without Deng as his absence was eased by the strong play of Butler, who returned to a reserve role.
Joakim Noah finished with 13 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists for Central Division-leading Chicago.
Kemba Walker and Ben Gordon led the Bobcats with 18 points apeice. Charlotte has lost nine of its last 11 games.
WARRIORS 114, RAPTORS 102
David Lee had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Stephen Curry scored 17 points before leaving with an injury, and Golden State beat an Eastern Conference opponent for the first time in four games this month.
Klay Thompson scored 19 points, Carl Landry had six of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and Andrew Bogut returned from an injury to also score 12 for the Warriors. Harrison Barnes and Jarrett Jack each scored 14 for Golden State, which wraps up a four-game road trip at Cleveland on Tuesday.
Aaron Gray had a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and Ed Davis had 12 for the Raptors, who have lost seven of nine. Alan Anderson, Jose Calderon and Terrence Ross each scored 11 for Toronto.
NETS 97, MAGIC 77
Deron Williams had 20 points and nine assists to help Brooklyn sweep the four-game season against Orlando and win its its eighth straight at home.
The Nets rebounded from their first two-game losing streak under P.J. Carlesimo.
Brook Lopez scored 16 points and Joe Johnson had 13 for the Nets, who tied a franchise record with their 11th victory in January and can break it when they host the NBA champion Miami Heat on Wednesday.
Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Magic, who lost their sixth staight and 17th in their last 19. Their last two losses had each been by two points, but they were blown out of this one early.
NBA wrap: Nuggets snatch last-second win | Stuff.co.nz
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Following a game’s worth of trash talk with Kevin Garnett, a furious Anthony tried to confront Garnett outside the locker room and again at the Celtics’ team bus.
The two had been assessed technical fouls with 9:03 left in the game after having to be separated. Anthony bolted from the court following the game, hoping to confront Garnett at the locker room but was restrained by teammates.
He again tried confronting Garnett at the bus, and a video on TMZ showed the two yelling at each other, with several people between them. Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo and assistant coach Tyronn Lue were pushing Garnett back to the bus as Garnett said, “What are you talking about?” to Anthony.
Garnett was not suspended or fined. Anthony told reporters in New York Tuesday that he lost his cool and amicably settled matters with Garnett during a phone conversation.
When asked about the suspension following the Celtics’ 87-79 victory over the Phoenix Suns Wednesday night at TD Garden, Garnett left the interview without comment.
“There are no circumstances in which it is acceptable for a player to confront an opponent after a game,” said NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson in a statement. “Carmelo Anthony attempted to engage with Kevin Garnett multiple times after Monday’s game and therefore a suspension was warranted.”
Rondo, who went to the team bus after serving his one-game suspension and had his warm-ups on, said he didn’t want the situation to escalate.
“I’m in the video? What did I have on?” he joked. “I didn’t want anything happen to the big fella. I had my teammate’s back, but nobody was looking for a fight or anything. We just tried to break it up. I was just there for my teammate.”
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said, “I don’t believe guys should ever be suspended. But it’s not a surprise. But we [coaches] get in trouble for sitting players and then we suspend players, it’s the same thing. If you’re a fan, you’re not happy with that.”
Rondo returns
Rondo returned for Wednesday night’s game after being suspended one game for bumping official Rodney Mott during Saturday night’s win over the Hawks in Atlanta.
“I don’t think I did anything wrong,” he said. “The comment I made to Rodney made him laugh, so I think more so it was just what happened [the bump], but I don’t know if anybody has been suspended for that, either. So the rep I’ve earned, I have to deal with it.”
Rondo said he has a good relationship with Mott, who did not call Rondo for a technical foul.
“I don’t know many refs by first name, but I know Rodney, and like I said, I don’t think it was that big of a deal,” Rondo said. “I don’t think he did, either. Things happen.”
The NBA said Rondo refused to cooperate with its investigation, and he acknowledged that he hung up on the league official who called to discuss the incident.
“Aw man, I get suspended for a phone hangup and people just get away with anything in this league,” said Rondo, making a reference to Anthony. “Oh my goodness, so that’s the same thing as I did?”
Green anniversary
Wednesday was the first anniversary of Jeff Green’s surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm, the beginning of his long journey back to the Celtics and the NBA. Green was detected with a heart abnormality in a routine training camp stress test in December 2012, and the surgery saved his life. Green was able to recover quickly enough to participate in training camp just nine months after the procedure.
He scored 14 points Wednesday night with two thunderous dunks that thrilled the crowd, including one on Michael Beasley and Jermaine O’Neal.
“It took about six months for the chance to heal permanently,” Green said. “After that, it was just how I come along. It was never a timetable.
“I didn’t want to put pressure on myself if I said I want to be ready and playing by September. I just try to do as much as I can in a day to let my body recover and get back on the court.”
Rivers had not been optimistic about Green returning.
“I just never thought he would play again,” Rivers said. “I really didn’t. When you hear the word ‘heart,’ it’s bad, I guess. But it’s been proven you can come back and be good.”
Collins ailing
Rivers said Jason Collins is battling a sore hamstring and he will try to limit the center’s minutes. Collins played almost five minutes Wednesday . . . Wednesday was O’Neal’s first game back in Boston since spending most of last season with the Celtics sidelined because of an ailing wrist. O’Neal underwent surgery on the wrist, then went to Germany for blood-spinning treatment on both knees in the offseason before signing a one-year contract with the Suns. He is tied for second in the NBA with eight technical fouls despite playing in just 29 of Phoenix’s 37 games.
Carmelo Anthony suspended a game by NBA for actions involving Kevin Garnett - Celtics - Boston-com