SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Manu Ginobili and Carmelo Anthony both missed two weeks. Cruising to wins like this is what the San Antonio Spurs pictured when their scoring star came back.
The sinking New York Knicks, meanwhile, are in a nightmare since theirs returned.
Tony Parker scored 32 points and the Spurs dealt New York a third consecutive loss, 118-105 on Wednesday night, that only exacerbated the mounting frustrations of the Knicks. Fading rapidly is the feel-good glow of Linsanity: New York has lost six of nine and has only stumbled since Jeremy Lin and Anthony were reunited just before the All-Star game.
Like the Knicks, the Spurs are finally back at full strength with Ginobili, who played his second game after missing two weeks with a strained stomach muscle. Ginobili and Tim Duncan scored 17 points apiece, while San Antonio is doing a far better job than New York of blending its pieces back together.
"We were more into this game. We knew that we needed it," Ginobili said. "We lost two out of three at home, and this game was an important one. We didn't want to let it get away."
Anthony led New York with 27 points. He was sharper than a listless, six-point game in Dallas a night earlier but had no answers afterward on what's not working.
"I don't know. I really can't answer that," Anthony said. "I really can't put a finger on it."
Amare Stoudemire, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds, took a different view after a game in which New York trailed by as much as 24 in the second half.
"(The Spurs) don't have nearly enough talent to compete with us," Stoudemire said. "Our personnel, our talent is off the charts."
It hardly looks that way lately. The Knicks are three games below .500 and bear little resemblance to their Lin-inspired resurgence before the All-Star break, and booting Landry Fields from the starting lineup before the game didn't help much.
New York played without center Tyson Chandler, who sat out with a strained hamstring.
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said relegating Fields to the bench wasn't a demotion but simply a stab at trying to find combinations that work. The change came a night after the Knicks trailed by as many as 19 at Dallas, where Anthony afterward admitted having trouble finding his new role in the offense.
Lin came out of nowhere last month and delivered the Knicks the playmaking point guard they craved. But New York's transition has been anything but seamless since Anthony returned Feb. 20 after missing seven games, mostly because of a groin injury.
The Knicks are 2-5 with Anthony back in the lineup. D'Antoni said before the game that Anthony needs to be New York's leading scorer and said he understood the frustration of his star.
"You have to work through. But there's no reason why it can't co-exist," D'Antoni said. "There's no reason why everybody shouldn't do well. We just got to find the right balance of everybody getting into their spots."
Anthony had as many field goals in the first 6 minutes Wednesday night — two 3-pointers — than he did in Dallas. He was 12 of 24 from the floor. Lin shot 7 of 15 and had four assists. Stoudemire had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Gary Neal scored 12 points and found his way back into the starting lineup as the Spurs ease Ginobili back into playing shape. Ginobil played 25 minutes, shooting 7 of 10 from the floor and adding six assists.
DeJuan Blair, Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter added 10 points apiece for the Spurs. It was a convincing win for San Antonio, which had lost two of its last three at home after returning from the winningest nine-game road trip in NBA history, when the Spurs went 8-1 and quietly climbed to second in the West.
"We spent a lot of energy on the road when we went 8-1," Parker said. "So we want to take care of home court and we did that."
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich didn't stick around to see the end, getting ejected at the end of the third quarter following a heated exchange with officials over foul calls.
A scary moment came in the second quarter when Spurs point guard T.J. Ford lay on the floor for more than three minutes. The Spurs said the veteran received a stinger after getting elbowed in his back, and Ford appeared wobbly while being helped off the court and back into the tunnel. He didn't return to the game.
Ford missed the entire 2004-05 season because of a spinal cord injury, and the Spurs took the unusual step of noting that Ford was "neurologically intact" on a midgame injury report. It was not immediately clear how much time the Spurs might be without their backup point guard, who has played in just 14 games all season because of other injuries.
Notes: Knicks F Jared Jefferies (sore foot) didn't play and is also expected to miss Friday's game against Milwaukee...Don't expect the Spurs to make any surprise trades before the March 15 deadline. Popovich joked before Wednesday's game that he'll just let the phone ring his office on the eve of the deadline. "We're not doing anything anyway," Popovich imagined telling his staff. "Don't answer it."
DeRozan scores 23 to lead Raptors over Rockets
TORONTO (AP) — Dwane Casey spent the early portion of the fourth quarter shouting at his players while they squandered a 17-point lead against the weary Houston Rockets.
Whatever the message was for his Toronto Raptors was received just in time.
DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points as the Raptors used sizzling first-half shooting and a pivotal fourth-quarter surge to upend the struggling Rockets 116-98.
Toronto set season highs in points and shooting percentage (59.2), but needed more than 3 1/2 quarters to put away a Rockets team that looked worn down following an overtime loss in Boston a night earlier.
The victory came with plenty of blemishes, but what mattered most to Casey was that his players were able to fend off surging Houston and take control of a game that appeared to be slipping away.
"I thought they had us where they wanted us," Casey said. "A team like that, a veteran team, you never relax in those situations ... but I was happy the way our guys bounced back, made a run, got back into it defensively and got out in the open floor, ran and made good decisions."
Casey was apoplectic at times on the sidelines, screaming and throwing up his hands as he watched Houston whittle a 71-54 deficit down to four points with just over seven minutes remaining.
Toronto responded with a 15-2 run capped by a Leandro Barbosa three-point play after he finished off a 3-on-1 break with a strong drive to the hoop. Toronto cruised from there to finish 2-2 on its four-game homestand while sending Houston to its fifth straight loss.
Casey said he was concerned with how the Raptors were moving the ball down the stretch.
"I got up on our guys a little bit at the end because we kind of threw it around when we should have been playing smart, milking it, executing more," he said. "Win, lose or draw, we have to learn each and every time we walk on the floor, and that's what I was imploring our guys to do."
Saddled with one of the youngest rosters in the NBA, the Raptors have seen their share of fourth-quarter leads evaporate. Jose Calderon, who had 17 points and 12 assists in the win, said he and his teammates approached crunch time with a different attitude against the Rockets.
"We kept our composure, and relaxed and (were) confident," he said. "We've made mistakes with those leads, so today we were a little bit more calm ... we executed a little bit better."
One area of concern for Casey was the Rockets' parade to the foul line. Houston went 37 for 44 on free throws, and six players had five or more attempts.
"We put them on the free-throw line too many times," Casey said. "We were playing more with our hands instead of our feet."
That was about the only thing that went right for the Rockets, who allowed the Raptors to set season highs in first-half points (58) and field-goal percentage (64.9) and couldn't recover despite their best efforts.
Rockets coach Kevin McHale refused to use the schedule as an excuse.
"We're playing basketball. We're not doing an eight-hour shift or 12-hour shift in the mine," McHale said. "We just looked a half step slow. There were loose balls, we didn't get any of them. That just caught up with us."
Notes: Raptors F-C Andrea Bargnani (calf) missed his 20th straight game Wednesday, but will likely be back this weekend. Casey said Bargnani will need to get in at least two practices, but expects the 7-footer to be back in the lineup Sunday against visiting Milwaukee. ... Houston came in with the second-worst road record among NBA teams presently above .500. Only the L.A. Lakers (6-13) entered Wednesday with a worse mark away from home. ... Rockets C Samuel Dalembert, a Montreal resident and a fixture of the men's national team, had 14 points and six rebounds in 34 minutes.
Mavs G Kidd fined $25K for criticizing officiating
NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has fined Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Kidd $25,000 for criticizing the officiating in a game earlier this week.
Kidd was fined for comments he made following the Mavericks' 95-91 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.
The fine was announced Wednesday by Stu Jackson, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations.
Other NBA Capsules
Mason rallies Wizards past Lakers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Roger Mason led a spirited fourth-quarter comeback with nine points in the period, Kobe Bryant lost his shooting touch down the stretch and the Washington Wizards rallied from a 21-point, third-quarter deficit Wednesday night to stun the Los Angeles Lakers 106-101.
Mason hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, turning what had been a pro-Lakers scene into an unusually raucous show of home support for a team that's 20 games below .500. The same arena that rocked to "M-V-P!" for Bryant in the first half was bellowing "Beat L.A.!" in the final minute.
Nick Young scored 19 points for the Wizards, who beat the Lakers for the first time since 2006 — a stretch of nine straight losses. Trevor Booker had 18 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, and Kevin Seraphin scored a career-high 14 points on 7-for-8 shooting.
Mason also finished with 14 points, and John Wall had nine assists to help make up for four points on 1-for-8 shooting.
Bryant scored 30, but he went 1 for 10 from the field in the fourth quarter. Pau Gasol had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Andrew Bynum scored 19 points for the Lakers, who dropped both ends of a road back-to-back.
76ers 103, Celtics 71
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Evan Turner scored a career-best 26 points, helping the 76ers rout the Celtics to maintain their lead in the Atlantic Division.
Before tipoff, Turner denied a radio report that a mystery problem was causing his inconsistent play. Then Turner went out and proved he's just fine. He shot 11 of 19 and grabbed nine rebounds.
Six Sixers scored in double figures, including Elton Brand (18), Lou Williams (15) and Nik Vucevic (14). Vucevic's 12 rebounds were a high for the rookie. Andre Iguodala had 10 points, eight assists and seven boards.
The Sixers, a surprise contender a month ago, had lost eight of 10 to drop their lead in the division to one game over Boston, which had won five in a row.
Jazz 99, Bobcats 93
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Al Jefferson had 31 points and nine rebounds as the Jazz controlled the paint, where they outscored the Bobcats 54-36 and outrebounded them 43-34.
Jefferson was 11 of 19 from the field and hit all but one of his 10 foul shots in a dominating inside effort. Paul Millsap scored 16 points while Derrick Favors added 14 points for the Jazz, who won for just the fifth time this season on the road.
The victory helped pull the Jazz back to .500 at 19-19.
Corey Maggette scored 25 points to lead the Bobcats, who failed in their quest to win back-to-back games for the first time this season. It's the third straight 20-point game for Maggette, who's averaging 19.7 points per game over the last 10 games.
Heat 89, Hawks 86
MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James had 31 points and 11 rebounds, Dwyane Wade added 18 points and set up Udonis Haslem for an alley-oop dunk with 12 seconds left.
Miami won its 11th straight at home and had to come from 10 points down in the third quarter to extend the streak. Another Heat streak ended — it was Miami's first time since April 6, 2006, without making a 3-pointer, a span that included 455 regular-season games and 60 more in the playoffs.
The Heat were 0 for 10 from beyond the arc.
Josh Smith scored 23 for the Hawks, who were without Joe Johnson and Tracy McGrady, among others.
Timberwolves 106, Trail Blazers 94
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Wes Johnson scored 19 points to back Kevin Love's 29 points and 16 rebounds for Minnesota.
Johnson went 3 of 4 on 3-pointers and Luke Ridnour added 22 points for the Timberwolves (21-19), who moved into the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff race. They own the tiebreaker over Houston, which lost earlier Wednesday.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points and Gerald Wallace had 13 points, nine assists and nine rebounds for the Blazers, who have lost four of their last five games.
Aldridge went 2 for 3 from the free throw line — his first foul shots in four games — but was badly outplayed by Love for the second straight game. He was held to just five points in the second half.
Thunder 115, Suns 104
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Russell Westbrook scored 31 points, James Harden added a career-high 30 off the bench and the Thunder roared back for their 14th straight home win.
Kevin Durant also chipped in 30 points and Serge Ibaka contributed 18 points and a career-high 20 rebounds as the Thunder overcame a 16-point deficit late in the third quarter.
Oklahoma City limited the Suns to two baskets over an 11-minute stretch, outscoring Phoenix 33-9 to eliminate a big deficit and take control.
Marcin Gortat had a career-best 28 points and 11 rebounds to lead Phoenix, which built the largest lead for an opponent this season inside Chesapeake Energy Arena only to watch it disintegrate.
Bulls 106, Bucks 104
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Derrick Rose drilled a long jumper at the buzzer, powering the Bulls.
Holding the ball for the last shot in a tie game, Rose pulled up just inside the 3-point line and hit it just as time expired. Rose was mobbed by his teammates near halfcourt, and cheered wildly by a predominantly pro-Bulls crowd.
Rose scored 30 and Joakim Noah added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who have won eight straight.
Ersan Ilyasova had a career-high 32 points and Drew Gooden added a season-high 27 for the Bucks, who were coming off a home win over Philadelphia on Monday.
The Bulls held Milwaukee's Brandon Jennings to 11 points on 4-for-18 shooting. Jennings had scored 27-plus points in his previous three games coming into Wednesday.
Nets 101, Clippers 100
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jordan Farmar hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 0.2 seconds left and the Nets squandered an 18-point, second-half lead before beating the Clippers.
Deron Williams had 21 points and picked up his 10th assist with a pass to Farmar as the Nets won the chippy contest that featured five technical fouls.
Chris Paul put the Clippers ahead for the first time since the opening minutes when he made two free throws with 8.9 seconds to play after being fouled 20 feet from the basket. Williams nearly lost the ball on the Nets' first inbounds play and the ball went out of bounds near halfcourt. Williams took the ensuing inbounds pass from Farmar and returned the ball for the game-winning shot.
Cavaliers 100, Nuggets 99
DENVER (AP) — Kyrie Irving hit a driving layup with 4 seconds left to cap a seesaw battle in the final minutes. Irving scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, all in the last 2:36 of the game, and Antawn Jamison had 33 to help the Cavaliers snap a six-game skid.
Al Harrington had 22 points and Andre Miller 16 for the Nuggets, whose four-game win streak ended.
Neither team could pull away in the fourth quarter. Denver scored the first six points to go ahead 78-76 and the lead changed hands nine times in the final 2:36,, with the point guards staging a personal duel down the stretch.
Ty Lawson had five of his 18 points to give Denver a 95-94 lead and Irving had two three-point plays and a driving layup to put Cleveland up 98-97 with 24 seconds left.
He saved his best for the final seconds.
Kings 99, Hornets 98
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — John Salmons made the go-ahead layup with 6.8 seconds left, Marcus Thornton scored 25 points, and the Kings snapped a four-game losing streak.
The Hornets led by one and inbounded with 8.9 seconds left, but Isaiah Thomas stole Trevor Ariza's pass and quickly spotted Salmons cutting to the basket for a left-handed layup.
Jarrett Jack had 25 points and Ariza 20 for the Hornets, who lost their third straight and fifth in six games. Chris Kaman had 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Tyreke Evans had 13 points for the Kings, who had dropped 10 of their previous 12 games. Jason Thompson, Salmons and Thomas all had 12 points, and Jimmer Fredette scored 11.
Grizzlies 110, Warriors 92
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Rudy Gay had 26 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to lead the Grizzlies to their fifth straight victory.
Marc Gasol added 17 points and 12 rebounds and Marreese Speights scored 18 points to pace the hot-starting and hard-closing Grizzlies, who sprinted to a 21-4 lead, lost it, then built back a 21-point lead late. Memphis has won nine of its last 10 games and is gaining momentum for the second straight season in the deep Western Conference.
Monta Ellis had 16 points and a hobbled Stephen Curry came off the bench to score 15 points for a Warriors team that just returned home from a solid 3-3 road trip only to turn in another perplexing performance.
Other NBA News
Wade (ankle) in lineup against Hawks
MIAMI (AP) — Heat guard Dwyane Wade was in Miami's starting lineup for Wednesday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks, one night after tweaking his right ankle.
Wade did not play in the second half of Miami's game against New Jersey on Tuesday after turning the ankle, though insisted afterward he could have returned if necessary. He sprained the same ankle and missed six games earlier this season.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wade tested the ankle Wednesday afternoon and experienced no problems.
"We made sure he's ready to go," Spoelstra said.
Meanwhile, the Hawks arrived in Miami at less than full strength.
Atlanta guard Joe Johnson was ruled out for the Hawks, marking the sixth game he's missed out of Atlanta's past seven — as well as the All-Star game — because of left knee tendinitis. Johnson did some shooting on Monday and had a pregame workout in Indiana on Tuesday, but it's still unknown when he will return to the lineup.
"I'm hoping he's close," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "I know he's been working out every day. He says it's feeling better."
Tracy McGrady, who has been dealing with a left knee strain, was held out of the Atlanta lineup. McGrady played nearly 20 minutes Tuesday in Atlanta's win at Indiana, but Drew said he didn't want to subject McGrady to the demands of back-to-back games.
Reserve guard Willie Green also remained sidelined for Atlanta while recovering from back spasms. The Hawks have been dealing with the absences of centers Al Horford (left pectoral muscle tear) and Jason Collins (left elbow) for several weeks.
Wade aggravated the ankle on an awkward play against the Nets.
He appeared to step on the back of New Jersey reserve Jordan Williams' foot while chasing him down court with 1:25 left in the first half on Tuesday. Wade tumbled to the court, got up after a moment then walked without an obvious limp to Miami's offensive end when the Heat took possession.
Moments after Joel Anthony scored for Miami, Wade darted in front of Nets' guard Jordan Farmar and fouled him to stop the clock and get a chance to leave the game.
Wade went to the bench and was quickly approached by Heat trainer Jay Sabol, but showed no signs of pain and received no treatment before Sabol returned to his seat a few seconds later. Wade was with his teammates on the bench for the second half against the Nets.
-- Tim Reynolds
Sore shoulder sidelines Bulls' Hamilton vs. Bucks
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Chicago Bulls guards Richard Hamilton and C.J. Watson are out Wednesday night against Milwaukee.
Hamilton has a right shoulder injury, while Watson has a left ankle sprain. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau says both injuries are being evaluated on a day-to-day basis. Coming into Wednesday night, Hamilton had missed a total of 23 games because of injuries.
The Bucks will be without defensive ace Luc Richard Mbah a Moute because of a right knee injury, and guard Beno Udrih will be a game-time decision with left knee soreness. Stephen Jackson continues to sit out with hamstring soreness, and no timeline has been established for his return.
Slumping Knicks move Fields to bench; Chandler out
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Knicks center Tyson Chandler is out with a strained hamstring and guard Landry Fields is out of the starting lineup for slumping New York.
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said before Wednesday night's game against the San Antonio Spurs that moving Fields to the bench wasn't a demotion. He said the Knicks are simply trying to find combinations that work now that the team is back to full strength.?Iman Shumpert will start in place of Fields.
The Knicks have lost five of eight and have little resembled their Jeremy Lin-inspired resurgence before the All-Star break.
Chandler was listed as day-to-day. Forward Jared Jeffries is also out with a sore right knee and is also expected to miss Friday's game against Milwaukee.
Diaw inactive for Wednesday's game
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Bobcats coach Paul Silas says Boris Diaw will be inactive for Wednesday night's game against Utah.
That news comes after Silas refused to play Diaw against Orlando Tuesday night, snapping the veteran's string of 384 consecutive games played.
Silas says he "doesn't know" if Diaw will play again this season.
Silas has grown increasingly frustrated by Diaw passing up makeable shots, saying "I like a player who is really committed to not only the team but to himself" and "had he played all out — the way he should have played — it would have been a much, much better club."
Bobcats president of basketball operations Rod Higgins confirmed Tuesday night Diaw's agent recently approached him about a buyout or a trade for Diaw, whose contract expires at the end of the season.
Wade tweets to Manning about Dolphins
MIAMI (AP) — Dwyane Wade is recruiting again — and he's chasing Peyton Manning.
The Miami Heat guard tweeted that Manning would look great in a Miami Dolphins uniform, saying so Wednesday after the Indianapolis Colts parted ways with their longtime star quarterback.
It would be splashy, like when the Heat landed Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010. The Miami Marlins have also made big moves in recent months as they move into a new stadium. And it's believed Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross will pursue Manning.
Wade says, "peyton that number 18 wld look gr8 in a dolphins uniform..steve ross let's go.. marlins & heat style..All in."
Wade is a Chicago Bears fan. So why not push for Manning there? Easy — Wade says he likes Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.
Young out for 76ers, O'Neal out for Celtics
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Center Jermaine O'Neal is out for Boston and forward Thaddeus Young won't play for the 76ers when the teams battle for first place in the Atlantic Division on Wednesday night.
O'Neal has a sprained left wrist. Young has an upper respiratory tract infection. O'Neal is averaging 5.0 points and 5.4 rebounds. Young is third on the Sixers in scoring with 13.2 points per game.
The Sixers, who hold a one-game lead over the Celtics, already are missing starting center Spencer Hawes, who has a left Achilles strain.
Louis Vuitton Handbags
Louis Vuitton Outlet
lv bags
没有评论:
发表评论