NBA scores,updates,news and rumors . . .

[tonistork]

Pacers 16-1 after 105-100 win over Clippers
AP - Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Despite having the NBA's best record, the Indiana Pacers realize there's always room for improvement.

David West scored 14 of his 24 points in the third quarter and grabbed 12 rebounds, Paul George had 27 points, and the Pacers improved their best start in franchise history to 16-1 on Sunday with a 105-100 victory that snapped the Los Angeles Clippers' four-game winning streak.

Jamal Crawford led the Clippers with 20 points - the 10th time this season that a Pacers opponent didn't have anyone with more than 20. Chris Paul had 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Blake Griffin scored 16 and pulled down 12 rebounds, equaling teammate DeAndre Jordan's total.

''We're always up for a challenge, and we had a good one today,'' said center Roy Hibbert, who helped fuel the Pacers' seventh straight win with 19 points. ''The Clippers are going to be a contender for the Western Conference finals, so we just had to get in there and grind it out today and finish it off. But we have a lot more work to do. We don't worry about swagger. We're just five individuals out there on the court playing together.''

The defending Pacific Division champion Clippers played their first game since finding out that J.J. Redick will be sidelined six to eight weeks because of a broken bone in his shooting hand and a ligament tear in his right elbow.

NOTES: The Pacers began a five-game road trip that includes matchups with the top-four teams in the Western Conference - including Portland, San Antonio and Oklahoma City. . The Pacers blocked four shots, increasing their NBA-best total to 125. Hibbert leads the league with 61.

source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/pacers-16-1-105-100

TS (toni storks) view:
If the Pacers defeats Spurs & Thunder on the road, then I agree that this team is for real and they've got what it takes to dethrone the Heat as Eastern champ.

[tonistork]

Durant has triple-double, Thunder beat Wolves

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma City may soon have to address the issue of slow defensive starts that lead to double-digit deficits. On Sunday, the Thunder just wanted to bask in another comeback win and another historical statistical performance by Kevin Durant.

Durant recorded his first triple-double of the season with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, and the Thunder rallied for another fourth-quarter win, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-103.

Durant also added four blocked shots and four steals. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first NBA player to record 30 or more points, 10 or more rebounds, 12 or more assists, four or more steals and four or more blocks in the same game since blocks and steals became official NBA stats during the 1973-74 season.

''Kevin is a stat filler,'' coach Scott Brooks said. ''He can do it all and he has the ability to have large scoring nights, rebounding, assists and steals and blocked shots. He's one of the few guys that can do that. That's what makes us a good defensive team, because he can guard not only his man, he can guard multiple positions.''

Oklahoma City extended its winning streak to seven games, tops in the Western Conference, and moved to 9-0 on the season at home, matching the franchise's longest home winning streak to open a season, set in Seattle in 2004.

Kevin Martin, in his return to Oklahoma City after joining Minnesota during the offseason, led the Timberwolves with 24 points, while Nikola Pekovic had 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Thunder have beaten Minnesota eight straight times at home, dating to the 2008-09 season, the franchise's first in Oklahoma City.

Serge Ibaka added 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots for Oklahoma City. Kevin Love had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, hitting his first three 3-point attempts in the first quarter but missing his other three attempts. Love finished 4 of 14 from the field. (TS view: Kevin Love as of late is struggling shooting the ball)

source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/durant-triple-double-thunder-beat

[tonistork]

Davis hurt, Anderson leads Pelicans over Knicks
AP - Sports
 
NEW YORK (AP) -- Once Anthony Davis went down, Ryan Anderson stepped up to keep the New York Knicks on their losing ways.

Anderson made seven 3-pointers and scored 31 points, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame Davis' loss to a broken left hand to hand the Knicks their ninth straight loss, 103-99 on Sunday night.

''When Ryan comes into the game, he doesn't think like a bench guy,'' Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. ''He thinks like 'I'm playing 35 minutes and I've got to do my job'. Obviously we don't expect him to score 31 points, but I will take it.''

Tyreke Evans added 24 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, as the Pelicans sent the Knicks to their seventh straight home loss.

''Obviously we played against a desperate team tonight,'' Williams said. ''But, we're desperate, too. Any time you can win on the road, winning eight games period, is special in the NBA.''

The Pelicans, now 8-8, are last in the NBA's Southwest Division but would be in first place in the Atlantic. Toronto currently is atop the standings at 6-10 - and the last-place Knicks (3-13) are only three games back.

Davis had seven points and four rebounds in the first quarter before leaving with what the Pelicans said was a non-displaced fracture in his left hand. The team said a timetable for his return has not been determined.

Carmelo Anthony finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. had a career-high 21 points for the Knicks, who haven't won at home since beating Milwaukee on Oct. 30 in their season opener.

''Nine straight, eight straight, whatever we lost, we just can't seem to get it together,'' Anthony said. ''Can't seem to figure it out, but we have to. We don't have no choice but to figure this out.''

Jrue Holiday finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for the Pelicans. Andrea Bargnani had 17 points for the Knicks {TS view: with 6 shot blocks and who say he can't play defense, the American NBA experts (daw?), oh common, this falling American so-called NBA experts are all crap}.  J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton each had 12.

''We lost and it's killing me right now,'' Felton said. ''We need to find a way to end this losing streak. I don't care how ugly it is.''

source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/davis-hurt-anderson-leads-pelicans

[tonistork]

Other Results:

Charlotte, 98    Miami, 99

Golden State, 115    Sacramento, 113

Portland, 114    LA Lakers, 108

[kingjames24szupladoh]

December 3, Final Scores/Leaders:

Magic – 80 Wizards – 98
Afflalo: 21 Pts. Price: 4 Asts. Vucevic: 8 Rebs./Ariza: 24 Pts. Wall: 13 Asts. Nene: 6 Rebs.

Pelicans – 131 Bulls – 128
Anderson: 36 Pts. Holiday: 12 Asts. Smith: 14 Rebs./Deng: 37 Pts. Hinrich: 11 Asts. Gibson: 14 Rebs.

Hawks – 100 Spurs – 102
Teague: 19 Pts. Teague: 7 Asts. Millsap: 14 Rebs./Duncan: 23 Pts. Parker: 7 Asts.
Duncan: 21 Rebs.

Rockets – 103 Jazz – 109
Harden: 37 Pts. Harden: 8 Asts. Howard: 9 Rebs./Hayward: 29 Pts. Burke: 6 Asts. Favors: 13 Rebs.

Pacers – 102 Blazers – 106
George: 43 Pts. Hill: 11 Asts. Hibbert: 14 Rebs./Aldridge: 28 Pts. Batum: 3 Asts. Aldridge: 10 Rebs.

STANDINGS:

West:
1. BLAZERS 15-3
2. SPURS 15-3
3. Thunder 12-3
4. CLIPPERS 12-6
5. Rockets 13-6
6. Nuggets 10-6
7. Mavericks 10-8
8. Warriors 10-8
9. Suns 9-8
10. Pelicans 9-8
11. Grizzlies 8-8
12. Lakers 9-9
13. Timberwolves 9-10
14. Kings 4-11
15. Jazz 4-15

East:
1. PACERS 16-2
2. HEAT 14-3
3. Wizards 9-9
4. RAPTORS 6-10
5. Hawks 9-10
6. Bobcats 8-10
7. Bulls 7-9
8. Pistons 7-10
9. Celtics 7-12
10. Magic 6-11
11. Sixers 6-12
12. Cavaliers 5-12
13. Nets 5-12
14. Knicks 3-13
15. Bucks 3-13

*Note: Division leaders are capitalized. Division leaders are guaranteed at least the 4th seed.


Game Notes :

* Tim Duncan had 23 pts and 21 rbs vs.the Hawks, his 22nd career 20-20 game. He became the oldest player in NBA history to post a 20-20 game. . .

[david brent]

sayang ung pacers kanina sa blazers! 43pt career high ni PG! and he scored 5 straight 3pts shot towards the last 3mins, hindi lang nakahabol. sayang!

[kingjames24szupladoh]

agree sayang effort ni PG pero good game on both teams .
ganda din yung laban ng Spurs last basket ni TD . . .

overall ganda ng mga laban ngayon puro dikitan maliban sa wiz at magic . . .

[kingjames24szupladoh]

Wednesday, December 4 Schedule: 8 games

Orlando at Philadelphia - 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT
Milwaukee at Boston - 7:30 pm ET, 4:30 pm PT
Denver at Brooklyn - 7:30 pm ET, 4:30 pm PT
Detroit at Miami - 7:30 pm ET, 4:30 pm PT on NBATV
Phoenix at Memphis - 8 pm ET, 5 pm PT
Charlotte at Dallas - 8:30 pm ET, 5:30 pm PT
Oklahoma City at Sacramento - 10 pm ET, 7 pm PT
Toronto at Golden State - 10:30 pm ET, 7:30 pm PT

[kingjames24szupladoh]

League Leaders :


1. Kevin Durant - 28.5
2. Carmelo Anthony - 26.3
3. LeBron James - 26.0
4. Paul George - 24.6
5. James Harden - 23.8

Assists:
1. Chris Paul - 12.0
2. John Wall - 9.2
3. Stephen Curry - 8.8
4. Ricky Rubio - 8.5
5. Brandon Jennings - 8.4

Rebounds:
1. Kevin Love - 13.6
2. DeAndre Jordan - 12.8
3. Andre Drummond - 12.8
4. Dwight Howard - 12.6
5. Nikola Vucevic - 10.9

Steals:
1. Michael Carter-Williams - 3.1
2. Ricky Rubio - 3.0
3. Chris Paul - 2.3
4. Tony Allen - 2.3
5. John Wall - 2.3

Blocks:
1. Anthony Davis - 3.6
2. Roy Hibbert - 3.4
3. Serge Ibaka - 2.6
4. Brook Lopez - 2.3
5. John Henson - 2.2

[kingjames24szupladoh]

December 06, Final Scores/Leaders:

Knicks – 113 Nets – 83
Anthony: 19 Pts. Anthony: 6 Asts. Anthony: 10 Rebs./Lopez: 24 Pts. Blatche: 3 Asts.
Lopez: 9 Rebs.

Clippers – 101 Grizzlies – 81
Paul: 15 Pts. Paul: 8 Asts. Jordan: 14 Rebs./Koufos: 17 Pts. Pondexter: 5 Asts. Randolph: 12 Rebs.

Heat – 87 Bulls – 107
James: 21 Pts. Cole: 6 Asts. Beasley: 7 Rebs./Boozer: 27 Pts. Hinrich: 7 Asts. Noah: 15 Rebs.


STANDINGS :

West:
1. BLAZERS 16-3
2. SPURS 15-3
3. Thunder 13-4
4. CLIPPERS 13-7
5. Rockets 13-7
6. Nuggets 11-7
7. Mavericks 12-8
8. Warriors 11-8
9. Suns 10-9
10. Pelicans 9-9
11. Grizzlies 9-9
12. Lakers 9-9
13. Timberwolves 9-10
14. Kings 4-12
15. Jazz 4-16

East:
1. PACERS 17-2
2. HEAT 14-5
3. Wizards 9-9
4. CELTICS 8-12
5. Hawks 10-10
6. Pistons 9-10
7. Bulls 8-9
8. Bobcats 8-11
9. Sixers 7-12
10. Raptors 6-11
11. Magic 6-12
12. Cavaliers 6-12
13. Nets 5-14
14. Knicks 4-13
15. Bucks 3-15

*Note: Division leaders are capitalized.Division leaders are guaranteed at least the 4th seed.

[kingjames24szupladoh]

Saturday, December 07 Schedule: 10 games

Philadelphia at Charlotte - 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT

Milwaukee at Washington - 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT

Cleveland at Atlanta - 7:30 pm ET, 4:30 pm PT

Denver at Boston - 7:30 pm ET, 4:30 pm PT on ESPN

Orlando at New York - 7:30 pm ET, 4:30 pm PT

Golden State at Houston - 8 pm ET, 5 pm PT

Oklahoma City at New Orleans - 8 pm ET, 5 pm PT

Toronto at Phoenix - 9 pm ET, 6 pm PT Utah at Portland - 10 pm ET, 7 pm PT

L.A. Lakers at Sacramento - 10 pm ET, 7 pm PT

[kingjames24szupladoh]

News :

new NBA record



* THE MAMBA IS BACK! Kobe has announced he will return Monday against the Raptors!




* Carmelo Anthony is trying to recruit Rajon Rondo.

Read Here

* Derrick Rose: “I’ll never recruit”

Read Here


*Andre Drummond joined Shaq as the only players in NBA history to grab 18+Rebs in 3 straight games at the age of 20 or younger.


NBA.com's weekly MVP Race :
1. Kevin Durant
2. LeBron James
3. Paul George
4. Chris Paul
5. Tony Parker
6. LaMarcus Aldridge
7. Kevin Love
8. Stephen Curry
9. James Harden
10. Ty Lawson

NBA.com's weekly Rookie Ladder :
1. Michael Carter-Williams
2. Victor Oladipo
3. Trey Burke
4. Ben McLemore
5. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
6. Tim Hardaway, Jr.
7. Hollis Thompson
8. Tony Snell
9. Kelly Olynyk
10. Vitor Faverani

[tonistork]

Knicks beat Magic by 38, end home skid at 7
AP - Sports

NEW YORK (AP) -- Make that back-to-back blowouts, and at least one Knick swears he saw it coming.

''Yeah, I knew it was going to eventually happen. I'm glad that it did,'' point guard Raymond Felton said. ''It was a good night to happen in Brooklyn, then we came back tonight and showed it wasn't a fluke. That's what a lot of people were trying to say. We came out tonight to really prove that.''

They sure did, once again looking more like a juggernaut than a joke.

Carmelo Anthony had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and New York snapped a seven-game home losing streak by beating the Orlando Magic 121-83 on Friday night for its first victory at Madison Square Garden since October.

''We got tired of losing. Whether we figured everything out in two games, that's yet to come, but we'll take these two wins,'' Anthony said.

Andrea Bargnani and J.R. Smith each added 17 points for the Knicks, who followed their 113-83 rout of Brooklyn on Thursday with an even more powerful performance, giving them consecutive victories for the first time this season after a nine-game losing streak.

''At some point it was going to get unleashed,'' Felton said. ''Brooklyn was just the team that got the first wrath of it, so everybody else is going to have to feel it later on, too.''

The Knicks made a season-best 17 3-pointers - a night after hitting 16 - and turned it into another easy night for Anthony, who took only 10 shots one night after attempting only 12.

Arron Afflalo scored 20 points for the Magic, who dropped their fourth straight. Victor Oladipo added 17 points and nine rebounds.

NOTES: The Knicks' seven-game winning streak against Orlando is their longest active streak against an opponent. They have beaten Milwaukee six straight times. ... Shumpert finished with 10 points and every Knicks player scored.

source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/knicks-beat-magic

TS (toni storks) view:
Finally a modest 2-game winning streak for the much maligned NY team. Hopefully, they are finally awaken? But I still give my bet for them to rule the weak Atlantic Division.

[tonistork]

Trail Blazers rout Jazz 130-98
AP - Sports

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The Trail Blazers had the perfect recipe for a record shooting night - nice ball movement, open shooters, a good rhythm, and one of the NBA's worst teams as an opponent.

''We were feeling it,'' Wesley Matthews said after Portland set franchise and league 3-point records in a 130-98 win over the struggling Utah Jazz on Friday.

Matthews scored 24 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points and 15 rebounds for the surging Blazers, who have won four straight and 15 of 16. Portland made 17 of 23 shots from 3-point range for 73.9 percent, an NBA record for a team with at least 20 attempts, according to basketball-reference.com. Portland also surpassed its previous franchise mark of 16 3-pointers.

Damian Lillard added 21 points and Nicolas Batum had 13 for the Blazers.

Alec Burks had 16 points to lead the Jazz, who trailed by as many as 42. They have lost 10 of 11 games on the road this season.

Gordon Hayward, Jeremy Evans and John Lucas III scored 10 apiece.

''It wasn't a lack of effort,'' Hayward said. ''It just started to snowball on us.''

With the best record in the Western Conference, the Blazers (17-3) have been one of the NBA's most surprising teams. After winning only 33 games last season, Portland has more than half that total.

And after beating Indiana and Oklahoma City in their last two games, the Blazers have even received some national notoriety, including being the subject of a New York Times feature story Thursday.

Aldridge has scored 20 points or more in all but four games this season. He was serenaded with chants of ''MVP! MVP!'' after putting up 38 points and 13 rebounds in Portland's 111-104 win over the Thunder on Wednesday.

While the Blazers are leading the West, Utah (4-17) is in the basement. The Jazz entered with the least potent offense in the conference at 91.2 points per game. Utah shot just 41 percent Friday but it was defense that left coach Tyrone Corbin shaking his head. The Jazz were outscored 39-22 in the first quarter and 40-13 in the third.

NOTES: Batum wrote ''R.I.P. Madiba'' on his sneaker as a tribute to Nelson Mandela, the South African leader who died Thursday at 95.

source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/trail-blazers-rout-jazz


TS (toni storks)view:
With their blazing start, Portland starting power forward, LaMarcus Aldridge is one of the early MVP leaders. And the addition of defensive minded center Robin Lopez works wonder to this team but it also derail the progress of the promising Meyers Leonard who mostly languished at the end of the bench.

[tonistork]

Korver sets 3-point mark, Hawks beat Cavs 108-89


ATLANTA (AP) -- Kyle Korver hopes to be able to sleep better now that his chase for the NBA record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer is over.

Korver made a 3 for a 90th straight game, Al Horford scored 22 points, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-89 Friday night.

Korver's 3 with 5:29 remaining in the first quarter broke a tie with Dana Barros (1994-96).

''It feels good, I'm glad it's done'' Korver said after scoring 10 points and making 2 of 3 from beyond the arc. ''My naps the last couple (game days) haven't been very solid. I'm the product of good team basketball, of setting screens and (getting) good passes and floor spacing and all of that.

''There's a lot of thanks to go around ... players who aren't here, coaches who aren't here this year and this group in here. I just said, 'Thank you.'"

Korver has made 47 percent of his 3-point shots (235 of 502) during the streak.

Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said he didn't think the team went out of its way to get the 11-year veteran from Creighton the ball in position to break the record, but admitted that his players might say otherwise.

Korver missed his first try just 1:03 into the game as fans rose from their seats as he rose to shoot. Everybody in Philips Arena stood up again just an instant before the record-setter swished to give Atlanta an 18-10 lead.

''DeMarre (Carroll) passed up a wide-open shot to try to get him the ball, and I gave up a transition try,'' said Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague, who scored 13 points. ''I wish I made the pass.''

That honor went to forward Paul Millsap, who scored 16 points and tied his season high with 14 rebounds to help offset a season-high 30 points off the bench by Cleveland's Dion Waiters.

Millsap, who was also a teammate of Korver's with the Jazz, was more proud of his assist to Korver than anything else.

''I'm in the history book now,'' he said with a smile. ''I'm in awe to see something like that. Teams focus on keeping him off the 3-point line, and for him to do that for so long is an amazing accomplishment.''

source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/korver-sets-3-point-mark


TS (toni storks) trivia:
Atlanta Hawks' Kyle Korver was a mere 2nd round pick (51st overall) from Creighton University by then New Jersey Nets but was traded to Philadelphia 76ers in a draft night deal.

He still holds the 76ers franchise record of most 3-points made in a season with 226 mades during the 2004-05 NBA season. He also played for the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls.