JMarkJohns
12-07-2004, 12:13 PM
From InsideHoops.com
Baller of the Day for Monday's games is Damon Jones, who in a Heat win over the Jazz started at point guard and shot 7-of-11 from three-point range, and 0-of-1 from two-point range, for 21 points, four rebounds and six assists. Some other players on Monday put up bigger stats and better games, but shooting that well from three-land is ridiculous. Plus, Basketball Jones don't get a lot of press. So today he enjoys what may be the finest moment in his career so far - an honor from InsideHoops.com.
Jason Kidd played for the Nets last night. He didn't look impressive to start, but got better as the game went along, and made clutch plays when they mattered most. Read the game recap below.
Carmelo Anthony had a great game last night. Melo hasn't received the best press from the NBA media world over the last six months, so it's only fair to make sure everyone knows when he rocked on the court. Last night in a Nuggets win over the Magic, Anthony shot 10-of-18 for 28 points, three rebounds and four assists. Andre Miller and Kenyon Martin also had great games.
Dwight Howard keeps getting better. The Magic may have lost last night, but he had 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. And he's still only six years old or something like that.
The AP reports: Shaquille O'Neal became the 31st player in NBA history to reach 10,000 rebounds. O'Neal had 13 rebounds Monday night in Miami's 100-80 win over Utah and became the third active player to reach 10,000, joining Kevin Willis and Dikembe Mutombo.
The AP reports: Orlando center Tony Battie was suspended for one game without pay by the NBA on Monday for elbowing Memphis forward Pau Gasol in the head on Saturday.
The AP reports: Calvin Murphy just wanted to bask in the moment after a jury cleared him of sexually abusing five of his 10 daughters more than a decade ago. ``For right now, I am just going to take a step back and enjoy this moment,'' the Hall of Fame basketball player said as he left the courthouse. ``As you can tell, I am a very emotional person,'' he said. ``I carry my feelings on my sleeve. And to hear that people believed in me and found me innocent of those charges, my heart just swelled up and started beating very fastly in my body.''
The AP continued: The jury deliberated about two hours before returning its verdict in the monthlong trial. ``You can never fully repair his reputation,'' defense attorney Rusty Hardin told jurors during closing arguments. ``But you can take that first step in righting an injustice.'' Hardin claimed the women were lying and the charges against the former Houston Rockets player were fabricated. Murphy faced three charges of indecency with a child and three charges of aggravated sexual assault. ``The bottom line in this case is you have to figure out who you believe,'' prosecutor Paula Storts told jurors.
Transaction Notes: The Utah Jazz activated point guard Raul Lopez.
MONDAY'S RESULTS
ATLANTA 96, PHILADELPHIA 92 - Ticker reports: One day after his 19th birthday, Josh Smith may have come of age in the NBA. Smith scored inside off a miss by Al Harrington with 17 seconds remaining to help the Atlanta Hawks defeat the Philadelphia 76ers, 96-92, and end a nine-game losing streak. A rookie from Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, Smith posted season highs with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and blocked a 3-pointer by Aaron McKie with 10 seconds remaining... Walker collected 22 points and 12 rebounds and Harrington scored 21 points as Atlanta won for the first time since beating the Houston Rockets on November 16. Philadelphia took a 27-26 lead into the second quarter thanks to Allen Iverson, who scored 18 points in the opening period on his way to a season-high 36. But Iverson, who started out 8-for-9 from the field, missed 15 of his last 19 final attempts and scored only six points in the final quarter. Kyle Korver scored 14 points and Jackson added 13 for the 76ers, who have lost eight straight on the road and five in a row overall, their longest losing streak since January 2-12, 2003.
NEW JERSEY 88, TORONTO 86 - Ticker reports: After a slow start resulting from an eight-month layoff, Jason Kidd looked like the answer to all of the New Jersey Nets' problems. Kidd buried a game-tying 3-pointer with 1:54 to go and assisted on Richard Jefferson's go-ahead floater with 7.1 seconds left as the Nets rallied for an 88-86 victory over the Toronto Raptors in the season debut of their superstar point guard... Kidd guarded Toronto's Vince Carter on the final possession and things continued to go his way. Carter beat Kidd badly off the dribble but had his layup rattle around the rim and bounce out as time expired. Jefferson nearly had a triple-double with 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Kidd finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, six rebounds and three assists.
SAN ANTONIO 91, CHICAGO 75 - Ticker reports: Tony Parker got the San Antonio Spurs off to a quick start and the Chicago Bulls never recovered. Parker scored 17 points and was among five players in double figures as the Spurs posted their eighth straight victory, a 91-75 triumph over the Bulls. San Antonio is off to a 16-3 start for the first time in franchise history and has beaten Chicago in 11 of 12 meetings since the start of the 1998-99 season... Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili scored 12 points each, while Duncan grabbed 11 rebounds for San Antonio, which had a 51-38 advantage on the boards. San Antonio held the Bulls to 13 points in the first quarter and has won its last six games by an average of just under 21 points per contest. Chicago's starters combined to score 32 points. Tyson Chandler came off the bench to post a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Eric Piatkowski added 11 points.
DETROIT 101, DALLAS 85 - Ticker reports: Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks got no room to shoot against Rasheed Wallace and the Detroit Pistons. Wallace helped harass Nowitzki, the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, into just 6-of-24 shooting as the Pistons easily defeated the Mavericks, 101-85. Chauncey Billups scored 24 points and Richard Hamilton had 19 for the Pistons, who shot 48% (38-of-79) and limited the Mavericks to 33% (30-of-90). In his two previous games - wins at Houston on Thursday and vs. Utah on Saturday - Nowitzki scored a franchise-record 53 and 30 points, respectively. In this one, he got nothing going, though he did finish with 27 points after sinking 15-of-16 free throws.
DENVER 115, ORLANDO 102 - Ticker reports: Andre Miller, Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets prevented the Orlando Magic from opening a six-game road trip on a positive note. Miller had a season-high 29 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Anthony scored 28 points as the Nuggets defeated the Magic, 115-102, for their eighth victory in 10 games. Kenyon Martin added 23 points and 12 rebounds for Denver, which improved to 6-1 against Eastern Conference opponents.
MIAMI 100, UTAH 80 - Ticker reports: The combination of Dwyane Wade and Damon Jones kept the Utah Jazz in a slump. Wade scored 23 points and Jones made career-high seven 3-pointers as the Miami Heat posted a 100-80 triumph over the Jazz, who have lost five straight games and nine of 11. Jones hit two 3-pointers while Wade scored seven points - including a spectacular dunk from near the foul line - in a decisive 19-2 run in the third quarter that gave Miami a 77-59 lead with 2:27 remaining in the period. Shaquille O'Neal, who capped the run with a an alley-oop dunk, also grabbed his 10,000th career rebound in the quarter. The All-Star center finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds... For Jones - who came into the game averaging 9.6 points per game - it was a night to remember. In addition to his season-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, he also dished out six assists.
GOLDEN STATE 110, BOSTON 106 - Ticker reports: Troy Murphy had one of the best games of his career, but with the contest on the line, the Golden State Warriors went to Derek Fisher. Fisher buried a jumper with 52 seconds remaining and preserved the lead with tight defense on Paul Pierce as the Warriors posted a 110-106 victory over the Boston Celtics... Murphy scored 16 of his career-high 30 in the first half to give the Warriors a 57-55 advantage at the break. He added four more in a 9-3 run to start the third. But Jiri Welsch made a 3-pointer that ignited an 11-3 spurt to put the Celtics ahead, 69-68. Welsch scored 11 of his career-best 24 in the third quarter for the Celtics, who have lost eight of their last 11 road games against the Warriors.
LA CLIPPERS 99, CHARLOTTE 93 (2OT) - Ticker reports: The Los Angeles Clippers are picking up the victories you have to secure if you want to contend for a postseason berth in the Western Conference. Corey Maggette scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Bobby Simmons buried a critical jumper with 10 seconds remaining in the second overtime as the Clippers edged the Charlotte Bobcats, 99-93. Los Angeles hopes to contend for a playoff berth and is off to its best start in more than a decade. But the Clippers had dropped all three of their previous overtime contests - including a loss to Minnesota on Saturday - and were 1-3 in games decided by seven points or fewer this season. But Los Angeles showed a lot of moxie in this one, rallying late in regulation after star Elton Brand was ejected for throwing a punch at rookie Emeka Okafor.
TUESDAY SCHEDULE
All times Eastern. Local and national television info to right of each game:
New Jersey @ Cleveland 7:00pm FSOhio / YES NBATV
Milwaukee @ Indiana 7:00pm FSMW / UPN 24
New York @ Memphis 8:00pm FSO / MSG
Dallas @ Minnesota 8:00pm FSNN / FSNSW
New Orleans @ Houston 8:30pm FSNSW / CST
Golden State @ Phoenix 9:00pm FSAZ
Charlotte @ Sacramento 10:00pm CSN-SAC / C-SET
TODAY IN NBA HISTORY
December 7, 1948: The Indianapolis Jets beat the Washington Capitols 94-78, snapping the Capitols’ NBA-record streak at 15 consecutive games won at the start of the season. The mark was tied by the 1993-94 Houston Rockets.
December 7, 1956: Larry Bird is born in West Baden, Indiana.
December 7, 1982: The Utah Jazz, in a 137-121 loss at Portland, set an NBA record for free throw percentage in a game, connecting on all 39 of their attempts from the line.
December 7, 1986: The Los Angeles Lakers beat Golden State 132-100 for Coach Pat Riley’s 300th career victory. He reached that plateau in 416 games, faster than any other coach in NBA history, beating Billy Cunningham’s previous record of 430 games.
December 7, 1990: The New Jersey Nets retired jersey #23 in honor of “Super John” Williamson, who played three years in the ABA and four years in the NBA with the Nets. Williamson owned the second-highest NBA scoring average (22.5 ppg) in team history.
December 7, 1993: The Orlando Magic established an NBA record by holding the visiting Detroit Pistons to only six points in the fourth quarter of a 91-89 victory. The Pistons broke the previous NBA low of seven fourth-quarter points, set by Houston against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 15, 1991.
December 7, 1994: The Philadelphia 76ers, behind Jeff Malone’s game-high 34 points, posted a 111-102 road win at Miami to become the third NBA franchise (joining Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers) to reach 2,000 victories.
December 7, 1995: Veteran NBA referee Jake O’Donnell announces his retirement after officiating more than 2,100 regular-season and 279 playoff and 39 NBA Finals games in 28 seasons in the league.
December 7, 1995: The NBA and the National Basketball Referees Association sign a five-year labor agreement, through the 1999-2000 season, ending a lockout of referees that began on October 1.
December 7, 1996: Detroit’s Terry Mills tied an NBA record for the most consecutive three-point field goals made, with 13, after connecting on his first attempt during the Pistons’ 95-69 win at New Jersey. Mills’ streak, which stretched over three games, tied the mark set by Brent Price during the 1995-96 season.
Baller of the Day for Monday's games is Damon Jones, who in a Heat win over the Jazz started at point guard and shot 7-of-11 from three-point range, and 0-of-1 from two-point range, for 21 points, four rebounds and six assists. Some other players on Monday put up bigger stats and better games, but shooting that well from three-land is ridiculous. Plus, Basketball Jones don't get a lot of press. So today he enjoys what may be the finest moment in his career so far - an honor from InsideHoops.com.
Jason Kidd played for the Nets last night. He didn't look impressive to start, but got better as the game went along, and made clutch plays when they mattered most. Read the game recap below.
Carmelo Anthony had a great game last night. Melo hasn't received the best press from the NBA media world over the last six months, so it's only fair to make sure everyone knows when he rocked on the court. Last night in a Nuggets win over the Magic, Anthony shot 10-of-18 for 28 points, three rebounds and four assists. Andre Miller and Kenyon Martin also had great games.
Dwight Howard keeps getting better. The Magic may have lost last night, but he had 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. And he's still only six years old or something like that.
The AP reports: Shaquille O'Neal became the 31st player in NBA history to reach 10,000 rebounds. O'Neal had 13 rebounds Monday night in Miami's 100-80 win over Utah and became the third active player to reach 10,000, joining Kevin Willis and Dikembe Mutombo.
The AP reports: Orlando center Tony Battie was suspended for one game without pay by the NBA on Monday for elbowing Memphis forward Pau Gasol in the head on Saturday.
The AP reports: Calvin Murphy just wanted to bask in the moment after a jury cleared him of sexually abusing five of his 10 daughters more than a decade ago. ``For right now, I am just going to take a step back and enjoy this moment,'' the Hall of Fame basketball player said as he left the courthouse. ``As you can tell, I am a very emotional person,'' he said. ``I carry my feelings on my sleeve. And to hear that people believed in me and found me innocent of those charges, my heart just swelled up and started beating very fastly in my body.''
The AP continued: The jury deliberated about two hours before returning its verdict in the monthlong trial. ``You can never fully repair his reputation,'' defense attorney Rusty Hardin told jurors during closing arguments. ``But you can take that first step in righting an injustice.'' Hardin claimed the women were lying and the charges against the former Houston Rockets player were fabricated. Murphy faced three charges of indecency with a child and three charges of aggravated sexual assault. ``The bottom line in this case is you have to figure out who you believe,'' prosecutor Paula Storts told jurors.
Transaction Notes: The Utah Jazz activated point guard Raul Lopez.
MONDAY'S RESULTS
ATLANTA 96, PHILADELPHIA 92 - Ticker reports: One day after his 19th birthday, Josh Smith may have come of age in the NBA. Smith scored inside off a miss by Al Harrington with 17 seconds remaining to help the Atlanta Hawks defeat the Philadelphia 76ers, 96-92, and end a nine-game losing streak. A rookie from Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, Smith posted season highs with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and blocked a 3-pointer by Aaron McKie with 10 seconds remaining... Walker collected 22 points and 12 rebounds and Harrington scored 21 points as Atlanta won for the first time since beating the Houston Rockets on November 16. Philadelphia took a 27-26 lead into the second quarter thanks to Allen Iverson, who scored 18 points in the opening period on his way to a season-high 36. But Iverson, who started out 8-for-9 from the field, missed 15 of his last 19 final attempts and scored only six points in the final quarter. Kyle Korver scored 14 points and Jackson added 13 for the 76ers, who have lost eight straight on the road and five in a row overall, their longest losing streak since January 2-12, 2003.
NEW JERSEY 88, TORONTO 86 - Ticker reports: After a slow start resulting from an eight-month layoff, Jason Kidd looked like the answer to all of the New Jersey Nets' problems. Kidd buried a game-tying 3-pointer with 1:54 to go and assisted on Richard Jefferson's go-ahead floater with 7.1 seconds left as the Nets rallied for an 88-86 victory over the Toronto Raptors in the season debut of their superstar point guard... Kidd guarded Toronto's Vince Carter on the final possession and things continued to go his way. Carter beat Kidd badly off the dribble but had his layup rattle around the rim and bounce out as time expired. Jefferson nearly had a triple-double with 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Kidd finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, six rebounds and three assists.
SAN ANTONIO 91, CHICAGO 75 - Ticker reports: Tony Parker got the San Antonio Spurs off to a quick start and the Chicago Bulls never recovered. Parker scored 17 points and was among five players in double figures as the Spurs posted their eighth straight victory, a 91-75 triumph over the Bulls. San Antonio is off to a 16-3 start for the first time in franchise history and has beaten Chicago in 11 of 12 meetings since the start of the 1998-99 season... Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili scored 12 points each, while Duncan grabbed 11 rebounds for San Antonio, which had a 51-38 advantage on the boards. San Antonio held the Bulls to 13 points in the first quarter and has won its last six games by an average of just under 21 points per contest. Chicago's starters combined to score 32 points. Tyson Chandler came off the bench to post a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Eric Piatkowski added 11 points.
DETROIT 101, DALLAS 85 - Ticker reports: Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks got no room to shoot against Rasheed Wallace and the Detroit Pistons. Wallace helped harass Nowitzki, the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, into just 6-of-24 shooting as the Pistons easily defeated the Mavericks, 101-85. Chauncey Billups scored 24 points and Richard Hamilton had 19 for the Pistons, who shot 48% (38-of-79) and limited the Mavericks to 33% (30-of-90). In his two previous games - wins at Houston on Thursday and vs. Utah on Saturday - Nowitzki scored a franchise-record 53 and 30 points, respectively. In this one, he got nothing going, though he did finish with 27 points after sinking 15-of-16 free throws.
DENVER 115, ORLANDO 102 - Ticker reports: Andre Miller, Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets prevented the Orlando Magic from opening a six-game road trip on a positive note. Miller had a season-high 29 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Anthony scored 28 points as the Nuggets defeated the Magic, 115-102, for their eighth victory in 10 games. Kenyon Martin added 23 points and 12 rebounds for Denver, which improved to 6-1 against Eastern Conference opponents.
MIAMI 100, UTAH 80 - Ticker reports: The combination of Dwyane Wade and Damon Jones kept the Utah Jazz in a slump. Wade scored 23 points and Jones made career-high seven 3-pointers as the Miami Heat posted a 100-80 triumph over the Jazz, who have lost five straight games and nine of 11. Jones hit two 3-pointers while Wade scored seven points - including a spectacular dunk from near the foul line - in a decisive 19-2 run in the third quarter that gave Miami a 77-59 lead with 2:27 remaining in the period. Shaquille O'Neal, who capped the run with a an alley-oop dunk, also grabbed his 10,000th career rebound in the quarter. The All-Star center finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds... For Jones - who came into the game averaging 9.6 points per game - it was a night to remember. In addition to his season-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, he also dished out six assists.
GOLDEN STATE 110, BOSTON 106 - Ticker reports: Troy Murphy had one of the best games of his career, but with the contest on the line, the Golden State Warriors went to Derek Fisher. Fisher buried a jumper with 52 seconds remaining and preserved the lead with tight defense on Paul Pierce as the Warriors posted a 110-106 victory over the Boston Celtics... Murphy scored 16 of his career-high 30 in the first half to give the Warriors a 57-55 advantage at the break. He added four more in a 9-3 run to start the third. But Jiri Welsch made a 3-pointer that ignited an 11-3 spurt to put the Celtics ahead, 69-68. Welsch scored 11 of his career-best 24 in the third quarter for the Celtics, who have lost eight of their last 11 road games against the Warriors.
LA CLIPPERS 99, CHARLOTTE 93 (2OT) - Ticker reports: The Los Angeles Clippers are picking up the victories you have to secure if you want to contend for a postseason berth in the Western Conference. Corey Maggette scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Bobby Simmons buried a critical jumper with 10 seconds remaining in the second overtime as the Clippers edged the Charlotte Bobcats, 99-93. Los Angeles hopes to contend for a playoff berth and is off to its best start in more than a decade. But the Clippers had dropped all three of their previous overtime contests - including a loss to Minnesota on Saturday - and were 1-3 in games decided by seven points or fewer this season. But Los Angeles showed a lot of moxie in this one, rallying late in regulation after star Elton Brand was ejected for throwing a punch at rookie Emeka Okafor.
TUESDAY SCHEDULE
All times Eastern. Local and national television info to right of each game:
New Jersey @ Cleveland 7:00pm FSOhio / YES NBATV
Milwaukee @ Indiana 7:00pm FSMW / UPN 24
New York @ Memphis 8:00pm FSO / MSG
Dallas @ Minnesota 8:00pm FSNN / FSNSW
New Orleans @ Houston 8:30pm FSNSW / CST
Golden State @ Phoenix 9:00pm FSAZ
Charlotte @ Sacramento 10:00pm CSN-SAC / C-SET
TODAY IN NBA HISTORY
December 7, 1948: The Indianapolis Jets beat the Washington Capitols 94-78, snapping the Capitols’ NBA-record streak at 15 consecutive games won at the start of the season. The mark was tied by the 1993-94 Houston Rockets.
December 7, 1956: Larry Bird is born in West Baden, Indiana.
December 7, 1982: The Utah Jazz, in a 137-121 loss at Portland, set an NBA record for free throw percentage in a game, connecting on all 39 of their attempts from the line.
December 7, 1986: The Los Angeles Lakers beat Golden State 132-100 for Coach Pat Riley’s 300th career victory. He reached that plateau in 416 games, faster than any other coach in NBA history, beating Billy Cunningham’s previous record of 430 games.
December 7, 1990: The New Jersey Nets retired jersey #23 in honor of “Super John” Williamson, who played three years in the ABA and four years in the NBA with the Nets. Williamson owned the second-highest NBA scoring average (22.5 ppg) in team history.
December 7, 1993: The Orlando Magic established an NBA record by holding the visiting Detroit Pistons to only six points in the fourth quarter of a 91-89 victory. The Pistons broke the previous NBA low of seven fourth-quarter points, set by Houston against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 15, 1991.
December 7, 1994: The Philadelphia 76ers, behind Jeff Malone’s game-high 34 points, posted a 111-102 road win at Miami to become the third NBA franchise (joining Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers) to reach 2,000 victories.
December 7, 1995: Veteran NBA referee Jake O’Donnell announces his retirement after officiating more than 2,100 regular-season and 279 playoff and 39 NBA Finals games in 28 seasons in the league.
December 7, 1995: The NBA and the National Basketball Referees Association sign a five-year labor agreement, through the 1999-2000 season, ending a lockout of referees that began on October 1.
December 7, 1996: Detroit’s Terry Mills tied an NBA record for the most consecutive three-point field goals made, with 13, after connecting on his first attempt during the Pistons’ 95-69 win at New Jersey. Mills’ streak, which stretched over three games, tied the mark set by Brent Price during the 1995-96 season.