NBA Today - March 10
Sat, Mar 10, 2007
By Associated Press
Memphis at Charlotte, (7 p.m. EST). The Bobcats have lost seven straight and the Grizzlies have dropped five in a row. Oddsmakers have not released a line for this contest.
STARS Friday
-Shaquille O'Neal, Heat, scored a season-high 32 points to lead Miami to a 105-91 victory over Minnesota.
-Andre Iguodala, 76ers, scored 31 points to help Philadelphia beat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-92.
- Tracy McGrady, Rockets, scored 34 points, leading Houston to a 112-91 victory over New Jersey.
-Josh Smith, Hawks, scored 20 points, including the go-ahead three-point play with 11.5 seconds left, to give Atlanta a 106-105 win over Memphis.
WELCOME BACK
Yao Ming had 24 points and 13 rebounds Friday night in his first home game since returning from a leg injury, leading the Houston Rockets to a 112-91 victory over the New Jersey Nets. Yao, who missed 32 games, was 6-of-11 from the field and went 12-of-13 from the free throw line.
GOLD RUSH
The Golden State Warriors gained valuable ground on the Los Angeles Clippers in the playoff chase with a 99-89 victory Friday night. The Warriors are within 1 1/2 games of the Clippers in the run for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference after their first three-game winning streak since November. Golden State hasn't been to the playoffs since 1994, the league's longest drought.
T-ED SHEED
Detroit's Rasheed Wallace picked up his 16th technical foul of the season - incurring an automatic one-game suspension - in the Pistons' 95-82 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
SPEAKING
''It don't matter to me. They think suspending me one game, I'm losing all this money and this and that. Money ain't nothing to me for the simple fact I wasn't born with it. Just as fast as you get money, you can lose money. Money's not going to change my character, money's not going to change the person I am.'' - Detroit's Rasheed Wallace, who incurred an automatic, one-game suspension after getting his 16th technical foul of the season in the Pistons' 95-82 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
Sonics suspend Fortson 2 games without pay after missed practices
Fri, Mar 9, 2007
By Associated Press
SEATTLE -- The Seattle SuperSonics suspended already idled forward Danny Fortson for two games without pay for conduct detrimental to the team.
The suspension covers Friday night's game at Boston and Sunday's game at Toronto. Fortson, a 10th-year veteran, is in the final year of a contract paying him nearly $6.6 million this season. So Fortson will lose more than $160,900 during the suspension.
General manager Rick Sund announced the punishment Friday, a day after Fortson missed a practice during a road trip in Boston that was mandatory for reserves. The 6-foot-8, 260-pound bruiser, who has played in just 13 of the Sonics' 61 games this season and none since Jan. 5 because of chronically sore knees, also reportedly missed a morning shootaround this week before a game in New York. Coach Bob Hill had been expecting to play Fortson against the Knicks, but benched him instead after his morning absence.
Sund didn't immediately return a phone call Friday afternoon seeking comment on whether Fortson may have played his final game with the Sonics.
Fortson is averaging 3.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game this season. The NBA suspended him for the season opener in November because of his flagrant foul on Sacramento's Ron Artest during a preseason game. He was suspended for two games at the end of December last season for berating a referee.
West sits out with concussion
Fri, Mar 9, 2007
By Associated Press
BOSTON -- Boston guard Delonte West sat out the Celtics' game against the Seattle SuperSonics because of a concussion.
West sustained a mild concussion in the third quarter of the Celtics' 111-80 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. He spent the night at New England Baptist Hospital and was released Thursday.
Boston coach Doc Rivers said he's unsure when West will return.
''He's still having headaches,'' Rivers said. ''I just don't know, but my guess is he'll be out for a while.''
Rookie Rajon Rondo started in place of West, who is averaging 11.6 points.
Reserve forward Ryan Gomes also sat out for Boston after missing the second half of Wednesday's game with an injured left foot. His X-rays were negative, and he will be re-evaluated Sunday.
Knicks David Lee is out (ankle)
Pacers Jermaine O'Neal is questionable (knee)
Grizzlies Chucky Atkins is out (ankle)
Hawks Joe Johnson is out (leg)
Nets Richard Jefferson is questionable (ankle)
Pacers Jermaine O'Neal has been downgraded to out of tonight's game with a knee injury.
Pacers Jamaal Tinsley missed Friday's practice, and has been added to the injury report as doubtful (ankle) for tonight.
Rhode Island's leading scorer Will Daniels has been added to the injury report as questionable (ankle) for tonight's game.