Tag: Oklahoma City

Ellis’ big bounce-back game leads Tuesday’s S&Ds

Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles knew that it would only be a matter of time before new acquisition Monta Ellis started producing the big scoring numbers he was known for when playing for Golden State.

Ellis torched Atlanta for 33 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Bucks’ 108-101 victory over the Hawks.

Before the game, Skiles told reporters that he thought Ellis was close to a big game despite some recent struggles.

“You know when you make a move like that to get a significant player, there has got to be some period of time where you have got to allow for the guy to adjust and people to adjust to him,” Skiles told the Associated Press before Tuesday night’s game.  “It wouldn’t surprise me at all for him to have a big breakout game at any moment.”

Skiles’ prediction came correct only a night after Ellis had matched his season low with four points in a loss against New York on Monday night.

In Tuesday’s game, Ellis made 15 of 24 shots, including 7 for 9 in the fourth quarter. He wrapped up the victory with a 15-foot jumper with 1:27 remaining and also added a team-best eight assists.

“I was light on my feet. I was just moving. I went into one of my modes. It felt good,” Ellis told the AP. “I’m glad I was able to show the Bucks tonight. I want to take this game and build off it.”

His big effort helped him lead Tuesday’s Studs and Duds.

STUDS

Milwaukee G Monta Ellis: Erupted for 33 points, eight assists and four rebounds in the Bucks’ victory at Atlanta.

Oklahoma City G Russell Westbrook: Went for 32 points, eight assists, three steals, three rebounds and was plus-14 in the Thunder’s victory at Portland.

Philadelphia G Jodie Meeks: Tallied 31 points, including seven 3-pointers, and was plus-15 in the Sixers’ victory over Cleveland.

Atlanta F Josh Smith: Stuffed the box score with 30 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, two steals and was plus-3 in the Hawks’ loss to Milwaukee.

San Antonio F Tim Duncan: Went for 26 points and 11 rebounds in the Spurs’ triumph at Phoenix — their fifth straight triumph.

DUDS

Cleveland G Kyrie Irving: Clanked through a 4-for-13 shooting night with five turnovers and was a team-worst minus-13 in the Cavaliers’ loss at Philadelphia.

Houston F Patrick Patterson: Went 1 for 7 from the field and was minus-10 in the Rockets’ loss at Dallas.

Portland G Jamal Crawford: Went 1 for 7 from the field with two turnovers and was a team-worst minus-18 in the Trail Blazers’ loss to Oklahoma City.

Atlanta G Jeff Teague: Had seven turnovers and was minus-1 in the Hawks’ loss at Milwaukee.

Minnesota F Derrick Williams: Went 4 of 15 from the field with two turnovers and was minus-6 in the Timberwolves’ loss at Memphis.

Lin was part of Parker’s motivation. But just part.

Tony Parker said the rights things.

He said Jeremy Lin will be a good player. He said he attacked the basket because Tyson Chandler was out. And he said a post-All Star Game slump was reason enough to be ready to play.

I believe all of it.

But Parker keeps up with news around the league, and he’s seen how his peers have reacted to Linsanity. Parker also likes the stage.

So here’s the guess: Parker didn’t need the motivation, but he still used his first game against Lin as another way to find the gear he had lost lately.

It’s all unfair to Lin. He never asked for the attention, and he was never what the publicity made him out to be. Now he’s being treated as if he’s failing, when he’s just another guy trying to earn his place in the league.

“He’s really just a rookie,” Parker said, and he meant that with kindness.

Parker was a rookie once, after all, starting for a contender. But even as a teenager, even running an offense with two Hall of Fame big men, Parker had less pressure than Lin has now.

Lin also has less of a system to work with. Without Chandler, Mike D’Antoni’s defense looked the way it often did in Phoenix. The Spurs shot 54 percent and scored 118 points, and Lin wasn’t responsible for all of that.

Parker scored 32 points, all right, with Lin trying to defend him most of the second half. But Parker also stuck 42 on Russell Westbrook, and Oklahoma City had Serge Ibaka behind him.

As Parker was leaving the locker room Wednesday night, he was asked if he would have still gone to the basket with Chandler playing. Sure, he said, smiling, because he goes to the basket against everyone.

“When you are talking about quickness,” Lin said of Parker afterward, “he is up there with a select few.”

It’s willingness to use that quickness in the lane that got Parker to the All-Star Game again. But it’s as if he relaxed with the honor, most notably against Derrick Rose, and he needed to find the aggression that has made him one of the league’s best. This is where Lin came in.

Durant, Thunder steal one vs. Magic

During his All-Star Game MVP performance last week, Kevin Durant made the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., his personal playground, scoring at will with a barrage of jump shots and easy open-floor baskets.

The rims weren’t quite as kind early on during the Oklahoma City forward’s return trip, but he got reacquainted with them late and also got help from fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook to help the Thunder pull out a 105-102 victory over the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

Durant scored 38 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter, and Westbrook added 29 points and 10 assists as Oklahoma City erased a 14-point deficit to battle back for the win.

Durant’s effort was two points better than his All-Star night and also included five 3-pointers and a 9-for-9 night at the free-throw line — all in a game-high 42 minutes of action. The Thunder’s win was their seventh straight, matching a streak from earlier in the season.

“I was so down on myself. I was really going down after the first quarter,” Durant said. “But my coaches and my teammates continued to encourage me and told me they believed in me. It just clicked for me, and I started to make a few shots and free throws.

“Once your teammates give you that confidence, no matter what you feel good, and I was able to make some shots.”

The Magic had a chance to send it to overtime, but Jason Richardson’s long 3-pointer bounced off the backboard at the buzzer.

It was a fitting culmination of a final 12 minutes for the Magic in which they went just 8 for 25 from the field. The Thunder, who struggled to find shots in the first half, finished 10 for 15 in the final period.

Dwight Howard scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead all five Magic starters in double figures.

“We have to be able to execute and get stops,” he said. “That’s the one thing we didn’t do well tonight in the fourth quarter. But it’s a good lesson for us.”

Suns 104, Timberwolves 95: Grant Hill scored 15 of his season-high 20 points in the second half and Phoenix pulled away at home, beating weary Minnesota.

Six players reached double figures for the Suns in their first game since the All-Star break. Steve Nash had 13 points and matched his season high with 17 assists. Marcin Gortat scored 17 for Phoenix in its ninth straight victory over the Timberwolves.

Kevin Love, who sat out the Timberwolves’ 104-85 loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Wednesday night because of flulike symptoms, scored 23 on 8-of-25 shooting. Luke Ridnour scored 15 for the T’wolves, who were playing for the third time in as many nights.

Minnesota was without J.J. Barea, who strained his right calf against the Lakers.
All five starters reached double figures for the Timberwolves, who shot 50 percent (21 of 42) in the first half but fell off afterward, hitting just 29 percent (13 of 44) the rest of the way. Love was 3 of 13 in the second half, 1 of 6 in the fourth quarter. Minnesota made 1 of 13 3-pointers. The Suns shot 53 percent.

The 39-year-old Hill, the league’s second-oldest player by one day behind Kurt Thomas, made four of five shots in a 10-point third quarter to lead the Suns’ comeback.

Shannon Brown scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half for Phoenix, while Channing Frye added 14 points and Jared Dudley 12.

The Timberwolves took the lead late in the first half and stayed ahead until a 13-2 run by the Suns late in the third quarter.

Love’s 3-pointer, the first by either team and the only one of the game for the T’wolves, put Minnesota ahead 70-64 with 5:06 to play in the quarter. But Frye’s three ignited the 13-3 Suns’ surge. Nikola Pekovic’s rebound basket made it 72-67, then Phoenix scored the next 10. Gortat blocked Derrick Williams’ shot, and Brown’s emphatic breakaway dunk put the Suns ahead for good 73-72 with 2:02 left in the third.