NBA Capsules: Good work for Nowitzki, who hopes to play Sunday
DALLAS (AP) — Dirk Nowitzki says he's had a good week of work and is shooting to return to the Dallas Mavericks' lineup Sunday.
Nowitzki spoke to reporters after practice Thursday, one day before the star forward will miss his fourth straight game as part of a planned hiatus to strengthen his sore right knee.
Coach Rick Carlisle said last weekend that last season's NBA finals MVP needed some extra time to strengthen his knee and get in better game shape. Carlisle said then that Nowtizki would be out at least four games.
The coach says Nowitzki has made progress, though Carlisle isn't guaranteeing Nowitzki will play Sunday against San Antonio, the last of four consecutive home games.
Dallas is home against Utah on Friday night.
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Griffin, Paul help Clippers holf off Grizzlies
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Blake Griffin scored 20 points, Chris Paul added 18 points and seven assists in his second game back from injury, and the first-place Los Angeles Clippers hung on in the fourth quarter for a 98-91 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night.
Mo Williams scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and Griffin added nine rebounds and eight assists as the Clippers maintained a narrow lead throughout the final period. Caron Butler scored 17 points, and Paul also had seven rebounds while playing back-to-back games after missing the previous five with a strained left hamstring.
Rudy Gay scored 24 points for the Grizzlies, who have lost two straight following a seven-game winning streak. Marc Gasol added 18 points and 11 rebounds on Memphis' third stop on a four-game West Coast trip.
CELTICS 91, MAGIC 83
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paul Pierce had 24 points and 10 assists, and E'Twaun Moore added 16 points to help Boston erase a 27-point deficit and beat Orlando. Pierce and Moore had 10 points each in the fourth quarter.
Dwight Howard led the Magic with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Orlando had an 11-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but shot 2 of 17 in the final 12 minutes. The Magic scored just eight points in the period.
The Celtics have won three straight for just the second time this season. It also was their fourth consecutive victory over the Magic, dating to last season.
Since a season-best, five-game winning streak, the Magic have lost three times in five games, including a 31-point defeat at Boston on Monday.
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Nuggets thriving even with no headliner
DENVER (AP) — Danilo Gallinari encountered a dogged defender on the court that he just couldn't shake. No matter what move he made, this bulldog of a defender shadowed the smooth-shooting Denver Nuggets forward everywhere he went at practice on Thursday.
Finally, Gallinari did the only thing he could think of to get open: He leaned over and scooped up the furry new friend that had wandered onto the floor for some playing time. Hey, even puppies recognize a good player when they see one.
As does the English bulldog's owner, Nuggets President Josh Kroenke, whose team signed Gallinari to a four-year extension worth $42 million. Gallinari may just be the closest thing this squad has to a bona fide star.
But this team, the one lacking a household name, has steadily developed into a contender, racing out to a 13-5 record, which is second only to Oklahoma City (15-3) in the Western Conference. Denver returns home Friday night against Toronto after putting the finishing touches on a five-game road winning streak.
Maybe once overlooked, the Nuggets are now being taken seriously. Some around the league even consider them a burgeoning power.
"We are playing very well. But the season is still long," Gallinari said. "We have to be consistent."
The secret behind the Nuggets' success has been this: Coach George Karl molding a cohesive unit from a collection of castoffs other teams deemed expendable.
Properly assembled, they've become valuable pieces. On any given night, just about anyone can step up. Typically, it's been Gallinari, who's led the team in scoring nine times this season, including a career-high 37 points in a double-overtime win over Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks last weekend in Madison Square Garden.
Speedy point guard Ty Lawson has been a big contributor as well, maybe even at an All-Star level. Nene and reserve Al Harrington have come up big, too. Even Corey Brewer has led the team in scoring this season, erupting for 22 points in a win at Milwaukee.
"This team is hard to guard. You can't predict us," Lawson said. "So, you can't game plan against that, set up a defense."
Lawson hobbled out of Pepsi Center on Thursday wearing a walking boot to protect his sore left ankle, adding his name to an already crowded list of ailing players.
He twisted his ankle on Wednesday at Sacramento and joins team leader Arron Afflalo (groin) along with bench player Rudy Fernandez (right Achilles) as iffy for the game against the Raptors. That's quite a cast potentially sitting out.
Still, quite a cast remains available. The Nuggets have the luxury of depth this season as 11 different players average at least 11 minutes a game.
A loss like Lawson might hamper some teams. Not the Nuggets, who will simply plug in the veteran Andre Miller and hardly miss a beat.
"He's the master of the system, the professor," Nene said of Miller.
This versatility is precisely what team executive Masai Ujiri envisioned when he amassed the pieces to this squad. He added two big components just before the season, bringing in Brewer and Fernandez from Dallas in exchange for a future second-round pick.
Ujiri also doled out $110 million to re-sign Afflalo and Nene to five-year deals.
"We try to study all these players and see how they fit into George's system," Ujiri said. "You try to bring in the right players that you feel will do well in this system. These guys, they're buying into it and playing hard.
"We're a growing team. We're going to keep growing. It's going to take some time. This is not something that we put together to say, 'OK, it's now or never.' We want to see these young guys grow."
That's why the Nuggets made a commitment to Gallinari, the 23-year-old Italian forward who they think will only get better with more court time.
Not only that, but the signing helps with stability. The last thing the Nuggets want to go through is another Anthony ordeal like last season, when they were shopping their star around for the best deal, rather than lose him for nothing in free agency.
What the Nuggets ended up getting in return for Anthony has helped set this run in motion. They're 31-12 since reshaping their roster, becoming a team that doesn't rely on one player so much as a bunch of them.
"We have a lot of really good players, unselfish players," Gallinari said. "Everybody really likes to work hard."
That's certainly what has stood out to Ujiri, who stopped by to observe a packed practice floor Thursday on what was an optional day for the players.
"You see them here, they are basketball junkies," Ujiri said. "They come in here and work. There's something to be said for them. Hopefully, it translates to wins, into building something."
-- Pat Graham
Demps: Hornets still see Gordon in long-term plans
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Eric Gordon remains a central figure in the Hornets' long term plans, even though the prolific shooting guard turned down a four-year extension offer from the club, New Orleans general manager Dell Demps said.
"It's a situation where we talked, thought we came close to an agreement and it just didn't work out, but we are still very optimistic we can get something done this summer," Demps, who was traveling Thursday, said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "It's not a big issue. It's not a situation that is uncommon. ... There are other measures that you can use to sign Eric to a long-term contract and that's our goal."
By passing on the Hornets' offer, Gordon essentially chose to become a restricted free agent when the next league year begins July 1. While other teams can make offers to Gordon at that time, the Hornets will have the right to match or exceed the maximum offer other teams are allowed to make.
The Hornets, who host Orlando on Friday night, did not practice on Thursday, but Gordon, who has been sidelined by a right knee bruise, released a statement through the team.
"We all worked hard on the extension, but sometimes business is business," Gordon said. "Right now my sole focus is on staying in great shape, and making sure I get back to 100 percent health as quickly as possible so I can return to playing and helping my teammates and coach Monty (Williams) win games. That is really what it is all about right now for me."
Demps declined to go into detail about the value of the extension Gordon was offered.
Under league rules, the maximum a four-year deal could have been worth would have been a little more than $60 million, which is the deal Kevin Love accepted from Minnesota on Wednesday. The Hornets also could have offered Gordon a maximum five-year deal worth around $78 million, similar to what Russell Westbrook received from Oklahoma City.
However, league rules also restrict teams to only one player with a five-year extension for maximum money, and the Hornets have not been able to see Gordon play much in their system because of his injury, which has sidelined him for all but two games.
The Hornets currently are owned by the NBA, meaning commissioner David Stern, who is temporarily acting in the role of team owner, had the final say in what kind of deal the Hornets could offer Gordon.
"We were authorized to make a deal, we had conversations that were productive, and although we didn't come to an agreement, the talks were amicable," Demps said.
Gordon, who turned 23 last month, came to New Orleans as a key component of a multiplayer trade shortly before the regular season that sent four-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers. Under NBA rules, players who were due to become restricted free agents at the end of this season had until midnight Wednesday to reach early extensions with their teams.
Gordon injured his knee during New Orleans' season opener, in which he also hit the winning shot to cap a 20-point outing in Phoenix. During that game, he banged knees with Grant Hill. Gordon attempted a comeback on Jan. 4, when he scored 22 points in a loss to Philadelphia, but has been out since.
Demps said Gordon will be out at least three more weeks, at which time he will be reevaluated and possibly be able to begin basketball activities.
Gordon's knee is structurally sound, Demps said, but that the Hornets are taking cautious approach.
"After consulting with doctors, it was agreed upon that rest and rehabilitation would be the best long-term solution for Eric," Demps said. "Whenever you're dealing with knees, you want to take correct steps that will not have negative long-term results."
Gordon averaged 22.3 points last season, his third as a pro since being selected seventh overall out of Indiana in the 2008 NBA draft.
He missed 20 or more games in each of the previous two seasons with various, relatively minor injuries. In his second season, he missed 20 games with a combination of ailments including a groin injury and sprained toe. Last season, he missed 26 games because of a right wrist injury.
The Hornets are 1-1 in games Gordon has played this season and 2-14 in games he has missed. While New Orleans has played solid enough defense to remain competitive in most of its games, playing without Gordon's scoring punch has hurt in the final minutes. Of New Orleans' 15 losses, 10 have come by single digits, including three-straight two-point defeats before Wednesday night's 10-point loss to the Western Conference-leading Thunder.
-- Brett Martel
Comeback kid: Curry eager for Heat-Knicks
MIAMI (AP) — Over the past month, Eddy Curry has toned his body and toned down the rhetoric. When he signed with the Miami Heat, Curry made no secret that games against one opponent were already circled on his calendar. That opponent was none other than the New York Knicks.
The Knicks paid him about $30 million to basically not play over an three-year stint where his ballooning weight and series of personal issues seemed to be bringing his basketball career to an end.
"I'm looking forward to it," Curry said in mid-December, just as training camp was starting in Miami. "Looking forward to it. That's all I'll say."
A little over a month later, Curry is a smaller man — he says he's lost 35 pounds in the last few weeks, raising his total to 65 by his count since starting his comeback attempt, though some estimates suggest he's dropped even more. And when asked these days about the Knicks, who visit Miami on Friday for the first of three matchups this season, Curry's aiming to be a bigger man by insisting the game will not carry any extra significance.
"Every game is no more important than the other until the playoffs come," Curry said, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2001 draft trying to pretend that he wasn't aware a matchup against the Knicks was looming. "Whoever we play, I'll be up for it. Looking forward to it."
Curry is hardly all the way back, just back on the floor on occasion. He's appeared in three games with the Heat, scoring six points in 21 minutes. Miami signed him with the long-term in mind, knowing that his weight issues were not fully in check and that there would surely be some rust to shake off his game after appearing in only 10 NBA contests over a three-year span.
Slowly, he's getting there. And for the Heat, right now, that's enough.
"First of all, you root for a guy like Eddy because you know he's been through a lot," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "You can empathize with his journey. He's taking responsibility for his future right now. He's done the majority of this on his own, before he got here.
"Once we got him into the program, we've had a history of players getting into our Miami Heat condition. He's bought into that. He's earned this opportunity. He's a very likable guy. So you root for him."
During Curry's Knicks tenure, he didn't always give the team reasons for rooting.
In his training camps under Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, either injury or illness always found a way to derail Curry. Their relationship was strained, to put it mildly. Fans never seemed to turn on Curry, perhaps mindful of his personal issues — the murder of his former, a custody battle, a lawsuit by his former limousine driver who alleged verbal abuse and sexual harassment, and massive financial problems.
He got a warm cheer from the crowd at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 22, 2009, when he checked into a game late in the first quarter and with the Knicks leading by 17. He left about 3-1/2 minutes later, the lead having been trimmed to six and the MSG crowd having grown considerably antsy.
The Knicks wound up losing that night.
Curry never played for New York again, or any other NBA club until his Heat debut earlier this month.
"Good for him," D'Antoni said Wednesday when asked about Curry's new beginning in Miami. "He's a great kid. It got to a spot where he can perform and he needs to. That's good. I hope it works out."
There's no certainty that Curry will even play on Friday against New York, or on Sunday when Miami faces the team that drafted Curry in 2001, the Chicago Bulls.
But there's a chance. Which, even a couple months ago, seemed highly unlikely.
The Heat started their relationship with Curry last spring, having him in for a workout. Another workout followed in June, just before the lockout began. No guarantees were ever made, but Miami made Curry one assurance: Keep losing weight, keep getting closer to your former form, and you'll have a shot.
So far, he's taking full advantage. Playing against the Knicks would merely be a bonus.
"I've got no animosity toward anybody over there at all," Curry said. "I heard from a lot of people over in that organization (after his Miami debut), a lot of people wishing me well. I have no animosity. It's going to be a fun game."
-- Tim Reynolds
Bucks' Bogut out indefinitely with ankle injury
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut is out indefinitely after fracturing his left ankle Wednesday night in Houston. It's another injury setback for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft.
Bogut's left foot came down awkwardly on a Houston player's foot after Bogut tried to block a shot in the first quarter. The Bucks said Thursday an MRI found Bogut fractured his ankle.
"I will get back from this," Bogut posted on his Twitter account Thursday night. "Injury was beyond my control."
The 7-foot center was playing in his 400th career NBA game. He left with three points, four rebounds and three blocked shots.
Bogut has averaged 11.3 points, a team-high 8.3 rebounds and a team-high two blocked shots in 12 games this season.
Bogut missed Milwaukee's Jan. 13 game against Dallas with concussion-like symptoms, and that followed a four-game absence to attend to a personal matter back home in Australia.
Bogut missed the end of the 2009-2010 season when he dislocated his right elbow, sprained his right wrist and broke his right hand in a hard fall to the floor. The injury bothered him for much of last season.
Bogut also missed 43 games, including the final 31, with an injured lower back in the 2008-09 season.
Cavs assign F Harangody to Canton
The Cleveland Cavaliers assigned second-year reserve forward Luke Harangody to Canton of the NBA Development League. The Cavs want Harangody to get some playing time. He has appeared in just five games for Cleveland this season, averaging 2.6 points in 7.6 minutes per game. He'll join the Charge on their three-game West Coast trip Friday.
The 6-foot-8 forward played in 49 games with Boston and Cleveland as a rookie last season, averaging 3.9 points in 13 minutes per game. The Cavaliers acquired Harangody and center Semih Erden from the Celtics in exchange for a second-round pick in 2013.
Harangody was drafted by Boston in the second round in 2010 after starring at Notre Dame.
Hawks waive rookie G Sloan after Hinrich return
ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks have requested waivers on little-used rookie guard Donald Sloan. The team announced the move Thursday, one day after guard Kirk Hinrich made his season debut in a loss at San Antonio. Hinrich missed the first 18 games recovering from shoulder surgery.
The Hawks decided to keep 37-year-old Jerry Stackhouse instead of Sloan, who averaged 1.2 points while playing in just five games.
Clippers assign Bledsoe to D-League for two games
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers have assigned guard Eric Bledsoe to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League for a two-game rehabilitation assignment. He has been sidelined since having right knee surgery in October.
Clippers general manager Neil Olshey says if Bledsoe performs as expected, the team anticipates him rejoining them for the Clippers' trip to Denver on Saturday. Bledsoe averaged 6.7 points, 3.6 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 81 games as a rookie last season.
WNBA
Lynx re-sign C Adair
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Lynx have re-signed center Jessica Adair. The team announced the deal Thursday but did not disclose terms.
Adair appeared in 31 regular-season games during Minnesota's championship run last year. The 6-4 center averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds a game while shooting .485 percent from the floor, and scored in double-figures twice.
Adair played in the final 2010 regular-season game for Minnesota. She spent much of the 2010 training camp with the Lynx and played in one preseason game before she was released.
