Reports that Zydrunas Ilgauskas has made up his mind and is heading back to Cleveland are premature, a source close to the situation told NBA.com on Sunday. Five playoff contenders remain in the mix, along with the favorite Cavaliers, for the 7-foot-3 center who was bought out by Washington last week.
The Orlando Magic found a way to win without much help from All-Star center Dwight Howard. Rashard Lewis scored 22 points and the Magic pulled together to beat the slumping Miami Heat 96-80 on Sunday night. Vince Carter scored 17 points, and J.J. Redick 15 for the Magic, but the key to the game was that every player in the lineup had at least one field goal and two rebounds.
Minnesota Timberwolves star center Al Jefferson apologized to the team and fans Sunday after his arrest on suspicion of DWI following a weekend loss to Portland.
John Salmons had to give Joe Johnson his due. “Yeah, he’s tough,” Salmons said. “He hit some tough shots in overtime.” Johnson scored nine of his 24 points in overtime, Josh Smith had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and the Atlanta Hawks ended the Milwaukee Bucks’ winning streak at six with a 106-102 victory Sunday night.
Despite being one of the youngest teams in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder haven’t let a two-game hiccup disrupt their pursuit of the playoffs. Kevin Durant scored 29 points, Nenad Krstic had a rare 3-pointer and added 16 points and Oklahoma City rolled to its second straight blowout, beating the Toronto Raptors 119-99 on Sunday night.
Caron Butler is back in the Dallas Mavericks lineup.
Caron Butler is back in the Dallas Mavericks lineup. Butler had missed the past two games after a bad reaction to medication before returning to the starting lineup Sunday night against the New Orleans Hornets, who were again without All-Star guard Chris Paul. Paul missed his 14th game because of a left knee injury and could miss another week to three weeks.
Andray Blatche is starting to give Washington Wizards’ fans something to be excited about in a season of turmoil highlighted by the gun-related suspension of Gilbert Arenas and a couple of high-profile trades. The 23-year Blatche continued to thrive being the new leader of the Wizards, scoring a career-high 36 points and adding 15 rebounds in an 89-85 comeback victory over the New Jersey Nets…
So much for all that confidence the Denver Nuggets had built up during their two impressive wins against the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this season. The defending NBA champions picked up on the playoff vibe inside Staples Center on Sunday and got things back to normal, despite a poor-shooting effort from Kobe Bryant.
Minnesota Timberwolves star center Al Jefferson apologized to the team and fans Sunday after his arrest on suspicion of DWI following a weekend loss to Portland. The Timberwolves suspended Jefferson for the next two games without pay — a punishment Jefferson said he accepts. “I want to apologize to the entire Timberwolves organization, owner Glen Taylor, my teammates, coaches and Wolves fans…