NBA East Notes
By Larry Fleisher / Dec. 28, 2004
Reports do not include Monday's games.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS: The Bucks five-game losing streak came to an end with Sunday's 99-92
win over the Bulls, their 13th in a row over Chicago at the Bradley Center. The
end came due to 39 points from Michael Redd, who had just four in Wednesday's loss
to Portland. "I was just focused tonight," Redd said to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
"I didn’t have one of my better performances the other night against Portland. I just
wanted to come out and get a win." ... During Milwaukee's skid, Redd had shot 39 percent
(37-of-94) but Sunday he made 15-of-27 shots. ... The Bucks won four of their first five
home games and averaged 100 points. They have dropped six of their last eight at home
and are averaging 92.6 points. ... Forward Keith Van Horn missed his 10th straight game
with tendinitis in his right ankle. ... In 11 games since returning from a hip injury,
forward Joe Smith is averaging 13.7 points. ... Forward Marcus Fizer has played two games against
the Bulls, whom he began his career with and has shot 3-of-13.
NEW JERSEY NETS: Swingman Vince Carter's tenure with the Nets is expected to
officially begin Monday night in Detroit, the same city in which he injured
his Achilles on December 8, which was his final game as a Raptor. Carter and
the Nets took part in a two-hour practice Sunday and a 20-minute film session
and coach Lawrence Frank seemed pleased with his newest player. "He's a very quick
study," Frank told the Newark Star-Ledger. "He has a very high basketball IQ. He picks
things up very quickly. He watches. There are things we haven't put in, and he saw it
in (the) video playbook and he referenced it. He's a very smart guy." ... Forward Brian
Scalabrine is not expected to make the two-game road trip due to a hamstring and the
Nets are expected sign Jerome Moiso, who will join the team Tuesday. ... Although he
did not play, Carter introduced himself to media members before Wednesday's 92-90 win vs. Cleveland. "I still have room to grow," Carter said to the New York Times. "Playing with
a point guard like Jason, and with Richard Jefferson on the wing, we can complement each
other and raise our games to another level. I feel rejuvenated." ... Jefferson scored a career-high 42 points Wednesday and in the 10 games since Kidd has returned, he is
averaging 26.8 points while shooting 50.2 percent (85-of-169). ... For Tuesday's
three-point win in Charlotte, 7-footer Nenad Krstic got his first start at center
and it went well as he totaled 13 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes before
getting ejected for elbowing Gerald Wallace in the third quarter. Also Tuesday,
Kidd reached double figures in assists for the first time this year, finishing
with 12. He has played over 30 minutes in his last four games but did not throw the inbounds pass that led to Jefferson's game-winning shot Wednesday.
NEW YORK KNICKS: After allowing 237 points in losses to Dallas and at Boston, the Knicks
bounced back with a 91-82 win over Charlotte Sunday. However, they nearly blew
a 16-point lead and wound playing their 20th game decided by 10 points or less.
The Knicks have held double digit leads 16 times this season and won 12 of those
games. ... Prior to Sunday's game starting shooting guard Jamal Crawford was
placed on the injured list with turf toe in his right foot. He suffered the
injury when Boston's Jiri Welsch stepped on his foot Wednesday and is expected
to miss three to six weeks. ... Crawford's injury elevated Allan Houston to the
starting lineup and Houston scored 16 points in a season-high 29 minutes on
5-of-10 shooting. ... Frequently maligned small forward Tim Thomas, scored
a season-high 20 points, including eight down the stretch. After the game,
Thomas continued to dismiss those who may boo him. "I don't worry about critics,"
he said to reporters. "Because nine times out of 10, critics haven't played this
sport." Thomas also admitted he is ready to focus more on basketball after enduring
two deaths in his family. "Going out there running and jumping, that's the easy part,"
he said. "At this level, the game is 90 percent mental. My family is healthy, so now I'm just concentrating on winning games." ... The Knicks allowed under 85 points for just the
fourth time this season. ... With the recent struggles of Stephon Marbury and Crawford,
the backcourt duo entered Sunday as the third-scoring tandem at 38.8 points, just behind
Orlando's Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley.
ORLANDO MAGIC: Despite being held under 100 points for just the fourth time in
their last 15 games, the Magic won their fourth straight home game, beating
San Antonio, 93-87 Wednesday. ... The Magic allowed under 90 points for the
first time since November 24 vs. Portland, a span of 14 games. It was just
the fourth time all year an opponent scored under 90. ... Since returning from
the injured list on December 1, G Cuttino Mobley is averaging 18.3 points in
his last 12 games. ... Orlando is 6-5 against the Eastern Conference
and plays 10 of its next 12 games within its conference. ... Center Kelvin
Cato could return Monday or the team could wait until Wednesday against
Milwaukee. He has been out since December 6 with a dislocated left shoulder.
... Rookie forward Dwight Howard is slumping lately. In his last five games,
he is shooting 26 percent (9-of-34).
PHILADELPHIA 76ers: Winners of five of their previous seven games, the Sixers
embark on their challenging seven-game tour of the Western Conference.
It starts Monday in Portland followed by a game in Seattle on Tuesday.
After two days off, they take on Denver on New Year's Eve and then fly
out to California to take on the Clippers and Warriors on January 2-3.
After playing Utah on January 5, the trip concludes two days later
in Minnesota. The trip will encompass 14 days, 9,000 miles eight
flights and is a result of Disney taking over the Wachovia Center
for two weeks. "I think it's going to be a good thing for us," guard
Allen Iverson said. "Everything's going to be against us. On The road,
that's when you really need your teammates and yoru coaching staff because
it's that team against 20,000 people. I'm looking forward to going on the
road and seeing how positive we can be." ... Despite the lengthy trek, the
Sixers enter it on a good note with three straight road wins following an
eight-game skid away from home. ... Over his last five games, Iverson
is averaging 40 points on 53.6 percent shooting. ... The Sixers have
scored at least 100 points in six straight games, something they hadn't
done since February 19, 2003-March 2, 2003. ... Forward Glenn Robinson,
who has not played this season worked out last Tuesday and will accompany
the team on the trip. ... Philadelphia will be aiming for smoother flights
on this journey. The Sixers' flight back from Wednesday's win in Indiana
turned into a major hassle. They left Indiana took 15 hours more than expected
and it was after 4:30 pm Thursday when they finally landed in Philadelphia.
The delays were caused by various engine problems and struggles to de-ice
the plane. "When we were landing and looked out, and after we had gone through unbelievable turbulence" on the approach to Philadelphia, "you could see the city and it was bumper-to-bumper traffic," coach Jim O'Brien told the Philadelphia Inquirer "It was the first time
I ever wanted to be sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic."
TORONTO RAPTORS: Is Jalen Rose being traded? According to Rose, last
week's demotion from the starting five lineup might lead to a trade
because he was benched in his final days with the Bulls and shipped to the
Raptors shortly thereafter in December 2003. Rose, whose 14.8
million salary is now the highest on the team, had been mentioned
in several Vince Carter rumors but remained and was replaced by
Eric Williams. Following Wednesday's game vs. the Jazz he vented
to the Toronto Star "I've seen this movie before," Rose said to
the newspaper. "Like I said, there's five guys in the lineup
— five — and only one's getting replaced ... It takes a team to build
up a 9-18 record." Rose, who earlier that day met with general manager
Rob Babcock continued with this comment to the Star "(Management has)
been taking hits about (the Carter trade), like, `Who did they get? Who?'"
"When (management) doesn't bring you in, they want their own guys in their
own situations, to at least get a chance to see how their pieces fit and
work ... But at the end of the day, I feel like I'm still a starter in
this league." Before the demotion, Rose had been a reserve just twice
since the 1999 season when he came off the bench for 48 of 49 games with
the Pacers. In his two games as a bench player, Rose has scored 31 points
on 13-of-20 from the field. ... In two games with Toronto, Eric Williams
has collected 19 points and 12 rebounds. Toronto's road losing streak
hit eight games with Sunday's loss in Phoenix, where its bench held
an amazing 50-9 edge.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS: The Wizards' five-game Western Swing ended in disappointing
fashion with Sunday's 109-74 loss at Minnesota. The loss dropped their record
against winning teams to 3-9. The Wizards won 10 of their first 15 games by
playing a schedule with 10 opponents that have losing records. But they have
dropped six of their last 10 games with the last five losses coming by an
average of 16.4 points. ... F Antawn Jamison was held to a season-low
eight points Sunday as the Wizards equaled their least productive scoring
output. ... The loss was Washington's worst since a 111-67 whipping by
New Jersey on January 16, 2002. ... Prior to the game, guard Steve Blake
was activated from the injured list after the former Maryland standout
missed nine games with a strained left foot. ... As Washington split the
first four games of its trip, Jamison, Larry Hughes and Gilbert Arenas
combined for 288 of the 412 points.
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