Boston beats Indiana, but loses Smart to injury

The Boston Celtics beat Indiana but lost rookie Marcus Smart to what appeared to be a serious left ankle injury, 101-98.

Smart, the sixth pick in the 2014 NBA draft, was fouled in the fourth quarter and left the court on a stretcher, his left leg being held in the air by the team doctor.

Jared Sullinger had 17 points for the Celtics (2-3). Indiana fell to 1-5.

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Magic 112, Timberwolves 103 (overtime)

Orlando Magic rookies Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton combined for 32 points, including 10 in overtime, to lead the Orlando Magic to a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Evan Fournier scored 20 points and Tobias Harris had 17 points and 16 rebounds to provide veteran leadership for the Magic (2-4), who won their second consecutive game.

Kevin Martin had 21 points for the Timberwolves (2-3).

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Pistons 98, Bucks 95

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led a balanced attack with 19 points and the Detroit Pistons held off the Milwaukee Bucks.

Josh Smith finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists while making a layup to put Detroit up 97-93 with 15 seconds remaining.

Rookie forward Jabari Parker had a season-high 18 points for the Bucks (2-4).

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Raptors 103, Wizards 84

Kyle Lowry had a triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Washington Wizards for their third straight win.

DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and forward Terrence Ross added 18 for the Raptors, who have opened the season with a 5-1 record for the first time in team history.

Otto Porter scored 13 points to lead the Wizards (4-2). (Editing by Peter Rutherford)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Plans to reform NBA draft lottery fail to pass

Proposed changes to the NBA's draft lottery format designed to distribute the odds more evenly among the non-playoff teams failed to pass at the league's board of governors meeting on Wednesday, Commissioner Adam Silver said.

Silver said the final vote was 17-13 in favor of the reform but that fell short of the required 23 votes -- three-quarters of the league's teams -- needed to change the lottery.

The reform plan was to discourage the idea of losing on purpose, known as "tanking", to increase a team's odds in the lottery.

Silver said the league has to "find the right balance" in creating incentives for teams to win and allowing what is appropriate re-building through the draft.

"We've tinkered with the draft lottery several times over the years," Silver told a news conference. "I don't necessarily disagree with the way it works now.

"From a personal standpoint, what I'm most concerned about is the perception out there right now. Frankly, (there is pressure on a lot of our teams, even from their very fans, to somehow underperform because in some people's view (that's) the most efficient and quickest way to get better.

"That's a corrosive perception out there."

The reforms would have given the league's four worst teams identical odds (around 11 percent) of winning the number one draft pick, with the fifth team having about a 10 percent chance and the rest of the teams declining odds, ESPN reported.

Under the current system, the team with the worst record has a 25 percent chance at the top pick and the second-worst team has a 19.9 percent chance. Each subsequent team's odds decline slightly.

The board unanimously agreed to send the issue back to the NBA's Competition Committee for additional study, Silver said.

(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Lakers sign Fil-Am rookie Clarkson

MANILA, Philippines – The Los Angeles Lakers have officially signed Filipino-American rookie guard Jordan Clarkson, the 46th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, general manager Mitch Kupchak announced on Tuesday (Manila time).

Clarkson's rights were acquired by the Lakers from the Washington Wizards on draft night.

The details of the deal were not disclosed, but the Los Angeles Times reported that he will earn the rookie minimum of $507,336 this season.

The 6-5 guard out of Missouri led the Lakers in scoring during the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas with 15.8 points per game and in rebounding as well with 5.0 boards per game.

Clarkson welcomed the announcement on Twitter, saying: "Blessed to officially be a part of this organization."



He also announced that he will be wearing jersey No. 6 for the Lakers.

Clarkson's mother was born in Angeles City, Pampanga, though he was born in the United States and grew up in Texas

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cavs remain frontrunner in race to get Kevin Love

Even though the Cleveland Cavaliers cannot trade number one overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins before Aug. 23, they remain the front-runner to acquire Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star power forward Kevin Love in a trade, ESPN.com reported.

According to the report, the Cavaliers' offer still appeals to the Timberwolves more than any other proposal for Love.

The Cavaliers signed Wiggins on Thursday, so they must wait 30 days before they can trade him. They are confident of their chances of acquiring Love and pairing him with star forward LeBron James.

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The Orlando Magic signed free agent guard Luke Ridnour.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound played in 61 regular-season games (14 starts) last season with both Milwaukee and Charlotte, averaging 5.0 points, 2.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game.

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The Atlanta Hawks signed first-round forward/center Adreian Payne. The 6-foot-10 Payne was selected 15th overall by Atlanta in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Restricted free-agent guard Shelvin Mack also re-signed with the Hawks for three years and $7.3 million, Yahoo Sports reported.

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The Charlotte Hornets signed first-round draft pick Noah Vonleh. The Hornets selected Vonleh, a 6-foot-10 forward, with the ninth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

The Hornets also re-signed guard Jannero Pargo. The 6-foot-1 Pargo has seen action in 47 games for the team after initially joining the franchise on March 14, 2013 when he signed the first of two 10-day contracts.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Lakers select Fil-Am point guard in NBA draft

MANILA, Philippines – The Los Angeles Lakers selected a Filipino-American in the 2014 NBA Draft on Friday.

Using the 46th pick they acquired from the Washington Wizards, the Lakers selected Missouri’s 6’5” Jordan Clarkson, who has a Filipino mother.

According to NBA.com, Clarkson was named Second Team All-SEC by the coaches in his lone season with the Missouri Tigers.

Clarkson, who spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Tulsa, ranked among NCAA leaders in both free throws made (72nd) and percentage (101st), as well as field goals (51st) in 2013-14.

NBA.com Philippines’ Bernard Pagusara described the 22-year-old as “a valuable asset on the running game” as he averaged 18.4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists while shooting 46 percent from the floor. 

“He is not only a talented individual, he is also highly ranked. As of this time, Clarkson is 10th among shooting guards projected for the NBA draft,” Pagusara said in his report.

He also cited that Clarkson averaged 20 points in a five-game stretch from late November to early December 2013.

Just recently, the Lakers also invited former National University (NU) standout Ray Parks Jr., son of legendary PBA import Bobby Parks, to join their workout at the Toyota Sports Center.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com