Nowitzki makes the difference for Mavs

LOS ANGELES -- Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, 37 years old and with more than 1,300 NBA games under his belt, is still the Mavericks' go-to guy.

The German veteran scored a game-high 29 points on Sunday as the Mavericks edged the Minnesota Timberwolves 93-87 in Minneapolis, taking up the slack on a night when many of his teammates struggled offensively.

"He's a guy that's prepared himself for greatness virtually every night," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of Nowitzki.


"One of the things we want to try to do is take some of the burden off of him, but there's nights like tonight where it's unavoidable."

Dallas forward Chandler Parsons added 14 points and center Zaza Pachulia scored 13, but it was Nowitzki's scoring touch that made the difference.

He hit four of seven three-point attempts, while the rest of the Mavs were a combined two of 13 from beyond the arc.

Nowitzki finished the game 12-for-22 from the floor and pulled down seven rebounds in 31 minutes.

It was his fourth straight 20-point effort and his 13th such game this season.

"The guys kept coming to me," Nowitzki said. "Defensively, it was a good effort tonight. We didn't have a lot of guys who were shooting the ball especially well, but I thought defensively we kept battling."

Second-year guard Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with 21 points.

Dallas led by six at halftime and closed out the third quarter with an 18-4 scoring run.

The Timberwolves trimmed the deficit to 85-82 late in the fourth quarter, but Nowitzki converted a three-point play with 1:30 remaining, and Dallas held on.

- Streaking Clippers -

The Los Angeles Clippers had to work overtime to stretch their winning streak to nine games with a 114-111 victory over the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans.

Point guard Chris Paul scored 25 points with 11 assists and five rebounds for the Clippers, one of seven Los Angeles players to score in double figures.

The Pelicans were without top scoring forward Anthony Davis, who was still nursing a sore back two days after diving into the stands after a ball.

But they held a 106-105 lead with 2:42 left in overtime before Wesley Johnson and Paul made back-to-back three-pointers to give Los Angeles a five-point lead. Luc Mbah a Moute and Johnson then made three of six free throws to help the Clippers secure the win.

Although he was pleased with the victory, Paul reiterated that the Clippers aren't themselves without Blake Griffin, still sidelined by a torn quadriceps tendon.

"We want to continue to try to keep winning games and build our team as much as possible, but this is not our team without (number) 32," Paul said.

- Streaking Cavs -

 
LeBron James scored 12 of his 37 points in a 14-0 fourth-quarter run to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 95-85 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

James added nine assists and seven rebounds for the Cavs, who improved their Eastern Conference leading record to 26-9 with their seventh straight victory.

Cleveland won their fifth straight on the road and their sixth straight over the league-worst 76ers -- who fell to 4-36.

- Rockets edge Pacers -

The Houston Rockets gave up the first six points of overtime, but battled back with three-pointers from Patrick Beverly, Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer to beat the Indiana Pacers 107-103.

Brewer's three-pointer with 40.9 seconds left gave the Rockets a 105-103 lead. Houston then forced a miss from the Pacers' Monta Ellis, and Ariza followed up with a breakaway dunk to seal the win, which pulled the Rockets to 19-19 for the season.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

The story behind KC and Chandler's 'dinner date'

MANILA - KC Concepcion and American cager Chandler Parsons made headlines early this month when they confirmed having dinner prior to the NBA Global Games, triggering speculation of a brewing relationship between the two.

Parsons, who plays for the Houston Rockets, said that he enjoyed spending time with the 28-year-old actress and referred to her as a "great girl" in an interview.

Concepcion, likewise, confirmed the meeting when she posted a collage of the night on her Instagram page. The photos showed her with Parsons, along with her celebrity half-sisters and his group of friends.




"Mabuhay!" the caption read. "So much to see, so little time! Fun night with my ladiez & the big boys."

But how did the two meet? And how did it lead to the what write-ups have referred to as a "dinner date"?

Concepcion, in a recent interview with entertainment news site Philippine Entertainment Portal, recalled that it was Parsons who first followed her on the micro-blogging site Twitter, where the two were seen exchanging messages back in 2012.

"Siya ang unang nag-follow sa akin sa Twitter. Unang nag-contact sa akin," said Concepcion.

But Concepcion said this wasn't their first interaction. The actress, who drew attention to the relationship when TV host Kris Aquino teased her about an unnamed basketball player during a televised interview, said that she met Parsons through his Rockets teammate Jeremy Lin.

“Common friend. Very good friend siya nina Tim, Jeremy Lin na gumagawa ng mga charity works dito. So, nag-start 'yun dun," she said.

Parsons, with his candid admission of the "dinner date" with Concepcion, unwittingly triggered speculation about his ties with the actress.

The "Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala" star, however, dismissed talks of romantic links with the player, labeling the meeting as a "welcome dinner." She emphasized that they were not alone that night.

“That was a private dinner, sa isang function room. We were fifteen. And closed-doors siya. Hindi siya yung tipong nasa restaurant ka na kita ng lahat. Very private.

“Kaya nga nagulat ako nung sinabi niyang nag-dinner kami. Siya pa yung nagkuwento sa akin na, 'Oh, during training, the press asked me about you and I ended up talking about [it].'

"Reaction ko, 'What?!" she said.

Concepcion added she was surprised they managed to meet, considering Parsons' strict schedule. She recalled being invited to dinner by the star athlete, and leaving it to him to arrange the get-together.

“Kasi medyo istrikto sila sa NBA. Ewan ko kung ano ang nangyari. Basta ang alam ko lang, gusto nilang mag-dinner. Hindi ko na alam kung ano yung arrangement na nangyari nung mga time na 'yun,” said the actress.

Media frenzy

With the "dinner date" becoming public knowledge, rumors of a romantic relationship between Parsons and Concepcion surfaced. Her attendance to the NBA game in Pasay City -- she later thanked Parsons for the tickets -- also became the subject of online buzz.

Addressing this, Concepcion said, "Nagulat ako na romance agad yung anggulo [sa mga balita]. Hindi rin naman kasi nila alam na magkakilala na kami, matagal na."

Asked why she went public with the collage of photos of her with Parsons, the actress said, "Nung malaman nga ng mga tao, sila rin ang nagsabi na, 'Ang daya mo. Bakit ikaw, walang pinu-post? May itinatago?'"

“Nung private 'yung mga bagay sa akin, nagtatampo kayo dahil wala akong isini-share... Pero nung katiting na maliit na maliit na shinare ko, after na niyang magsalita, biglang ayun, lumabas na yung mga kung anu-ano nang mga sinasabi nila," she said, referring to the negative comments she received on her account.

"Parang sabi ko nga sa Twitter recently, 'Damn if you do, damn if you don’t," she added.

Concepcion was also quick to say "no" when asked if she felt "kilig" when she met Parsons that night. “Hindi. Ayokong kiligin. Ayokong kiligin sa isang taong may girlfriend na. So, hindi talaga," she said.

Parsons reportedly has a girlfriend named Robyn Crowley.

“I’d like to just want focus on the friendship angle lang. For me, to be friend to people like that, na hindi naman ako yung lumapit sa kanya, at wala naman akong kaalam-alam sa basketball, parang, you wanna give them a good time. You want to show them na may maganda dito sa Pilipinas," she said.

Now that Parsons is off jet-setting as part of the NBA, Concepcion happily shared they still manage to keep in touch. On whether he regularly calls her, the actress quipped, “A, basta! Parang normal friends lang kami!”

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Underrated' Parsons lets Howard, Harden take spotlight

MANILA, Philippines – His opponents recognize him as one of the most underrated stars in the NBA, but Houston forward Chandler Parsons is content to let the more celebrated Rockets player take the spotlight.

Parsons, entering his third year in the league, is expected to play a major role for a Houston team that has NBA championship aspirations after adding All-Star center Dwight Howard in the summer.

Prior to their NBA preseason game in Manila, Indiana forwards Paul George and Danny Granger both recognized the role that Parsons has taken with the Rockets.

“Chandler Parsons might be one of the most underrated players in this league,” said George, an All-Star selection last year and the Most Improved Player.

“If you compliment (Howard) with James Harden and Jeremy Lin, and even the young kid Chandler Parsons, they have a good young core and they’ll be a good team,” added Granger.

Parsons was also recognized by NBA legend Robert Horry as the “glue guy” of the Rockets earlier this week. The forward out of Florida repaid all the recognition by scoring 15 points in Houston’s 116-96 victory over Indiana Thursday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“(Being underrated) has been my path my whole career,” Parsons told reporters earlier in the week. “I’ve been flying under the radar, and I never really got all the accolades growing up. I was drafted in the second round.”

“But I use that as motivation going forward throughout my career,” he added.

Moreover, Parsons does not really need to take a starring role for Houston considering that they have Howard and All-Star guard James Harden in their line-up, along with Jeremy Lin, who spawned the “Linsanity” phenomenon when he was playing for the New York Knicks in February 2012.

“We have superstars,” said Parsons. “We got Dwight, we got James, we got all these high-caliber players. So I don’t need all the attention. I’m just gonna come here every single game and do whatever it takes for my team to win.”

After their preseason victory, Parsons said he took Horry’s words as a compliment.

“I just try to do whatever I can every single night to put our team in the best position to win,” he said. “Play defense, rebound. My game is very versatile and I can do a lot of different things to win.”

In his second season in the league, Parsons had per game averages of 15.5 points to go along with 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists. In the playoffs, he increased his averages to 18.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists in six games.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

KC posts photo with Rockets' Chandler Parsons

MANILA - Actress KC Concepcion confirmed she had dinner with Houston Rockets' Chandler Parsons last Tuesday.

In her official Instagram account, Concepcion posted a photo collage of her meeting with Parsons with caption: "Mabuhay! So much to see, so little time! Fun night with my ladiez & the big boys. @chandlerparsons."




Concepcion was with her sisters Chloe and Gabrielle when the meeting happened.

Netizens, however, reminded the actress that Parsons is not single anymore. Parsons reportedly has a girlfriend, Robyn Crowley.

On Wednesday, Parsons said that he enjoyed spending time with Concepcion.

“We had dinner last night. We had a mutual friend who put us in contact, and hopefully we can do some work together in the future here. She's a great girl, and I had a good time last night,” he said.

Concepcion was linked to Chandler after "Kris TV" host Kris Aquino teased her about an unnamed basketball player last May.

It was Aquino who hinted that the man linked to Concepcion is a member of the Houston Rockets.

Parsons and the rest of the NBA team are currently in Manila for a pre-season game against the Indiana Pacers at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Thursday, a first for the Philippines.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Rockets' Chandler Parsons had dinner with KC

MANILA – Houston Rockets’ Chandler Parsons said he enjoyed spending time with actress KC Concepcion when they had dinner on Tuesday night.

Parsons and the rest of the NBA team are currently in Manila for a pre-season game against the Indiana Pacers at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Thursday, a first for the Philippines.

In an interview, Parsons revealed that he and Concepcion had dinner.

“We had dinner last night. We had a mutual friend who put us in contact, and hopefully we can do some work together in the future here. She's a great girl, and I had a good time last night,” he said.

Concepcion was linked to Chandler after "Kris TV" host Kris Aquino teased her about an unnamed basketball player last May.

It was Aquino who hinted that the man linked to Concepcion is a member of the Houston Rockets.

Filipino netizens have been talking about Concepcion's connection with the Houston Rockets player after the two were seen exchanging "tweets" on the microblogging site Twitter over the past months.

Meanwhile, Parsons said he finds a lot of Filipino women beautiful and nice.

“They're beautiful. There are some beautiful women here, everybody's so nice. Everyone's so sweet and generous, and the hospitality here has been unbelievable. The people at the hotel, you guys at the media have been unbelievable,” he said.

While he’s been in the Philippines for only two days, Parsons said: “It's been a great experience and I've really enjoyed my team here.” – from a report by Camille Naredo, ABS-CBNnews.com

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com