|
Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images
Battling his old team on Monday, Beno Udrih scored a career-high 27 points, leading the Kings to an impressive 112-99 victory over the Spurs.
|
By Lauren Brill
The Global Top 10 is your weekly guide to NBA global news. In this week's edition find out who haunted his old team, who hit a game-winner and which two seven-footers squared off.
Yi Meets Nowitzki
Yi Jianlian may be a rookie but he can compete with the best of them. He posed a challenge to Dirk Nowitzki in the Bucks' 97-95 win over the Mavs. On the night Yi compiled nine points, seven rebounds and one block.
 Photo: Yi challenges Dirk
1. Yi Meets Nowitzki
Yi Jianlian may be a rookie but he can compete with the best of them. He posed a challenge to Dirk Nowitzki in the Bucks' 97-95 win over the Mavs. On the night Yi compiled nine points, seven rebounds and one block.
Photo: Yi challenges Dirk
2. Parker and Haier Play of the Day Tony Parker played like the super star he is when the Spurs drowned the Wizards Wednesday night 109-94. Scoring only nine points in the first half, Parker finished the game strong with a game-high 29 points and 11 assists. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich told the AP, "He did a great job scoring, but he also found people. He hit open people for great shots and that's what a point guard does.'' Making baskets and sweet passes all night long, Tony Parker received the Haier Play of the Day honor for an unusual 360-degree shot.
Video:
Parker's Haier Play of the Day
Photo: Parker attacks the rim
3. Udrih Scores 27 Against Spurs Formerly a reserve for the San Antonio Spurs, Beno Udrih has emerged as the Kings' starting point guard. While Mike Bibby recovers from a thumb injury, Udrih has been a scoring machine for Sacramento. Battling his old team on Monday, Udrih scored a career-high 27 points, leading the Kings to an impressive 112-99 victory over last year's title winners. Backing-up point guard Tony Parker for three seasons, Udrih held last year's finals MVP to just 12 points. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told the AP, "The difference in the game tonight was Beno Udrih."
4. Deng and the Dunk of the Night
On Tuesday night Luol Deng led the Bulls in a 90-78 win over the Hawks to end a four-game losing streak. Deng scored a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds. With several fancy dunks in the game, it's no surprise that Chicago's leader received the Dunk of the Night honor. Check out the two-handed jam right here on NBA.com
Video:
Deng's two-handed jam
5. Phoenix Fails to Contain YaoBeside the fact that Yao Ming is 7-6, you couldn’t miss him if you tried in the Rockets' 100-94 victory over the speedy Phoenix Suns. Yao played like a man on a mission, registering a double-double with 31 points and 13 rebounds. Phoenix clearly could not contain the big man as he scored eight of the team's last 13 points down the stretch. Teammate Tracy McGrady told the AP, "If he plays like that every night, we'll be a helluva team."
6.Nash's Assist Streak Ends 
Steve Nash left US Airways Center Wednesday night disappointed not only because of his team's 100-94 loss to Houston but also because the game marked the end to his eight-game streak of 10 or more assists. While Nash scored 29 points, he only had six dishes on the night.
Photo: Nash looks for the open man
7. Azubuike Hits Trey, Warriors Win
Tied 90-90 at the end of four quarters, the 76ers and the Warriors went in to overtime at the Wachovia Center. Despite hitting only 2-9 shots on the night, with 6.1 seconds left in overtime Baron Davis passed the ball off to Kelenna Azubuike. As fans closed their eyes and crossed their fingers, Azubuike's trey fell right in, giving Golden State both the lead and the win with a final score of 100-98. Azubuike shared his mindset at the time he hit the crucial shot with HoopsWorld , "I was struggling the whole game. I just wanted to try and knock it down and thank goodness it went in."
8. Calderon Crucial in Raptors winSpanish import, Jose Calderon has been a major asset to Toronto. Scoring 19 points and a season-best 14 assists, Calderon helped the Raptors to a 93-78 victory over Chicago. Teammate Chris Bosh told the AP, "Jose is playing fantastic right now. He's moving the ball where he's supposed to and taking good shots. He's just poised and controlled.''
9. Navarro Has First Double-Double Every week NBA.com's Dave McMenamin ranks the rookies throughout the league. Slated in the ninth spot last week , Juan Carlos Navarro climbed to No. 7 in this week's Rookie Rankings. Why the bump? Saturday night against the Wizards, Navarro helped his team to a 124-118 victory, scoring 28 points and hitting 5-8 from downtown. Three days later the Grizzlies faced the Nets at the IZOD Center. Navarro registered the first double-double of his career with 16 points and 11 rebounds. New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank told McMenamin before the Nets faced the Grizzlies, "I really like him. He's real confident," Frank said. "He's got great range. He plays with a lot of moxy on the offensive end."
10. Dirk Helps to End Losing StreakAfter Dallas lost to Washington Dirk Nowitzki told the Dallas Morning News, "A three-game losing streak is never fun…You never want to go through it. We've just got to find a way to stop the bleeding." Wednesday night Nowitzki used the losses as motivation as he came out strong and played hard against Minnesota. Registering a double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds, the Germany native helped end his team's losing streak with a 109-103 win over the Timberwolves. In the matchup Nowitzki shot 7-of-13 from the field and hit all 13 of his shots from the charity stripe. Dallas' star told the AP, "I just kept working and stayed aggressive and looked for my shot if it was there."
|
|
NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad
RSS Feeds
NBA.COM is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network.