McGrady injures back, out 3 weeks
Houston Rockets star Tracy McGrady will miss three weeks because of back spasms, coach Jeff Van Gundy said.
McGrady hurt his back in practice Friday when he landed awkwardly after a baseline layup, trainer Keith Jones said. The injury is a recurrence of a back problem that plagued McGrady when he played in Orlando, Jones said.
Jones said McGrady went to the hospital on Friday night and tests showed the injury wasn’t as serious as it’s been in the past.
“All that structural stuff was good,” Jones said. “This is more of a compression injury and basically a bruise around the spine – not the spinal cord, but the spine itself.”
McGrady did not attend the Rockets’ game against New Orleans on Saturday night. Jones said McGrady was already exercising and could be back sooner than three weeks.
Hornets 91, Rockets 84: At Houston, P.J. Brown had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Chris Paul sank two runners in the final minute to carry the Hornets to their first road win of the season.
Paul finished with 15 points and David West added 12 for New Orleans. Yao Ming had 20 points and 14 rebounds and tied a career high with seven blocks. Derek Anderson added 17 points and Rafer Alston had 15.
Wizards 87, Magic 79: At Washington, Gilbert Arenas scored 30 points and Antawn Jamison added 17 of his 23 in the second half in Washington’s home-opening victory over Orlando.
The Wizards improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 1978-79 season, which was also the last time they played in the NBA Finals. The Magic shot 31 percent and are 0-3 for the first time since starting 0-6 in 1990-91.
Pistons 117, Raptors 84: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Tayshaun Prince scored 27 points and Ben Wallace added 15 points and 13 rebounds as Detroit beat Toronto to remain unbeaten.
The Pistons (3-0) outrebounded the winless Raptors 57-35, including a 16-3 edge on the offensive glass. Prince was 10-for-17 from the floor and made three 3-pointers in 34 minutes.
Bobcats 107, Celtics 105 (OT): At Charlotte, N.C., Gerald Wallace scored 25 points, including a layup with 2:24 to play in overtime, and Charlotte celebrated the opening of its new arena by beating Boston.
The Bobcats trailed most of the game but used an 11-0 run late in the fourth quarter to get back into it. The game went into overtime tied at 103, and Emeka Okafor put Charlotte on top with a jumper.
Nets 100, Bulls 99: At East Rutherford, N.J., Richard Jefferson converted a three-point play with 1.5 seconds remaining to lift New Jersey over Chicago.
Jefferson’s basket came after Chicago’s Ben Gordon missed the second of two free throws with seven seconds left. Jefferson drove the lane at the other end and scored while being knocked down by Tyson Chandler, then sank the free throw.
Grizzlies 113, Cavaliers 106: At Memphis, Tenn., Pau Gasol scored 29 points and had seven rebounds to lead Memphis over Cleveland.
Gasol made 11 of 15 shots from the field for Memphis, which won its second straight game. Eddie Jones added 19 points and Mike Miller finished with 13. LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 36 points and six assists.
Sixers 111, Pacers 109: At Indianapolis, Allen Iverson had 29 points and 12 assists, and Philadelphia beat Indiana for Maurice Cheeks’ first win as 76ers coach.
Chris Webber added 25 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers, who nearly blew a 20-point lead.
Bucks 105, Heat 100: At Milwaukee, Bobby Simmons and Michael Redd each scored 23 points as Milwaukee recorded its third straight comeback win over a playoff team with a 105-100 victory over Miami.
Dwyane Wade’s 21 points led the short-handed Heat, who blew a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter to the delight of the friendly crowd at the Bradley Center, where Wade led Marquette to the Final Four in 2003.
Mavericks 103, Spurs 84: At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 34 points and combined with Devin Harris to spark a 16-2 run that broke open a tie game, leading Dallas past former teammate Michael Finley and San Antonio.
In their first home game since Finley’s departure, the Mavericks held their former leader to two points. He received a long, loud standing ovation when he entered in the first quarter, but was hardly heard from again despite playing 27 minutes.
Suns 97, Jazz 88: At Salt Lake City, Shawn Marion had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Phoenix handed Utah its first loss of the season.
Steve Nash had 14 points and 11 assists and Boris Diaw added 14 points, including two driving baskets after the Jazz had closed within three points late in the game.
Blazers 94, Hawks 93At Portland, Zach Randolph made a free throw with 0.2 seconds remaining and Portland beat Atlanta.
Randolph had 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Blazers, who lost their first two games of the season. Sebastian Telfair added 18 points.
Clippers 100, Timberwolves 99 (OT): At Los Angeles, Cuttino Mobley had 27 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, Elton Brand also scored 27 points, and the Clippers survived a missed jumper by Kevin Garnett in the final seconds of overtime to beat Minnesota.
The Clippers are off to their first 3-0 start since 1985-86, when they began their second season in Los Angeles with five straight victories.