Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: George Karl has a certain level of empathy for the Kings after more than a week on the job. The Kings are playing for their third coach this season, and they’re adjusting to different strategies for the second time this season. ... Karl knows he must be patient. But patience shouldn’t be confused with acceptance of how things have been. The Kings need to break habits such as taking contested shots, not passing enough and committing turnovers. They are far from being what Karl wants them to be, but they were good enough to beat one the NBA’s best teams, the Memphis Grizzlies, 102-90 Wednesday night at Sleep Train Arena. Sacramento is 2-1 under Karl, with both victories coming at home. The Kings pleased Karl when they didn’t cave in after the Grizzlies roughed them up with their physical style while taking the lead at the end of the third quarter. Jason Quick of The Oregonian: On Wednesday, in a game that was bigger than any Trail Blazers player let on, Matthews was the tipping point in an 111-95 win over San Antonio that cauterized some festering anxiety in Rip City. With 31 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals - and a handful of court burns - Matthews helped stop a two-game losing streak and provided what could turn out to be a game we circle at the end of the season as an important date. Every once in a while during the long and winding NBA season, there comes a game, or a moment, that goes a long way to changing a team's season. Last season, the benchmark date came at the end of March, in Orlando after a loss to the lowly Magic. It was the eighth loss in 11 games for the Blazers and suddenly their cozy playoff standing was not only slipping, it was in jeopardy. In the locker room after that game Matthews stood before the team and gave a spirited and to-the-point speech that it was time to wake up. The Blazers closed the season winning nine of their final 10 games. After the season, LaMarcus Aldridge said of the team's turnaround: "Wes did it. Give all the credit to Wes. His speech." Fast forward to this season, and Wednesday at the Moda Center. In a different way, Matthews once again provided an important wake-up call. Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: Jordan Hill sat on the bench staring at his cell phone and looking fairly downtrodden. Nick Young showed as much stoicism as he sat by his locker. Their demeanor prior to when the Lakers visited the Utah Jazz on Wednesday at EnergySolutions Arena starkly contrasted to how they acted following the Lakers’ overtime win on Sunday over Boston. Then Hill, Nick Young and Carlos Boozer crashed Jeremy Lin’s postgame interview and expressed elation over a rare victory. The footage soon aired on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where Kobe Bryant offered an annoyed and silent reaction. Lakers coach Byron Scott then reported scolding his team about the incident. “Kobe, in particular, made everybody look at it differently,” Young said. “If ESPN said something about it the night it happened or the next day, I understand. To me, they waited until they saw Kobe react to it.” ... "We’ve been doing this the whole season, but I guess it’s a problem now,” Hill said. “It is what it is.” Yet, Young and Hill walked the tight rope between respecting Scott’s criticism and defending their behavior. “He’s right about it,” Hill said about Scott. “But we’re just trying to finish this season out with our heads high.” Young acknowledged he defended himself “a little bit” to Scott. Andrew Krammer of 1500ESPN.com: The Timberwolves and nearly 20,000 fans partied like it was 1995 on Wednesday night. The Target Center walls were donned with fresh murals, the crowd exceeded seating capacity, Montell Jordan was the halftime act and 20 years later, a fairy tale story came full circle for a sports city in need of energy. Flashes from the past hovered over Kevin Garnett as a video tribute began: "With the fifth pick in the 1995 draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves select..." And for the first time in 588 games, "Wolves" draped across Garnett's chest once again. "It actually felt like my rookie year," Garnett said. "With the energy and anticipation, looking in the crowd, saw my friends and family. Glad my daughters were here to see that. It was a really special time, I can't even put it into words. I thank everybody that came out to show love for the city. I'm happy to be here. I'm hoping we can get some more wins, give the city and everybody something to be excited about." In the 7.5 years without Garnett, the franchise has been starved of success and currently holds the NBA's longest drought without a playoff berth. There won't be a postseason in Minnesota again this year, but fans and moving tributes created a playoff atmosphere for the Timberwolves' 13th win of the season and first with Garnett since 2007. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: The Rockets had lost their previous six and 11 of 12 games against the Clippers when finally, they took a one-point game and played their own greatest hits. The Rockets took off with waves of 3-pointers, a run from their suddenly high-flying bench and enough of James Harden down the stretch to knock off the Clippers, 110-105, their way. “We just wanted to … be able to create our own identity,” Josh Smith said. “That’s playing up and down and playing the way we know how to play.” That meant moving the ball to open 3-pointers. With the Clippers putting two defenders on Harden outside and swarming to him inside, the Rockets matched their season-high with 17 3-pointers, putting up 44 attempts from beyond the arc. They had made at least 15 3s in an NBA record 14 games (going 12-2), already four more than the previous record. It meant turned to their high-speed second unit led by Corey Brewer and Smith to start the fourth quarter, scoring nine fast break points – including a no-look pass Pablo Prigioni bounced through his legs to Brewer – in a 15-1 run that changed the game. “They played well,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. Matt Winkeljohn of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Yeah, I think Dennis likes playing Dallas for a couple reasons,” teammate Kyle Korver said after Schroder led Atlanta in scoring in a 104-87 win. “It’s the German thing.” Indeed, leading Atlanta’s bounce-back from a dreadful 34-22 first-quarter hole, Schroder was special. He scored eight points in the second while draining 2-of-3 3-pointers and adding two of his four assists.Yep, there’s something about the big D – Dirk Nowitzki. Schroder’s countryman, easily the most famous German basketball player, was in the house with the Mavs. So, Dennis did what he does with amplitude in helping the Hawks pull within 53-47 by halftime. On a a 7-of-15 shooting night that included a career-high three 3-pointers made in five attempts, he brought attitude. “With Dirk, another German player, yeah, I’m competitive, too,” Schroder said. “You want to show other German players that you can play the game at a high level. Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: The perception in July: Lance Stephenson’s versatility will lift this team and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is some dude who can’t shoot. The reality in February: Kidd-Gilchrist’s versatility lifts this team and Stephenson looks like a dude who can’t shoot. Mo Williams had a horrible start to this game, committing two shooting fouls outside the 3-point line in the first seven minutes. But his third quarter – 13 points and three assists – might have been the biggest factor in the Hornets breaking that five-game losing streak. You won’t see the Hornets score 17 fast-break points on a regular basis. It’s not because they don’t choose to run, they’re just not particularly built to be that team. Jay King of MassLive.com: Calling a stress fracture in his left foot "God's plan," Boston Celtics big man Jared Sullinger said the light switched has finally flipped in regards to changing his body. The 22-year-old said he will not undergo surgery, but has been ruled out for the rest of the season. Discussing his approach to recovery, Sullinger said, "Change the physique, change the way I look. That's the biggest thing, I think, is just change the way I look. I'm tired of looking on camera and just seeing how I look and seeing how I play during extended minutes. Conditioning's going to be a big factor." Including a back surgery that ended his rookie season, this will be the second season-ending injury of Sullinger's career. The third-year pro has long called shedding weight a focus. He stated a goal of losing more than 20 pounds last offseason. He openly acknowledges his lack of conditioning and has always suggested he could reach another level with improvement in that area. ... Despite his goals, Sullinger said he has no plans to hire a personal nutritionist, adding that he has lost weight and changed his body before. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: The Bill Walker Game! (I mean the Henry Walker Game!) Heck, it could have been the Henry Winkler Game. This was one the Heat could not lose. Somehow they found a way. Barely. Not that that matters in the standings. What matter is a victory gained when not all was going as scripted. So while Goran Dragic was off with his shot, he did keep the ball moving. And he did make the most important free throws of the game.Elfrid Payton's defense against Dragic also was a factor. But the Heat also recognize that this has to be about more than Dragic. And there was a lot more Wednesday. When no one else could, Dwyane Wade stepped up with a 3-pointer when needed in the fourth quarter, when the Heat were 3 of 20 from beyond the arc to that stage. A wayward hero-ball attempt followed. And another. Then Walker turned into the game's true hero. Bang. Bang. Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: John Henson played a big role off the bench in Milwaukee's 104-88 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. Henson finished with a season-high 21 points and added nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals while playing 29 minutes. "Left hook, that's my thing," Henson said. "Whenever I can get that off, there's a good chance it can go in." Henson hit 9 of 12 shots and fell just two points shy of his career-high point total established last season against Toronto. Henson had been starting at center for the previous 11 games, but Bucks coach Jason Kidd went back to veteran Zaza Pachulia as the starter on Wednesday. "I thought John was great for us coming off the bench," Kidd said. "He gave us a big spark. We even played through him in the post to give him some opportunities. "He's doing a lot of work for us defensively, rebounding and blocking shots and helping the little guys on the pick-and-roll." The Bucks bench had slipped a bit recently but it was back in form with 50 points against the 76ers, including 13 by Jerryd Bayless, nine by newcomer Tyler Ennis and seven by Jared Dudley. Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: On trade day a week ago, Suns executives put a selfish label on some of the Suns players who were traded and implored the team to recapture last season's unselfishness. In the first three games after the break, the Suns averaged 24.3 assists after averaging 20.6 on the season. "Everybody gets involved," Jeff Hornacek said. "Everybody's moving the ball. When you hesitate with the ball and don't move it, then it ends up being a one-on-one. Things are designed to move the ball and make quick decisions. Hopefully, we'll do a better job of that and continue that. It also doesn't allow the defense for the other team to set. When you go one-on-one, they're in the help spots."
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