ROCKETS-BOBCATS
Harden scores 31, Rockets top Bobcats 100-89
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — James Harden scored 31 points, Dwight Howard had a double-double in his return to the court and the Houston Rockets defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 100-89 Monday night for their fourth straight win.
Harden had 14 points in the pivotal third quarter and finished 11-of-19 from the field.
Terrence Jones added 18 points and seven rebounds in the victory.
Howard had missed the previous three games with an ankle injury, but Houston won all three without him by an average of 23 points. He finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Kemba Walker had 22 points and Al Jefferson had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, which lost for only the second time in 11 games at home.
The Bobcats shot just 37 percent from the field.
The Rockets entered 1 ½ games behind the Los Angeles Clippers in the race for third place in the Western Conference.
SILVER-ONE AND DONE
Silver: 2 years of college best for NBA players
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Adam Silver says he’s heard the “Bill Gates theory” numerous times from critics over the last month: You shouldn’t be required to attend college to become a millionaire.
But the new NBA commissioner steadfastly believes that basketball players should spend at least two years in college before being allowed to enter the draft — instead of the required one.
Fair or not, he says it’s simply best for the league.
Speaking before Monday’s Rockets-Bobcats game in Charlotte, Silver says “I think two years is the right balance.”
That means if Silver had his way Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins would be staying in school another year. But there’s little he can do about that.
An agreement between the league and players association is not imminent.
OHIO MR BASKETBALL-DUKE
Mr. Basketball Luke Kennard says he’ll attend Duke
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Luke Kennard, the 27th annual winner of Ohio’s AP Mr. Basketball award, has announced he’ll play college ball at Duke.
The 6-foot-6 junior averaged 41 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2 steals per game in the regular season for Franklin High School. His final five college choices — he said at the time “in no particular order” — were Duke, Ohio State, Kentucky, North Carolina and Michigan.
Kennard, also an all-state quarterback in football, said last week that he was looking forward to announcing his choice so he could “enjoy my next year and kind of get the pressure off.”
He is also has a grade-point average of 4.3 and is among the top students in his school.
NCAA-DEPAUL-DUKE
DePaul upsets Duke 74-65 in NCAA tournament
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Megan Rogowski scored 22 points and Megan Podkowa added 18 to help DePaul upset Duke 74-65 on Monday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Brittany Hrynko added 14 for the seventh-seeded Blue Demons (29-6). They earned their third appearance in the round of 16 by hitting 14 3-pointers and forcing second-seeded Duke into 21 turnovers with their high-pressure defense.
DePaul will play the James Madison-Texas A&M winner on Saturday in the Lincoln Regional semifinals.
Elizabeth Williams scored 12 points, and seniors Haley Peters and Tricia Liston each added 11 in their final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke (28-7) led for only 12 seconds and became the first top-four seed to lose in the tournament.
The Blue Devils — who made four straight appearances in the regional finals — became the first No. 2 seed to lose this early since Xavier lost to Louisville in 2011.
NCAA-NORTH CAROLINA-HATCHELL
UNC’s Hatchell won’t be on sideline Tuesday
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina assistant Andrew Calder says head coach Sylvia Hatchell won’t be on the sideline for Tuesday’s NCAA tournament game against Michigan State while she continues to recover from treatments for leukemia.
Hatchell, who was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame before the season, has said she hopes to recover in time to sit on the bench in a supporting role for the Tar Heels this season. She recently completed what she has said will be her final chemotherapy session, but she was unable to attend Sunday’s tournament opener against UT Martin while her immune system recovers following that most recent treatment.
Calder has filled in all season for the Tar Heels, the fourth seed in the Stanford Regional.
NCAA-MICHIGAN STATE-NORTH CAROLINA
Michigan State, UNC women meet in NCAA 2nd round
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina star freshman Diamond DeShields struggled for much of her NCAA tournament debut. It was a much different story for Michigan State’s Aerial Powers.
Their teams meet Tuesday in the NCAA tournament’s second round, with each all-conference rookie knowing she’ll play a big factor in determining whether her team reaches the round of 16 in the Stanford Regional.
Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant says a long season full of tough games has prepared both freshmen for this moment.
DeShields scored 13 of her 15 points during UNC’s second-half comeback to beat UT Martin 60-58 on Sunday, though she made just three of 12 shots.
Powers, a redshirt freshman who missed last season with an injury, dominated Hampton for 26 points and a program-record 18 rebounds in the Spartans’ win.
NORTH CAROLINA-WRAPUP
Williams’ Tar Heels close turmoil-filled season
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Nothing went easily for North Carolina all season.
The Tar Heels never had top player P.J. Hairston due to NCAA violations and started 0-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Yet they also beat the top four teams from the preseason Top 25 and had a 12-game winning streak to return to the NCAA tournament.
The Tar Heels (24-10) fell to Iowa State in Sunday’s third round, marking the first time they failed to survive the tournament’s opening weekend in consecutive seasons since Roy Williams took over in 2003-04.
Still, sophomore Marcus Paige developed into an all-ACC performer, while sophomores J.P. Tokoto and Brice Johnson showed significant improvement. It’s unclear whether junior James Michael McAdoo will return or enter the NBA draft, but UNC adds Rivals.com’s No. 3-ranked recruiting class.
HURRICANES-FAULK
Justin Faulk, ‘Canes sign 6-year, $29M extension
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes have signed defenseman Justin Faulk to a six-year contract extension worth $29 million.
Under terms announced Monday, Faulk will make $2.5 million next season and his salary will escalate to $6 million in each of the final two seasons of the deal in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Faulk turned 22 last week and is in his third season in the NHL. He’s second on the team with an average of about 23½ minutes of ice time a game. He played for the U.S. at the Sochi Olympics.
General manager Jim Rutherford calls Faulk “among the best young defensemen in the league” and says he “will continue to be the anchor of the Hurricanes’ defense for years to come.”
