NBA schedule: Warriors-Thunder caps off busy Wednesday

It’s not really a surprise that a guy like Kobe likes a guy like Rondo. Both seem to be no-nonsense type of players on the court and possess that same confidence that crosses over into arrogance. Winning is clearly important to both, but the individual stats mean something too. Just as Kobe is surely aware of how many points he needs on a given night to pass somebody on the all-time scoring list, Rondo is frequently seen trying to pad his assist totals.

Furthermore, Bryant told MacMullan that he’s a fan of New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.

The Spurs held Minnesota to 40 percent shooting for the game.

The Heat had the lead at halftime, and held it throughout the second half. The Rockets cut the lead to six with less than three minutes remaining, then three points with 30 seconds remaining, but couldn’t get closer.

Miami shot 49 percent for the game, and the Rockets shot 48 percent.

Once again, Wade appears to be the best quarterback in Miami.

Toronto’s former No. 1 overall pick had recently returning to practice, and the National Post’s Eric Koreen reported Tuesday that a physical practice showed good signs that he was close to his debut.

Bargnani was told during his recovery that he would come off the bench -- that was before Davis was shipped to Memphis.

So how will the teams adjust?

The Spurs annually hit the trail to allow the Stock Show and Rodeo to take over AT&T Center. This is the first game of the trip and the 11th season San Antonio has vacated its home arena. In that span, they’ve played a full season on the road, going an utterly impressive 58-24.

Things got bad enough in Houston that the Warriors ended up spending the final minute of the game intentionally fouling simply to avoid the infamous record. SB Nation’s Warriors blog, Golden State of Mind, wondered whether coach Mark Jackson played into Houston’s strategy before adding, “I don’t know if any team can win against that fire.”

Golden State has been a much-improved defensive squad this season under Jackson, but the Rockets simply couldn’t be stopped on Tuesday night. We’ll see how much better the Warriors can fare while facing the best offense in basketball, though.

After laying face down on the ground for several minutes, Sanders was helped to the locker room by teammates. He underwent x-rays, which came back negative, before flying to Utah to rejoin his teammates on Wednesday morning.

Officially described as a lower back injury, Sanders said that it’s causing him a good deal of pain, but the Bucks have yet to rule him out against Utah on Wednesday. SB Nation’s Bucks blog, Brew Hoop, notes that the team has a few days off after the Utah game, so he should get some extra time to recover before Saturday’s game.