Bruised, battered, beaten … Pacers' Dunleavy does it all
The more abuse Mike Dunleavy takes, the more damage he does.
Dunleavy twice left Tuesday's game because of injuries and returned both times, finishing with 32 points to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Seattle SuperSonics 114-107 in Indianapolis.
It's been the best season of Dunleavy's six-year NBA career, but it's been a rough road. He's had his lip split open, and a scar remains. He's taken numerous hits and spills throughout the season, but hasn't missed a game.
In Tuesday's game, he left for 5½ minutes in the second quarter after spraining his left ankle, then left again briefly in the third quarter after Seattle's Jeff Green elbowed him in the nose. Dunleavy scored 12 points in 13 minutes after the shot to the face.
"I've never had these issues before, but I guess over the course of hundreds of NBA games, it's bound to catch up with you," Dunleavy said.
His effort helped send the Sonics to their fifth straight loss.
Even though the Pacers are 14 games under .500, they still have something to play for. The Pacers (25-39) are just 1½ games behind Atlanta for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They are 1 game behind the Bulls and Nets.
Dunleavy is one of the key reasons the Pacers are even thinking about the playoffs. He has scored 30 or more points in four of his past 10 games, and has tied his career high of 36 points twice in that stretch.
"I only surprise myself when I don't do well," he said. "I know what I'm capable of, and I feel like I've gotten an opportunity to shine here. I'm just going to keep it going and help this team in every possible way to get in the postseason."
Dunleavy shot 10-for-16 from the field and made four of five 3-pointers.
Wizards 105, Bucks 97: An NBA player can only go so far being the flashiest rookie in practice. Sooner or later, it's got to happen in a game.
Nick Young had just that kind of night, scoring a career-high 22 points to lead host Washington to a sorely needed win over Milwaukee.
"I'm tired of (teammate) Brendan Haywood calling me a practice dunker and all kinds of stuff," said Young, who shot 9-for-15 and had pair of 3-point plays in the decisive fourth quarter. "So it was my way to kind of show them that I belong here -- and I can jump a little bit."
Antawn Jamison had 23 points, 8 rebounds and 8 turnovers and left in the final minute with a lower back strain, the latest ailment to hit the injury-riddled Wizards (31-32). He can hardly afford to take a game off, however, given that Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler are still out.
Trail Blazers 103, T'wolves 96: Brandon Roy had 27 points and 9 assists, playing biggest during a game-deciding 12-2 run in the fourth quarter to lift visiting Portland past Minnesota.
The Timberwolves drafted Roy in the first round two years ago, but traded him to the Blazers for Randy Foye and cash on draft night. Foye missed the first half of this season with a knee injury, and Roy was rookie of the year last year and has been even better in his second season.