Instead, New Orleans’ first overall draft choice sent the Boston Celtics out of the Big Easy with the sick feeling that accompanies a lost lead in the dying seconds.

Davis outreached Kevin Garnett and Jeff Green for a last-second tip-in, and the Hornets snapped a four-game skid with an 87-86 victory over the Celtics on Wednesday night.

“His first game-winner comes on night when he’s sick and puking and doesn’t feel his best,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “So kudos to him.”

Davis had missed the morning shootaround with an upset stomach. He was listed as a game-time decision and wound up with nine points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in 28 minutes.

Ryan Anderson scored 21 points and Eric Gordon 18 for the Hornets. Gordon’s floater to win it in the waning seconds missed, but Davis followed up for the winner.

“I was really tired, but I knew my team needed me, so I was trying to fight through it,” Davis said. “I’m glad I did. It was a big win for us.”

Paul Pierce scored 11 of his 28 points in the last six minutes to nearly lead Boston back from a nine-point deficit, but missed a jumper with 16 seconds left that could have put the Celtics up by three.

Garnett, returning from a two game absence caused by a left thigh injury and the flu, scored 20 points to go with six rebounds, but took the blame after Boston’s second-straight loss for not picking Davis up in time.

“It was my block-out. I was trying to help Avery (Bradley)” defend Gordon’s drive, Garnett said. “That’s just when you’re trying to help a teammate and you’re reacting. … I’m acting off impulse as a big man to try to block shots and protect the basket and (Davis) took advantage.”

Davis said he was unaware of who stood in his way for the winning tip.

“I was just following like I was supposed to,” Davis said. “I just saw the ball. I wasn’t looking at nobody else.”

The Celtics got the ball back one last time with 0.3 on the clock, and Pierce inbounded to Garnett, who could not get off a turnaround jumper before the horn.

The loss dropped Boston into seventh in the Eastern Conference, 3½ games behind Brooklyn for the fourth seed, which carries with it home advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Nets beat Dallas, while fifth-place Atlanta beat Milwaukee to pull 1½ games ahead of the Celtics.

Boston coach Doc Rivers said the Celtics got what they deserved, adding that he could see it coming late in the second quarter when Boston “went from being a solid, good-looking team to show time.”

“We started dancing around, stopped defending. You could see our guys laughing and joking,” Rivers said. “We don’t learn because we have done this three or four times this year.”

Green, coming off a career-high 43 points in Boston’s loss to Miami on Monday night, scored 13 points, all in the first half.

Boston had been in control much of the game and led by as many as 13 after Pierce’s 3 made it 60-47 early in the third quarter.

Then Boston slumped offensively, scoring only 12 in the period, and New Orleans whittled away.

The Hornets went on a 9-2 run that included dunks by Robin Lopez and Al-Farouq Aminu, and tied the game at 65 on Anderson’s free throws late in period.

The Hornets then surged into the lead early in the fourth quarter when Brian Roberts hit a driving layup and 3. Anderson later added six straight points to put New Orleans ahead 78-69.

The momentum changed once more when Pierce worked his way inside for a layup and Garnett followed a reverse layup, igniting a 10-0 run that included four more free throws from Pierce.

After Anderson restored New Orleans’ lead with a 3, Pierce tied it with a driving two-handed dunk and followed that with a 3 to put Boston up 84-81 with 2:34 left.

That gave Pierce 11 of 15 Boston points in a span of about three-and-a-half minutes, but he finished the game with a couple of missed mid-range jumpers, giving New Orleans just enough of a window to pull out the upset.

Boston led by as many as 12 in the opening half, taking a 50-38 lead on Garnett’s layup, and the Celtics led 55-45 at halftime.

Game notes
While Austin Rivers’ broken right hand prevented him from playing against the team his father coaches, the younger Rivers said he was able to take his father out for dinner at one of celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse’s New Orleans restaurants on Tuesday. “That’s the first time I’ve ever paid for my dad,” Austin Rivers said. “The bill came and I was ready to get up. … He looked at me like, `It’s your turn now.’ It feels good. You work hard. Finally you take care of somebody that has taken care of your whole life.” … The Hornets won the teams’ only other matchup this season, 97-78 in Boston on Jan. 16. … Boston fell to 12-21 on the road and wraps up its three-game road trip with games on Friday at Dallas and Saturday at Memphis.

The post Anthony Davis’ late tip-in lifts Hornets past Celtics appeared first on IdealCapper.

The trade is expected to include the Seahawks’ 2013 first-round draft choice being sent to the Vikings, sources told ESPN.

It also is contingent on Harvin agreeing to a new contract, which is expected to be finalized in the next 48 hours.

The trade agreement, contingent on Harvin passing a physical, was earlier reported by Fox Sports.

Harvin is scheduled to fly to Seattle on Monday night and will undergo his physical in next 24 hours, a source said.

The trade cannot be officially completed until Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, when the 2013 league year officially begins.

Seattle has a connection to Harvin. The team’s offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, held the same job with Minnesota when the Vikings drafted Harvin in 2009. Harvin also will be reunited with receiver Sidney Rice, who was his one-time teammate in Minnesota.

Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman posted a message on Twitter, welcoming Harvin to the team.

“Welcome to the Team bruh @Percy_Harvin … Happy to have ya,” he wrote.

When asked about the trade, Seahawks receiver Golden Tate, whose spot on the Seahawks’ depth chart will be altered with the addition of Harvin, told Josina Anderson that “it’s a business.”

“The Seahawks are trying to do whatever they think is necessary to put together a Super Bowl quality team. If this is one of the steps they think works to accomplish that, then that’s their choice. I don’t think it will impact any of our work habits. We are still going to grind and let the cards play out the way that they will,” he said.

Last month at the scouting combine, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman insisted he had no intent to deal the receiver, who he called a “dynamic playmaker,” and said he wouldn’t even take phone calls about a trade.

Harvin, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, badly sprained his left ankle on Nov. 4 at Seattle last season and didn’t play again. The Vikings placed him on season-ending injured reserve a month later.

Harvin made waves last summer when he expressed unhappiness with the organization and requested a trade. By the time training camp arrived, he had simmered down. He went home to Florida for his rehabilitation after he was placed on injured reserve, but coach Leslie Frazier downplayed his absence, noting that others have chosen to do the same.

He started last season playing like a Most Valuable Player award candidate, leading the league in total yards (receiving, rushing and returning) through nine games in 2012 until he was hurt.

Harvin still led the team in receptions (62) and yards receiving (677) despite playing barely half of a season, and he had a kickoff return for a touchdown as well as 96 yards rushing and one score on the ground.

The 24-year-old Harvin has 7,168 all-purpose yards in his four-season career with 29 touchdowns (20 receiving, five return, four rushing). He also has 280 receptions in 54 career games.

The post Vikes to send Percy Harvin to Seattle appeared first on IdealCapper.

Beamer announced Friday that he’s hired former Auburn offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler to lead Virginia Tech’s offense, former Stanford wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead to take over the Hokies’ wideouts, and another Auburn assistant, Jeff Grimes, to coach the offensive line. Grimes was Auburn’s O-line coach.

The Hokies finished 7-6, in large part because of their inability to run the ball consistently and a regressing passing game. Virginia Tech’s streak of eight consecutive 10-win seasons ended, and the Hokies had to win their last two regular-season games just to qualify for the Russell Athletic Bowl — where they beat Rutgers 13-10 in overtime.

The moves mark the second major overhaul of Beamer’s offensive staff in seven years, and the departures of three staffers brought on during the last one. Quarterbacks coach Mike O’Cain was fired, receivers coach Kevin Sherman left for the same position at Purdue and Curt Newsome left the program, reportedly to head back to James Madison, although the school has not said if he was fired or resigned.

Bryan Stinespring, the offensive coordinator since 2001 and a 20-year member of Beamer’s staff, has been moved to recruiting coordinator. Considered the Hokies’ best recruiter, he also will continue to coach tight ends.

The new coaches will be introduced next Friday.

While Stinespring had the coordinator’s title, O’Cain has called the plays for the past two seasons.

The Stinespring-O’Cain combination directed a record-setting season in 2011, largely on the legs of NFL first-round draft choice David Wilson at tailback and the arm of emerging quarterback Logan Thomas. Wilson ran for a school-record 1,709 yards, and Thomas had a school-record 3,482 total yards.

But 2012 marked a return to the inconsistency that often prompted Hokies fans to call for change. Virginia Tech finished 81st nationally in both total offense (376.7 ypg) and scoring (25.08 ppg). Thomas had 3,500 yards of total offense, but completed just 51.3 percent of his throws and had 16 interceptions.

Beamer, who is intensely loyal to his staff and often cites the absence of significant turnover for allowing the Hokies to climb the ranks into college football’s elite, decided change was in order. He is thought to have interviewed several candidates for the coordinator’s job during the past few weeks.

Loeffler, 38, has coached for 15 seasons in the NFL and in college. He was the offensive coordinator at Temple in 2011 when the Owls finished 9-4 and ranked seventh in the nation with an average of 256.5 rushing yards. He moved to Auburn last season, and the inexperienced Tigers struggled mightily. They averaged just 305 yards, 115th out of 120 teams at the FBS level, and were 112th in scoring (18.67).

He has also coached six quarterbacks who went on to play in the NFL, including New England’s Tom Brady and Florida’s Tim Tebow, who left the Gators with five NCAA and 14 Southeastern Conference records.

Grimes, 44, spent five seasons at Auburn, including the national championship year in 2010, and worked with Loeffler last season.

Moorehead, 32, has been an assistant at Stanford for the past three years.

The post Scot Loeffler new Virginia Tech OC appeared first on IdealCapper.