What’s being said in the NBA

Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson finished a win over Detroit by nailing the first three-pointer of his NBA career: “That was the luckiest shot. I’m not going to shoot another one and mess up my percentage. I hit a couple threes in high school, but they don’t count. NBA threes are a long way out,” he said.

Last week after the Grizzlies beat the Nuggets, 94-91, Denver guard Ty Lawson credited Memphis’ defense, sort of: “They are a scrappy team. They foul and get away with a lot of stuff. It’s a good basketball play if you can get away with it,” Lawson said.

Oklahoma City power forward Nick Collison blogged for GQ magazine about his nicknames for teammates: “Everyone pretty much calls Russell Westbrook ‘Russ’ but I’m trying to get ‘Russheed Wallace’ to stick since he has been getting a lot of technical fouls this year … I am pretty proud to have given Cole Aldrich the nickname ‘Cole Sore.’ It’s one of my all-time bests. It’s just a play on words, but it gets a good reaction…I call James Harden Jimbo Slice because he has the Kimbo Slice beard.”

Portland’s Jamal Crawford was anxious as the trade deadline neared: “This is the first time I haven’t taken a nap because [rumors are] swirling.” He wasn’t traded.

— Barry Stavro