NBA News

[abadani69]

Amare Stoudemire scored a season-high 43 points and the Phoenix Suns improved to 13-0 in road games against the Eastern Conference, beating the Atlanta Hawks 115-106 Sunday night.

Stoudemire added 16 rebounds, three blocks and six assists. He made 15 of 17 free throws.

Shawn Marion had 21 points and Leandro Barbosa added 19 as the Suns moved closer to their hopes of completing an undefeated swing through the conference. The Suns have visits left at Indiana on Tuesday and Philadelphia on Wednesday as they try to become the first NBA team to sweep its interconference road schedule.

The Hawks gave up 38 points in the opening quarter, but recovered with a strong second period and briefly took the lead in the fourth quarter.

Joe Johnson, who helped lead Atlanta to a 120-111 win at Phoenix on Feb. 9, led the Hawks with 28 points. Marvin Williams had 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Anthony Johnson, acquired Thursday, made his debut for the Hawks with 17 points and five assists. Josh Smith added 14 points.

[abadani69]

Maurice Evans scored a career-high 26 points and Kobe Bryant also had 26 in the Los Angeles Lakers' seventh straight win over the Golden State Warriors, 102-85 Sunday night.

Brian Cook added 11 points in the Lakers' second straight win after a season-worst six-game losing streak. Bryant and his teammates took control with a 33-7 run in the first half, and were never seriously threatened while remaining unbeaten against their upstate rivals during coach Phil Jackson's second tenure with the Lakers.

Monta Ellis scored 22 points for the Warriors, who followed up a fourth-quarter collapse against the Clippers on Saturday with a dismal first half, falling behind by 20 points. Golden State, which went 2-for-19 on 3-pointers, has lost four of six while fighting to remain in the playoff picture despite a daunting road schedule looming.

Evans, an acrobatic forward with his third NBA team in three seasons after playing in Italy, scored two quick baskets in the fourth quarter to surpass his previous career high, set four days earlier against Portland. Bryant also had six rebounds and six assists.

Jason Richardson scored 15 points, while Andris Biedrins grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked four shots in the Warriors' 14th loss in their last 16 games against the Lakers.

Evans scored 11 points in the second quarter, capitalizing on the Warriors' double-teams on Bryant, and Los Angeles jumped to a 52-32 lead. Golden State was unable to make it competitive in the second half, and the Warriors' sellout crowd began heading for the exits with 6 1/2 minutes to play while the thousands of Lakers fans in attendance chanted "M-V-P" for Bryant.

Though the Lakers are solidly in the playoff picture at sixth place in the Western Conference, Jackson believes his club isn't ready for the postseason. Jackson hopes to get big men Kwame Brown, Luke Walton and Vladimir Radmanovic back from injuries soon, though he won't put a timetable on any of them.

But the Lakers' problems are dwarfed by the Warriors' woes. Coach Don Nelson hopes guard Baron Davis returns during Golden State's five-game road trip, which begins Tuesday at Milwaukee, but the Warriors are running out of time to build team chemistry in their bid to end a 12-year playoff absence.

Notes

The Warriors wore their yellow "The City" throwback uniforms, and the Lakers wore their Sunday home whites. ... Bryant jawed with referee Steve Javie all night, eventually getting a technical from the notoriously quick-whistled ref in the third quarter. ... Golden State had just its fifth sellout crowd of the season. ... Radmanovic, who injured his shoulder while snowboarding in Utah during the All-Star break, is being called "Slalom Vlade" by his teammates, Jackson said.

[abadani69]

For the first time in a few days, Dwyane Wade had something to enjoy.

Shaquille O'Neal had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Miami held Cleveland to 36 percent shooting in beating the Cavaliers 86-81 Sunday -- the Heat's first win since Wade dislocated his left shoulder last week.

Jason Kapono added 17 points and 11 rebounds for his second career double-double, and Alonzo Mourning scored 15 points in 18 minutes for the Heat (27-2, who improved to 2-7 without Wade, the reigning NBA finals MVP who suffered the shoulder injury Wednesday and is expected to miss several weeks.

"We have to make every possession count now," O'Neal said. "There's really no room for mistakes now."

LeBron James had game-highs of 29 points and seven assists for the Cavaliers (32-24), who fell to 1-12 when shooting less than 40 percent. Larry Hughes added 14 for Cleveland, which also hurt itself by misfiring on 11 of 21 free-throw attempts.


Cleveland was outscored 48-28 in the paint, 15-6 in second-chance points and 38-18 in reserve scoring. All that allowed the Heat to survive -- despite shooting only 43 percent from the field, 17 percent from 3-point range and 50 percent from the foul line.

"When you look at that team, it has five or six All-Stars. It's a good team," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "It's a well-coached team. Just because they didn't have Dwyane Wade, I didn't think -- and I hope our team didn't think -- we could come in here and just get a win."

In terms of field-goal percentage defense, it was Miami's second-best effort of the year -- and best against a team with a winning record. The Heat held the Boston Celtics to 32 percent shooting on Feb. 7.

Take away James' 10-for-22 effort, and the rest of the Cavaliers shot 21-for-64, or 33 percent.

"We played, I thought, one of the best defensive games of the year," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "We really have to try to control tempo, slow it down and grind it out defensively, and rebound the basketball. That's going to take a different disposition than we've had in the past."

The Heat forced Cleveland into missing seven of its first eight shots in the final quarter, breaking a 59-all tie and taking a 71-62 lead with 8:44 left when Mourning scored after grabbing the rebound of a Gary Payton miss.

O'Neal put the Heat up 77-69 with 5:22 left, driving the lane for a hard dunk as the shot clock wound down.

"The way Shaq has been playing the last few games, they can definitely compete and definitely make the playoffs," James said.

James connected on a 3-pointer 34 seconds later, bringing Cleveland within five, but Kapono restored the eight-point margin with 3:35 left when he took O'Neal's pass out of the post and hit a 3-pointer -- ending an 0-for-11 drought from long range for the NBA's 3-point shootout champion and essentially sealing the win.

"Early in the fourth quarter, we didn't execute as well as we wanted to," James said. "But late in the game, when we had some great looks, we weren't able to get them to go down."

James Posey added 10 points for Miami, which was 6-for-16 from the foul line in the final quarter -- while Cleveland never got to the line in the final 12 minutes.

Anderson Varejao had 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, but had only three points on 1-for-6 shooting. Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, playing his first game since his wife went into pre-term labor and delivered stillborn twins earlier this month, had eight points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 1:50 left.

"For some reason, they always turn it on in the fourth quarter, create separation and we're not able to keep up," Ilgauskas said.

Cleveland went 1-for-15 from the field -- including an 0-for-10 stretch -- during an 11-minute span of the opening half, allowing the Heat to erase an early 18-10 deficit and take a 41-38 lead at the break.

Both teams shot 8-for-20 in the third, but the Heat warmed up just enough to pull away late and snap a two-game slide.

"We know we can do it, but we haven't been doing it," Posey said. "When we decide to do it, it's a beautiful thing. When we can play four quarters like that, we'll be a great team."

Notes

Wade will seek a second opinion this week before deciding between rehabilitation or surgery on his dislocated left shoulder. ... James' woes from the foul line continued: He entered as a 68-percent shooter this season, and was 7-for-12 Sunday. ... Cleveland wore orange throwback uniforms from the 1986-87 season. ... Antoine Walker hit his first free throw since Dec. 29, ending an 0-for-10 slump. He's 20-for-60 from the line this season, his .333 percentage the worst among anyone in the league with at least 60 attempts.

[abadani69]

Steve Nash had 25 points and 11 assists and the Phoenix Suns rallied from 18 points down in the third quarter to beat the Indiana Pacers 103-92 on Tuesday night.

The Pacers led 77-59 with 5 minutes left in the third period but managed only one more basket the rest of that quarter and just five baskets in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Suns, meanwhile, pulled within 88-87 on a basket by Amare Stoudemire and took their first lead since the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Nash with less than 6 minutes to go. After one of seven turnovers by Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, Nash scored again and followed with another 3-pointer as Phoenix began pulling away for good.

The final score marked the biggest lead of the game for the Suns, who stretched their winning streak to five games.

Stoudemire had 23 points and 18 rebounds and Shawn Marion added 22 points for Phoenix. O'Neal led Indiana with 28 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots and tied his career high with seven assists.

Twelve of O'Neal's points came in the second quarter, then Darrell Armstrong hit three 3-pointers in a 23-6 third-quarter run that seemed to put Indiana in control.

Armstrong's third trey and a layup and free throw by Danny Granger gave the Pacers a 73-57 lead midway through the period. Another basket by Granger gave the Pacers their biggest lead at 77-59 before Phoenix started its comeback.

The Suns finished with a 10-0 run and pulled to 79-73 going into the final period. Raja Bell hit a 3-pointer, then stole the ball and went in for a layup to cut Indiana's lead to 79-78 in the first minute of the fourth quarter before another 3-pointer by Armstrong ended the Pacers' freefall.

The Pacers, allowing at least 100 points in their fifth straight game, started strong defensively, holding Phoenix to just two baskets in its first 13 attempts and 10 points in almost 8 minutes.

Still, each time Indiana started to pull away, the Suns came right back, and two free throws each by Bell and Stoudemire tied the game at 19 at the end of the first quarter.

The Pacers got seven points in 5 minutes of relief by Ike Diogu and took a 35-29 lead midway through the second quarter, but Marion had 11 points in that period and there were eight lead changes in the final 3 minutes before before a rebound basket by O'Neal gave Indiana a 50-49 lead at halftime.

The Pacers never trailed after that until the 3-pointer by Nash put the Suns up 90-88.

Notes

Coach Tony Dungy of the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts sat courtside. ... Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley was inactive because of a sore leg. ... Before this game, the Pacers were the only team the Suns had not played this season. ... Phoenix is 2-6 in Conseco Fieldhouse.

[abadani69]

Andre Iguodala scored 24 points, Willie Green had 20 and the Philadelphia 76ers never trailed Wednesday night in a 99-94 win over the Phoenix Suns, who lost on the road to an Eastern Conference team for the first time.

The Suns won their first 14 on the road against East teams and failed in their bid to become the first team to sweep its road games against the opposite conference. It was also the first time the Suns failed to even hold a lead.

With the Suns playing without Shawn Marion and Boris Diaw, the Sixers were able to pull off their most impressive win of what's mostly been a miserable season.

Amare Stoudemire had 31 points and 14 rebounds, and Steve Nash scored 23 points. Marion sat out his first game of the season because of a bruised right hand and bruised left quadriceps suffered against Indiana on Tuesday night. Diaw had back spasms.

So the Suns matched the only other team that finished with one road loss against the opposite conference: The 1982-83 Sixers who went on to win the NBA championship. And the star point guard on that title team? Current Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks.

The Sixers came out in the first playing more like Phoenix, surprising the Suns with one of their highest-scoring quarters of the season (35). True, these Suns aren't known for tight D, but their top-ranked offense loves to score in bunches and sometimes rallies to put away teams.

This wasn't one of those games.

[abadani69]

Clippers point guard Shaun Livingston will be out 8-to-12 months after tearing three of the four ligaments in his left knee while driving to the basket against Charlotte.

"It's probably the most serious injury you can have to the knee," Clippers physician Dr. Tony Daly said Tuesday. "He might miss all of next year."

Livingston had an MRI exam Tuesday which revealed tears in the anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and lateral meniscus.

He also dislocated his patella, besides the previously diagnosed dislocation of his tibia-femoral. As a rookie in 2004, he dislocated his right knee.

Livingston was driving to the basket on a fast break Monday night, went up for a layup, and his left knee contorted as he collapsed in pain. A team doctor had to pop his knee back into place to alleviate the pain.

"He came down on the leg without any contact with anybody. It's a freak accident, that's for sure," said Daly, who has rarely seen anything similar in 24 years of practice.

He said the injury is more commonly associated with contact sports such as football and rugby.

Daly will solicit various medical opinions over the next two weeks, after which Livingston will have arthroscopic surgery, the doctor said. It wasn't yet decided if all three ligaments would be repaired at once.

Daly said Livingston did not tear an artery or damage any of the nerves in his knee, which can be serious complications.

"If everything goes well, he could be back playing as soon as eight months," Daly said. "My nature is to be conservative. I've seen people who've had this done by other people and it hasn't worked out."

Livingston, a three-year veteran who was drafted by the Clippers out of high school, has been hampered by injuries and has yet to play a full season in the NBA.

He sat out two games in January with a sprained right ankle. He missed 39 games during his rookie season because of a dislocated right knee, and another 12 that season because of torn cartilage in his right shoulder. Last season he sat out the first 21 games with a stress reaction in his lower back.

Livingston, who has been sharing point guard duties with Sam Cassell, was averaging 9.5 points and 5.2 assists.

[abadani69]

Andre Iguodala scored 24 points, Willie Green had 20 and the Philadelphia 76ers never trailed Wednesday night in a 99-94 win over the Phoenix Suns, who lost on the road to an Eastern Conference team for the first time.

The Suns won their first 14 on the road against East teams and failed in their bid to become the first team to sweep its road games against the opposite conference. It was also the first time the Suns failed to even hold a lead.

With the Suns playing without Shawn Marion and Boris Diaw, the Sixers were able to pull off their most impressive win of what's mostly been a miserable season.

Amare Stoudemire had 31 points and 14 rebounds, and Steve Nash scored 23 points. Marion sat out his first game of the season because of a bruised right hand and bruised left quadriceps suffered against Indiana on Tuesday night. Diaw had back spasms.

So the Suns matched the only other team that finished with one road loss against the opposite conference: The 1982-83 Sixers who went on to win the NBA championship. And the star point guard on that title team? Current Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks.

The Sixers came out in the first playing more like Phoenix, surprising the Suns with one of their highest-scoring quarters of the season (35). True, these Suns aren't known for tight D, but their top-ranked offense loves to score in bunches and sometimes rallies to put away teams.

This wasn't one of those games.

Leandro Barbosa tried his best to spoil a rare Philly celebration, though. His 3-pointer made it 84-all with 4:27 left, the first time Phoenix tied the score all game. Andre Miller hit a go-ahead jumper from the right wing and Kyle Korver followed with a pair of free throws.

Barbosa buried another 3, only for Iguodala to come right back down and sink one of his own, bringing the fans in one of the largest crowds of the last few months to their feet.

Samuel Dalembert sealed the win with a wild, desperation fadeaway jumper. The shot, much like the win, was certainly out of character for the Sixers.

Dalembert had 12 rebounds and the Sixers won the battle of the boards, 50-37.

Certainly it helped the Sixers that the Suns were without two key cogs in Diaw and Marion. And the Suns did rally from 18 points down in the third quarter to win at Indiana only a night earlier. But that didn't keep the Sixers from enjoying just their seventh win against the West.

Nash, who left briefly in the first half to get a sore ankle taped, sank a 3 and made a layup late in the third that brought the Suns within one. Instead of folding, the Sixers went on a 10-0 run that stretched into the fourth quarter and pushed the lead back to 11.

Korver surprised everyone with a fast-break dunk midway through the fourth for an 80-69 lead. Nash trimmed the lead to 82-81 and Barbosa would soon hit the tying 3.

Not long after that, the Suns' perfect road season against the East was over.

Notes

Green started for injured rookie Rodney Carney (shoulder). Carney will have an MRI on Thursday. ... Barbosa started in place of Marion.

[abadani69]

Houston Rockets star Tracy McGrady said Wednesday he would consider skipping next year's All-Star game if he felt he wouldn't be safe in New Orleans.

"When they first mentioned to me that the All-Star game was going to be in New Orleans, the first thing I thought about is how much security they are going to have for the players and everybody there," McGrady said.

"I don't think it's the right city to have this type of event right now. I know the city is in need of trying to get back on their feet, in need of money. Safety comes first. I'm sure they have to do a lot of research and look into before they really make this decision."

The security issue became a larger concern after there were hundreds of arrests in Las Vegas during All-Star weekend.

"If I don't feel that I'm going to be safe, if I am on that team, I will look into probably not even going," McGrady said.

McGrady's comments came two days after union director Billy Hunter raised his concerns over New Orleans' ability to host the weekend's events, telling Newsday that, "If the union is not convinced that the city can accommodate the All-Star game, it's an issue that will be subject to litigation between the union and the league."

However, Hunter said he was just speaking hypothetically, and both he and NBA commissioner David Stern said they expect next year's weekend to be successful.

[abadani69]

Boston Celtics radio analyst Cedric Maxwell apologized on the air Wednesday night for saying that a female referee should "go back to the kitchen" after he disagreed with one of her calls.

Maxwell made the comment during the Celtics' 77-72 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday. He subsequently said "Go in there and make me some bacon and eggs, would you?" in reference to referee Violet Palmer.

"If I said anything that might have been insensitive or sexist in any way, then I apologize because she worked extremely hard to get where she is now, end of quote," Maxwell said before the Celtics' game against the New York Knicks on WEEI-AM, which is owned by Entercom Communications.

"This really has been a fire storm," he added later.

Maxwell's co-announcer, Sean Grande, followed the apology by saying their show would not change.

"We are not changing the way we do our jobs because of the tendency of media outlets to present people's comments in a way that serves their story," Grande said.

Maxwell declined further comment following the on-air exchange.

Jason Wolfe, Entercom's vice president of AM programming and operations in Boston, said the station does not condone Maxwell's comments, which he called a poor attempt at humor.

"Cedric is an excellent analyst and has been an exemplary employee in the more than 10 years I've known and worked with him," Wolfe said in a statement.

Entercom owns WEEI and WRKO-AM. Celtics games are usually broadcast on WRKO, but Monday and Wednesday night's games were on WEEI.

Maxwell is a former Celtics player and the MVP of the 1981 finals, won by Boston 4-2 over the Rockets. The team retired his number in 2003.

Entercom fired former WRKO talk show host John DePetro in November after he called Green Party gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross a "fat lesbian" on the air. DePetro later apologized.

[abadani69]

Shaquille O'Neal took over the game in the fourth quarter, assuming command of the paint by scoring 10 of his season-high 23 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 92-83 victory Wednesday night over the Washington Wizards.

In a game without Dwyane Wade, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison -- and with Gilbert Arenas having another poor shooting night -- O'Neal became the unstoppable star when it mattered most. He scored all 12 of Miami's points over a 13-minute span, using a variety of moves against helpless Wizards center Brendan Haywood.

When Eddie Jones hit a 3-pointer with 1:12 to play, it broke the all-Shaq Miami parade and gave the Heat a nine-point lead, essentially sealing the game. Meanwhile, the Wizards were absolutely cold at the other end, shooting 7-for-26 in the fourth quarter of their fourth straight loss.

O'Neal, carrying much of the load while Wade is out with a shoulder injury, finished 11-for-17 from the field and also had 10 rebounds and four assists. He would have scored more had he not missed six of seven free throws.

Jason Williams also scored 23 points, and Udonis Haslem had 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Heat, who are 2-2 since Wade's injury. Wade is scheduled to get a second opinion Thursday to determine whether he should have season-ending surgery.

Arenas, basically a one-man band for the third straight game because of injuries to Butler (back) and Jamison (knee), scored 15 points on 3-for-18 shooting. He is 14-for-61 over his last three games. He missed all eight of his 3-point attempts and has made only 19 of his last 101 3-pointers, a skid that started the day after his 25th birthday.

DeShawn Stevenson led the Wizards with 19 points.

[Rasputin]

NBA: Suns crush Pacers again
The Associated Press



PHOENIX - Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni dug deep into his bench and there among the cobwebs found a 12-year NBA veteran who can shoot.
Eric Piatkowski, who had played 7 minutes all season, shot 3-for-8 from three-point range and finished with 11 points to help the Suns beat the Indiana Pacers for the second time in four days, 115-90 on Friday night.
''Anything you can do to contribute on the way to a championship is going to make you feel awfully good,'' Piatkowski said. ''You've just got to wait your turn and hopefully get an opportunity to show what you can do.''
Pat Burke, also a little-used reserve, had all 10 of his points in the second half to help the Suns make up for the absence of Shawn Marion.
''I thought the key to the game was they had some guys on their bench step up and play well,'' Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said.
Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 23 points apiece.
Stoudemire, who also had 10 rebounds, was 11-for-13 at the foul line. Nash made eight of 10 shots, including 2-for-3 from three-point range. Raja Bell added 17 points. Leandro Barbosa had 14 points and 10 assists.
Seven Suns scored in double figures.
Piatkowski, played 22 minutes, including time in the first and second quarters. He said D'Antoni had clued him in about playing at the morning

''He said 'I don't know if you play golf on game day or what,''' Piatkowski said, '''but you might want to be ready tonight.'''
D'Antoni said Piatkowski ''surprised me but he didn't surprise me.''
''I should have looked at it earlier,'' D'Antoni said. ''I should have trusted him earlier, and I didn't do it. He proved me wrong tonight, and that was great.''
Kurt Thomas, the only Sun who played who didn't score in double figures, had a season-high 15 rebounds.
Danny Granger had 20 points for the Pacers, who matched their longest losing streak of the season at four games. All four have been by double digits, the last two to Phoenix.
Jermaine O'Neal, hampered by foul trouble, scored 16, but only two in the second half. Marquis Daniels also scored 16 for the Pacers but left with a sore knee in the fourth quarter.
The Pacers, who shot 39 percent from the field to the Suns' 53 percent, also lost Maceo Baston with a dislocated big toe in the first half.
Suns 115, Pacers 90

FG FT Reb
INDIANA Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Granger 33:54 6-13 5-5 3-5 0 2 20
O'Neal 29:25 8-18 0-0 1-7 0 5 16
Murphy 29:37 4-8 2-2 1-5 0 2 10
Dunleavy 39:22 3-9 3-4 0-4 2 2 10
Tinsley 32:27 5-16 1-2 2-4 6 4 11
Armstrong 11:22 0-2 0-0 0-1 2 1 0
Daniels 18:33 5-8 6-11 3-3 0 0 16
Foster 28:05 0-5 2-2 4-6 0 4 2
Baston 0:55 1-2 0-0 1-1 0 0 2
Diogu 7:58 0-1 0-0 1-3 0 0 0
Marshall 4:11 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Greene 4:11 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 3
Totals 240:00 33-85 19-26 16-39 11 20 90
Percentages: FG .388, FT .731. Three-Point Goals: 5-16, .312 (Granger 3-5, Greene 1-1, Dunleavy 1-4, Murphy 0-1, Armstrong 0-2, Tinsley 0-3). Team Rebounds: 13. Team Turnovers: 11 (11 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (O'Neal 2, Foster). Turnovers: 11 (Granger 3, O'Neal 3, Murphy 2, Tinsley, Daniels, Dunleavy). Steals: 4 (Foster 3, Dunleavy). Technical Fouls: O'Neal, 6:09 second.
FG FT Reb
PHOENIX Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
JaJones 32:09 3-9 3-3 0-7 0 2 11
Thomas 32:49 3-7 0-0 3-15 0 4 6
Stoudemire 35:33 6-11 11-13 3-10 3 3 23
Bell 27:29 8-15 0-0 0-1 2 5 17
Nash 31:56 8-10 5-5 1-2 7 0 23
Barbosa 34:56 6-12 0-0 0-1 10 3 14
PBurke 23:49 3-5 3-4 0-4 0 3 10
Piatkowski 21:18 4-9 0-0 0-0 2 4 11
Totals 239:59 41-78 22-25 7-40 24 24 115
Percentages: FG .526, FT .880. Three-Point Goals: 11-28, .393 (Piatkowski 3-8, Nash 2-3, Barbosa 2-5, Ja.Jones 2-7, P.Burke 1-1, Bell 1-4). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 11 (5 PTS). Blocked Shots: 7 (Stoudemire 3, Barbosa, Bell, P.Burke, Piatkowski). Turnovers: 9 (Nash 4, Stoudemire 3, Barbosa, Piatkowski). Steals: 5 (Barbosa, P.Burke, Ja.Jones, Stoudemire, Thomas). Technical Fouls: Stoudemire, 8:39 third.
Indiana 28 21 25 16 -90
Phoenix 30 32 27 26 -115
A - 18,422 (18,422). T - 2:12. Officials: Joe Crawford, Marc Davis, Eli Roe.

[Rasputin]

NEW YORK - The NBA and its players' association reiterated their commitment to New Orleans on Tuesday, a day after union director Billy Hunter said he could sue over the league's plans to host its next All-Star game there.

Hunter plans to fly to New Orleans next week for his first visit to the city since Hurricane Katrina, and will meet with city officials and look into accommodations for players and their guests. He also said he has a number of meetings planned with commissioner David Stern to discuss plans for next year's festivities.

On Monday, Hunter told Newsday that, "If the union is not convinced that the city can accommodate the All-Star game, it's an issue that will be subject to litigation between the union and the league."

However, Hunter said he was just speaking hypothetically and would only act if he felt the safety of his players was in jeopardy. He said he anticipates no problems, adding that a number of Hornets players look forward to their return to the city.

"If things for some reason or other were to degenerate to the level where everybody was alarmed, where it just wouldn't make sense to go, in that instance I could always initiate a lawsuit," he said. "That's not to say I'd prevail, but clearly I could do that. But we're nowhere near that, and it was a hypothetical situation to begin with."

The Hornets have spent most of the two seasons since Katrina in Oklahoma City, but will return to New Orleans full-time next season. To show its commitment to the city, the NBA announced last year that it would stage next year's All-Star weekend in New Orleans.

Hunter was responding to questions about whether New Orleans could handle the event, after there were hundreds of arrests and complaints about the crowds during All-Star weekend in Las Vegas. But while Hunter and Stern have expressed concern over the direction of the rebuilding efforts, both sides expect a successful weekend.

"We're looking forward to New Orleans playing host to next year's All-Star events and are equally excited about the Hornets' return to the city next season," Stern said in a statement. "The reports we have received about other major events and conventions recently held in New Orleans have been very positive, and we fully expect All-Star 2008 to be a great success.

"While progress is still necessary in the continued rebuilding efforts, we hope the return of the Hornets and the coming All-Star game will be part of the rebirth and vibrancy of the New Orleans community."

New Orleans officials are also confident in their ability to manage the crowds after hosting more than 800,000 people for recent Mardi Gras celebrations.

"We are very comfortable with our ability to host this event," said James Ross, a spokesman for New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. "We have a proven track record in hosting large groups and we have every confidence and faith in our police department's ability to provide security and support that guests to our city need."

Next year's game should be a huge financial boost to the struggling city. Las Vegas officials estimated a non-gaming economic impact of more than $90 million, and Hunter said one of his goals is for some of that money to reach those who need it most.

"I want to make sure that there's some trickle down, that the people in the community who've historically benefited, who've historically been there, that they benefit from it," Hunter said. "That it's not just, that it all just doesn't stay in the certain area of the city and other folk don't get benefit who should benefit."

[Rasputin]

The Spurs’ influence soon may reach more fully into the Pacific Northwest if former Spurs’ scout and basketball operations assistant Kevin Pritchard gets the Portland Trail Blazers’ general manager job.

Pritchard was assistant GM under Steve Patterson, who resigned Thursday when owner Paul Allen opted not to extend his expiring contract. Pritcharg looks like the front-runner to get the GM title.

Allen charged Tod Leiweke, president of his NFL team, the Seattle Seahawks, with finding a new president and general manager of a team that again has struggled on the court. Leiweke, relatively new to Allen’s operation, is virtually certain to hear from a couple of former Trail Blazers stars, Kiki Vandeweghe and Cyde Drexler, about those jobs. But Pritchard, already on board and well respected, will be tough for Leiweke to overlook.

Gregg Popovich, not easily impressed, has been a Pritchard fan since he was a freshman playing for Larry Brown at Kansas. That he should have emerged as the most likely candidate for the GM job in Portland is no surprise to Popovich.

“We wouldn’t have hired him if we didn’t think he was a quality person,” said Popovich. “He helped us in our summer leagues and is somebody I’ve known since 1988 when I was on sabbatical at Kansas.

“I’ve watched his progress in the league and always felt he had a knack for understanding the game. When we had a chance to hire him we did that, hired him as a scout. (Spurs general manager) R.C. (Buford) felt the same way I did about him. We’ve always felt he was a knowledgeable, good person. I can understand why he’s a candidate for anything.”

Vandeweghe and Drexler, close friends, are among the most popular Blazers ever. My spies tell me Vandeweghe, whose contract as general manager of the Nuggets was not renewed, is more apt to go after the club president’s job than the GM position. He would be a natural, too.

But don’t bet against Pritchard, responsible for some good personnel moves of late, getting the GM job.


What We Hear


That although six Kings players told Sacramento Bee columnist Martin McNeal they lost faith in coach Eric Musselman months ago, the only way Musselman loses his job at season’s end is if the Kings go into a terrible tailspin in their remaining games. That’s because he has two years left on his contract, and firing him would take an admission by the Maloof brothers that they made a terrible mistake made by hiring him last summer …


That Richard Jefferson will accompany the Nets on their six-game, 10-day trip that starts Sunday and hopes to be back in the lineup before it ends on March 13 …


That Steve Francis, gutting it out on his bum leg for the Knicks after Jamal Crawford’s injury, still is prime candidate for a buyout of the final year of his contract this summer. He’s due $33 million over next two seasons …


That Brian Hill hasn’t seen, and has no plans to visit, firebrianhill.org on the web, a site devoted to firing up fans who don’t like the job the Magic head coach has done this season. Hill says he is just now mastering e-mail and spends very little time on the computer because he never learned to type …


That LeBron James is considering asking out of the FIBA Tournament of the Americas this summer, telling the Cleveland Plain-Dealer “anyone needs time off.” …


That the Suns are happy the Hawks have improved over the last month and gotten some wins (one of them over the Suns, in Phoenix) because they own Atlanta’s first-round pick unless it is one of the top three in the draft. It was part of the sign-and-trade deal the Suns worked out that made Joe Johnson a Hawk. With this draft one of the deepest in years, Phoenix is praying the Hawks don’t get lucky on lottery day …


That one of the big reasons for the Rockets’ recent slide has been age catching up with Dikembe Mutombo, never counted on to play the sort of minutes he has had to log, at age 40, with Yao Ming on the injured list. Said Jeff Van Gundy: “He was dominating for a stretch of 10 to 12 games. Obviously, he slowed down a little bit.” …


That Dirk Nowitzki was embarrassed when Mavericks handed out T-shirts to American Airlines Center fans in first game there after the All-Star break hyping the big German as MVP candidate. “I don’t think there’s an award for mid-season MVP,” Nowitzki told Dallas Morning-News …


That stories that originated last week in Minneapolis about Flip Saunders having a deal in place to take over as coach at University of Minnesota next season are not true. They were denied vociferously by Saunders, who has two years left on his contract, at $9 million. The only way he’s available for the Gophers is if Joe Dumars fires him, and Dumars told the Detroit News’ Chris McCoskey he isn’t doing that …


That the departure of Bobcats’ senior vice-president of basketball operations Karl Hicks, one of Bernie Bickerstaff’s first hires when he took over basketball operations after the expansion franchise was formed, is seen in certain sections of the Piedmont as a pre-cursor to more basketball ops changes once the season ends. Asked about Bickerstaff’s future, owner Bob Johnson told the Charlotte Observer “you’ll have to talk to Michael (Jordan).” Jordan, of course, isn’t talking to the media these days, except the Bobcats’ TV network. The talking heads aren’t about to ask any tough questions.

[abadani69]

Steve Nash scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half -- including two free throws with 5.4 seconds to play, and the Phoenix Suns held on to beat the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers 99-94 on Sunday.

Leandro Barbosa added 20 points and Amare Stoudemire 17 points and 11 rebounds, but the Suns barely held off a Lakers team without Lamar Odom, out indefinitely after tearing his left labrum on Friday.

Shawn Marion, who had missed the two previous games with a bruised right hand, had 13 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with 22.8 seconds to play. Raja Bell scored 14, including two that put Phoenix ahead 97-92 with 18.1 seconds to go.

Kobe Bryant scored 18 of his 30 points in the second half in the first meeting of the teams since the season opener. The Lakers won that one in Los Angeles without Bryant, and they made it tough on Phoenix this time, too.

The Suns, 7-1 since Nash returned from a shoulder injury after the All-star break, took the lead for good early in the third quarter but could build no more than a 10-point advantage after that.

Coach Phil Jackson's Lakers, who took favored Phoenix to seven games in the first round of last year's playoffs, were able to slow the frenetic pace favored by the Suns most of the afternoon.

[abadani69]

Steve Nash scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half -- including two free throws with 5.4 seconds to play, and the Phoenix Suns held on to beat the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers 99-94 on Sunday.

Leandro Barbosa added 20 points and Amare Stoudemire 17 points and 11 rebounds, but the Suns barely held off a Lakers team without Lamar Odom, out indefinitely after tearing his left labrum on Friday.

Shawn Marion, who had missed the two previous games with a bruised right hand, had 13 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with 22.8 seconds to play. Raja Bell scored 14, including two free throws that put Phoenix ahead 97-92 with 18.1 seconds to go.

Kobe Bryant scored 18 of his 30 points in the second half -- but shot just 11-of-28 overall -- in the first meeting of the teams since the season opener. The Lakers won that one in Los Angeles without Bryant, and they made it tough on Phoenix this time, too.

The Suns, 7-1 since Nash returned from a shoulder injury after the All-star break, took the lead for good midway through the third quarter but could build no more than a 10-point advantage after that.


Coach Phil Jackson's Lakers, who took favored Phoenix to seven games in the first round of last year's playoffs, were able to slow the frenetic pace favored by the Suns most of the afternoon.

Brian Cook had 22 points -- including 4-of-6 3-pointers -- and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles.

It was an often-sloppy contest that featured 35 turnovers -- 19 by the Lakers and 16 by Phoenix.

Nash, 2-for-11 shooting in the first half, made seven of his first eight in the second half before missing a pair late. He had 10 assists.

The Suns used a 9-0 run to go up 65-57 with 4:31 to play in the third quarter. James Jones and Bell both sank 3-pointers in the spurt.

A 3-pointer by Sasha Vujacic and a free throw by Bryant cut it to 66-63 with 1:32 to left in the third, but Bell made consecutive 3s, and Marion sank a 10-foot rebound basket at the buzzer in an 11-4 surge that put Phoenix ahead 74-67 entering the fourth.

Nash's 3-pointer gave the Suns an 86-76 lead with 6:47 to play, but the Lakers came back with an 8-2 spurt, cutting it to 92-88 on Cook's fourth 3-pointer of the day with 3:19 remaining.

Bryant scored inside to slice the lead to 93-90 with 2:46 to go. But he missed one of two from the line and it was 95-91 1:47 from the finish.

Shammond Williams made 1-of-2 free throws to cut it to 95-92, then Bell made two from the line to boost the lead to 97-92. Cook's tip-in with 6.1 seconds to play cut it to 97-94 before Nash's free throws sealed the win.

Notes

Muhammad Ali, who lives in the Phoenix area, had a courtside seat and received a standing ovation when he was introduced to the crowd. He got another ovation when he left late in the third quarter. ... Both Odom and Luke Walton (sprained right ankle) are scheduled to meet with specialists on Monday. ... Suns coach Mike D'Antoni says Boris Diaw is feeling much better and could play Wednesday against Charlotte. Diaw, Phoenix starter, has missed nine games with back spasms.