ESPN NBA

• Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler and Ryan Lillis of The Sacramento Bee: The uncertainty over the future of the Sacramento Kings will linger at least into next week. Just as Mayor Kevin Johnson announced on Tuesday that a local investor group was finally ready to present its formal bid to buy the team, league officials in New York revealed they have scrubbed plans to vote this week on a competing offer to move the team to Seattle. An NBA spokesman declined to offer a reason. League Commissioner David Stern two weeks ago said a postponement was possible due to what he called the complicated and unprecedented situation the league faces. The NBA has never before had to decide between two cities competing hard and well for the same team, Stern said. Both have well-financed groups eager to buy the team from the Maloof family, the team's current owner, and both cities assure the NBA they can build gleaming state-of-the art arenas in the next few years.
• Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: Having Chauncey Billups back in the starting lineup for the Clippers on Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers meant a lot to the team in many ways. Billups brings the Clippers championship experience. He won a title with the Detroit Pistons over the Lakers in 2004, when Billups was named the Finals most valuable player. "He's a little bit older now," Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said about the 36-year-old Billups. "He's missed most of last season and a lot of this season, so that's not as easy to do. We still expect a lot from him with his leadership. He can make shots, obviously. He's another guy that can make plays." Billups had missed the last eight games with a strained right groin. He has played in just 21 games this season and is expected to play in a back-to-back game Wednesday night in Sacramento. Del Negro said the plan is to play Billups about 20 minutes per game.
• Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: The photo, like so many others from Monday’s explosions, had gone viral. A young woman, her body mostly obscured by a distraught man and an EMT, lay face down on the blood-splattered Boylston Street sidewalk. Avery Bradley spotted the photo online and immediately posted it to his Twitter account with a simple hashtag — #sad. “It just caught my eye,” the Celtics guard said before yesterday’s practice. “All I could think was that this is crazy, to think that people go to an event like this to run. That’s what they train for all year. And for people to lose arms and legs, that’s just crazy.” So Bradley did what so many others could only do. He asked for help from a greater power. “All you can do is pray for their families. I definitely did yesterday,” he said. “I feel bad, and if there’s any way I can help, I will want to help. . . . It could happen anywhere. But to see it happen there or anywhere at all is just crazy.” The Celtics took the practice floor in a relieved state yesterday, most glad last night’s game against Indiana was canceled.
• Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: With a $100 million payroll, four future Hall of Famers and a storied championship history, it's come to this. The Lakers' season finale Wednesdaytonight against the Houston Rockets could decide whether they perhaps salvage an otherwise disastrous season or miss the playoffs for only the third time in the team's history. Few would have guessed this scenario. Plenty envisioned the Lakers waltzing into the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Many wondered if anyone could stop a star-studded lineup that featured Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol. Never shy to boast, Lakers forward Metta World Peace predicted the team would surpass the NBA's regular-season record (72-10) set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls team. "I thought we'd be at a different point right now," World Peace said. "But that's all right." Instead, the Lakers (44-37) enter Wednesdaytonight's game against the Houston Rockets (45-36) at Staples Center with a possible must-win situation. The Lakers are a pure lock for the playoffs if they win, earning a seventh seed and playing the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. A Lakers' loss coupled with a Utah loss against Memphis would leave the Lakers in the eighth spot against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
• Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune: Wishing and hoping and thinking and — oh, right — playing. With apologies to Dusty Springfield, nothing else remains for the Utah Jazz. Their season may conclude with a loss to the Grizzlies here Wednesday, it may end with a Lakers win over the Houston Rockets in Los Angeles or it may be extended into a most unlikely postseason. If the Jazz can beat the Grizzlies at FedEx Forum, they will turn into Rockets fans, hoping Houston, trying to avoid falling into the eighth seed, can beat the Lakers in a game that fittingly, cruelly, doesn’t begin until after the Jazz and Grizzlies end on national TV. The Jazz, who won the season series against L.A., would be even with the Lakers and into the playoffs. "I guess I need to try to get in touch with Kevin McHale," Al Jefferson said of his former Minnesota coach, now with the Rockets, "and tell him to handle that for me. Give me a late birthday present."
• Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: As another Toronto Raptors season crawls to its conclusion, a franchise teetering on irrelevance has a series of enormous decisions to make. There may not be any one right answer for Tom Anselmi and the board of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, but there is almost certainly a wrong one. The decisions, as they seemingly do at the end of every Raptors season, revolve around the general manager, Bryan Colangelo, and the coach, Dwane Casey. Colangelo has an option year remaining on his contract. Casey has one year left on his deal. And the team is forever paddling in circles, creating the occasional wave, but ending up nowhere in the end. The decision for Anselmi and the board isn’t in any way obvious, with the largest issue being the relationship between Colangelo and Casey. Colangelo did his best to distance himself from his coach early in the season and there has been all kind of internal speculation that the two can’t possibly work together again. That determination may wind up saving his job or costing him the position.
• Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Hawks had a chance to control their playoff seed. Not anymore. A poor effort against the Raptors, one in which the Hawks went to their bench early and often, resulted in a 113-96 loss Tuesday night in a nationally televised game at Philips Arena. The Hawks played without Al Horford and just a half with Josh Smith in a game they trailed by as many as 23 points. Smith played 13 minutes and received treatment on his knees at the intermission. He banged a knee in the first half and did not immediately come back to the bench after halftime but later returned with both knees wrapped in ice. Regulars Jeff Teague (19 minutes), Kyle Korver (18) and Devin Harris (17) played less than a half. … The Hawks can clinch the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and a first-round playoff against the Nets, with a victory at the Knicks and a Bulls loss at home against the Wizards Wednesday. The Bulls will claim the fifth spot with a victory or if both teams lose Wednesday. The Hawks would finish sixth and get a first-round matchup with the Pacers. The Hawks have split the season series with both the Nets and Pacers this season.
• John Rohde of The Oklahoman: Thunder three-time All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook has never missed a game in the NBA and has the league's longest active streak at 393 consecutive games played. OKC (60-21) closes out the regular season at 7 p.m. Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks (37-44) at Chesapeake Energy Arena, but Thunder coach Scott Brooks wouldn't share his starting lineup after Tuesday's practice. Westbrook playfully was asked if there would be a fist fight if Brooks asked him to sit out the finale. “No, no, no. There won't be a fist fight,” Westbrook said with a smile, “but he won't ask me (to do) that.”
• Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News: With all the twists and turns during the 2012-13 regular season, it was only fitting that the Spurs gave us one more on Tuesday, signing Tracy McGrady to fill to roster vacated after the unceremonious whacking of Stephen Jackson. It is the seventh NBA stop for the former franchise player, and eighth as a professional including his recent stint in the Chinese league. He dominated with Qingdao Double Star Eagles, averaging 25 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists — the type of numbers he put up as a seven-time All-Star before injuries sapped his athleticism. McGrady won’t find it nearly so easy back in the NBA, where he averaged 5.3 points last season with Atlanta. There’s some speculation that McGrady’s addition had been the end goal all along. But at this point, the most likely explanation is probably the simplest: The Spurs excised what they viewed to be a cancer, and they needed a warm body to help pick up the slack on a Spurs bench that suddenly isn’t so deep. That means chewing up whatever time is available behind starting small forward Kawhi Leonard. And from what Gregg Popovich has said recently, there won’t be much. Leonard, he said, could earn up to 40 minutes a night, leaving precious little for a floor-bound ex-star.
• K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: Keeping Noah and Gibson healthy is critical during the postseason. The Bulls took Tuesday off, and both players continued treatment on their respective lingering injuries, plantar fasciitis for Noah and a sprained MCL for Gibson. Coach Tom Thibodeau said "it's a possibility" the players will be on minutes limits to start the playoffs, which affects his rotation. "You don't know what the minutes are going to be, so that's another huge factor," Thibodeau said. "We have to get that sorted out in a very short amount of time. "The question is: Are we going to be sharp? You're talking about playoff basketball, where the intensity level is very high and it's the same opponent over and over. Most of the time, games are decided by one or two possessions. So how you matchup with people is critical. A bad matchup for a minute in the playoffs, that's 10 points. We have to be right and ready."
• Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News: O.J. Mayo owes an apology to his teammates in general and Vince Carter in particular. In the least, Mayo owes them maximum effort in Wednesday’s season finale against New Orleans. Why Mayo, in coach Rick Carlisle’s opinion, “didn’t compete” during his 28 minutes on the court against Memphis on Monday, is the latest baffler in Mayo’s mystifying late-season swoon. In fact, Mayo’s lack of production and Carlisle’s now-obvious frustration level seemingly increase the likelihood that Wednesday’s game will be his last in a Mavericks uniform. Of course, this could be the finale for some or all of the nine Mavericks who are in the final year of their contract or, as in Mayo’s case, have optional deals for 2013-14. Mayo holds his option, meaning it’s up to him whether to stay at a $4.2 million salary or declare for free agency.
• Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic: Luis Scola and Goran Dragic were asked whether they would recommend interim head coach Lindsey Hunter returning next season. Both players punted the topic. “That’s a tough question,” Dragic said. “ ... I’m here to play basketball. It’s not my decision to make.” Dragic did say he liked Hunter’s approach to practice. “Alvin (Gentry) was a great coach for the veteran players; he knows when to give them a day off, but for our team we have a young team and we really need to practice hard every day,” Dragic said. “When he (Hunter) took over the team I think we maybe had one or two days off. I think it should be like that.” Scola said he thought Hunter did “a great job. Circumstances were bad and he did as good as he could. But I don’t make those decisions. I’m just a player.” Would a third coach in less than a year be unsettling for the team? “I think it would be a sign of things being bad,” Scola said. “But things are bad.” Suns owner Robert Sarver declined comment when asked about Hunter’s future, and Hunter said no time has been set for a postseason meeting with either General Manager Lance Blanks or President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby.
• David Mayo of MLive.com: One day after Pistons owner Tom Gores bluntly said he wasn't satisfied with on-court performance -- Gores also praised basketball operations, which supports the notion that team president Joe Dumars' job is safe -- Frank said he and his coaching staff want another year to right the ship. Frank noted that the Pistons are ahead of schedule in terms of their financial flexibility this summer because of the Ben Gordon and Tayshaun Prince salary-purging trades within the last year, and said he wants to remain head coach of a franchise in "prime position" to make major moves. "Obviously, you want to be a part of it, because that's why you went through the bleeding," Frank said. "I know, without a doubt, we all want to be back. But at the same time, that's not our decision. "But do I want to be back? Of course, because this is what you signed up for. You want to be part of reshaping the franchise and getting it back to where it was.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: With a 20-61 record entering the season finale against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Bobcats might end up with the NBA’s worst record for a second straight season. Charlotte will have a high draft pick and as much as $21 million in room under the salary cap this summer. Owner Michael Jordan and the front office face some big decisions between now and the start of training camp in October. Do they bring back the coaching staff? Which of their free agents do they re-sign? Do they cut ties with power forward Tyrus Thomas? Even what should they call themselves going forward? Coach Mike Dunlap: Winning one out of every four games isn’t the ideal NBA coaching debut, but the Bobcats’ record is about what was predicted at the season’s outset. When Jordan was asked at a season-ticketholder event about Dunlap, the owner said all his major employees’ performances would be reviewed after the season. To Dunlap’s credit, he’s had an impact in player development, the priority he was given when hired. Kemba Walker, Gerald Henderson and Byron Mullens all improved. But Dunlap has had some rocky moments in his interaction with players, particularly veterans.
• Tery Pluto of The Plain Dealer: Kyrie Irving can be great. That's right, the Cavaliers point guard can be great. But he's not there. Not yet. Great players defend. Great players help their team win. Great players find a way to stay on the court for most games. It will be up to Byron Scott or whomever coaches the Cavs to deliver that message next season. At times, Scott has tried. He has pulled Irving from games for a lack of defense. He has talked about Irving's disdain for defense. He consistently compares Irving to Chris Paul, adding that Paul is superior defensively. It's no secret that Irving is a soft defender. That's true of many young players, who believe all that matters is the points next to their name in the box score. The fact the team has yet to come close to the playoffs with him should point out that Irving still has a lot of work to do. … There are times when rolls his eyes or shakes his head in disgust when a teammate makes a poor play. It's kid stuff, but he should know better. None of this is to say Irving is a bad guy or a lousy teammate. But he has some maturing to do, and the Cavs must demand that he do it.
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: Timberwolves forward Chase Budinger wants to return to the team next season if an agreement can be reached this summer, but as with any contractual agreement, there’s a bit of fine print. That is, if Rick Adelman returns to coach. Adelman is the reason the Wolves traded the 18th overall pick in last summer’s draft to Houston, where Adelman coached Budinger for three seasons before the pair was reunited in Minnesota. He’s also the reason a California kid wants to remain on the frozen tundra when he becomes an unrestricted free agent free to sign with any team this summer. “I would like to come back,” he said. “I like the organization. I like the staff. I love Adelman.” He saved the most important part for last there. “That’s a big part of it,” he said about the coach who taught a second-round draft pick in 2009 the NBA game. “Our relationship, he knows how I play. I work well in his system. It’s [Adelman’s decision] going to weigh big.”

• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: So is this his best season? “I don’t know,” LeBron James said. “I’ve had some really good individual seasons. I think, as far as efficiency, yeah. I don’t know if they’ve got all the numbers settled yet, but I felt I played some really good basketball this year.” How good? He has averaged 8.0 rebounds, highest of his career. He has shot 40.3 percent from 3-point range, highest of his career. He has averaged 7.3 assists, highest of his three seasons with Miami. Miami has outscored opponents by 720 points when he’s been on the floor. “Whatever I try to do, I want to be as close to perfect as possible,” James said. And now that Kobe Bryant is finished for the season, James is likely to lead the NBA in field goals made, holding a 36-make lead over Kevin Durant. “I don’t even shoot that much,” James said. “That’s pretty cool. I like that stat.” There’s a statistic that James appreciates even more, the one that tallies wins. Miami now has 64 with two games remaining, and a chance to tie James’ 2008-09 Cavaliers and Ray Allen’s 2007-08 Celtics for 10th on the single-season victory list. Those Cavaliers lost in the Eastern Conference finals to Orlando. These Heat, however, are stronger and deeper than that squad.
• Howard Beck of The New York Times: The scene was set Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden — for payback, for message-sending, for a modest celebration and for a timely, well-earned rest. All the Knicks needed on this first day of the final week of the season was a sound victory over the Indiana Pacers. That, and four quarters without anyone being bruised, battered or broken. The Knicks got everything they wanted, and with a minimum of pain. With a suspense-free 90-80 victory, they clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference and secured home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs, including a potential second-round meeting with the Pacers. The Knicks will open the playoffs Saturday against the seventh-seededBoston Celtics — the team that swept them two springs ago, in Carmelo Anthony’s first postseason in New York. “That’s in the back of our minds,” said Anthony, who scored 25 points. “We want to beat Boston — I mean, let’s be quite frank. This would be a great series for us.” Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, who is injured, are the only Knicks left from that 2011 series. Yet the memory remains fresh, and for Anthony, painful.
• Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News: Even if Stoudemire does return, what can the Knicks expect when he hasn’t played since March 7? His blue practice jersey hangs these days in his locker. That’s the only sign of him. Since he had to get knee surgery, the Knicks definitely seem to operate better and win more when it’s Carmelo Anthony and the current supporting cast. If the Knicks are smart, they’ll tell Stoudemire, “See you in training camp.” Donnie Walsh disagrees with that notion. “I would think he would help them,” he said. “Of course, if he’s healthy.” Stoudemire is a proven playoff scorer, something that J.R. Smith and everyone else who gets shots after Anthony aren’t able to list on their resume. But his presence on the floor with Anthony has never made for a smooth-running operation. Quite the contrary. On defense, well, Stoudemire talks a better game than he plays. The Knicks would probably have to get to the second round, potentially against Walsh’s Pacers, for there to be a Stoudemire sighting. Maybe even longer. When Woodson went down his list of walking wounded, he did not mention the player Walsh brought to New York to start the grand rebuilding program.
• Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News: Life without Kobe Bryant, Day 1, was nothing if not unpredictable. And in a crazy, wonderful, astonishing way, actually quite beautiful. On a night when Pau Gasol was the 7-foot invisible Spaniard, Steve Blake told him, "I've got your back." Blake went on to have the performance of his career while standing on one of the biggest stages of his life. In a game in which the Lakers hovered around 35 percent shooting all night and Gasol clanked 14 of 17 shots, they shook off their notoriously soft-defending ways to harass the San Antonio Spurs into 36.5 percent shooting. And with their playoff hopes resting in the balance, they somehow, someway managed to band together without Bryant and miraculously beat the San Antonio Spurs 91-86 while sold-out Staples Center rocked as loudly as it has in years. Imagine that. With Bryant watching from home, they beat a Spurs team that will finish no worse than the second seed in the Western Conference. And in the process, inch one win closer - or a Utah Jazz loss - to the playoffs. The Lakers finish the season Wednesday at home against the Houston Rockets. Utah plays at Minnesota and at Memphis to finish its season. Any combination of a Lakers win or a Jazz loss does the trick.
• Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: Given a chance to state his case, Nuggets coach George Karl places this team, the 2012-13 Nuggets, among the top three in NBA franchise history — with a chance to enhance the position. "I think it's top three, from what I know about Denver," Karl said. "I think the year we had (in 2009), the one year Doug (Moe) had (1987-88) and this year. You can argue whatever you want to argue. ... And I think that argument is probably going to be more definitive from how we play in the playoffs." The playoffs can't come fast enough. Because while the Nuggets were busy setting a franchise record for victories in a season with Sunday's harder-than-it-had-to-be 118-109 win over a Portland team that started four rookies, it also was dampened a bit because of an injury. Starting power forward Kenneth Faried went down in the first quarter with a sprained left ankle and did not return. Though he's considered day to day, Faried did not make the trip to Milwaukee for Monday night's game and is scheduled to get an MRI exam. "I tried to power up and stepped on Will's foot when I tried to go," Faried said, referring to Portland's Will Barton. "Just twisted it. I'm relieved it ain't a break." Asked if he thought he'd be ready for the playoffs, Faried said, "I'm going to play."
• David Barron of the Houston Chronicle: This finale, thankfully for the Rockets and their fans, is not the last word. The Rockets will be back at Toyota Center this month, matching up with a playoff opponent to be determined. So Sunday’s last regular-season home game was considerably more upbeat than those of the last three playoff-free seasons, representing a celebration for a Rockets team that has wildly exceeded expectations with hopes of more to come. With their 121-100 win over the Sacramento Kings, the Rockets improved to 45-35 and tied Golden State for the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They hold the tiebreaker over the Warriors and can clinch the sixth spot with wins Monday night at Phoenix and on Wednesday in Los Angeles over the Lakers. There are scenarios aplenty for playoff series against any of the five teams in front of them — too many for coach Kevin McHale to focus on. Besides, McHale said, he knows how the form chart will read under any circumstances. “Whoever we play, we will not be favored,” he said. “We’ll be underdogs to whoever we play. That’s fine with us. We want to get in there and get the guys playing well.”
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Let the shaving begin. All those bushy beards the Dallas Mavericks sported over the past two months were able to come off Sunday night after the Mavs posted a 107-89 blowout against the New Orleans Hornets. A little more than two months ago, the Mavs vowed not to shave until they reached the .500 barrier. The win over the Hornets pushed the Mavs to 40-40, the first time they were .500 since they were 11-11 on Dec. 12, and Dallas pushed a few whiskers onto the floor inside its locker room. The first player to trim his beard was Dirk Nowitzki, who collected 19 points and six rebounds in Sunday’s win. “It’s been too long,” Nowitzki said. “Even my wife stopped kissing me somewhere in February. It feels good to shave again.” And how quickly did Nowitzki shave off his beard? “I did it in a minute or a minute and a half, and then I did the coach’s meeting,” Nowitzki said. “And then I ran back in right before the interviews and cleaned up the rest on my neck and behind the ears and the nose hair a little bit, and then I did the interviews.” Nowitzki said he used a small razor to get the fuzzy hair off his neck and chin.
• Phil Sheridan of The Philadelphia Inquirer: Doug Collins told reporters anything other than the titanic clash against the Cavaliers was "moot," refusing to answer questions about his future as if they were somehow a product of the media's collective fever dream. John Langel, Collins' agent, stood up and declared that Collins would coach the team in 2013-14. "He's the coach and he's going to be the coach," Langel said, either lying or badly behind the curve. The Sixers honored their 1983 championship team on the 30th anniversary of its achievement, with Julius Erving pointing out that the team isn't going to find a better coach than Doug Collins. It must be noted for the record that Sixers owner Josh Harris was not available to the media, even though he was standing about 30 inches from Langel while the agent was spouting off. A little earlier, during the halftime ceremony for the '83 team, Harris had blurted out that the Sixers would "work really hard to make next year even more exciting for the fans." Really? Even more exciting than this debacle? Please don't set the bar too high. …Collins sounded like a man who was moving on. He just declined to say so. And that really is a shame, because he's otherwise been a standup and accountable and, frankly, admirable figure here. … If this is the end, no one is going to walk away looking good. Not Collins, who owed the fans and his players better. Not Harris, who looks like an empty suit. Not anybody.
• Tom Moore of phillyBurbs.com: The 76ers haven’t publicly criticized Andrew Bynum during a season in which he was paid $16.5 million and played no games due to knee injuries. Hall of Famer Julius Erving, who is the team’s strategic advisor to the Sixers’ ownership group, didn’t hesitate to give his opinion on Bynum. Prior to the Sixers’ home finale, a 91-77 victory over the Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon, Erving was asked about Bynum, whom the team acquired in a blockbuster Aug. 10 trade. “I know what the net result is,” said Erving, smiling. “The net result is Robert Parish’s old number — 00. We have not benefited one degree. I guess he has. “If the Bynum situation is one of total uncertainty for another year, I don’t think the organization should stand for that or the fans should stand for that.” On the other hand, if the Sixers don’t re-sign Bynum or any of their other impending free agents, they could have about $12 million to spend this summer in free agency. “I think if he’s not here, you’re going to free up a lot of money,” Erving said. “Washington and Lincoln can’t play the corners for you, but they can get somebody that can play the corners for you. We need somebody to play a corner for us and play the middle for us. It’s going to be costly.” As for his role, Erving said he’s pretty happy with it, though, “There’s probably room for more communication.”
• Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun: The irony of the afternoon wasn’t just limited to both men playing so well off the other. The three-point barrage from both men also answered the major deficiency is each man’s respective games, DeRozan since he has been a pro and Gay moreso this season. As for being able to co-exist, well, the two think that theory has just about been put to rest. “People were saying that as soon as he came,” DeRozan said of the trade that brought Gay to Toronto at the end of January. “Me and him laughed about it. Before he came here Rudy was a good friend of mine. We played all the time in L.A., take Nike trips to China together and be over there for weeks at a time. It was funny when people were saying that because they really don’t know. They don’t know we understand each other’s games and that’s why it’s so beneficial.” DeRozan has no hesitancy is predicting many good things ahead for the duo. “We are definitely going to be something to be reckoned with without a doubt,” he said. “I don’t see any team being able to stop us, especially if we play the way we played tonight. We are just trying to get better every day and every game.” As Dwane Casey is wont to say, it’s a process, and right now the process is moving along nicely. As for Gay, it’s a case of the more the merrier.

On Grantland, Thomas Golianopoulos has an outrageously insightful tale about Kobe Bryant's secret history as a rapper. It's a fun read all around, and makes clear that his much-publicized effort with Tyra Banks demonstrated only a fraction of his skills with the microphone.

Perhaps my favorite tale, however, came from a footnote, where then-Raptors guard Alvin Williams tells his side of an All-Star Weekend "rap battle" with Kobe:

"It wasn't a battle," Alvin Williams says.

"I was walking out of the Hilton and bumped into him as he and a couple of buddies were getting out of a limousine. I said, 'What are you going to do?' He's like, 'Go to my room and rap until my voice gets hoarse.' I go, 'You can't rap.' It was like straight out of a movie. He says, 'I can't rap?' Then he turned to one of his friends and said, 'Give me a beat.' His friend started beatboxing. Kobe then rapped for about 15 minutes straight. By the time we finished, I swear to God, there are like 150 people circled around. Then everyone expected me to rap. I walked away. I don't rap. They had their whole routine. It was straight out of Krush Groove. He wasn't that bad. And I'm a rap head."

• Al Iannazzone of Newsday: The scoreboard above the Garden floor read "Atlantic Division Champions" and blue T-shirts hung in each player's locker with "Can't Stop NY Knicks 2013 Division Champions" on it. The Knicks buried the Wizards Tuesday night, 120-99, to clinch their first Atlantic Division championship since 1994. It's the first step to what they hope will end in a march through the playoffs and their first NBA title in 40 years. "That was our No. 1 goal, win our division," J.R. Smith said. "Fortunately we did it. It's a great thing to achieve one of your main goals. Now we just got to get that gold ball." The way the Knicks (51-26) are playing, they have emerged as a legitimate threat to the Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder and the rest of the championship contenders. The Knicks won their 13th straight. Next on their agenda is getting the No. 2 seed in the East, which would give them the home court edge for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs. … But a damper was put on the festive mood when Kenyon Martin sprained his left ankle early in the fourth quarter after coming down on Chris Singleton's foot. X-rays were negative. But Mike Woodson called it “'a severe sprain.'”
• Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News: Jay-Z’s 99 problems won’t include the Nets for much longer. The rap mogul and NBA franchise figurehead plans to sell his small share of the Nets, as reported by Yahoo! Sports, because Shawn Carter wants to elevate his new career as a sports agent. Jay-Z, who recently acquired Robinson Cano as a client in partnership with Creative Artists Agency, has begun the process of obtaining his National Basketball Players Association certification as an agent, reports Yahoo!, which would require him to relinquish ownership of the Nets. Jay-Z reportedly owns just one-fifteenth of 1% of the Nets, but became the central figure in marketing the franchise's move from New Jersey to Brooklyn. The 43-year-old has been a mainstay in the Barclays Center this season, and was the first to model the team's new uniform during a concert in September. … “I would say (Jay-Z) had an enormous amount to do with the re-branding of the team,” Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo said before Tuesday’s game against the 76ers. “I was not close to it at all, but from what I heard and what I read and saw, he was huge — it would be hard to overstate how important he was to the rebranding. So it would be disappointing (if he left the Nets). I would be disappointed. I like his involvement with our team."
• Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: It could have been the Lakers' darkest hour this season, losing at home to the New Orleans Hornets. So Kobe Bryant brought out his flashlight, flicked it on and shined it directly at the Hornets. Twelve chaotic minutes later, Bryant had taken the Lakers to a 104-96 victory Tuesday at Staples Center. Yes, there is light near the end of the regular season. Barely. Bryant entered the fourth quarter with seven points and finished with 30, pushing the Lakers to their most important victory this season, if only because they moved half a game ahead of Utah for eighth place in the Western Conference. It wasn't the kind of night that inspired confidence for a long Lakers playoff run. Not even close. But if they make it past April 17, they can thank Bryant. As usual. "We have one of the best closers in the game," Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni said. "That's why we could be a dangerous team." The Lakers' cause was helped when Utah (41-38) lost at home to Oklahoma City, 90-80, news that trickled through the arena in the second quarter Tuesday. … Howard said the Lakers hadn't adopted a dour attitude yet. "We smile in the locker room. We're still blessed to be alive," he said. "No need to walk around with frowns on our faces. We know what we need to do as a team, we've just got to go do it." It sure didn't seem that way for three quarters. But the Lakers prevailed, making the playoffs a slightly stronger possibility for them.
• Phillip B. Wilson of The Indianapolis Star: So that’s what it took to inspire the Indiana Pacers? Frank Vogel getting ejected? His team was going nowhere fast when the coach erupted and exited in the third quarter Tuesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Pacers point guard George Hill said his coach’s first ejection of the season showed how far their leader was willing to go to inject intensity in lackluster players. Indiana improbably woke up and erased a 20-point deficit in the final quarter, much of it on a 17-0 run, then made the key plays at the end for a 99-94 comeback victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Pacers outscored the stunned Cavaliers 35-10 in the final quarter, including 31-6 in the final 8 minutes, 40 seconds. “That don’t mean nothing in the NBA; 20 points can go by like that,” Hill said, snapping his fingers. “As we showed tonight, no lead is safe in the NBA.”
• Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: Thunder forward Kevin Durant on Tuesday night topped 20 minutes, something he's done in every game this season. Only this time his minute total in the Thunder's game against Utah could have significant implications. According to the ESPN.com blog TrueHoop, no player in the past nine seasons who has played at least 3,000 minutes has gone on to win the NBA championship in that season. Durant entered Tuesday's game 20 minutes shy of the 3,000-minute plateau, prompting Thunder coach Scott Brooksto jokingly tell reporters before the game that he was shutting down Durant for the rest of the year. “Well you guys are going to hear it first,” Brooks said. “Tonight we're going to rest Kevin for the rest of the season. Breaking news.” The last player to win a championship in the same season that he played at least 3,000 minutes was former Detroit centerBen Wallace, according to TrueHoop. Durant's 2,980 minutes played entering Tuesday's games led the league, while his 38.7-minute average ranked second to Chicago forward Luol Deng's 39.2. After playing 37 minutes against the Jazz, Durant now has played 3,017 minutes this season. Brooks, however, doesn't view Durant's major minutes as much of an issue. “He's going to play and he's going to play a lot of minutes,” Brooks said.
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: A streaking Mike Conley led the fast break and passed the ball off to Ed Davis for a probable layup. But Davis aborted his shot, flipped the ball by a defender and found Jon Leuer with a nifty pass. Leuer threw down an uncontested dunk, further energizing a crowd that already had been enthralled by the Grizzlies’ bench play. Conley amassed game highs with 20 points and seven assists. But a group of unusual suspects overwhelmed the Charlotte Bobcats, and led the Griz to a 94-75 victory Tuesday night before 16,591 in FedExForum. Credit the Grizzlies’ sudden vigor on defense. The Bobcats experienced a major drought in the fourth quarter. And Leuer couldn’t miss. The little-used Griz forward made all four shots he took, and finished with 11 points and five rebounds. His play epitomized the spark Memphis got from its bench. … Conley tossed in 20 points for a fifth straight game, extending his career-high scoring stretch. He is the only Memphis player to score at least 20 points in five consecutive games this season. The point guard has led the Griz in scoring in 10 of the past 13 games after doing so just seven times in the first 65 games this season.
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: For a final few split seconds, the Rockets’ return to the playoffs hung in the air above the rim, as if teasing them with the last shred of uncertainty. Though likely all along, the Rockets were playing to make it official with a win over the Suns and a Jazz loss to the Thunder. But with a final shot to avoid overtime, James Harden’s 3-pointer hit the rim, bounced up and headed back down, seeming certain to fall away and make the Rockets go through at least an extra five minutes before they could take care of the business at hand. Then Suns center Jermaine O’Neal went up to fight off guard Patrick Beverley for the rebound and touched the ball while still in the cylinder. The goaltending after the buzzer counted the basket, lifting the Rockets past the Suns 101-98, and with the Jazz loss to the Thunder, assured their return to the playoffs for the first time since 2008-09. “I actually didn’t think I would be excited,” Jeremy Lin said. “I was like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going for the six seed.’ Now that it’s really here, I’m actually really excited because no one really gave us a chance going into the season that we’d be in the playoffs.”
• Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News: The Warriors are in the playoffs. Only a sourpuss would diminish that achievement. But the Warriors are not going to win the 2013 NBA championship. Only a fool would believe that pipe dream. Thus, for the next few weeks, followers of the team must confront a double-edged sword of giddiness and clearheaded reality. They should be glad to know that Bob Myers, the team's general manager, is waking up at 3 a.m. thinking about 2015 and 2016 as much as about 2013. Not every night. But many nights. "I keep my notebook by my bed," Myers said the other day at his office, "so that I can write down my thoughts and then go back to sleep. Otherwise I couldn't." As an example, Myers recently bolted out of a deep slumber when he suddenly thought of a contract ramification that he'd possibly overlooked, something that might affect the Warriors' salary cap or roster flexibility two years from now. Warriors' fans should rejoice and toss confetti at that story. Over the past 25 years, during those rare stretches when the Warriors might threaten to sustain a winning team, the threat would always end quickly. The front office strategy was grab-bag improvisational theater. The hope was to catch lightning in a bottle. But when lightning was occasionally caught, as with the 2007 "We Believe" team, it was never sustained. The elements were too volatile, too fragile or too obnoxious. The patch-and-fill roster changes would result in a toxic mess. It has become clear that such chaos will be avoided under the regime of owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber -- and especially under Myers, who on April 24 will celebrate his anniversary as G.M. The current Warriors team is clearly a positive step on the path to true and legitimate NBA title contention. But in a recent sit-down session, Myers was refreshingly open about the team's ultimate master plan.
• David J. Neal of The Miami Herald: Fans will be fortunate to see the Big Two-Thirds, much less the Big 3 during the last six games this season. LeBron James said Tuesday morning he would be a scratch for some of the last six. Dwyane Wade will travel to Washington for Wednesday’s game, but is no lock to play. Center Chris Bosh called in sick Tuesday and could miss Wednesday’s game at Washington, too. “He has flulike symptoms, so unless he gets dramatically better [he won’t travel],” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before Tuesday’s game with Milwaukee. “It’s something we talked about. I don’t know if we will bring him around everybody.” Spoelstra said Wade is day-to-day with his knee and ankle injuries. Wade went through Tuesday’s morning shootaround and worked out later in the day. James said he’s “getting back to form” and his hamstring has “reacted well the last few days.” But as for the last six games … “I want to play, but I’m going to go against myself for the first time in my career,” James said.
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: To say it’s been a tumultuous first year in Toronto for Kyle Lowry would be one of the great understatements of the season. He has lurched from starter to backup to starter, working for another new coach with teammates that changed frequently over the course of the season and it’s no surprise that he answers quickly and emphatically when asked what it’s been like. “For me personally? Very frustrating, very disappointing.” And very up and down. When he first arrived at the cost of a lottery draft pick and a spare part, Lowry was famously “given the keys” to a franchise that fully expected him to lead it to the playoffs. He was lauded as a “pit bull” of a defender and a leader, a point guard with scoring skills who would give the Raptors a different look they wanted from their own court leader. It hasn’t actually panned out that way: Lowry’s been criticized by his coach for gambling too much on defence, he was injured and lost his starting job when he got healthy and the team not only floundered terribly at the start of the season, it’s basically limping home in much the same fashion. But Lowry continued a stretch of solid late-season play here on Tuesday night with 13 points and 10 assists as the Raptors stunned the short-handed Chicago Bulls with a 101-98 victory.

• Phil Collin of the Los Angeles Daily News: One teammate uttered the words "bionic nan." Kobe Bryant has taken to calling Metta World Peace "Logan," the character in "Wolverine." Whatever Metta Madness is flowing through his veins, it looks like World Peace will return to the Lakers lineup tonight, 12 days after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. A medical miracle? Not really, World Peace said. He was itching to play the moment he was asked by Dr. Steve Lombardo if he could put weight on the leg, and he hopped out of bed and did so only hours after the operation ."As long as he didn't have to stitch anything together, I couldn't do anything to (further damage) it," World Peace said Monday after going through 3-on-3 workouts. "I was in great shape. The doc said he was surprised my knee was in such great shape playing 14 years in the NBA and always in a defensive stance. "When I heard all that, it wasn't like I was trying to come back to be a Superman. I figured I've just got to play through pain and it will get better as time goes." … Guard Steve Nash, who was "super optimistic" about a return last Friday, remains doubtful with a hamstring strain.
• Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald: The last thing the Bulls need with six games left in the regular season is to roll back downhill with their health concerns, but that appears to have happened. Joakim Noah returned to the court Sunday against Detroit after missing eight games to rest chronic plantar fasciitis in his feet. Noah played well (13 points, 7 rebounds in 21 minutes), but his feet didn't react well Monday morning, according to coach Tom Thibodeau. "Jo had a little bit of a setback. We'll see. We'll see where he is," Thibodeau said after practice at the Berto Center. There's no telling if or when Noah might be back to normal this season. It seems unlikely he'll play Tuesday when the Bulls host Toronto. While most injuries slowly improve, plantar fasciitis patients often talk about how the ailment is so unpredictable. Thibodeau said Noah felt good after Sunday's game.
• Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald: While the rest of the NBA community is busy speculating about the future of LeBron James and how the Heat plans to navigate the new salary cap, Pat Riley is thinking long-term about how special the run of this Heat team can become. Speaking with reporters at the Heat’s “Family Fest” on Sunday, Riley pointed to models of success the NBA considers some the best in its history as the ultimate goal for the Heat while also reminding the city to enjoy this “special time.” “I just want to keep helping them, keep bringing in more pieces that are going to complement them and hope we can have one of those 10-year rides, you know,” Riley said. “You think about every team, through the Celtics in the ’60s and the Lakers in the ’80s and the Bulls and then again the Spurs, those guys have been together eight, nine, 10 years and if we can keep this group together for eight, nine, 10 years, then we’re all going to have some fun.” And then a piece of advice. “So, don’t ever take it for granted,” he said. Already this season the Heat has won 27 games in a row, the most in franchise history and the second most in the history of the NBA. Now the team is on the verge of another milestone. A victory Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks would give the Heat 61 victories, which would tie the franchise’s record for a single season.
• Howard Beck of The New York Times: This streak brings its own questions: Is the new, efficient Smith here to stay, or will he revert to bad habits under postseason duress? Can Anthony keep scoring at this rate when defenses target him during the playoffs? Can the Knicks make the finals with a merely average defense? Does their defense have another gear? What happens to the chemistry if Amar’e Stoudemire, Rasheed Wallace and Kurt Thomas return? And most curious of all: After months of mediocrity, where did this Knicks team come from? “It’s April, I guess,” Anthony said. “It’s April. It’s time to go.”
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: The one thing people would never accuse Mike Conley of is being flashy. He tends to appear conservative — on and off the court. But that is starting to change — at least on the floor — where Conley’s offensive game suddenly has a lot of bling-bling to it. The Griz have increasingly relied on Conley to carry a heavier offensive load, particularly late in games, and it’s allowed him to shine. It’s a dramatic transformation for a point guard who had been content with being a passive piece of the puzzle for most of his six-year career. Conley enters Tuesday night’s game against the Charlotte Bobcats having scored at least 20 points in each of the past four games. That’s the longest streak by any Grizzlies player this season. Relatively speaking, Conley is in the proverbial zone as a scorer. “I’m really comfortable right now,” Conley said. Coach Lionel Hollins seems impressed yet not surprised by Conley’s maturation. “He’s just a more confident player,” Hollins said.
• John Reid of The Times-Picayune: Although they got into an apparent shouting match during a timeout in last Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz, New Orleans Hornets Coach Monty Williams and guardEric Gordon both appear to have moved past the conflict. But Williams said he's not going to stop pushing Gordon to improve his overall play, especially during the final five games of the season. Against the Jazz, Williams did not put Gordon back into game after they apparently got into shouting match. Williams was visibly agitated, yelling in Gordon’s direction when he apparently didn’t think Gordon was hustling enough. Assistant coach Randy Ayers stepped in front of Williams to calm him, after Gordon hollered back at him. “He’s a dynamic guard, that’s why I push him,’’ said Williams, who plans to start Gordon for the second consecutive since the incident on Tuesday night when the Hornets play the Lakers at the Staples Center. “I’m not going to allow him to settle for where he is in his career right now. He’s got to get better. If he gets better, he should be an All-Star someday.’’ Gordon admitted the conflict was a heat of the moment situation that shouldn't be blown out of proportion. “It got very heated in the moment, but I’m not letting none of that get to me,” Gordon said. “I’m just out here, still trying to play.”
• Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal: As Kyrie Irving continues to shrink away from any public platform, Tristan Thompson is embracing his role as a spokesman — and he’s backing it up with his play on the court, too. “Just being myself, just being a natural leader and speaking up if I see something is wrong,” Thompson said after the victory Sunday against the Magic. “Just recently y’all have been coming to me, and I’ve been speaking, so I guess you can say I’ve been a leader.” Because of the position he plays and his immense talent, Irving remains the floor leader. But twice in the past week Irving has been given the opportunity to take a stand publicly and twice he declined.
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: If there was any lingering doubt, Timberwolves forward Kevin Love’s season officially is over, but it’s not just because of that healing shooting hand. Love will have arthroscopic surgery to remove scar tissue in his left knee later this week. Love will consult with two surgeons on Wednesday at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery: He’ll see his hand doctor for a checkup on that right hand he has broken twice this season and also will consult with knee surgeon Dr. David Altchek, who probably will perform the operation that same day. Love’s left knee has bothered him much of the season, but it has grown more painful in recent days as he ramped up workouts for a possible return yet this season. He told team doctors after games in December that his hip was hurting him, and Wolves doctors concluded that the problem was connected to his knee pain. David Kahn, Timberwolves president of basketball operations, called the arthroscopic surgery “minor” and said he expects Love to resume his normal summer workouts in Los Angeles by early June after a season in which he has played just 18 games.
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: Larry Sanders has plenty of competition for the most improved player honor, and he's also in the conversation for the defensive player of the year award. New Orleans' Greivis Vasquez, Houston's Omer Asik, Philadelphia's Jrue Holiday, Orlando's Nikola Vucevic and Indiana's Paul George are garnering support for the most improved award, voted on by 122 journalists who cover the NBA. … Several detailed analytical studies support Boylan's view. And a mere glance at last season's statistics shows Sanders played in 52 games without any starts and a total of 643 minutes, while this season he has started 53 of 69 games and played 1,892 minutes, an average of 27.4 minutes. This is the second consecutive year the Bucks have put a player in contention for the award. Ersan Ilyasova finished second to Orlando's Ryan Anderson for the most improved honor in 2011-'12. … The Bucks designed a public relations campaign featuring a colorful set of blocks to promote Sanders' candidacy for the most improved player and defensive player of the year awards. Sanders led the league in blocks for much of the season until recently being passed by last year's rejections leader, Serge Ibaka of Oklahoma City. Ibaka is averaging 3.07 blocks to Sanders' 2.9.
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: John Wall was unaccustomed to having a teammate challenge him, but in hindsight, he couldn’t disagree with anything that Okafor told him: Wittman had to go with someone else if he was ineffective and Wall has to trust that the coach is doing what was in the best interest of the team, which should always come first. … What followed after the encounter has been the best basketball of Wall’s young career. Beginning with the next game on March 1 against the New York Knicks – the Wizards’ opponent on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden – the third-year point guard has been on a statistical tear that has changed perceptions of his career and shown that his talents are no longer stagnating. In his past 21 games, Wall is averaging 22.7 points, 7.9 assists and 4.9 rebounds and has recorded 10 games with at least 20 points, three games of 35 or more, and seven double-doubles. In that time, only LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are averaging at least 22 points, seven assists and 4.9 rebounds. “I think I really had to grow. Get my teammates back behind me. Because that’s not the way you’re supposed to come out as a leader and as a franchise guy,” Wall said of his attitude the night of the argument with Okafor.
• John Rohde of The Oklahoman: With Sunday's 125-120 victory over the Thunder, New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony is now 11-1 all-time against Kevin Durant in NBA games where both have played. Durant's lone head-to-head victory against Anthony came in a 151-147 double-overtime contest at KeyArena on April 6, 2008, which means Durant has yet to defeat Anthony while with the Thunder. Anthony did not play in OKC's 95-94 victory at New York on March 7 this season. Against Durant, Anthony has averaged 30.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 50.4 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from 3-point range and 84.8 percent from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Durant has averaged 26.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 42.2 percent from the floor, 38.3 percent from 3-point range and 89.1 percent from the free-throw line.
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t want it to end like this. Slugging it out for the eighth seed — or more likely missing the playoffs — is bad enough once. Or twice. In the autumn of his NBA career, he wants more. And while he has no problem putting pressure on ownership to find some high-quality warriors to play alongside him, Nowitzki also is OK taking on his share of the workload off the court. He’s ready to hit the recruiting trail. “I’ve said it all year long — this is a big summer for us,” Nowitzki said. “We have to get better. We have to get some guys in that can get us back to the top level. We want to be a top-four seed in the West. That was always our goal, to play for the top. So this is a big summer. If [owner Mark Cuban] needs me to recruit and do all that stuff, I’m more than happy to.” Will it be enough to woo a marquee free agent or finagle a sign-and-trade? Nobody knows for sure. But it can’t hurt.
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: What if? What if the Raptors hadn’t screwed up so many years ago when they had the chance to hire Hammond? What if they hadn’t blown it by going through a ridiculous process of whittling a large group to four only to say they were going to open up the process again only to come back to the same four and eventually picking Rob Babcock. The four — Babcock, Jeff Weltman, Mark Warkentien and Tony DiLeo (remember that Gang of Four?) —were basically underwhelming at that time and that the Raptors — and I am pointing a finger directly at Richard Peddie — didn’t even deign to interview Hammond, who was the No. 1 man to Joe Dumars in Deroit at the time, was a shocking blown opportunity. John wanted the job and deserved to have a shot at it; the short-sightedness of Peddie and his people set the franchise back years, so far that they might still be digging out almost a decade later.
• Dale Kasler, Ryan Lillis and Tony Bizjak of The Sacramento Bee: Beverly Hills billionaire Ron Burkle, a driving force for the past two years in trying to keep the Kings from leaving town, will not invest in the team or the proposed Downtown Plaza arena, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Monday afternoon. Facing questions over a conflict of interest, Burkle instead will focus on redeveloping other portions of Downtown Plaza. "He's so committed to Sacramento," the mayor said, adding that he spoke with Burkle on Monday. "There's a host of ancillary development opportunities that Ron will participate in." … Johnson insisted that Burkle's new role would not deflate the effort to keep the Kings from going to Seattle, and said other investors would pick up the financial slack. He did not give specifics.
• Marcus Thompson II of The Oakland Tribune: The Warriors have a get-well game Tuesday against visiting Minnesota, which is 18 games under .500. A win coupled with a loss by Utah or the Los Angeles Lakers would clinch the Warriors' first postseason bid since 2007. But success against the Timberwolves won't answer an emerging concern. If you let Utah, a bad road team on the cusp of missing the playoffs, shut down Curry and the Warriors offense at the most critical of times, will Golden State be able to score in the postseason? Sunday night was less an anomaly and more like a trend. The Warriors have lost seven of their last 10 games against winning teams, including Sunday's home loss to Utah. In those 10 games, the Warriors averaged 22.4 fourth-quarter points. That includes a 17-point fourth quarter in a blowout of visiting New York, but finding offense against stiff defenses has been a major problem. … Jackson likes having Jack on the floor, so the three-guard lineup isn't going anywhere. That makes sense considering the way Jack has played this season. Jack is more secure with the ball than Curry, and defenses have aggressively double-teamed Curry late in games, something harder to do when he's playing off the ball. This quandary will continue into the postseason when the defenses step up a notch and coaching chess matches ensue. Because, no doubt, as goes Curry, so goes Golden State.
• Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune: Well, this ought to be a good story. Jazz forward DeMarre Carroll tweeted Monday afternoon that he broke the rim during a pickup game at Life Time Fitness, an athletic club in South Jordan. There have been plenty of classic backboard breaking moments [this is a solid compendium] but the whole library doesn't quite seem complete without footage of Carroll's. Does anybody have it? Carroll, 26, averages 16 minutes per game in 64 appearances this season. He is a pending free agent, but even if he ends up leaving it's unlikely it will be without recounting the story of the time he broke the backboard at Life Time Fitness. Stay tuned.

Jamal Crawford has scored 40 points or more eight times in his career. In a little TrueHoop TV game show, Kevin Arnovitz resolved to test Crawford's memory of those games -- Crawford came up with eight answers, and a nice little Michael Jordan anecdote to boot.  

• John Canzano of The Oregonian: When that awful video footage went public, showing the Rutgers men's basketball coach throwing balls at his players in practice, verbally abusing them, shoving them and assaulting them with gay slurs, I did the oddest thing. When I read or heard people declare, "Mike Rice must go," I quietly added "Jr." to it. If you're like me you were eager this week to separate the son -- Mike Rice Jr. -- from his father -- Mike Rice Sr. One is a deranged coach who deserved to be immediately terminated for his actions. The other is the Trail Blazers' television analyst, a guy insanely proud of his son. I have only three words to say to Mike Sr.: Hang in there. I sent them to him via text. I sent them through his broadcasting partner, Mike Barrett. I'll tell them to Rice's face when I see him next. Because even as the father and son share a name, and both coached, I can't think of a less enviable position anywhere in this than the father who raised a child who is now humiliated and ruined by his own doing.
• Harvery Araton of The New York Times: History is beckoning the Knicks these days, but which will be the more powerful calling, the individual measure of lasting greatness or the consummate joy of collective achievement? … It is no secret that collective achievement outweighs individual exploits on the most important scorecards, but that does not mean the heights King reached in the 1980s, or what Anthony did Tuesday night in Miami and on many other a night this season is not worthy of a starred archiving in the Knicks’ history book. But when the defensive intensity increases in the playoffs, the challenge for the Knicks will be to avoid deferring too much to Anthony, in the interest of finding and sustaining a delicate chemistry that would allow Anthony’s future Hall of Fame candidacy to evoke 1973-like memories of sharing, sacrifice and ultimate celebration. As LeBron James routinely proved last spring — and Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan before him — it can and has been done. Just not for four decades in New York, Monroe, Meminger & Co. will remind everyone Friday night.
• Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News: When the playoffs roll around, Deron Williams says he won’t need the high dosage pain killers that helped salvage his season. The point guard plans to ride this out cortisone-free. Having braced himself for continued ankle pain and a fourth round of shots just before the playoffs started, Deron Williams told the Daily News on Wednesday that his treatments in February were so successful that injections aren’t necessary prior to the postseason in late April. It’s a welcome development for Williams, who is aware of the longterm dangers of injecting too much cortisone – a hormone steroid which, used liberally as an anti-inflammatory, can weaken cartilage in the joints, leaving it susceptible to damage or ruptured tendons. Doctors typically recommend athletes don’t take more than four injections per year, and Williams is happy he doesn’t have to test the limits with a fourth round. “That’s a good thing,” said Williams, who indicated in February that he “probably” will receive injections before the playoffs.
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: Grant Hill has 27 appearances, a 3.2 scoring average, career-low 38 percent shooting and no regrets about joining the Los Angeles Clippers. Hill expected to return to Phoenix for a sixth Suns season when he stayed in the Valley to train last summer. The Suns made a one-year, minimum-salary offer of $1.35 million and the Clippers came with a two-year, $4 million one while Oklahoma City and Chicago also pursued him. Hill, 40, joined the Clippers, began the season on the inactive list after suffering a bone bruise to his right knee, the one which underwent two arthroscopies since 2011 in Phoenix, and did not play until Jan. 12. Hill likely will not make it to that second contract year and opt to retire this summer. “Strong chance,” Hill said. “I’m leaning toward it. I want to get to the end of the year and off-season and think about it but I’m pretty confident that’s where my mind is right now. I’ve enjoyed it.” Except for a brief 2008 experiment under then-Suns coach Terry Porter, Hill always had started in his career until this season, when he often is not in the 10-man rotation.
• Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: Seven hours before tipoff, an arena quiet, George Karl envisioned nighttime at EnergySolutions Arena — an ear-popping crowd where "the whistle gets wild and crazy against you," he said. Oh, and Utah had won five consecutive games, fighting for a playoff spot. As such, the Nuggets' coach suggested that Wednesday's game would either be close in the fourth, or a blowout — in favor of the home team. So what happened? Well, let's put it this way — Timofey Mozgov played. The Nuggets blew out the Jazz in Utah, 113-96, thanks to stat sheet-stuffing games from numerous players. "It's not very often that this building is empty by the end of the game," Karl said. It was bananas. Danilo Gallinari scored a team-high 21 points, including a huge 3 in the fourth. Kenneth Faried had 19 points and eight rebounds. Kosta Koufos gobbled up 13 rebounds in 24 minutes. And even Evan Fournier, again, made major impacts as the backup point guard, and took advantage of garbage time, finishing with 18 points.
• Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: Spurs guard Gary Neal could not recall the last time he played as many as 30 minutes, and no wonder. Until logging 31:28 against Orlando on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center, Neal hadn’t topped 30 minutes of court time since Dec. 15, in the 25th game of the season. “I can’t remember that far back,” Neal said, “but I think it must have been when Kawhi (Leonard) and Jack (Stephen Jackson) were injured.” Indeed, Leonard and Jackson were on the injured list when Neal scored 20 points in a win over Boston. A long run on the court Wednesday produced Neal’s highest point total since that Dec. 15 game. He scored 16 on 6-for-14 shooting, including 4 for 8 on 3-pointers. “I felt good on the court,” the third-year guard from Towson said. “It’s coming back. I’ve just got to keep grinding at it, keep working, keep getting shots up and fight to get the rhythm for the playoffs. “Our goal is the playoffs. That’s what we’re playing for and trying to prepare for. I’m trying to be sharp for the playoffs so I can do my job, which is space the floor and make shots.”
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: Lionel Hollins made it clear Wednesday night before the Grizzles’ 94-76 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers that this end-of-season drive presents a different set of circumstances. The Griz began a three-game road trip trying to keep pace with the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers for the third seed in the Western Conference playoff standings. So when the subject of rest came up, Hollins said he’d play it by ear and limit minutes depending on the flow of the game. “I just want us to be playing well,” Hollins said. “Everybody is talking about the playoffs, but we still have (regular-season) games to play. We’re playing to win.” The Grizzlies’ starters certainly came out as if they wanted to dominate and then rest. Memphis (51-24) was never seriously challenged as the Grizzlies set a franchise record for wins in a season by earning their 51st victory. Memphis also guaranteed it would finish this season with the best overall winning percentage in franchise history, surpassing the .621 mark set in 2011-12. The Griz will finish this season with a winning percentage no worse than .622.
• Marcus Thompson II of The Oakland Tribune: The Warriors have made a pact that everyone will grow beards until they clinch a playoff spot. No shaving. No trimming. "The worse it looks, the better it is for the team," David Lee said. From the looks of it, though, Andris Biedrins isn't on board. He looked cleanly shaven Wednesday. And the patch on rookie Harrison Barnes' chin looked well groomed. Jackson is even in on it. His shadow was turning into some rough real estate at practice, highlighted by some gray strands. But he had his facial mane neatened. There was talk about extended the beard pact through the playoffs. But Curry wasn't a fan of that idea. "This thing," he said at Wednesday's shootaround, scratching his grizzled neck. "I've already got lint all in it."
• Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: The easy part for Brandon Bass always has been the scoring, and the Celtics forward didn’t disappoint with last night’s performance against the Pistons in a 98-93 win, scoring 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting. But defensive signal-caller is a new look, and sound, for him. “Hell, maybe the blessing is without Kevin (Garnett) we’ve removed the security blanket,” coach Doc Rivers said of the sudden need for Bass to expand his role. “And Brandon, he has to be the talker on defense now. “It’s great. He was upset at someone early in the game because they were in the wrong position, and I was thinking, ‘Wow, that’s really new. And that’s really nice.’ That’s good, so maybe it’s a blessing.” Bass acknowledged that in the Celts’ current injury vacuum, he has indeed experienced a growth spurt. “I’d rather play with Kevin being out there,” Bass said. “He’s like a big brother to my little brother. But when your big brother isn’t around, it’s time to step up and grow, basically. It gives me the opportunity to grow up and play the big brother role.”
• Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune: Let the Adelman talk commence. Wednesday’s victory in Milwaukee gave the Wolves their first winning streak since Dec. 15 and gave coach Rick Adelman his 999th career NBA victory. Friday’s game with Toronto will be the first crack at 1,000, something many of the players in the locker room were talking about. “Everybody is thinking about it,” center Nikola Pekovic said. “And I know we’ll all be honored to be a part of that.” J.J. Barea said the prospects looked good for getting Adelman his 1,000th this season, something that couldn’t be said a few weeks ago. But the Wolves are starting to play very well. They won their third straight road game for the first time this season and have won five of their last eight overall.
• Richard Walker of the Gaston Gazette: The Charlotte Bobcats will be in the NBA draft lottery for the eighth time in nine years after this season. But after a fifth win in six home games has them within two victories of 20 on the season, there’s little doubt Charlotte will at least be taking more momentum into this offseason that last. Wednesday’s 88-83 victory over Philadelphia continued the Bobcats’ recent strong play while also diminishing the 76ers’ flickering playoff hopes. “We were able to prove again that we’re very interested in the outcome coming down the backstretch,” said Charlotte coach Mike Dunlap, whose 18-57 team has won five of its last nine games overall. “Our guys are playing together. It was particularly a good night for us in terms of the character of the group of guys playing. Even the guys that didn’t get a lot of minutes played great.” As has been the case lately though, guards Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson led the way.
• Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun: There are fewer things on a basketball court that can put a bigger smile on a coach who values defence the way Dwane Casey does than a thoroughly dominant defensive quarter. Turn that into a dominant defensive half and it’s that much better. For the first time in weeks (although it felt like quite a bit longer) the Raps enjoyed one of those halves on Wednesday night as they held Washington to just 28 points while piling up 49 of their own to put themselves in charge of a game they would go on to win 88-78. Casey has been tormented by the Raptors defensive retreat this season and has made re-establishing that defensive identity that they valued so much a year ago a priority over this final stretch of games.
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: After spending most of the last two seasons in the heart of the battle, from the near move to Anaheim through the handshake deal to remain in Sacramento and finally the Seattle-Sacramento tug of war to be decided by the Board of Governors meeting April 18 and 19, Garcia can’t begin to handicap how the competition will end. On Wednesday, the groups vying for the Kings — Steve Ballmer and Chris Hansen are seeking to buy them and move them to Seattle; Ron Burkle, Mark Mastrov and Vivek Ranadive are bidding to buy them and keep them in Sacramento — made the presentation to a Board of Governors sub-committee, which later will make its recommendation. Francisco Garcia could not help but feel empathy for the fans who supported the Kings so faithfully through much of his career. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “One guy is saying this; another guy is saying that. I don’t know. I’d be sad (if the Kings leave Sacramento). It’s such a great city. They’re great fans. They’ve been supporting the team for a long time. “It’s great. It’s a great city. I have nothing but good things to say about Sacramento. I had a great eight years there.” He did return in time to get his first look at the infamous visitors’ locker room, having heard so much about it. “I was never in there,” Garcia said. “It’s pretty bad. I heard about it, but I was never in there.”

• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: In the aftermath of another heartbreaker, there was nothing more the Spurs could do but make the best of it. Monday’s 92-90 loss to Memphis essentially ended with a Mike Conley layup with 0.6 seconds left, the Grizzlies’ point guard doing to the Spurs what Miami’s Chris Bosh and Houston’s James Harden had done in the span of eight days before. Namely, rip their guts out. It was the Spurs’ sixth consecutive game to come down to the final play of regulation and the third they had lost in the middle of a white-knuckle race for the Western Conference’s top playoff seed. “If they have the character I know they have, this is all going in the computer,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “It will make them smarter and make them make the right decisions come playoff time, hopefully.” By now, forgive the Spurs if they are all “learning experienced” out. Monday at FedEx Forum, they very nearly did to the Grizzlies what Miami had done to them in San Antonio the night before, when LeBron James and Dwyane Wade sat and the Heat won anyway. This time, Popovich kept All-Star forward Tim Duncan and small forward Kawhi Leonard at home to rest sore left knees, along with sixth man Manu Ginobili, who is out for as many as four weeks with a strained right hamstring.
• David Barron of the Houston Chronicle: James Harden sat out a second consecutive game as coach Kevin McHale said his primary goal for the All-Star guard was for him to be at maximum efficiency as the playoffs approach. “I think it’s important that James tries to get this thing to the best level he can, considering that we’re short on time,” McHale said. “The longer you have something that bothers you, the more accustomed you get to it and the less you think it bothers you. But when you look at you play — actually stand way, way, way back — you analyze that ‘I’m not doing things the way I used to.’” Harden, who iced his foot twice and underwent treatment Monday morning, agreed it’s better to err on the side of caution. “Health is definitely more important,” he said. “When I’m not effective on the court and not playing to my best abilities, hopefully guys can keep winning and we can go the right way and I hope I can come back and help them out as well.”
• Phil Collin of the Los Angeles Daily News: At one point, the Clippers sat atop the Pacific Division with a 32-9 record on the heels of their 17-game win streak. Entering Monday's game against Indiana, the Clippers were 17-16 since that point. And after a month in which the Clippers went 7-7, it's obvious they're still trying to rediscover the formula that propelled them to their fast start. "We didn't finish a few games out," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said of the .500 record in March. "We had a couple of opportunities, but you have to be able to finish games out by getting stops or making plays but we missed a few opportunities, especially on the road. You've got to play better. You win games by playing at a high level consistently." The Clippers have been beset by injuries, even after it looked like they were ready to make a big run when Chauncey Billups returned in earnest from his Achilles' injury. But then a new series of bumps hit, particularly among key reserves Eric Bledsoe and Jamal Crawford. "You can talk about injuries, you can talk about schedule, you can talk about all these things," Del Negro said. "Everyone goes through it, some more than others. At the end of the day, you have to win games."
• Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times: That day is here. Shaquille O'Neal's No. 34 will join Chamberlain's No. 13, Abdul-Jabbar's No. 33 and the banner that honors Mikan's No. 99 in the upper reaches of Staples Center on Tuesday when the Lakers play the Dallas Mavericks. After winning three of his four titles with the Lakers during a 19-season career that ended in 2011, O'Neal doesn't need to fear his place in purple-and-gold lore anymore. Collectively, the Lakers' Biggest Four logged 11 most valuable player awards, 18 championships and 51 All-Star game selections over their careers. Fifteen of those titles came with the Lakers. "It's not surprising the success the Lakers have had," said Hall of Fame guard Gail Goodrich, a member of the 1971-72 team that won the championship with Chamberlain and West, "because they've had great centers." The Lakers' luck in acquiring those centers, however, was nothing less than extraordinary.
• Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: If you ask Al Jefferson, the NBA forgot to dish out an award on Monday. Denver's George Karl and Miami's Erik Spoelstra earned coach of the month honors for March, while the Knicks' J.R. Smith and Big Al were named players of the week for their respective conferences. "They said Al Jefferson's player of the week," Jefferson said. "I think the Utah Jazz is the team of the week." Can a trophy maker along the Wasatch Front make that award happen? Continuing their red-hot play of late, the Jazz might be front-runners for team of the month honors based on their 112-102 blowout win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena. The victory pushed the Jazz's season-high winning streak to five games, the most consecutive wins they've strung together since the end of the 2011-12 season. The outcome also gave Utah (39-36) sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, putting the streaking squad a half-game above the vaunted Los Angeles Lakers (38-36). "We're just a team playing like we want to be in the playoffs," Jefferson said, "and that's the difference."
• Eric Koreen of the National Post: Jose Calderon is not done handing out assists for the Toronto Raptors. As of now, Calderon is acting as Landry Fields’ landlord. Fields has been living in the condo Calderon lived in during much of his Raptors tenure for the entire year. There are no immediate plans for Calderon to kick his old teammate out. The two will deal with it at the end of the year, Calderon said on Monday. So, that gave Calderon one less thing to worry about as he made his return to Toronto, playing his first game in the Air Canada Centre since the late-January trade that ended his seven-and-a-half-year tenure as a Raptor. Everything else — well, Calderon had a word for it. “It’s been weird since this morning, being in Toronto in a hotel,” Calderon said. “It’s just weird. It’s a weird feeling all around.” Yes, almost the entirety of Detroit Pistons’ 108-98 win was strange. But at least it was predictable. There was no doubt how the fans would react to the return of the franchise’s all-time assists leader. “I think obviously there’s a lot of emotion involved. I think this will be a little bit different than some of the other former Raptors,” said Pistons coach, and former Nets coach, Lawrence Frank. “I was around when Vince [Carter] came back, and [the same thing happened with] Tracy McGrady and Chris Bosh. This will be, hopefully, the complete opposite.” It was.
• Brendan Savage of MLive.com: Forward Jason Maxiell might have played his final game for the Detroit Pistons after undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a detached retina. Maxiell, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season and might not return to the Pistons, is expected to make a full recovery. "It's very disappointing," coach Lawrence Frank said. "You feel horrible for Jason. You hate to see any of your guys get injured, especially where their season is over. "The positives are the surgery went very well. He won't be able to resume any basketball activities for two months but the good thing is it's not career threatening. He'll be able to get back and get back to playing basketball." … Maxiell, 30, has spent his entire eight-year NBA career with the Pistons since they made him their first-round pick (26th overall) out of Cincinnati in 2005. He became the player with the longest Pistons' tenure when Tayshaun Prince was traded to Memphis in January. He has started 175 of 523 career games for the Pistons, averaging 6.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks.
• Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Cavaliers aren’t the kind of opponent likely to inspire the Hawks to find the the “playoff mode” coach Larry Drew is seeking as the regular season draws to a close. That was the concern for Drew after he said his team “played as if we can turn it on at any point” during a lackluster victory against Orlando Saturday. It took a while for the Hawks to find their form against the struggling Cavaliers, but they eventually did enough to secire a 102-94 victory Monday at Philips Arena. “We want to get back to just grinding defensive possessions out,” Drew said. “I thought we did a little better job tonight (but) not what I was hoping. I thought we had some breakdowns tonight. As we wind this thing down we need to get back to where we not focus on our offense as much as our defense. That got us into a little bit of trouble tonight.” … Hawks forward Kyle Korver extended his streak of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer to 68 games to tie Reggie Miller for fifth place on the NBA’s all-time list. Dennis Scott is fourth all-time with 78 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer made.
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: Charlotte coach Mike Dunlap said he's glad his team is playing teams in contention for the playoffs. "The great thing about playing the Bucks tonight is they have the playoff fever," Dunlap said. "Every possession presents itself with an intensity that is good for our young guys to understand." Charlotte scored 60 points in the first half but only 42 in the second half as the Bucks won their 10th consecutive home game against the Bobcats. The Bucks and Bobcats met twice early in the season, with Charlotte prevailing at home, 102-98, on Nov. 19 and the Bucks winning at home, 108-93, on Dec. 7. Charlotte started 7-5, matching its total of victories last season. But it has won just 10 more times since that promising start. "Youth, is one," Dunlap said. "And two is you have them in a concentrated period of the training camp and you come right into the season. There's a bit of fizz there in terms of clarity.”
• Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press: Nikola Pekovic had 29 points and Dante Cunningham added 19 points off the bench to lead the Timberwolves to a 110-100 victory over Boston on Monday night, April 1, at Target Center. The victory left Wolves coach Rick Adelman two wins shy of his career 1,000th victory. Adelman, in his 22nd season as an NBA coach, is 998-702. The win also snapped the Wolves' 11-game losing streak to Boston. Avery Bradley led Boston with 19 points. The Wolves took advantage of a depleted Celtics team that played without Kevin Garnett (ankle) and Paul Pierce (personal reasons). Both remained in Boston. This was a game the Wolves were supposed to control and they did. Pekovic returned from missing one game with a sprained left ankle and his presence made a huge difference inside. Without Garnett, the Celtics had virtually no inside answer for Pekovic.
• Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe: Jeff Green’s resurgence coincided with the point at which Rajon Rondo suffered his injury, but Doc Rivers said he isn’t sure if that’s a coincidence or not. “Because with the whole heart thing and sitting out a year, you don’t know if this is progression from sitting out a year or if this is just him getting better as a player and getting more confident,” Rivers said. From the start of the season to Jan. 25, the day Rondo was injured, Green, who sat out last season after undergoing open-heart surgery, was averaging 9.6 points. Since then, Green was averaging 16.3 points per game entering Monday night, when he scored 10.
• Mike Tokito of The Oregonian: Damian Lillard broke the NBA rookie record for most three-point makes in a season. His first three-pointer of the game, with 6:16 left in the first quarter, was the 167th of the season, breaking the record he had shared with Golden State's Stephen Curry, who set it during the 2009-10 season. Lillard finished 3 for 7 behind the arc and had 17 points.
• Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal: Tristan Thompson is one of seven finalists for the prestigious J. Walter Kennedy Award, given annually by the Pro Basketball Writers Association to the player, coach or trainer who shows outstanding service and dedication to the community. Thompson created “Giving Thanks in Tristan’s Town” for Thanksgiving, purchasing turkeys and groceries for 150 families from Historic Greater Friendship Baptist Church in Cleveland. He helped distribute the meals along with game tickets. Thompson has also raised funds for Cavaliers Youth Fund and has been an advocate for pediatric epilepsy because his younger brother has epilepsy. He has worked on behalf of the Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center and is active in filling requests with the Cavs’ community service department. He has helped with events at the Children’s Rehab Hospital, Harvest for Hunger food drive and participated in the filming of a Valentine’s Day video for women whose military husbands were deployed.

• Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade watched on the locker room television, then burst out to greet their teammates. To use Erik Spoelstra’s phrase, they “tackled everyone.” And if it was possible, David Stern would have parachuted in to join them. Stern had looked foolish the last time, announcing “substantial sanctions” were forthcoming before the undermanned Spurs pressed the Heat. This time? The franchise that’s irritated Stern for more than a decade was hit with something more significant than a fine. Those who believe in the worst of the NBA office probably see signs of a conspiracy again. After all, Joey Crawford showed up, and when is the last time that’s been good for San Antonio? Then there was the call by another official, Jason Phillips, with 32 seconds left. The Miami version of Nando De Colo, Norris Cole, fell on a drive; Kawhi Leonard got the foul because he was the only one nearby. “We got some lucky breaks at the end,” Spoelstra said, and he followed with something as true. “But that’s basketball.” One call didn’t determine this game, not when the Heat played with the kind of competitive joy the Spurs had in November in Miami. Chris Bosh used the word “fun,” because it was for them. Just as the Spurs played loose in Miami, so did the Heat Sunday. … With the Thunder waiting for the second game of a back-to-back in OKC on Thursday, will this be the week that scrambles the Western Conference seeding? Stern wouldn’t mind, since he’s butted heads with the Spurs for years. And while he pushed for an economic model that allowed small markets to compete, he always preferred selling something other than a Spurs franchise that has never moved the television needle. And so there Stern was Sunday, with his final postseason as the NBA commissioner approaching, watching Bosh line up the game-winner.
• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: Could the Heat center imagine playing at such a level at age 37? “I don’t know if I’ll still be playing,” said Chris Bosh, who recently turned 29. “I don’t want to, no. I will if I have to. You can’t tell the future, but I don’t plan to.” If the rest of his career is anywhere near as enjoyable as Sunday night’s 88-86 victory, you’d think he could be convinced to reconsider. With LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers all sitting — due to what Miami coach Erik Spoelstra characterized as nagging injuries but what many suspected was payback for San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich’s ploy in November — Bosh had a rare opportunity to anchor the Heat, and to do so against the Spurs, the West’s best squad. And so there he was, with the Heat down one. There he was, after Spoelstra trusted his team to push the ball without a timeout. There he was, standing open after a screen, 25 feet from the basket, just past the top of the key, after Tiago Splitter failed to switch and three defenders flailed toward Ray Allen. “I saw myself shooting that,” Allen said. “I was about to shoot it, and I felt my guy come up on me, and hey, there’s somebody open, and I found him.” He found Bosh, who had 20 points at that stage, including a couple of 3-pointers. “Fairly decent look,” Spoelstra said. Bosh wasn’t surprised to be that free. “I had to make the shot still,” he said, laughing.
• Harvey Araton of The New York Times: One championship, two finals appearances, and countless clutch shots and defensive stands later, Pierce, at 35, is considered one of the league’s sage big-game veterans, a future Retired Number Celtic, a nearly certain Hall of Famer. His delayed ascension might also reflect the best-case career trajectory for the Knicks’Carmelo Anthony, whose professional years have mimicked Pierce’s 20s far more than they have LeBron James’s. With the Knicks poised to displace the Celtics as Atlantic Division champions after beating them, 108-89, on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, this would be a propitious time to present Pierce as Exhibit A in the case for Anthony’s potential growth into no-questions-asked superstardom. Anthony’s critics, including me, have never underestimated his combustible package of size, strength and first-step speed. But his teams in Denver and in New York have produced poor playoff results, and he has admitted to failing to fully grasp the essence of collective elegance until last summer’s Olympics. Isn’t it fair to say that when it comes to winning at the highest level, Anthony is still an undergraduate student trying to complete a master’s program?
• Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe: As one of three NBA coaches on the league’s competition committee, Rivers, who is joined by Dallas’s Rick Carlisle and Memphis’s Lionel Hollins, is asked to vote on potential rule changes and other competition-related matters. One issue Rivers said he expects to come up this offseason is the idea of coaches sitting star players in games, which Miami did Sunday night against San Antonio. The Heat sat LeBron James, Dywane Wade, and Mario Chalmers against the Spurs, indicating that each had injuries such as a hamstring strain and a sprained ankle. The move caused a stir because Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had sent forward Tim Duncan, guard Manu Ginobili, and guard Tony Parker home before playing the Heat Nov. 19. … “I’ve got a feeling it will come up, probably loudly,” Rivers said. “But I don’t know what you’re supposed to do about it as a coach. It’s a tough one, honestly. From the fans’ standpoint, they pay to see the players play and I get that. From the league’s standpoint, they want to protect that. From a coaching standpoint, you want to do what’s best for your team. It’s a tough one.” However, the Celtics may have an advantage in this area because their star players are pushing 35 and above, so no one really questions why they sit: they’re just old. “I think ‘old’ is an actual injury,” Rivers joked. “You have the ‘hamstring injury’ and you have the ‘old injury.’ ”
• Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner: With a 109-92 victory over Toronto before 14,360 at Verizon Center, the Wizards (27-46) achieved their objective and saw shades of what their starting backcourt hopes to be next year. Bradley Beal matched a career-high with six 3-pointers and a game-high 24 points after missing 11 of the last 14 games with a sprained left ankle. His return was the perfect complement to John Wall's 18 points and 10 assists with a single turnover, the bookend to a superb March played mostly without his rookie teammate. "It's very important, especially to me and especially to the team, because we want to end on a good note, make a run for the ninth seed," Beal said. … Beal checked in with 4:37 remaining the first quarter. His 3-pointer over 6-foot-11 Jonas Valanciunas (18 points, 10 rebounds) broke a 33-33 tie early in the second, starting a stretch in which the Wizards outscored the Raptors by 10 over the final eight minutes of the half. "I think we've seen it in his attitude," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said of Beal. "He's been working, and he wants to get back. That's a good sign. ... I've been in it long enough where I've seen guys say they don't want to get back."
• Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star: The vogue trend in the league is to shoot three-pointers at every opportunity. On that basis, Gay is a victim of fashion. His three-point shooting is middling overall (33.9 per cent career), and trending like an anvil tipped into a well (26.7 per cent this year). Gay missed his shot. Toronto missed its chance. All the momentum drained away then. It finished 109-92. “You don’t want to question a guy’s decision, but we’d much rather go to the basket,” coach Dwane Casey said. “He made that choice.” Bad choices, large and small, haunt this team. It was a wrong choice to come out looking like they needed a little nap after the excitement of the anthems. ‘We came out with a lax disposition,” Casey said flatly. “(Casey) said that to us also,” Kyle Lowry said afterward, as if relieved to hear that he wasn’t the only one. It was a wrong choice to get into early foul trouble.
• John Reid of The Times-Picayune: New Orleans Hornets guard Greivis Vasquez said Coach Monty Williams called him out in front of his teammates during halftime for not playing like a leader after committing three turnovers and scoring five points. But Vasquez used it as motivation, dominating the third quarter by making all six shots, distributing three assists and most importantly not committing a turnover for the entire second half on his way to a team-high 25 points. Vasquez not only looked for his shot, but he got the Hornets in their offensive sets quicker and looked specifically for forward Anthony Davis on lob passes coming off pick-and-roll plays. Vasquez and Davis combined to score 29 of the Hornets' 36 points in the third quarter. It was enough for the Hornets to end a two-game losing streak and finish their seven-game homestand at 4-3.
• Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal: Kyrie Irving’s return from a sprained left shoulder Sunday provided Shaun Livingston with a welcome break. Livingston is able to return to his reserve role after averaging 32 minutes in the eight games he started. Livingston played well in Irving’s absence, but he now strengthens a bench that has been depleted by the injuries to the starters. “It keeps the second unit a little more intact and it cuts down his minutes, which I think is important,” coach Byron Scott said. “I thought he was running on fumes for a little while because of all the minutes we’ve been playing him. He gets more of a break and can resume his normal position and normal playing time. That definitely helps.”
• Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune: The NBA's decision to upgrade a Gibson foul onLeBron James from a regular shooting foul to a flagrant foul surprised Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. "I guess we have to call the league and get clarification on that," he said. "I didn't see it that way. I still don't have a good understanding of what a flagrant foul is. By rule it's unnecessary, excessive. I thought I got some clarity last year, but apparently I didn't." James complained after Wednesday's game of fouls he deemed "not basketball plays." Asked if James' opinion carries weight with the league, Thibodeau replied: "I guess we have to talk to the league to find out."
• Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News: When a team shoots 50 percent on the road and holds its opponent under 40 percent, it expects to win. But when these two meet, no one stat can guarantee victory for the Pistons. They had a chance to send the game to overtime, trailing by three with 22 seconds left, but Charlie Villanueva's 3-point attempt didn't find its mark. Jose Calderon would've been a candidate to take a tying 3-pointer, but he has a tendon problem in his elbow and when the ball swung to him, he was no threat to shoot, so Villanueva launched a long jumper in a failed attempt to send the game to overtime. Rodney Stuckey hit a 3-pointer on the final possession to cut the lead from four to one. The Pistons (24-50) were already undermanned without Jason Maxiell (eye injury, didn't make the trip) and Will Bynum (hand). The Bulls (40-32) were playing without Joakim Noah, Marco Belinelli, former Piston Richard Hamilton and 2011 MVP Derrick Rose, who's yet to return from tearing his Achilles. Even without those four, especially the pesky Noah, the Bulls made the necessary plays down the stretch to give the Pistons that sinking feeling. "It was some bad bounces, I had a bad turnover," said Greg Monroe, who finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, benefitting from Noah's absence. "Just a half-second late, that might've been the difference. We played with good energy, good effort the whole game. When it counted, we were a step late."

The NBA began the season with a new rule against flopping, and the early indications were it made a difference.

Since 2013 began, however, the NBA has cited a mere four flops, out of close to 25,000 minutes of live ball play. Here they are, with video:

• Corey Brewer (March 9)
• C.J. Watson (Januar 25)
• Kevin Martin (January 23)
• J.J. Barea (January 22)

Considering that the league issued a total of 12 warnings and fines in the first two months of the season, that could be a sign the rule is doing its job, and players are flopping less.

But on the other hand, it's not that hard to find examples of flops that are going unpunished. A sampling:

• Chris Paul (March 19)
• Kyle Lowry (January 16)
• Blake Griffin (January 19)
• Chris Bosh (January 30)
• Gordon Hayward (March 13)
• Lance Stephenson (March 15)

Subjective observations suggests that the league, as a whole, on the season, has less flopping. But there's also evidence that the NBA is becoming increasingly lax in its policing.

The playoffs, when flopping rates are usually at their season-high, are just around the corner. Teams value every possession more in the playoffs, and therefore the incentive to flop will be high. And the league's flopping policy has always had the flaw that fines and sanctions are only handed down after the game, so a key flop still might win some team or another a playoff game.

Now seems like the right time to make clear the best game plans should not involve flops.

Also, the way the league has punished flopping has not helped to combat the perception that superstars are largely immune. The biggest name on the list of floppers this season is Tony Parker. Meanwhile the player with one of the greatest flopping reputations, Paul, has gotten off entirely, despite video evidence that he hasn't changed his style much. The league has an excellent opportunity right now to prove stars like Paul can get in flop trouble, too.

• How the Toronto Raptors translate findings from SportVU into practice, and some of the thorny issues that arise in the process.
• Jeremy Gordon of Brooklyn's Finest on the Nets' enigmatic combo of Andray Blatche and MarShon Brooks: "There’s something that gets me really giddy about Andray Blatche and MarShon Brooks playing together, just a couple of guys trying to take and make the most ridiculous shots possible. Do you think the playful experimentation extends to their personal lives? Like they just sit there, trading implausible feats—eating 100 McNuggets without anything to drink, playing a season of Madden with one’s feet, reading War & Peace without stopping—to see who will be the first one to back down."
• A few years ago, we witnessed Jason Kidd draw a foul on then-Hawks coach Mike Woodson. Now check out this sequence from France of a coach trying to strip the ball away from an opposing player in a tie game and fewer than three seconds remaining. The best part? The shameless "who me?" plea from the coach when he gets whistled for the technical foul.
• Kate Fagan with a smart piece on Baylor's 6-foot-7 star Brittney Griner, and how players of a certain size and skill set often breed resentment among fans and opponents.
• In an interview with CNN's Rachel Nichols, LeBron James has some cheeky, good-natured fun at the expense of Pat Riley, who was on the 1971-72 Lakers team that won 33 games in a row.
• Couldn't help but think about Kenneth Faried when I read this piece in Scientific American. The gist: "Individual stories will have a far greater sway on our attitudes, intentions, and behavior than any long list of numbers, statistics, and facts." Would a baller from Newark who went to college in rural Kentucky be the most vocal advocate on gay equality if he didn't grow up in a same-sex household?
• Andres Alvarez of Wages of Wins delineates between big data and useful data and the challenge of eating the elephant: "The problem I see is that there is not enough emphasis on seeing what value the data has, and seeing how to use it. There is a huge emphasis on collecting more data though. We’re in love with this! Teams got the boxscore in the 1970s because they needed better stats ... Then the 2000s saw us get easier access to play by play. And we’re now getting access to visual tracking data of every movement on the court! And yet, through all of the 'revolutions,' I’m not seeing teams slow down to see if the data is useful or how to use it. No, I’m seeing that the trend is to grab more data! As soon as we get more data, the argument goes, we’ll finally understand the NBA. Except, very few people understand the data we have now!"
• Raleigh-born, Chapel Hill-educated Danny Nowell kindly requests that you stop bashing college basketball during this holiest of months.
• Yesterday, National Public Radio's Tom Moon referred to Justin Timberlake's new album, "The 20/20 Experience" as the bland product of a musician who is "too big to fail." On Twitter, the Hornets' Ryan Anderson solicits your opinion on 20/20. Andrew Unterberger of The Basketball Jones has your Top 10 Timberlake basketball moments.
• Actual video evidence that Adrian Dantley is serving as a crossing guard for a middle school in suburban Washington, DC.
• John Sabine of BallerBall catches up with the Sonics' former mascot, Squatch. Well, sort of.
• Derrick Williams is a large man and requires more carbohydrates than your average lunchtime customer.

• Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: On a night he enjoyed one of his most productive offensive games of the season, the Spurs’ Tim Duncan spent the final 8.7 seconds of a 92-91 victory over the Mavericks in the worst possible position: Sitting on the bench, helpless to do anything but watch as Dallas’ Vince Carter launched a potential game-winner at the buzzer. Opting for a smaller, quicker defender, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich replaced Duncan with Boris Diaw, with the Mavericks down by one. “It’s always tough to sit in that position,” Duncan said. “It is what it is. He’s got a game plan, a system in those times to go smaller. If they go smaller or have a shooter in there, he likes to put someone a little more mobile in. “You’ve got to respect it. You’ve got to sit there and cross your fingers.” After missing seven of his first 10 shots Thursday, Duncan made nine of his final 10 and finished with 28 points. He was one rebound shy of his second 20-20 game of the season, finishing with 19. It was his most productive game since returning Feb.13 from a left knee contusion suffered on Feb. 2. “It’s finally starting to come back,” Duncan said. “My shot’s not there like I want it to be. Other than that, I feel great. I feel healthy. The pain is gone. I’m starting to feel like I can actually play the game.”
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Coach Rick Carlisle said Chris Wright, the Mavs’ newest point guard, cleared a big hurdle when Dallas signed Wright to a 10-day contract. “He just got here [Wednesday],” Carlisle said. “That’s the biggest challenge.” Indeed it is a big challenge for Wright, who, on Wednesday, became the first player with multiple sclerosis to be on an NBA roster. And what perfect timing for Wright — it’s MS Awareness Week. Wright agreed with Carlisle that making the team was his biggest challenge thus far. “I’m just trying to make the team and get on the team,” Wright said. “I’m honored to be here and be in front of Dirk Nowitzki and guys like that.” Wright averaged 15.5 points and seven assists in 38 games this season for the Iowa Energy of the D-League. Carlisle likes what he’s seen thus far from Wright. … Carlisle said he’s “not qualified” to answer any questions about MS. But, “he’s been playing at a high level in the D-League and now he’s on an NBA roster, so he’s fine.”
• Joe Freeman of The Oregonian: With a chorus of boos echoing around the Rose Garden every time Felton touched the ball and the Blazers cruising to a convincing 105-90 victory over the Knicks' junior varsity team, basketball turned into a secondary form of entertainment Thursday night. And one of the few to leave the fiasco disappointed was Felton, the critical component behind last season’s monumental Blazers collapse. He sauntered into the Rose Garden loading dock about 75 minutes before the scheduled tip wearing a determined scowl and headphones, breezing past a throng of reporters to the visitors locker room. … An electric sellout crowd of 20,636 flashed gigantic posters with enlarged pictures of donuts and hamburgers and R-rated messages aimed at a player who last year challenged his detractors to visit his Pearl District apartment building if they had a problem with him. Felton was heavily booed during pregame introductions and every time he touched the ball, from the moment the Knicks won the opening tip to the final horn.
• Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News: Last spring, the Heat’s Dwyane Wade also had his knee drained during the playoffs, but didn’t need to take a game off. But he’s another playoff virtuoso, with championship jewelry. What’s in store for Anthony, normally a first-round ouster waiting to happen, is anyone’s guess. Anthony should have learned a lesson from these past few days: He never should have returned on Monday in Oakland, hoping that the fluid would somehow magically disappear. It’s kind of funny that a guy with all those tattoos didn’t want to deal with a needle. So he missed the third straight loss on this trip when he got the fluid removed, while questions about how it got there still had not been sufficiently answered. “There comes a point where you’ve got to figure it out,” Anthony said, explaining why he finally addressed the knee. “Got to get to the bottom of it and move on.” The Knicks’ season only depends on it.
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: The reaction in the Mavericks’ locker room was mixed about the play former teammate Dahntay Jones had against Kobe Bryant on Wednesday night. Jones, who was traded to Atlanta for Anthony Morrow last month, stepped under Bryant at the end of the Hawks’ win. Bryant said it was a dangerous and dirty play. Jones said it was good defense. “It was a 50-50 play,” said Brandan Wright. Added Darren Collison: “Tough play. That’s all I can say about it.” There also were a few jokes that it was Jones’ best play for the Mavericks all season. But coach Rick Carlisle didn’t want to hear about the possibility of Bryant being out for an extended period and the Mavericks having a chance to overtake the Lakers in the playoff race. “I didn’t see the play,” Carlisle said. “And I’m not going to get involved with anything having to do about saying anything happening with Kobe Bryant. I think our owner showed what can happen with that 10 days ago.” That comment ellicited laughter from the coach and the media assembled before Thursday’s game against the Spurs. When Mark Cuban suggested the hypothetical scenario where the Lakers could amnesty Bryant, he came back with 38 points against the Mavericks.
• Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The NBA reviewed video of the play Thursday and found that referees missed a foul call on the play. The league said Jones failed to give Bryant the opportunity to land cleanly on the floor, and he should have been granted two free throws. … Jones sent several Tweets of his own Wednesday night after learning of Bryant’s comments. On Thursday, he appeared on the ESPN program “First Take” to further defend his actions. “The play, I don’t think was dirty because all I was trying to do was contest a jump shot,” Jones told the network. “Yes, it was a fadeaway, but when you deal with shooters or high-profile scorers, you have to try to get as close to them as possible to contest jump shots. So, even though he faded away, you still don’t give up on a play. You try to still contest it. That’s all I was trying to do. I wasn’t trying to do anything dirty. We played 48 minutes of basketball before that. There were not issues before that. And I wouldn’t take him out on the last play of the game.”
• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: Ray Allen has had conversations with teammates that put into context the relative age of the Heat’s roster, age that renders some of their seasonal trends, and especially those over the course of the current 20-game winning streak, all the more remarkable. “You look down our bench, and you don’t see some young guy you don’t know,” said Allen, whose team takes on the Bucks on Friday night. “I look down some NBA benches, and some of these guys, I do not know who they are. … Cole, at 24 years and five months, is the Heat’s youngest player, and one of only five – along with Jarvis Varnado, Mario Chalmers, LeBron James and Chris Bosh – still in their 20s. Nor is Pat Riley trying to infuse the roster with youth: Recent additions Chris (Birdman) Andersen and Juwan Howard are 34 and 40, respectively. “It’s crazy, because I was talking to Bird the other day, and I was like, ‘Bird, how old are you?’ ” Allen said. “And I was like, ‘I’m 37.’ And he just fell (down)! He was like, ‘Really?’ Normally he’d be the oldest guy on most teams in the NBA.” Normally, a squad with so many grizzled veterans might be expected to struggle in two areas in which the Heat have fared at least as well as any team in the league – staying healthy and finishing strong.
• Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: We've arrived at the point where the only true measure of success for this Thunder team is postseason results. The regular season no longer matters. For better or worse, that's what a trip to the Finals, even one that ends in defeat, brings. To some, a popular predictor of future playoff success can be found in a team's scoring differential. After the team's winning percentage, it's the next best basic indicator of what we can expect from a team in a playoff run. To that extent, OKC is outscoring opponents on average by 3.4 points more than last season. It's the best scoring margin in basketball. Many other metrics suggest the Thunder is a sounder team. The team's scoring is up, both in raw averages and efficiency. The Thunder has evolved into a better defensive team, both in points yielded relative to the rest of the league and per 100 possessions. Oklahoma City also has gotten better in the categories of assists, steals and turnovers, historically some of the Thunder's biggest bugaboos. Many, however, fear that the Thunder isn't as well-equipped for a title run.
• Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times: After an afternoon practice at Oracle Arena, coach Tom Thibodeau almost set off a media frenzy when he was asked about the likelihood that Derrick Rose would make his season debut Friday against the Golden State Warriors. “We’ll see [Friday],’’ Thibodeau said. “With him, it’s just day-to-day. He had a good day [Thursday], went hard, did a lot of stuff, but we’ll see.’’ … When warned that his open-ended answers would ignite a fuse of speculation, Thibodeau tried to clear things up. “It hasn’t changed,’’ Thibodeau said. “It could be in a couple of days; it could be in a week. I don’t know when it is; he doesn’t know when it is. As I said to you guys [Wednesday], I think he was very forthcoming with [the media]. That’s where he is. He’s got to feel real comfortable; he’s got to feel the explosion is there. He’s made great progress, and we don’t know when that time is.”
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: Rob Hennigan made one of the most important decisions of his life here, just a short walk from where the Orlando Magic will play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. He made that decision with Sam Presti, a friend and mentor, by his side. It was 2008, and Presti, the Thunder's general manager, offered Hennigan a job in the Thunder front office. They walked through downtown, discussing the type of team Presti wanted to build, talking about the meaningful connection Presti wanted to create between the franchise and the city. They eventually reached the Oklahoma City National Memorial, the site where, 13 years earlier, Timothy McVeigh detonated explosives in front the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. … That belief and confidence in Presti helped lead Hennigan to where he is today, the general manager of the Magic. Presti gave Hennigan two of his big breaks: a coveted internship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2004 and a position as director of college/international player personnel with the Thunder four years later. As Hennigan worked his way up the NBA ladder, he and Presti developed a close friendship that still endures.
• Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun: Andrea Bargnani says he hasn’t given up on playing again this season, but that’s certainly the way it looks. “What I know is what you guys know, what came out (Wednesday)” Bargnani said Thursday when he faced the media for the first time since his latest injury was confirmed. “I just do therapy and we see how it evolves.” The lastest injury is an avulsion sprain to his right elbow. The affected ligament is the same one that Bargnani tore in December costing him 26 games of the season, but a different injury. Bargnani sounded as frustrated with his season as his detractors have been. “It was a very unlucky season,” Bargnani said. “I don’t even know if I played like 10 straight games because every time I played I got an injury. It was very frustrating. I’ve just got to stay positive, try to get back in shape and be back and play very good.”
• Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: So Wednesday night’s win over Toronto wasn’t the first time it occurred to Jason Terry that he’s now part of a living museum. The sights and sounds of the Garden crowd acknowledging Garnett, who had just passed Jerry West to become the 15th all-time scorer in NBA history, and Pierce, who moved past Charles Barkley into 20th place in scoring and past Allen Iverson into 10th spot all-time in made free throws, simply heightened the experience. “When you’ve been around as long as Paul and Kevin, and play at a high level like they have, you’re going to be amongst greatness,” Terry said. “That’s what all of those milestones mean. They’re two of the chosen few who are great. “No question this whole ride has been special,” he added.
• Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle: After Klay Thompson was fined $35,000 for his involvement in the scrum between the Warriors and Indiana on Feb. 26, his father said he was going to increase the penalty.Mychal Thompson, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 1978 and is currently a radio broadcaster in Los Angeles, said he handled his son's finances and would allocate less than his usual $300 stipend that week. The comments were taken seriously and landed on a variety of blogs, but Klay Thompson said he maintained his own accounts and his father was just having some fun. "Come on, man," Klay Thompson said. "Some people took it really seriously, but that's all right. That's my dad. He jokes a lot. ... Since I grew up, he's been a jokester. I just read it and thought it was funny. It's fine. It's a good story. He had some fun with it. It's his job to entertain, so I don't blame him. "But I do make my own allowance."
• Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: With the Lakers (34-32) visiting the Indiana Pacers (40-24) tonight at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Brian Shaw said he's moved well past the initial frustration he felt two years ago when the Lakers passed him over in favor of Mike Brown to coach the Lakers following Jackson's retirement. Instead, Shaw said he's relishing the changed circumstances with his eyes still set on the big picture. "My ultimate goal is to be a head coach," Shaw said. "But I'm not going to take or go after the wrong job just to get the experience of being a head coach. I'm in a great situation here."

• Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: This was a good win. Good because it keeps the Thunder on the Spurs heels. Good because it was anything but the Thunder’s preferred style and yet OKC found a way to prevail. Good because it was a day filled with adversity, which the Thunder overcame and ultimately overpowered Boston. Serge Ibaka was plagued by foul trouble. Russell Westbrook, still nursing a sore right ankle, labored through an off night. The Thunder got bullied on the boards. And OKC struggled to shoot straight. All of that was negated by a dominant defensive effort that spurred the Thunder to its 28th home win, tying OKC for the most in the league. The Thunder held the Celtics to 10 of 40 shooting in the second half, a 25 percent connection rate. For a small measure of how impressive that is consider that the Celtics nearly had as many turnovers (six) as made field goals. … The player of the game just might have been Kendrick Perkins. His defense was suffocating. On old pal Kevin Garnett mostly but also on Paul Pierce at times and even Jason Terry and Avery Bradley at others. Said Brooks: “His defense on Garnett and their pick-and-roll was outstanding.”
• Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald: Dwyane Wade’s wardrobe change at halftime wasn’t about fashion — believe it or not. Wade is one of the most fashion-centric players in the NBA and, yes, he’s trying to sell his new shoes at all times, but Wade said he changed his footwear for the second half of the Heat’s 105-91 victory over the Pacers because he burned through the first pair playing defense. “I went through them in the first half,” Wade said. “I was moving. I wanted some stiff shoes.” Wade finished the game with six steals; Miami had 10 steals as a team. As healthy as he has been all season, Wade said after the game that defensively he’s playing “as good as I have played in a while.” … In somewhat of a surprise strategic move, Wade started the game on defense covering Paul George, the Pacers’ young All-Star. George finished the game with 10 points in 42 minutes. Wade was originally supposed to guard George Hill and said after the game that it was teammateLeBron James’ idea for a defensive switch. James, who would normally guard George, defended Lance Stephenson.
• Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: For first time in a week, the Lakers hardly offered any late-game theatrics. Kobe Bryant didn't offer any age-defying dunks. The Lakers didn't storm back from a double-digit deficit, either. Instead the Lakers grinded out a 90-81 victory Sunday over the Chicago Bulls Staples Center by simply playing together. The Lakers (33-31) stayed above the .500 mark for two consecutive games for the first time all season. More importantly, they have a half-game lead over the Utah Jazz (32-31) for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Lakers also are only one game behind the Houston Rockets (34-30) for the seventh seed. "Yippee," Bryant said with obvious sarcasm. Still, there were plenty of signs that could make the Lakers feel good about themselves, even if it lacked the late-game euphoria shown in recent games. Dwight Howard's impact went beyond his 16 points and 21 rebounds. He set screens that set up plenty of open looks for him and his teammates. He also sank a series of hook shots in the lane and threw down a few lobs from Bryant.
• Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News: Beginning today, when the Lakers' charter flight lands in Orlando, the city Dwight Howard called home for years after arriving as an 18-year-old from Atlanta, Howard will be confronted by demons, memories and the wrath of a city that once loved him but now despises him. "He's going to get an earful," Lakers point guard Steve Nash said. Three weeks ago, maybe Howard doesn't handle the reunion well. Two months ago, with the Lakers struggling and Howard not quite sure who he could trust and lean on in the Lakers' locker room, the psychological toll of returning to Orlando would have been too much. But with the Lakers winning and his health improving, Howard is as prepared as ever to go back. "It's going to be difficult to see things, but I'm happy that I'm in a better place then I was at the beginning of the season," Howard said. And maybe for the first time all year, his teammates will have his back. That includes Bryant, whom Howard's been reported to be at odds with this year.
• Dan Woike of The Orange County Register: Blake Griffin has Timofey Mozgov, Kendrick Perkins and Pau Gasol. And after Sunday night, DeAndre Jordan has Brandon Knight. "That was the best dunk of the year," Griffin said. "It's the best dunk I've seen in person." Jordan caught a lob from Chris Paul, cocked back and turned Knight into a trending topic on Twitter with a vicious slam during the Clippers' 129-97 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday at Staples Center. "It was a great pass by Chris, and honestly, I didn't see Brandon until I caught the ball," Jordan said. "After that, was just, yeah...." Paul described what followed the dunk as "the aftermath." The crowd went nuts as the scoreboard replayed the highlight over and over. The bench nearly rushed the floor, and Paul, usually pretty calm, howled as he slapped Jordan on the chest. "It was pretty impressive," Paul said. "I usually try not to react after all those different types of dunks, but that one was pretty good." Jordan and all four other starters finished in double figures, and Matt Barnes scored 16, hitting all five of his 3-point shots.
• Eric Koreen of the National Post: It is hard to hear his recent words, though, and think he is not speaking for that same reason. He is just speaking honestly, but Casey is obviously intensely aware of the criticism that has been hurled at him as this season has descended into irrelevance. … The criticism, now as ever, centres on the Raptors’ rookies. During a typically heartbreaking overtime defeat to the Lakers on Friday, Terrence Ross did not get off the bench at all, with Casey saying he did not want him matching up against Kobe Bryant. More bewilderingly, Jonas Valanciunas sat in the fourth quarter and overtime in deference to Aaron Gray. Casey said the coaching staff unanimously agreed that Gray should match up against Dwight Howard. The easy counter-argument: If the rest of this season is about learning, then why are the players who have to do the most learning not playing against the players who could provide the harshest but most integral lessons? … Casey is the coach, and it is his right to set the ground rules. Casey’s defence of those rules, as this season fades away, is getting tougher and tougher to justify.
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: The Bucks have been relatively healthy most of the season, but they were hit with a trio of injuries Sunday. Starters Ersan Ilyasova and Larry Sanders and key reserve Redick had to miss the game. Ilyasova missed his second straight game with a left knee bone bruise, while Sanders suffered a hyperextended left knee in Saturday's game against Golden State. Redick also was hurt against the Warriors when he landed on Jarrett Jack's foot while drilling a key three-pointer in the fourth quarter of a 103-93 victory. Samuel Dalembert and Ekpe Udoh started on the front line, and Boylan said Dalembert was going to start, anyway, to combat the imposing size of Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (6 feet 11 inches, 270 pounds). Dalembert finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes and Udoh had 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Sanders said he landed on his knee awkwardly while trying to block a shot by Warriors forward Harrison Barnes.
• John Reid of The Times-Picayune: Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard still appears to be the frontrunner to the win this season's NBA's Rookie of the Year award. But New Orleans Hornets rookie Anthony Davis got another opportunity to close the gap in Sunday's matchup against Lillard and the Trail Blazers. Coming off a sensational 20-point, 18-rebound performance against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night, Davis put forth another solid effort in the Hornets' 98-96 victory against the Trail Blazers. Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season. Lillard, who leads all rookies with a 18.8 scoring average, scored 20 points and had eight assists. ``We're just getting better as a unit,'' Davis said. ``We haven't done a great job of closing out games in the fourth quarter, but we're doing a better job and we have to continue doing so.''
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki hopes point guard Dominique Jones won’t be in the unemployment line long. Tired of his inconsistent play and other off-the-court indiscretions, the Mavs waived Jones on Saturday. “I like Dominique, he was my man,” Nowitzki said. “I think he’s got an NBA body, he’s got the NBA strength. “Hopefully he’ll be able to find a job next year and he’ll be able to play.” The Mavs will replace Jones with point guard Chris Wright, who averaged 15.5 points and seven assists in 38 games this season for the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League. Wright, who played in last month’s D-League All-Star game, may be on the roster in time to suit up for Tuesday’s game in Milwaukee. … Besides Nowitzki, Shawn Marion and Rodrigue Beaubois are the only other players with the Mavs who were members of the 2011 NBA championship team.
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: The annual Orlando Pro Summer League will undergo at least one significant change this year, expanding to 10 teams to add the Miami Heat and the Houston Rockets. The annual event will remain closed to the public and will continue to take place on Amway Center's practice court, Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said. But for the first time, there is a possibility the league's structure will resemble a tournament's structure, with pool play and a championship game. In previous years, teams would play one game a day for five consecutive days. But this year, teams might be given one off day. The Magic run the summer league, which, in a sense, competes with the NBA Summer League. The NBA Summer League is held on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas and is open to the public who buy tickets. Last year the NBA Summer League featured 23 teams and a team composed of NBA Development League players. The Magic's league is popular with some teams' executives because it offers fewer distractions than the league in Las Vegas. The Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz participated in last year's league in Orlando and are expected to participate again.

• Andre C. Fernandez of The Miami Herald: The Heat continued to climb the ladder on the list of the NBA’s all-time best winning streaks with Wednesday’s victory. Miami tied seven other teams that have strung 16 victories together, including three that went on to win the championship (1964-65 Celtics, 1970-71 Bucks and 1999-2000 Lakers). But the Heat still has a long way to go to get even near the NBA record of 33 in a row set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. “It’s not really in the back of my head or anything like what number we’d like to hit,” LeBron James said. “If it hit a league record, I mean that’s crazy if we did at some point. We don’t want to lose, but we’re going to play each and every game and not worry about it.” Among some of the notable teams the Heat could catch soon on the all-time list include the record-setting 1995-96 Bulls who won 18 in a row during a 72-10 regular season, and 1999-2000 Lakers who had a 19-game winning streak that season. The 2007-08 Rockets have the second-longest streak — 22 in a row.
• Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: In a season in which they dug so much to climb back into playoff contention, it seemed appropriate the Lakers operated in the same fashion in a game that could largely dictate those fortunes. The Lakers' 108-102 victory Wednesday over the New Orleans Hornets didn't just mark a game in which they overcame a 25-point deficit against a sub.-500 opponent. This didn't just mark the first time the Lakers overcame such a large gap since overcoming a 30-point deficit against the Dallas Mavericks in 2002. The Lakers' latest win gave them renewed confidence they can overcome any obstacle. "Games like this really strengthen the bond between us players," Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said. "That's really what the playoffs are all about. You have adversity. It's about who's going to stick together and who's not going to break." It helps that the win improves the bottom line results, too. With the Utah Jazz losing Tuesday to Cleveland, the Lakers (31-32) trail Utah (32-28) by only 1 games for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Basketball Hall of Fame forward Dennis Rodman took a lot of heat recently when he flew to North Korea and met with controversial North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. But Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban saw no problem with the two meeting. “Actually I think it’ll help,” Cuban said before Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets. “When you’ve got somebody talking about something other than global nuclear destruction, that’s a step in the right direction because you know there’s a topic you can have a conversation about that isn’t thinking about something else. Just like any argument, when you calm it down by switching subjects, that’s a good thing.” Cuban isn’t sure if anything of substance will come from the meeting between Rodman and Kim. But the fact that Kim is a huge basketball fan apparently says that he can at least relate to Rodman. “Who knows if it has any staying power, but it’s certainly not a negative,” Cuban said. “When I think of world peace I think of Rodman.” … In a recent interview with Charlie Rose for 60 Minutes, NBA commissioner David Stern characterized Rodman’s visit with Kim as “ridiculous.”
• Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe: On a play usually reserved for Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett, Jeff Green attempted the final shot Wednesday night and he helped seal perhaps the Celtics’ biggest win of the season. Green has emerged as a primary offensive weapon in the past two months, but with the Celtics having possession with 23.6 seconds left and the game tied at 81 against the Pacers, the forward usually would have expected Pierce or Garnett to take the final shot. Instead, Garnett decoyed off the pick-and-roll and found Green with a high pass that he gathered in. Green scored with 0.5 seconds left for Boston’s 83-81 win. Not only did Green flourish in a critical time, but having his name called was a sign of confidence from coach Doc Rivers. “It builds confidence, especially with the playoffs right around the corner,” Green said. “Now at this point in time of the season, that confidence will be [useful]. You know all the attention is going to be focused on Kevin and Paul, but with the confidence that we’ll have going into the playoffs as far as the end of games, I think Doc trusts that we can make plays and help and take some of the pressure off Kevin and Paul.
• Brian Schmit of the Orlando Sentinel: Former Magic forward Rashard Lewis called Dwight Howard's recent comments about his former Magic teammates "disrespectful" and defended Jameer Nelson, once one of Howard's closest friends. Howard told KCAL-TV in L.A. that "my team in Orlando was a team full of people who nobody wanted, and I was the leader and I led that team with a smile on my face." Howard, Lewis and Nelson were on the Magic team that defied odds and reached the NBA Finals in 2009. "It's disrespectful more than anything. We helped Dwight become the player he was," said Lewis, now a member of the Miami Heat, who faced the Magic on Wednesday night. Lewis wasn't a nobody in the summer of 2007. He was the top free agent, and the Magic signed him to a six-year, $118-million contract to help Howard win. "We made a good run. Hell, look at those (conference and division) banners hanging in the stands. They don't say Dwight Howard on them... I think everybody should get a little piece of the credit. It's not just one guy who did everything." Nelson said after shootaround that he was disappointed in Howard's professionalism. "At some point, when are you [Dwight] gonna as a man, when are you going to take ownership and stay out of the media in a professional manner?" Nelson told the Sentinel.
• T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times: And here we have the Clippers, feeling really good about themselves, but what have they really accomplished? Do they belong in the same class as Oklahoma City and San Antonio after getting spanked at home by each recently? Could they beat the Lakers in a No. 3 seed versus No. 6 matchup, the best possible opponent for the Lakers, as Shaq suggested on TNT? "The Clippers are not legitimate" championship contenders, said Barkley, and so I wonder who Barkley would pick if the soft Clippers met the dead Lakers. With nothing else to do but watch the Clippers abuse Milwaukee on Wednesday night, why not put the brakes on this joy ride and agree or disagree with Barkley? Ralph Lawler, the team's long-time broadcaster, said there are things that must go the Clippers' way. "Chauncey Billups has to be Chauncey Billups," said Lawler, and lately Billups has struggled. "Eric Bledsoe has to be the Bledsoe who was so dynamic in the playoffs last year," said Lawler, and lately Bledsoe has been hobbled. Lawler said the Clippers will come on. "But if not, Charles could be just plain right," said Lawler, his sidekick Mike Smith saying nothing and no one seemingly disappointed.
• Al Iannazzone of Newsday: Mike Woodson said the MRI on Carmelo Anthony's injured right knee showed "some fluid buildup" in there. "That's what's causing the stiffness," Woodson said. "Rest will probably be the best thing for him." Anthony rested Wednesday night, sitting out against the Pistons. Woodson said Anthony would be evaluated again Thursday night and if he feels better, he could play against the Thunder at the Garden. Woodson said it will be Anthony's decision. "I'll do whatever he wants to do," Woodson said. "Trust me. Players know their own body. If he tells me he wants to play I'm going to play him. I'm not going to fight him on that . . . If he says, 'Coach, I need to sit down and rest a game or two,' I'm going to grant that, absolutely." The irony is Woodson said Anthony asked out of Monday's game in Cleveland before he aggravated his knee and the coach didn't listen to him. "He just kind of nodded that his knee wasn't right," Woodson said. "I kind of ignored it somewhat. Maybe I shouldn't have."
• Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle: Center Andrew Bogut on Wednesday was part of the Warriors' starting lineup in consecutive games for only the fifth time, and executive board member Jerry West thinks they might need more of the big man to hold on to their playoff spot. "We really need him in the lineup. Oh, my gosh, yeah, we need him in there," West said. "He's crucial for us to be able to close this season out the way we want to close it out." After beating the Kings 87-83 on Wednesday night, the Warriors remain in sixth place in the Western Conference - 5 games back of fifth-place Denver and six games ahead of 10th-place Portland. … "We're not seeing the real Andrew Bogut, with all the (injuries) he's been through," West said. "He just gives us something we do not have, OK? He's got a great mind to play the game. He's physical as heck. He takes up space. He doesn't even really want to shoot the ball. His knowledge of the game is off the charts, and this is the kind of player that makes other players better."
• Seth Walder of the New York Daily News: Kris Humphries' official divorce from Kim Kardashian is fast approaching, but his divorce from playing time will come much sooner. According to a league source, Humphries was informed by coach P.J. Carlesimo Wednesday morning that he will no longer be part of the Nets' shortened rotation. Carlesimo has said in recent days that he wants to limit the rotation to nine or 10 players as the Nets head into the stretch run before the postseason. The 6'9" forward is averaging 18.4 minutes per game this season, a number that has dwindled substantially since the beginning of the year. He has grabbed 5.9 rebounds per game while scoring 5.5 points per contest. The decision to bench Humphries is curious given how fervently the Nets have worked to keep him. In July, the Nets inked the forward to a two-year, $24 million contract. Two weeks ago, at the trade deadline, the Nets could have traded Humphries to their opponent Wednesday night, Charlotte, in a deal that would have brought back Ben Gordon. And yet, despite their commitment to Humphries financially and the value he could have returned in the trade market, his only spot on the team for the foreseeable future will be on the bench.
• Ronald Tillery of of The Commercial-Appeal: Darrell Arthur sat on the bench unavailable and trying to get comfortable with a sore neck and back. Zach Randolph, nursing a left ankle sprain, was nowhere in sight. And it appeared the home team missed a lot more than their starting power forward and his understudy most of Wednesday night. However, the Grizzlies finally located their dogged defense, and a late scoring run allowed them to catch and pass the Portland Trail Blazers for a 91-85 victory before 16,214 in FedExForum. The Griz, winners in 10 of their last 11 games, overcame a 17-point, second-half deficit to capture a sixth consecutive win at home. This was the second straight home game in which the Griz had to dig out of a major hole. … “We don’t like being down 17 or 25, but in those situations we find out who we are,” Griz point guard Mike Conley said. “It’s good for us to sometimes win in different ways.”
• Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: Spurs center Tiago Splitter was excited by the news that the NBA has scheduled its first preseason game ever in his native Brazil. The Bulls and Washington Wizards will play Oct. 12 in Rio De Janeiro. “Oh, yes, this is a big step for us,” Splitter said. “We have all the World Cup and Olympic Games, and now we have an NBA game. It’s great for basketball in Brazil, and I’m very happy we’re going to have a game there.” Splitter said he would have been thrilled had the Spurs been selected to play, but understood the choice of the Wizards, who have 10-year Brazilian veteran center Nene. “I don’t know if the Spurs were considered for the choice, but I know that they want to bring Nene,” he said. “Of course, he is a veteran who has played a long time in the NBA.”
• Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News: Apparently not intimidated by Manu Ginobili’s previous treatment of its brethren, a bat dared to fly through the AT&T Center during the second half. Spurs trainer Will Sevening comically shook his index finger at Ginobili to prevent another impromptu extermination, but the Argentine needed no warning after his last encounter required a series of rabies shots. “One for one is a great percentage,” he said. “I’m going to retire.”
• Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Hawks took out a great deal of frustration against the 76ers. First, they ended a three-game losing streak. Second, and perhaps more important, they halted a six-game slide against the Sixers. The Hawks led by as many as 21 points en route to a 107-96 victory over the Sixers Wednesday night at Philips Arena. “I wanted to use that as motivation,” coach Larry Drew said of the recent failures against the Sixers. “That is why part of our pre-game talk was the fact that this team, for the last six games, has owned us. We need to step up to the challenge. We need to respond. After getting off to a slow start, we responded very well.” The Hawks (34-26) avoided matching a season-high four-game slide. They avenged a 19-point loss to the Sixers in Philadelphia on Dec. 21.
• Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: Cavaliers coach Byron Scott has devised a plan to keep the bug that has ravaged his team from being even more contagious. "We'll wear gloves and surgical masks," he joked. Cavs center Tyler Zeller returned to the starting lineup for the Utah game on Wednesday. Zeller and shooting guard Dion Waiters missed Monday's game and spent some time in the hospital over the weekend with flu-like symptoms. They were throwing up and had extreme pain in their stomachs. Guard Daniel Gibson was added to the list on Wednesday. Waiters and Gibson were told to stay home and didn't play vs. the Jazz. Scott said Waiters had a doctor's visit on Wednesday. The 7-foot, 250-pound Zeller returned to practice on Tuesday. "We didn't do a ton as far as practice-wise, but I was exhausted," he said. "I was trying to get my energy back up."
• Ray Richardson of the Star Tribune: Timberwolves forward Kevin Love has a meeting scheduled in New York on Wednesday, March 13, to meet with the doctor that performed the Jan. 15 surgery on his right hand. Love said the meeting with Dr. Michelle Carson could determine when he might be able to return to the lineup. "We'll pick a game or two that's right for me to come back," Love said before the Wolves' game Wednesday night, March 6, against the Washington Wizards at Target Center. "Until I see what the doctor says, I don't know." Love was projected to miss eight to 10 weeks after refracturing the third and fourth metacarpal bones in his right hand Jan. 3 at Denver. … Love said his recovery is on schedule and that he hopes to play again before the end of the month.
• Zach Buchanan of The Arizona Republic: The ink is barely dry on the trade that sent guard Sebastian Telfair to the Raptors two weeks ago, and Telfair already was back at US Airways Center facing his old team. Except this time, it felt different than other reunions he’s had. “Going back to Boston, Minnesota and Portland, there were more butterflies,” Telfair said. “I was a little more anxious and amped about it. I’m pumped for this game, but I don’t have the butterflies and I’m a little nervous about that, for whatever reason.” Late in his tenure with the Suns, Telfair had dropped out of the rotation as Phoenix sought to get extended looks at rookies Kendall Marshall and Diante Garrett. If Telfair thought the move to Toronto would open more playing time, it hasn’t happened in the six games since. Telfair has received just seven minutes of playing time in that span, recording four fouls and nothing else in a loss to Cleveland on Feb.27, although the 27-year-old said he expected to get extended minutes against his former squad.
• Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman: Ben Alamar once worked for the Thunder as a analytics consultant. Analytics is the discovery and communication of meaningful patterns of data. Simply put in sports, analytics is the deep study of statistics. Now Alamar is a professor of management at Menlo College in California, and he has written a book that soon will be available: Sports Analytics: A Guide for Coaches, Managers and Other Decision Makers. The book should be a fabulous peek behind the Thunder veil. Sam Presti’s secretive organization is wondrously successful but maddeningly frustrating for followers of the team who want to learn more about how and why decisions are made. Presti seldom speaks in detail, and his lieutenants never speak at all. But last week, Alamar spoke at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston, and he sat down for an interview with Grantland’s Zach Lowe, which you can view here. It’s a fascinating look at some inside Thunder decisions.

• Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: Former Magic PF Ryan Anderson misses Dwight Howard, too, although he's still thriving without him. There's just a greater degree of difficulty. Anderson came into Monday's night's game against his former club averaging 16.8 points per game. His numbers mirror last season in Orlando: 16.1 ppg. Last season's most improved player in the NBA has continued lighting it up from the outside, shooting 39.4 percent from 3-point land. "My shots are a lot more difficult now. I've had to adjust," Anderson said, sitting by his locker room before tip-off. Anderson is getting his shots off screens, double-teams and in transition, largely thanks to Hornets point guard Greivis Vasquez. Anderson played off Howard in Orlando, saying he'd get shots in Orlando off "Dwight double-teams and Dwight kick-outs. "My situation was made easy because of Dwight … Greivis has done a good job. A lot of my open shots come from him." Anderson was delivered to New Orleans in a sign-and-trade last summer, the Magic unwilling to match the Hornets' four-year, $9-million offer, largely because the trade of Howard triggered a rebuild. After what happened to him with the Magic under new management, Anderson said he wasn't surprised the Magic dealt J.J. Redick before the deadline. "It's business. It's a different game now," he said. "I knew that from last year."
• John Reid of The Times-Picayune: Monday night's gut-wrenching defeat spoiled what otherwise was a successful return Anthony Davis, who came back Monday after missing two games with a bone bruise. Davis scored 17 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and had four blocks. Although he wore a protective sleeve over his left shoulder, Davis had two of his team’s eight blocks before halftime. “We’re a defensive team and we can’t allow ourselves to fall back like that, especially when we had the game in our hands and momentum going our way,’’ Davis said. ``We have to guard the ball and not over help. We over help a lot.’’
• Candace Buckner of The Columbian: Forget about their ostensibly posh lifestyles for a second, and that their bank account statements read like social security numbers. There's only one true reason why compared to your career, professional athletes have way better jobs. They get to celebrate. They can express their emotions and show unbridled joy during their 9-to-5s. We can't. ... Take for instance Trail Blazer rookie Meyers Leonard. Last week he faced some criticism. His offense? The 7-foot-1 Leonard dunked over Denver's slow-as-maple syrup Andre Miller and acted as if Oprah had just given him a car. Leonard screamed; the excitement coursing through his body like electricity from his tippy toes to his reddened face. He pounded his chest and flexed as the clamor from the crazies in the Rose Garden washed over him. Then, Leonard spread his arms from his sides, held out his palms and stared down Miller, who had engaged him in not-so-pleasant trash talk earlier in the game. But a couple days later Terry Stotts had a message for his rookie center: Chill out, son. … Wesley Matthews salutes his threes. Will Barton and Nolan Smith prance about during pregame introductions. Leonard closes his eyes and shrieks. These guys don't push papers for a living. They work in a highly-emotive environment among the most skilled employees in their profession and passionate reactions happen every time they punch the clock. Leonard, a demonstrative young man anyway, sometimes gets carried away while in the workplace. But fans who spend their hard-earned money and pay the high price of admission for sports entertainment should demand to see revelries, not robots.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: Charlotte Bobcats power forward Tyrus Thomas was told not to accompany the team on its four-game West Coast trip by team management. Bobcats president of basketball operations Rod Higgins said Monday that the front office felt Thomas’s time would be better spent in Charlotte, doing some physical rehabilitation and individual on-court work, rather than on the road with his team. Thomas, the Bobcats’ second-highest paid player this season at $8 million, has fallen out of the rotation entirely of late. Monday’s road game in Portland was the 10th straight game that Thomas was designated as inactive and the 12th-straight game in which he did not play. When the Bobcats acquired another power forward, Josh McRoberts, at the trade deadline, McRoberts was activated for his first game before he had participated in a Bobcats practice or shootaround.
• Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post: Back at the Pepsi Center, where the home wins come with the simplicity of a second-grade math equation, the Nuggets were back at it. Running, dunking, blocking shots — and running some more. Their success level depends on pace, and they kept it fast in a 104-88 win over Atlanta on Monday night. To say the Nuggets are dominant at home right now certainly is an understatement. They are a smash success at high altitude, pushing their home record to 26-3 this season. They've won a fraction under 90 percent of their home games, and if that continues to be the case, the Nuggets will finish with 38 wins, not only the best home mark in the George Karl coaching era, but the most home wins in team history.
• Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Playing short-handed the Hawks fell behind early to the Nuggets and could never fight all the way back. The result was a 104-88 loss Monday night at the Pepsi Center. The Hawks lost for the third straight time to end the season-long trip after starting with three victories. They settled for a .500 road trip that began with so much promise. … The Hawks played with just 10 players as guards Kyle Korver (toe strain) and DeShawn Stevenson (back-to-back games) and center Zaza Pachulia (sore right Achilles) were all out. Rookie Mike Scott was on a D-League assignment. To make matters worse, Jeff Teague (left ankle sprain) and Ivan Johnson (dislocated left middle finger) missed some time in the first-half but returned. … Josh Smith entered the game needing nine points to reach the 10,000-point mark for his career. He surpassed the milestone with a second-quarter layup, on which he was fouled. Smith became the 24th player in NBA history to record 10,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, 2,000 assists and 1,000 blocks. Smith was given the game ball following the game, a gift he needed to be told of its significance.
• Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle: Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson could feel the urgency building as he sat helplessly on the bench with foul trouble for the final nine minutes of the third quarter and Toronto built a seven-point lead Monday night. When head coach Mark Jackson unleashed Thompson at the start of the fourth quarter, he took out that urgency on the Raptors. Thompson scored eight points during a 10-2 run that turned around the game and might have turned around the Warriors' season as the stretch propelled them to a desperately needed 125-118 victory in front of the 17th consecutive sellout crowd out at Oracle Arena. "I thought there was a sense of desperation," said Warriors power forward David Lee, who had 29 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for his NBA-best 40th double-double. "If we lose this game, it's a big hit to us."
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: One of the circumstances to take into account is that the current core group — Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas — are fully expected to be together next year and the future of Andrea Bargnani is clouded at best. That’s one reason why Lowry expects things not to change too much in the final seven weeks of the season. “(It’s) getting the chemistry together, getting JV (Valancuinas) more minutes with me, DeMar and Rudy on the floor at the same time . . . get on the same page to look forward to every game we have left,” he said. … Coach Dwane Casey is in no way giving up on the season (“We’re still mathematically in the hunt and I’m not giving up until the Fat Lady sings and she’s not singing yet,” he said Monday morning) but he’s enough of a realist to know what needs to be done. … But that’s the key. The worst thing Casey can do is let players stay on the court who don’t deserve it, the veterans will notice and it would be easy for them to get more discouraged. And the fact is, whatever the standings say, there’s no way the players give up until the arithmetic says they’re done.
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: It was another wild night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, another overtime thriller. And the Milwaukee Bucks won their fourth in a row and second straight overtime game as they outlasted the Utah Jazz, 109-108, behind Monta Ellis' 34 points and Brandon Jennings' 20 points and 17 assists. And how about J.J. Redick? All the shooting guard did was score eight of the Bucks' 10 points in overtime and drill a pair of clutch three-pointers to finally knock out the relentless Jazz. "The guy's a great shooter," Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. "The thing with J.J., when he shoots the ball, you expect it to go in. So when it doesn't go in, it's like, 'Aw, a big letdown.' “
• Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune: Al Jefferson watched happily as the Jazz point guard made his return to full-contact practices on Sunday, one day shy of two months since undergoing surgery to repair torn ligaments in his thumb. Mo Williams said Monday at the Jazz’s shootaround in Milwaukee that he could return to games as early as Wednesday, when the Jazz play at Cleveland, where he played from 2008 to 2011. "We’ll see," Williams said. "We’ll see. That would be great to play in front of those fans." The 30-year-old point guard had two pins removed from his thumb on Feb. 13, and his rehabilitation began in earnest after the All-Star Break, and if Jefferson were the final judge, Williams would be cleared to play. "He said he was a little winded," Jefferson said. "I told him I couldn’t tell." But the Jazz are being cautious with the veteran. … Corbin said he has not yet decided how to integrate Williams back with the Jazz, whether he would start right away or come off the bench to ease back into his leadership role.
• Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Miami Heat guard Ray Allen had simple words to describe the altercation between he and J.J. Barea during Monday night’s game. “It just came out nowhere,” Allen said. That was Allen’s explanation for Barea’s play. It also could be used to describe Allen’s uncharacteristic involvement in a scuffle. Allen and Barea got into a near skirmish in the Heat’s 97-81 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves, a moment that surprised just about everyone. The mild-mannered Allen has rarely got into any type of altercation throughout his 17-year career. “It’s uncalled for,” Allen said. “I’ve managed to keep a level head throughout my career. You have your moments where things get heated. When you come down from it, you can say, `That was my fault. I was in a bad situation. I was really frustrated.’ But even in that situation, I wasn’t frustrated. It was just bad judgment, I thought from the other side.” Allen and Barea almost cleared the benches when they nearly got into it with 8 minutes, 9 seconds left in the game. Allen said he was responding to Barea tackling him on a drive. Barea claims he was retaliating to an elbow thrown by Allen earlier. “There was a play where he knocked the ball away and I got it back,” Allen said. “Then he just leveled me. I thought it was uncalled for. There is no place for that in the game."
• Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune: The Wolves must decide Nikola Pekovic’s value and whether the bruising center is worth $12 to $14 million annually. They must figure out what to do with former No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams. And they likely will own another Top-10 pick in the upcoming draft. Can the team really afford to let David Kahn oversee those decisions? … Kahn’s contract expires after the season, and owner Glen Taylor has offered no public indication of his intentions. Taylor has a track record of showing loyalty to coaches and executives, and he might even sympathize with Kahn being treated as a human punching bag since he’s been in that position, too. But giving Kahn one more chance would be bad business and dangerous to the future of this organization. The Wolves need a smart basketball man sitting in that chair. Someone who brings credibility and likability and an ability to evaluate personnel with a keen eye. Someone everyone believes in — coaches, players, fans and team employees. Basically, they need a front-office version of Adelman. … Taylor picked up Kahn’s contract option last spring because he liked the roster that he assembled and the fact he attracted Adelman to coach it. Injuries stunted this team’s development and ruined another promising season. That’s not Kahn’s fault necessarily, but the focus should be on the future and what’s best for the organization. Big decisions loom this offseason, and the roster could get reshaped again. Kahn had his turn. Now the Wolves must entrust someone else to run the operation.
• Howard Beck of The New York Times: Carmelo Anthony’s right knee buckled early in the second quarter, and he headed to the locker room as the Knicks drew a collective gasp. Anthony did not return, but the Knicks collected themselves, erased a 22-point deficit and rode Amar’e Stoudemire’s hot hand to a face-saving 102-97 victory. It was an impressive win under the circumstances, and it helped ease the sting of Sunday’s loss to Miami and the sight of Anthony limping away. “It’s a big win for sure, without a doubt,” Raymond Felton said. “It just shows what type of team we have.” Stoudemire stepped into the void left by Anthony, scoring 22 points in 32 minutes off the bench. He was joined by three other Knicks in double figures, all off the bench: J. R. Smith (18 points), Steve Novak (15 points) and Jason Kidd (12 points), who continued his resurgence. Now the concern turns to Anthony’s knee. The team offered no specifics about the injury, and no tests were planned as of Monday night. Anthony is scheduled to be re-evaluated on Tuesday in Detroit. The Knicks (36-21) play the Pistons on Wednesday.
• Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal: Kyrie Irving returned Monday after missing three games with a hyperextended right knee, but said if it was the playoffs or important games near the end of the season, he could’ve played through the injury. “I landed awkwardly. It was just a deep bruise,” Irving said. “When I was playing in Orlando and Miami I could feel it, but I was obviously just trying to play through it. It was really limiting my ability to go to the basket and have that confidence in getting there and jumping off my right leg. I just needed a few days of rest.” Irving said he’s not 100 percent, but he’s close. He did not wear a brace or protective sleeve on the knee and no one expected his minutes to be limited, although Scott said he’d be monitoring Irving closely. After working straight through All-Star weekend, the six days off served as much needed rest for his entire body and not just his knee. “I guess it came at the right time,” Irving said. “I didn’t really ask for it. It just happened, but I got a little rest.”