NBA Today - March 13
Tue, Mar 13, 2007By Associated Press
Tuesday, March 13
Philadelphia at Atlanta (7 p.m. EDT). The 76ers have won seven straight games. Oddsmakers have listed the 76ers as 1-point favorites and the total is set at 186.
STARS Monday
-Leandro Barbosa, Suns, tied a career high with 32 points to help Phoenix beat Houston 103-82.
-Vince Carter, Nets, scored 30 points to lead New Jersey to a 113-102 win over Memphis that snapped a five-game losing streak.
IT'S OVER
Golden State snapped the Dallas Mavericks' 17-game winning streak, dominating the league leaders throughout a 117-100 victory Monday night. The seventh-longest winning streak in NBA history ended with the Warriors' fourth straight win over the defending Western Conference champions.
NET GAIN
Vince Carter scored 30 points and Mikki Moore added a career-high 24 to help New Jersey beat the league-worst Memphis Grizzlies 113-102 Monday night, snapping a five-game losing streak. The Nets had been 0-4 on a six-game road trip that will end against New Orleans at Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.
EXTENSION
Knicks coach and team president Isiah Thomas received a multiyear contract extension Monday, nine months after he was warned that the team needed to show improvement this season or he'd be out of a job. Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan planned to wait all season before deciding on Thomas' future with the Knicks. But when New York fought through a few recent injuries to move into playoff position, Dolan concluded he no longer needed to wait.
TRIPLE THREAT
Charlotte made 14 3-pointers in its 119-108 win Monday night over Orlando, setting a team record for the young expansion franchise. Derek Anderson made four and Raymond Felton had three.
SPOKESMAN
Former NBA player John Amaechi became the first openly gay male athlete to sign an endorsement deal with a mainstream company. HeadBlade Inc., creators of a popular head-shaving razor, announced Monday it had signed Amaechi to a multiyear deal. Financial terms were undisclosed.
SPEAKING
''The players getting better, the hard work, the heart that they showed, counted to me more than the won-loss record. We wouldn't be sitting here today if we had the same record but the team did not show that it had the heart.'' - Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan, who gave Knicks coach and team president Isiah Thomas a multiyear contract extension Monday
Clippers Sam Cassell is questionable (groin)
Nuggets JR Smith is questionable (knee)
Pacers Jermaine O'Neal is doubtful (knee)
Celtics Ryan Gomes is doubtful, and is not expected to play (ankle)
Celtics Delonte West is probable, and is expected to play (concussion)
Bobcats Brevin Knight suffered a left groin strain during Monday's game, and did not return after only playing 4 minutes. He is now listed as day-to-day.
Pacers Jermaine O'Neal is listed as doubtful (knee), but reports are saying he is unlikely to play in tonight's game.
Nevada head coach Mark Fox expects Kyle Shiloh (hamstring) will play in Nevada's first round game against Creighton.
Alabama's Ronald Steele is probable (knee)
Toledo's Keonta Howell is probable (foot).
Bogut may face disciplinary action for gesture
Tue, Mar 13, 2007
By Associated Press
MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut may face disciplinary action from the NBA after making an obscene gesture toward the crowd near the end of Milwaukee's 108-93 loss to Toronto Monday night.
Bogut, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft, was ejected after committing a flagrant foul against Toronto's Chris Bosh with 49 seconds remaining.
Milwaukee television station WTMJ showed video footage of Bogut making a gesture toward the grandstands as he left the court. Bogut did not talk to reporters after the game.
''We're aware of it,'' NBA vice president of basketball communications Tim Frank said Tuesday. ''We're reviewing it.''
In January, the league fined Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith $25,000 for making an obscene gesture to the crowd after being ejected from a game against the Charlotte Bobcats.
Smith raised both middle fingers as he was about halfway through the tunnel, apparently reacting to two technical fouls and being heckled by fans
Jordan: Bickerstaff will not return as coach
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Bernie Bickerstaff will not return as coach of the Charlotte Bobcats next season, but will be invited to stay with the organization.
Part-owner Michael Jordan said Tuesday that Bickerstaff, who also serves as general manager, is an "integral part" of the franchise. Charlotte is 23-41 and last in the Southeast Division.
"I don't see him distancing himself away," Jordan said. "I feel he's been an important part to getting this franchise to where it is now. It will give me the most pleasure to continue that process until we get to where we have to go."
Bickerstaff, 67-161 in three seasons, said when he was first hired to run the expansion team that he wanted to coach for only two or three years before becoming the full-time general manager. But when Jordan was brought in as a minority owner and given the final say on basketball decisions, Bickerstaff's future was in doubt.
"I want him involved," Jordan said. "We just haven't decided if that's as general manager or president of basketball operations. I see him staying with the organization."
Jordan, in his first meeting with local reporters since June, said he has yet to begin a search for a new coach.