NBA Capsules: Boozer, Jazz rebound in 113-99 win over Spurs

SALT LAKE CITY — The boos that the Utah Jazz heard early quickly turned to cheers of "Booz!"

Carlos Boozer and the Utah Jazz finally put on a show worth rooting for, beating the San Antonio Spurs 113-99 on Thursday night.

The Jazz ended a two-game losing skid and undid a little of the damage done in an embarrassing loss two nights before.

"We played a lot harder," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "I was proud of the way we played. Everyone was involved, trying to help each other and give us chances to win."

Boozer, who had been struggling, finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds and Deron Williams also scored 27 and added nine assists in Utah's first win over San Antonio since April 2008.

Andrei Kirilenko added 12 points and six assists and rookie Wesley Matthews scored a career-high 12 points for Utah, which improved to 2-3.

Mehmet Okur and Ronnie Brewer scored 10 apiece as all five Utah starters scored in double figures.

"Everybody was active, especially from the defensive end," Okur said. "From the first second until the 48th (minute) everybody was active. That's the way we've got to play every night."

The Jazz shot over 55 percent in the first half and cooled off only slightly in the second, going 19 for 38 in the final two periods.

"We've got to finish off games like we did tonight," said Boozer, who finished 12 for 20 from the floor. "We needed to play a full 48 minutes of basketball and that's what we got tonight. Prior to this game, we hadn't done that."

Tim Duncan had 15 points and 13 rebounds and Tony Parker had 21 points, but scored just four in the second half as the Spurs couldn't overcome the Jazz's shooting.

DuJuan Blair scored 14 and Manu Ginobili had 11 points for the Spurs, who gave up a season-high 60 points in the first half.

"We've got a lot of work to do to become a good defensive team and Utah obviously took advantage of that tonight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They are always an aggressive club and they do a great job of fighting for 48 minutes."

The Jazz were coming off a devastating loss at Dallas on Tuesday, when they blew a 16-point lead and allowed the Mavericks to come back and win with a 44-point fourth quarter.

Utah smothered any comeback attempts the Spurs had and ended a four-game skid to San Antonio.

"We just did a good job of executing tonight," said Williams, who made 11 of 19 shots. "We stayed within our offense. We got good shots and we got stops when we needed them."

Utah was up by 10 at halftime and only let the Spurs get as close as eight before pulling away and protecting the big lead this time.

Boozer was shooting just 35 percent entering the game and was booed when he missed his first shot early in the first quarter, but quickly won back the fans with a couple of hustle plays. Boozer tied up Duncan and forced two jump balls in the first quarter, then carried Utah with his offense.

Boozer also had two steals, both times swatting the ball away from Duncan in the lane and had three assists and two blocks.

"They got the momentum going early on and got rewarded for their physical play," Duncan said. "We knew it would be that kind of game."

The Jazz led 93-80 after three and survived a brief lull before pulling away again.

Duncan got San Antonio back to 97-86 on a putback, but Paul Millsap answered with a layup and Boozer hit a shot to put Utah back up 103-88. After Michael Finley went 1 for 2 from the line for the Spurs, Boozer stripped the ball from Duncan to start a fast break, which Matthews ended with a layup to put the Jazz up by 16.

NOTES: The Spurs hadn't played since beating Sacramento 113-94 on Saturday. ... The Jazz outrebounded the Spurs 41-36. ... The Jazz hadn't beaten the Spurs since winning 90-64 on April 4, 2008, in Salt Lake City. ... Matthews' previous career high was eight points. ... The Jazz hadn't scored 100 or more points in a win over the Spurs since February 1999.

Lieberman gets chance to coach the men

DALLAS — The first woman to play pro basketball with guys is now going to coach them.

Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman was introduced Thursday as the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks’ affiliate in the NBA Development League, which will tip off in November 2010.

The D-League team is partially owned by Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks’ president of basketball operations. Hiring Lieberman was his idea, and he’s confident young men won’t have a problem taking orders from a woman — at least, not this woman.

"She’s got the skins, the experience — she knows what she’s doing — so I certainly hope that we’re well beyond those issues," Nelson said. "Besides, if you can’t respect authority, no matter what form or color it comes in, I don’t want you on my team."

Lieberman has been a basketball pioneer since she was 17 and made the U.S. Olympic team for the first women’s tournament, at the 1976 Montreal Games. She starred at Old Dominion and in various women’s pro leagues, then in 1986 played for the Springfield Fame of the United States Basketball League. When the WNBA started, she returned as a player, and later was a coach and general manager. She returned briefly as a player in July 2008, at age 50.

Kobe Bryant later told her that he and his daughters were watching during her latest comeback. He also asked, "Why would you put your reputation on the line like that?" She told him she did it because she had no fear — and that’s exactly why she’s taking on this challenge.

"I know how these guys feel," she said. "I played in the minor leagues. I’m ultimately connected to that part of development in a player’s life."

She’s also proud to break another gender barrier, one she hopes "could be the last barrier."

"I kind of look at President Obama," she said. "Everybody knows it’s historical because he’s a man of color. But at the end of the day, regardless of his race, creed, color or gender, he has to be president. Everybody knows I’m a woman, but at the end of the day, regardless of my race, creed, color or gender, I have to win basketball games.

"In 1986, my goal was not to be a girl playing in a men’s league, it was to be a player in a men’s league," she added. "In 2010, I don’t want to be a woman who is coaching men, I want to be a coach who is coaching."

NBA commissioner David Stern, a strong supporter of the development league and women’s basketball, called the hiring "great news for all."

"This is wonderful for the NBA D-League," Stern said. "A basketball pioneer and Hall of Famer continues her journey."

While the hiring is the most notable in D-League history, it’s no publicity stunt. Lieberman has lived in the Dallas area for 28 years and happens to live about 3 miles from the new D-League team’s gym in Frisco, a north suburb. She’s run summer camps for girls and boys since 1983, so long that she’s now teaching the children of some former pupils.

Her involvement on every level of basketball, along with the obvious marketing benefit, is part of why Nelson calls the hiring "a no-brainer."

"What she’s done on a grass-roots level for basketball around here is second-to-none, and her experience can rival anybody’s in basketball, from Olympics to professional to being in the Hall of Fame," Nelson said. "That, and the D-League is all about dreaming coming true, providing opportunities."

Staying close to home is especially important to Lieberman because her son, T.J., is 15 and she wants to keep watching him play basketball.

"When I told him I was going to do this, he was so excited," she said. "That was so different from when I came back last summer. He was like, ‘Ma, come on.’ But then the night I played, kids were blowing up his cell phone and he’s like, ‘Dude! I’m here with her! We’re making history!"’

The Mavericks will loan several players from their roster to the Frisco club and obviously will have input on other signees. Lieberman said she would like to watch Mavs coach Rick Carlisle so she can run the same drills and use similar technical terms to make the transition between the teams easier on all the players.

Longtime NBA coach Del Harris will be the team’s general manager. Former slam dunk champion Spud Webb, who is from the area, will be president of basketball operations. The team has yet to be officially named.

-- Jaime Aron

Garnett is fully moved on from Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Garnett's old home doesn't feel like home anymore.

On his most recent return to Target Center — he led Boston to a 92-90 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night — Garnett was cheered wildly by the crowd, just like in the old days.

He delivered an all-around performance that was critical to victory, just like in the old days.

But as he looked around in his third trip to Minnesota since the Timberwolves traded him to the Celtics in 2007 — at the franchise he helped put on the map and the arena he practically helped build — it has never felt more foreign to him.

Almost everyone is gone from the KG era in Minnesota. Not one teammate remains from his final year in 2006-07. The architect — Kevin McHale, who drafted Garnett straight out of high school in 1995 — was ushered out this summer by owner Glen Taylor and new president of basketball operations David Kahn.

Kahn hired Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis to be the coach and made more than 20 offseason trades and roster moves to change the face of a wilting franchise.

Kahn's ambitious remodel has rendered the team, and the building, unrecognizable to the only star this franchise has ever had. He finally found a shred of familiarity in pregame warmups when he glanced toward the rafters to see the big No. 2 jersey still hanging in honor of his friend and former teammate Malik Sealy, who was killed in a car accident in 2000.

"The only thing that's (from the) past that I can take a glimpse of is the Malik banner up there. I took a minute to just look at it," Garnett said. "But when it comes to the building, so many different changes here, it's not even the same tunnel. So there's so many different changes that I can't really relate to. So there's no need to dig into that part of it. Faces are different in the crowd."

For better or worse, Garnett has always been a fiercely loyal person. When the Timberwolves decided to trade him after 12 seasons, there was a part of him that was deeply hurt to leave the city where he grew from a skinny 18-year-old boy into a man.

But all the changes since have made it much easier for Garnett to move on.

"I just try to embrace that and go forward and apply the things I've learned through my past to my future and move on," said Garnett after scoring 12 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and coming up with a big defensive stop to help the Celtics (6-0) stay undefeated.

The only significant franchise connection to Garnett that remains is Fred Hoiberg, a teammate of Garnett's who is now the vice president of basketball operations.

"He's corporate now," Garnett quipped.

The Timberwolves have moved on as well. They are one of the youngest teams in the league, with a bright future ahead of them thanks to abundant cap room, a bevy of draft picks and a talented young core featuring Al Jefferson, Kevin Love and Jonny Flynn.

"Yeah, that's old," Jefferson said of Garnett's influence here. "Move on from that."

In the end, Garnett got the best of his old team once more, improving to 5-0 against the Wolves and leaving knowing full well that the Minnesota chapter of his life is closed for good.

"I think with situations, you need to embrace them and embrace them fully, and look forward to them," Garnett said. "The past is the past. You enjoy what happened in the past and you look forward to what's in your future."

-- Jon Krawczynski

Knicks set for LeBron’s only visit this season

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — LeBron James is coming to town, and New York is throwing a parade.

A little early to start the recruiting pitch, isn’t it?

Actually, the parade is for the Yankees, but James won’t mind. He’s a huge fan of the World Series champions.

Besides, Broadway is all his after that.

The Cleveland Cavaliers visit Madison Square Garden on Friday night, James’ only chance this season to put on a show at the arena he adores.

Watch out Knicks.

"He’ll be glowing. He’ll be ready," said New York guard Larry Hughes, a former Cleveland teammate who keeps in touch with James. "He may not say he’s ready, but he’ll be ready to perform."

James seems to do something spectacular whenever he plays in New York. Last time it was a triple-double — for a couple of days, anyway.

He lost one of the rebounds after a video review but still scored 52 points, joining Michael Jordan as the only visiting players with multiple 50-point games at the present building.

This season’s NBA schedule sends James to Madison Square Garden only once.

Knicks fans hope it’s the last time he plays there as a visitor.

James can become a free agent on July 1 and the Knicks have cleared enough cap space to offer him a maximum salary contract. He’s never said he wants to leave Cleveland, but he’s never ruled out coming to New York, either, so his future will be hotly debated until then.

Friday’s itinerary figures to feature 48 minutes of basketball and at least as much talk about free agency. James can tempt the fans, torture the Knicks and tease the media. And as usual, everyone will hang on his every word, hoping he drops some hints about his plans.

"Guarantee you first time he comes here, if he goes down the corner and has a bagel and says that was good, headline’s going to say, ‘Hey, LeBron loves New York food,"’ TNT studio host Ernie Johnson said last week.

Larry Bird, Charles Barkley and commissioner David Stern are among the NBA heavyweights who have said they hope James remains in Ohio, where he shot to stardom as an Akron schoolboy before turning the formerly losing franchise down the road into a powerhouse.

Others think he won’t be able to resist New York, where he can make the Knicks relevant again on the court while making millions more off it in a much bigger market.

Kenny Smith agreed with Barkley, his TNT partner, that it would be nice to see James stay home. He isn’t sure that will be the case, though.

"That’s a great story, but obviously that story might not play out," Smith said. "If it was going to play out, I think it would have played out already. I think we would have known last year what’s going on. I think he’s really entertaining moving. He’s not a sentimentalist like we are right now."

James could refuse to talk about it, but he seems to enjoy the flirtation, meeting the media before games in New York when many superstars prefer to wait in the restricted trainer’s room during pregame availability. He always makes sure to leave New Yorkers hope, such as last season when he said, "You have to stay open-minded if you’re a Knicks fan."

Hughes said the Knicks get a kick out of it, too.

"It could be anything. If we have a bad meal on the plane, ‘Hey, meals would be better if ‘Bron was here.’ It’s things like that," he said. "We have to have fun with it."

Friday is probably the hapless Knicks’ most anticipated game of the season, their first nationally televised one at home since March 19, 2006. They risk being embarrassed in front of ESPN’s audience if James is as good as he’s been in recent visits.

He had 50 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in his last 2007-08 trip, then finished with 52 points and 11 assists last February. James scored only 26 in the first matchup last season, but that was only because he sat out the fourth quarter of a blowout.

James averages 30.1 points at the Garden, just slightly behind Kobe Bryant’s 30.5 for most by an active player, according to STATS LLC.

"I don’t want to be cute or flippant, but there’s a lot of arenas that he goes into that he has big games," Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. "So we notice it because we’re here, but I’m sure if you’re in Sacramento, you go, ‘Man, every time he comes in here he’s killing us."’

And if James does it again Friday, Knicks fans will cheer him like he’s one of their own.

They hope someday he will be.

-- Brian Mahoney

Kings F Nocioni arrested on suspicion of DUI

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Kings forward Andres Nocioni was arrested early Thursday on suspicion of drunk driving.

"I want to apologize to the Kings organization, my teammates, my coaches, the fans, the city of Sacramento and my family," Nocioni said in a statement. "Drinking and driving is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. I made a mistake and I’m very sorry for my lapse in judgment."

Nocioni was booked into the Sacramento County jail at 3:26 a.m. PST Thursday and released later in the day.

Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong said Nocioni was pulled over around 2 a.m. in downtown Sacramento when an officer noticed his car weaving. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol and conducted a field test before booking Nocioni on suspicion of driving under the influence.

The team said it was disappointed in Nocioni’s "poor judgment" and would wait for the league to decide on potential discipline.

"He has apologized to the organization and his teammates," president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said. "We will wait for the outcome of the judicial process and the NBA’s decision on potential fines and or suspension. This experience now becomes a life lesson learned the hard way."

The arrest came hours after the Kings lost a home game to the Atlanta Hawks, 113-105, on Wednesday night. Nocioni had 14 points and six rebounds in the game. He is averaging 9.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game this season.

On Thursday, the Kings also placed swingman Desmond Mason on waivers. Mason averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game this season.

Kings G Martin has injured left wrist

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings say leading scorer Kevin Martin has a hairline fracture in his left wrist.

An MRI taken Thursday revealed a non displaced hairline fracture of the navicular bone in Martin’s left wrist. The team says treatment options are currently being evaluated.

Martin is averaging 30.6 points a game for the Kings, who have lost four of five games to open the season. Sacramento was an NBA-worst 17-65 last season.

No penalties for Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo

NEW YORK — The NBA will not penalize Chris Paul or Rajon Rondo for an incident between them after a recent game in Boston.

Paul pursued Rondo toward the Celtics’ locker room and was blocked by Boston assistant coaches after the Celtics’ 97-87 victory over New Orleans on Sunday night. The point guards had been assessed matching technical fouls in the second quarter after they got tangled up under the basket.

League spokesman Tim Frank also says Thursday the league won’t take action against Paul from a game at New York on Monday. Knicks forward Al Harrington came up with a loose ball after a Hornets turnover with about 5½ minutes left. Paul dove on top of him and made contact with Harrington’s head.

WNBA

Minnesota Lynx get 1st pick in WNBA draft

NEW YORK — The Minnesota Lynx will have the top pick in next year’s WNBA draft.

The Sacramento Monarchs, who finished with a league-low 12 wins this year, received the second pick in the draft lottery Thursday, followed by the Connecticut Sun, the Lynx again with the fourth pick, and the Chicago Sky.

Minnesota has two lottery picks because it received New York’s first-round selection in a three-team trade on May 5 that also involved Los Angeles. The No. 1 pick ended up being the one the Lynx got from the Liberty.

The remaining draft order is San Antonio, Washington, Tulsa, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Seattle, Indiana and the Sparks round out the final first-round picks in the 13-team draft.

The draft date has not been announced.

Elsewhere

U.S. teen tries to adjust to Israeli pro basketball

HAIFA, Israel — A few months ago, Jeremy Tyler was among the top prospects in American high school basketball, widely seen as a future first-round NBA draft pick.

These days, the 18-year-old center spends most of his time languishing on the bench, an inauspicious start to a closely watched basketball experiment.

Tyler, a 6-11 player from San Diego, last summer became the first American to skip his senior year of high school to turn pro. Too young to play in the NBA until 2011, Tyler looked overseas and signed a one-year, $140,000 deal with Maccabi Haifa, an up-and-coming team in Israel’s top division.

Two games into the season, Tyler is very much a work in progress. He’s averaging just more than seven minutes a game and has scored all of one point. He is already is beginning to confront questions about whether he should have stayed in school.

"I only make history if I succeed. I didn’t come here to fail," Tyler, sounding both frustrated and determined, said after playing a scoreless 4½ minutes in a Haifa victory this week.

Tyler had complained he was bored with high school competition. He now acknowledges a difficult adjustment. No longer the big man on campus, he is just another player on a professional roster, living on his own in a foreign land. There is little socializing with his teammates — grown men, many with families, all trying to carve out professional careers of their own.

Weeks after his arrival, Tyler got a rude introduction to Israeli society when a neighbor complained that he was listening to loud music on Yom Kippur — a major faux pas on the most solemn day of the Jewish calendar. Tyler said he didn’t mean to offend, but his gaffe received heavy coverage on Israeli sports pages.

Since then, he has kept a low profile. Tyler said he stays busy with by putting himself through tough workouts and by studying for his high school equivalence degree. Periodic visits by his girlfriend, parents and agent have helped with the transition. Still, he has no regrets about his decision.

"You got to be a man about the situation, you know. You made a decision, stick with it," he said. "Sometimes, of course, being in a country that I’ve never been in before, that I’m not familiar with, can be extremely hard."

As difficult as life can be off the court, Tyler is far more concerned about his performance as a player. In Israel’s pro league, which is full of former U.S. college stars and top European talent, Tyler is playing against tougher competition. Now, the player who averaged nearly 29 points a game last year for his San Diego high school is struggling to get into the game.

"He’s an 18-year-old kid playing in a men’s league. All of the sudden it’s very difficult for him. He’s not the best player on the court for the first time in his life," said Simi Riger, a longtime Israeli basketball analyst who provides color commentary for the Haifa games.

In the country for only a few months, Tyler is facing expectations few others share. His signing helped drive a 10 percent jump in season ticket sales, and his boyish face adorns team posters plastered in downtown Haifa. When Tyler stood to enter this week’s game, the crowd went wild, the excitement palpable every time he touched the ball.

On the court, Tyler showed glimpses of what has made NBA scouts salivate — explosive speed and the deft footwork of a point guard. But at times, he appeared tentative, waiting for rebounds to come his way or wandering around the perimeter. He picked up an offensive foul 10 seconds after entering and missed his only shot.

"The Jeremy you see today is not the Jeremy that I expect to see at the end of the year," team owner Jeffrey Rosen said. "My goal with Jeremy is to make him a better player, for him to be a better player and for him to be an impact at the end of the season. And if Jeremy is impactful at the end of the season, I will be very happy."

One of the biggest factors in Tyler’s success could be his relationship with his coach, Avi Ashkenazi. There have been signs the two do not see eye to eye. Ashkenazi said he simply wants to push Tyler hard to help him reach the next level.

"I think in the middle of the season, we will start seeing good things from him," he said. "But it also depends how tough he will be, if he can manage the situation smart."

For now, Tyler is saying all the right things: He wants to work as hard as possible to develop the skills and maturity of an NBA player. And he’ll do whatever is needed for Haifa to win, even if that means cheering from the bench.

But he also admitted frustration over his diminished role.

"It’s tough going to practice every day, twice a day, working as hard as you can, and once the game comes, you get no love," he said.

Aran Smith, president of NBADraft.net, said the basketball world is closely watching Tyler’s development, particularly after a similar move by Brandon Jennings, a high-school standout who skipped college to play in Italy last year. After struggling overseas, Jennings is off to a fast start as a rookie with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Smith said that, barring a meltdown, Tyler should still be a first-round NBA pick in 2011, though his stock could drop from a lottery pick to the lower end of the draft.

"This will be a real test for him," Smith said in an e-mail. "Will he ‘soldier up’ and rise to the challenge? Or will he run and hide and look for a way out."

-- Josef Federman