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NBA Capsules: Spurs drop slumping 76ers for fifth straight win
Comments 0 | Recommend 0SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs won their fifth straight behind franchise centerpiece Tim Duncan.
The Philadelphia 76ers lost their sixth straight while hounded by speculation that their former star, Allen Iverson, might come back to rescue a deepening dismal start.
Duncan led San Antonio in scoring for the sixth time in eight games with 22 points, and the Spurs beat the Sixers 97-89 on Sunday night to extend their longest winning streak since pulling themselves out of a similar early slump last December.
"We really shouldn't care that much about winning five in a row," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. "It's always good. It helps your confidence, and of course your standings, but we still believe we've got a long way to go."
A far longer road is in front of the Sixers, who dropped to 5-12 and have the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference. But reports that the Sixers are weighing bringing Iverson out of retirement and back to the city where he became an NBA star overshadowed the skid Sunday.
Sixers coach Eddie Jordan acknowledged before the game that Iverson has been discussed but emphasized that talks have been just that and nothing more. After the game, Jordan's availability with reporters abruptly ended after another question about Iverson surfaced.
"It's something that's been out there and it doesn't have any legs except for the media and fans," Jordan said.
Andre Iguodala had 21 points for the Sixers and Willie Green added 17. Philadelphia has lost five straight on the road with three games left on this trip, which continues Monday at Southwest division-leading Dallas.
"We're just searching for one" win, Green said.
Tony Parker and Matt Bonner scored 16 points apiece for San Antonio. The Spurs have been on a roll since a skid of three straight losses dropped them to 4-6, their worst 10-game start in the Duncan era.
The schedule might be helping. Only one of San Antonio's last five wins have come against a team that entered Sunday with a winning record, but the Spurs are about to be tested. San Antonio will play Atlantic division leader Boston on Thursday and Denver, which sits atop the Northwest, on Saturday.
Ginobili played for the first time after missing six games because of a strained left groin and came off the bench to score eight points in 17 minutes.
"We just got to keep improving and be good in April, May, June," Ginobili said. "That's when it counts. We are just building. If it happens that we have won five in a row, that's good."
DeJuan Blair had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and made his most memorable mark with dazzling successive plays on both ends in the second quarter. It began with Blair, hopping below the basket, hitting a bank shot while falling down on his back in the paint.
The 6-foot-7, 270-pound rookie then rumbled down court in time to spike Royal Ivey's layup attempt into the second row, leading a wide-eyed Duncan to spring off the bench and prompting a standing ovation for the quickly emerging fan favorite.
A person with knowledge of the Iverson talks told The Associated Press on Saturday that the Sixers were approached about signing the recently retired guard. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because talks have not been made public.
Iverson's statement this week about ending his NBA career after 13-plus seasons hardly sounded like his mind was made up. Saying there is "a whole lot left in my tank," Iverson said he felt strongly he could still compete "at the highest level."
Iverson spent his first 10 years in Philadelphia and led the Sixers to the NBA finals in 2001. If the Sixers signed him, it wouldn't be for nostalgia: injured starting point guard Lou Williams is expected to miss eight weeks, and 19-year-old rookie Jrue Holiday is starting in his place.
Jordan said before the game that although Iverson has been discussed, the Sixers still want to see if their depth can pull them out of their tailspin.
"I have not been oversaturated with Allen Iverson in my mind or in conversations with our front office," Jordan said. "It's like any other free agent out there. We've talked about a number of people."
NOTES: Sixers F Elton Brand missed his third consecutive game with a sore right hamstring. Jordan said Brand could still wind up playing the final three games of this four-game road swing for Philadelphia. ... San Antonio honored David Robinson after the game by re-unveiling his retired jersey to reflect his new status as a Hall of Famer.
Brooks, Landry power Rockets past Thunder 100-91
OKLAHOMA CITY — Aaron Brooks kept looking to see when Luis Scola was going to come back to the Houston bench. Once the game was finally over, he realized why the Rockets' starting forward never did.
Gouged in the right eye only 22 seconds into the Rockets' 100-91 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night, Scola sported a bandage over his eye in the locker room.
"At first I didn't think it was that bad. I'd seen some blood and I'd seen a cut, but you never know how bad it was. To come in here and he looks like Captain Hook, you kind of feel bad for him," said Brooks, who scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half. "So, I hope he gets back, and we had to pull it out for him."
Scola was hurt on a freak play as the Thunder's Etan Thomas dunked with his right hand, simultaneously smacking Scola in the face with his left.
A trainer came onto the court to help Scola, and he held a towel up to his face as he walked to the locker room. He would end up getting seven stitches on his right eyelid.
Houston's problems soon escalated as Oklahoma City reeled off 10 straight points to take a 20-11 lead, and then Shane Battier and Carl Landry — Scola's replacement — got into foul trouble.
"Late in the second quarter when I realized that (Scola) wasn't on the bench, I realized that he wasn't coming back for the most part" Landry said. "He wasn't on the bench and I was on the bench."
Landry made up for it in the second half, scoring 17 of his 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting. He also had nine of his team-high 10 rebounds after halftime.
"The first half, I was kind of just frustrated because every foul seemed like it was an offensive foul on me," said Landry, who had two of his three first-half fouls on the offensive end. "I was juiced up with a lot of energy, ready to go in the second half. When I got into the game, it seemed like I was playing with a little exhaustion."
The Rockets were already without oft-injured All-Stars Tracy McGrady (knee) and Yao Ming (foot), who have missed the team's first 17 games, when Scola went down early.
"Most of the guys on the team aren't used to that type of adjustment but, hey, they better start because it's a long season and players are going to get hurt," Landry said, referring to all the new players on the Rockets' roster this season.
"Players are going to be out for a while, and you never know when you're number's going to get called. When it does, you've got to be ready."
Kevin Durant scored 25 points to lead Oklahoma City, who had just nine healthy players with starting center Nenad Krstic out with a sore Achilles tendon on his left foot. Russell Westbrook had 20 points and Jeff Green scored 12 for the Thunder, who committed 20 turnovers and went just 1-for-15 from 3-point range.
Trevor Ariza added 17 points and reserve David Andersen had 12 points and eight rebounds for Houston.
The Rockets used a 29-14 advantage on the boards to rally back from a 54-45 halftime deficit. Half of Houston's 46 rebounds came on the offensive end.
"When the ball goes up, you have to make that effort to go after the ball. We can't leak out and we can't give up second-chance opportunities, and that's what killed us," Green said.
Landry hit two free throws with 5:12 remaining to put Houston up 82-80, and Brooks followed with a 3-pointer from the left wing, hitting the deck after he released the ball. The duo combined to score 15 of the Rockets' final 20 points.
Houston won for the 12th straight time in the series and overcame a double-digit deficit in a victory for the third time this season.
After Russell Westbrook's jumper pulled Oklahoma City within a point — 85-84 — Brooks answered by driving past Green for a layup and then nailing a jumper from the left wing to push the lead to five. Both then had misses before Andersen bailed out the Rockets with a putback that made it 91-86.
Landry provided the finishing touch with a two-handed jam after Brooks found him open under the basket. The Rockets went 9-for-10 from the foul line to close it out.
"They just outhustled us," Green said. "They were the first to the ball and made the hustle plays. We didn't get the offensive rebounds that we needed. We didn't get the stops that we needed towards the end."
NOTES: Thomas made his first start for the Thunder in place of Krstic and scored six points in 17 minutes. ... Oklahoma City guards Kyle Weaver (shoulder) and Kevin Ollie (knee) are scheduled for surgery Monday. A timeline for their return will be determined then. ... After the Rockets had closed a 10-point deficit to 37-36, Westbrook kept Oklahoma City in the lead by swatting Jermaine Taylor's shot — right off of teammate Mike Wilks' face. He shook it off while Westbrook raced down the court for a fast-break layup and then completed the three-point play.
-- Jeff Latzke
Rockets' Scola poked in right eye
OKLAHOMA CITY — Houston forward Luis Scola left the Rockets' game at Oklahoma City after being poked in the right eye.
Scola appeared to be bleeding after Oklahoma City's Etan Thomas poked him in the eye with his left hand while dunking with his right hand on the Thunder's opening possession of the game Sunday night.
A trainer came out to assist Scola, and the Argentine player walked to the locker room with a towel covering his face just 22 seconds into the game.
Scola had seven stitches on his eyelid but a team spokesman says his vision was not affected. Scola was not expected to return.
Scola had started all 16 games and was averaging 15.3 points for the Rockets, who are already without All-Stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.
Krstic sidelined by Achilles' injury
OKLAHOMA CITY — Thunder center Nenad Krstic missed Oklahoma City's game Sunday night against the Houston Rockets because of a sore left Achilles' tendon.
Krstic had started all 16 of Oklahoma City's games and was averaging 8.3 points. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Etan Thomas.
Krstic's absence left the Thunder with only nine active players. Guards Kevin Ollie and Kyle Weaver are scheduled for surgery Monday, and forward Nick Collison missed his fourth straight game because of a sore right knee.
Ollie has been out three games with right knee pain, and Weaver missed his second game because of a dislocated shoulder.
0-17: Nets match NBA's worst start to a season
LOS ANGELES — When the New Jersey Nets finally reached an inauspicious NBA record, the Staples Center's public address announcer let the crowd know all about it.
At least he had the tact to wait until the Nets were out of earshot after their 17th straight loss.
The undermanned, undertalented Nets matched the worst start to an NBA season Sunday night, with Kobe Bryant scoring 30 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 106-87 victory.
A few hours after New Jersey fired coach Lawrence Frank, the Nets had little prayer of keeping up with the defending league champions, who won their sixth straight game. Despite apparently playing hard for temporary head coach Tom Barrise, New Jersey fell behind by 27 points in the first half and went into history with yet another whimper.
"I wish I could explain it," said New Jersey guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who only lost 10 games in his three collegiate seasons at Memphis. "There's not really anything good out of this. I try to stay positive, but it's extremely hard to stay positive. All the things going on, it's depressing."
The Nets were in the locker room, shaking their heads and packing for an uncertain trip home, before the crowd was told New Jersey's 0-17 start matched the 1988-89 Miami Heat and the 1999 Los Angeles Clippers in hoops futility.
"You have four-game losing streaks, three-game losing streaks, and you can deal with that," said Barrise, whose tenure might last just one game. "When you go a whole month, you wake up and you feel it. You honestly do feel it."
New Jersey must beat the Dallas Mavericks back home in the East Rutherford swamp on Wednesday night — perhaps while playing for the club's third coach in three games — to avoid sole possession of an embarrassing NBA record.
"I don't want to be associated with it," said Devin Harris, who scored 16 points for the Nets. "That's one record you don't ever want to be a part of."
The NBA's lowest-scoring and worst-shooting team lived up to its dire statistics, managing just 60 points on 38.7-percent shooting in the first three periods before a strong fourth quarter against Los Angeles' reserves. Although New Jersey consistently tried to match up on defense, the Nets don't have a fraction of the Lakers' talent.
"Obviously, we didn't want them to have a chance against us," said Pau Gasol, whose Memphis Grizzlies opened the 2003-04 season 0-13. "We didn't want to fall asleep, or relax and lose."
Gasol had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who cruised to their 12th win in 14 games. Jordan Farmar added 15 points as the Lakers made 13 of their 25 3-point attempts, including five by Bryant and three for Farmar.
Brook Lopez had 26 points and 12 rebounds for New Jersey, which went scoreless for nearly 4½ minutes in the first quarter while Los Angeles posted 13 straight points to build a 27-10 lead.
Bryant's fourth 3-pointer of the first half put Los Angeles up 57-30 shortly before halftime. The Lakers led by 34 midway through the third quarter, and Bryant left the game with 4:14 left in the third.
"You don't wish that on anybody," Bryant said of the Nets' skid. "That's tough."
The Nets didn't wait until returning from their four-game West Coast trip before dumping Frank, the winningest coach in franchise history and the Eastern Conference's longest-tenured coach.
Although eight Nets already have missed multiple games this season with injuries after New Jersey traded star Vince Carter in the offseason, Frank was held responsible for the woeful start, which included three straight double-digit losses earlier on this trip.
Guard Rafer Alston compared the Nets' roster to an awful poker hand, saying Frank "wasn't dealt a royal flush. It's almost like he had a pair of 2's, and he tried to fight."
"The day started off with negative energy," said Douglas-Roberts, who had just five points on 2-of-11 shooting. "A lot of the staff was sad. It was hard to prepare for today's game. ... We're letting this really affect us, but we're not using it as motivation. We're not using it in a good way, and it's showing."
Barrise, Frank's assistant since the start of his tenure in early 2004, could be just a one-game replacement. Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe — who attended the game — and assistant John Loyer are considered the top candidates to replace Frank for the rest of the season.
"We're struggling, and it was a tough day," Barrise said. "You lose your coach at 10 o'clock in the morning — you know, the guys are human. You lose a little bit of that focus. ... It's mentally a tough thing to deal with right now, but they're professionals, and they've been professionals all month long."
Barrise made the most of perhaps his only chance to be an NBA head coach. The former bench boss at Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J., stood for nearly every minute of the game, clapping for his players' successes and stomping his feet in disgust at their many foibles.
"It's a difficult thing," Barrise said. "But we have a great group of guys, and they're working hard at it."
NOTES: Shannon Brown scored six points on his 24th birthday. Farmar turns 23 on Monday. ... Lakers coach Phil Jackson was a New Jersey assistant in the early 1980s when the club lost 15 games in a row. He said New Jersey made him a lucrative offer to be its head coach in 1999.
-- Greg Beacham
Nets fire Lawrence Frank after 0-16 start
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The winless New Jersey Nets fired coach Lawrence Frank on Sunday, a few hours before they attempted to avoid matching the worst start in NBA history.
Assistant Tom Barrise temporarily replaced his friend, coaching the 0-16 Nets against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.
Though Frank's departure had been widely rumored while New Jersey lost every game in the season's first 4½ weeks, many of Frank's players claimed they were shocked when their energetic coach showed up at their morning team meeting in Los Angeles not wearing his Nets gear.
"It's tough, because he was the hardest worker on the team," center Brook Lopez said. "He's so passionate about what he does. It was a rough situation, and he did a great job of not using our injuries as an excuse. He came in every night and had us prepared."
The Nets won't choose a permanent replacement for Frank until after they return from their four-game road trip Monday. Their next game is Wednesday at home against Dallas.
Frank's 225 victories are the most in franchise history, and he had a career .500 record before this disastrous, injury-plagued season. He also was the longest-tenured coach in the Eastern Conference, but his steady work couldn't repair a trade-depleted roster featuring eight players who already have missed multiple games with injuries.
"He wasn't dealt a royal flush," said Rafer Alston, who joined New Jersey in the June trade sending star scorer Vince Carter to Orlando and gutting the Nets' payroll. "It's almost like he had a pair of 2's, and he tried to fight."
Frank, from Teaneck, N.J., replaced Byron Scott in January 2004 and began his career with a 13-game winning streak, the best coaching start in league history. His final losing streak is even longer, just shy of the 17-game skids by the 1988-89 Miami Heat and the 1999 Los Angeles Clippers.
Frank led the Nets to the playoffs in four straight seasons from 2004-07, but New Jersey missed the last two postseasons with identical 34-48 records.
Barrise was a longtime advance scout for the Nets who became an assistant when Frank took over the club. Barrise was a head coach during a three-season stint at Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J., in the early 1990s.
"It's a tough day," Barrise said. "It's a somber day. We've been together 10 years. It's the business we chose, and it happens. We move on. ... I think we've played motivated. I think we were competitive every night. I think what we need is to get healthy. As we get these guys back, it's almost like a whole training camp again."
Barrise said he didn't plan to change the Nets' starting lineup or their game plan in what could be a one-game stint in charge. Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe or assistant John Loyer are considered the top candidates to replace Frank for the rest of the season.
Barrise hadn't even spared much thought for the fact that his head coaching debut was against the mighty Lakers.
"You jump in the deep end, and the sharks are there," Barrise said. "You've got to swim."
The Nets are in several modes of transition into the future, and none of it is conducive to playing good basketball in the present.
The injuries are the most obvious woe, most notably to All-Star guard Devin Harris, who only recently returned from a 10-game absence with a strained groin. New Jersey played some games this fall without four of its projected starters, and Frank sometimes was forced to suit up the minimum eight.
Alston isn't buying those excuses.
"I'm pretty sure ... if they could fire some players, they would," the veteran point guard said. "When you're 0-16, some players have got to go. A coach can't put on that uniform and go out and chase down loose balls. ... I have a lot of respect for Coach Frank, and I thought he did a great job in the situation he had."
Plagued by poor attendance and financial losses while playing at the Meadowlands, the Nets clearly have been looking ahead to a long-anticipated move to Brooklyn. They're also under the shadow of a possible ownership change, with Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov facing a vote by the NBA's owners by the end of next month on his $200 million bid for the club.
But after stars Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson were shipped out in earlier seasons, Carter's departure made it clear New Jersey was focused on clearing more salary cap space than any other team for next summer, likely to be the most interesting free-agent signing period in recent NBA history. Yet the nearly empty cupboard in New Jersey or Brooklyn might not be attractive to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh or others.
"That's probably as little talent as I've seen anybody put on the floor in the long time with everybody hurt," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Yet they were able to fight and stay competitive. (Frank) has done a great job there."
Frank is the second NBA coach fired this season. Scott lost his job in New Orleans shortly after a loss to the Lakers.
-- Gregg Beacham
Sixers coach downplays reports of Iverson comeback
SAN ANTONIO — Allen Iverson is generating plenty of talk about a possible return to the Philadelphia 76ers, but coach Eddie Jordan said Sunday that's all there is to it right now.
"I have not been oversaturated with Allen Iverson in my mind or in conversations with our front office," Jordan said. "It's like any other free agent out there. We've talked about a number of people."
Speaking to reporters before Sunday's game against the Spurs, Jordan acknowledged Iverson has been discussed — a change from comments made hours earlier, when Jordan said after shootaround that he certainly "had not talked to anyone about Allen Iverson."
Jordan earlier said the speculation was "probably more in the media than it actually is." He said before the game Iverson was the most intriguing available free agent, but re-emphasized that the Sixers have not decided to add any players.
Philadelphia arrived in San Antonio on a five-game losing streak, and point guard Lou Williams is expected to be out eight weeks after undergoing jaw surgery.
"We want to see how our depth will work out for us," Jordan said. "We want to bring Elton (Brand) back, and that helps us. We'll go from there."
When Iverson announced his plans to retire earlier this week, his statement hardly sounded like his mind was made up. Saying there is "a whole lot left in my tank," Iverson said he felt strongly he could still compete "at the highest level."
A person with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press on Saturday that the Sixers were approached about signing Iverson, and that team management had internal discussions about bringing Iverson back to the city where he spent 10-plus seasons.
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because talks have not been made public, said Iverson is among the free-agent candidates the Sixers are considering to replace Williams.
Jordan, however, said he doesn't think the Sixers necessarily need to sign anyone.
Jordan said Philadelphia's biggest problem isn't the backcourt but the absence of Brand, who has missed consecutive games with a sore right hamstring. The Sixers entered Sunday's game at 5-11, tied for the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference.
Rookie Jrue Holiday has started at point guard since Williams went out and has played nearly as many minutes the past two games as his first 10. Jordan says Holiday, who the Sixers took with the 17th pick in the draft, has shown plenty of promise.
Brand said players have talked about Iverson, and that he would welcome him to the team.
"We have some young talent, but we need wins," Brand said. "If we were winning, we could kind of test it. But we kind of need to right the ship now, we feel, just for the fans and our own psyche. That may be the issue here."
Iverson has made it clear he doesn't want to come off the bench. He would start over Holiday for now, but it's not clear where Iverson would fit in once Williams returns.
Iverson is a 10-time All-Star and was the NBA MVP in 2001, when he led the Sixers to the NBA Finals. Philadelphia traded him to Denver in 2006 and he played for the Nuggets until early last season, when he was traded to Detroit.
Iverson signed with Memphis this season but played in only three games before taking a leave of absence to attend to personal matters. He was waived after the two sides agreed to part ways.
Andre Iguodala, the Sixers' leading scorer, said his focus is more on getting Philadelphia winning again than Iverson possibly coming aboard.
"He's definitely one of those guys who has proven to be a great scorer in this league and a hard worker," Iguodala said. "We would welcome anyone who come into our situation, whether it would be him or any other guy."
-- Paul J. Weber
N.Y. Sen. pressures NBA to stop Adidas jersey plan
NEW YORK — A U.S. senator from New York doesn't want NBA players taking to the court wearing jerseys made in Asia.
"Basketball is an American game," Sen. Charles Schumer said.
Schumer held a press conference Sunday outside the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue, where he urged the league to intervene and stop adidas from moving production of the NBA's official uniforms to Thailand, or pull out of its contract with the sports apparel giant.
"Adidas' plan is to outsource the jerseys to Thailand and with that, they threw an airball big time," Schumer said.
Saying adidas has broken its contract with an upstate New York company that poured $1 million into the facility, Schumer called on the NBA to end its deal with the jersey maker if it goes ahead with the move from Perry, N.Y.
"Because it's an American sport invented in America, played better in America than anywhere else, the jerseys ought to be made here in America," Schumer said.
Schumer said about 100 jobs are at stake at American Classic Outfitters' factory, where more than half the uniforms worn by Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and other NBA players are manufactured.
"The bottom line is that this outsourcing has gone too far," Schumer said.
Disappointed by the response he got from adidas, Schumer said he spoke Saturday over the phone with NBA commissioner David Stern.
"He said he'd look into it and work with us. He seemed sympathetic, he's a man of his word and I think the league understands how unfair this outsourcing is," Schumer said. "So we hope that the NBA will talk to adidas, get them to change their way, keep the jerseys made here in America, keep the people of Perry employed."
The NBA released a statement after the press conference offering to facilitate a meeting between Schumer and adidas, which it called "the most significant user of U.S. facilities to manufacture sports league apparel."
"The NBA conducts business with more than 200 apparel and consumer products companies in over 210 countries and territories and we do not mandate where they manufacture their products," the statement said. "We do, however, have a strict Code of Conduct that mandates the factory conditions under which adidas and all our licensees must manufacture NBA goods."
Last week, Schumer called on adidas to reverse its decision and continue making the uniforms in the U.S. The senator said he's turning his attention to urging the NBA to intercede after getting a lukewarm response from Germany-based adidas.
Adidas has said its decision to shift production to Thailand was "in line" with the company's strategy of moving production closer to "the source of uniform materials." The company said that it produces uniforms for teams at more than 30 facilities in North America and "will continue to do so."
The company has contracts with two other U.S. companies to make the official NBA jerseys.
Celtics' Allen says leaving ill son was difficult
MIAMI — When Ray Allen left to join the Boston Celtics for their road trip, his ailing son began to cry.
Walker Allen's tears dried, though, when reminded that his father would be playing basketball on television.
"That was a beautiful thing," Ray Allen said.
Thanksgiving was a difficult time for Allen and his family, with his diabetic 2-year-old son in and out of the hospital, even getting brought back in the middle of the night because of vomiting — 3½ hours after leaving the hospital. The Celtics' guard missed practice Saturday, but when the plane took off, Walker Allen's condition had improved enough to allow his father to be with the team.
Not only was Allen in the starting lineup Sunday night when Boston opened a four-game trip in Miami, he scored 11 points and hit a huge 3-pointer with 1:38 left as the Celtics beat the Heat 92-85.
"Our policy is 'family first' and we made that clear," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "If Ray thought that he needed to be home, then he should stay home. That's always. And if he needs to get home, he needs to go home. He knows that. He thought everything was good and that he could come on the trip."
Allen said it was difficult to leave his son.
"He wanted to come with me," Allen said.
Allen learned of his son's diagnosis during the 2008 NBA finals. Less than 48 hours after leaving a Los Angeles hospital with his son and taking a red-eye flight back to Boston, Allen scored 26 points in the Celtics' 131-92 championship-clinching romp over the Lakers for the franchise's 17th NBA title.
This latest spate of hospital visits was not originally related to Walker Allen's blood-sugar level. He vomited repeatedly and was lethargic, Ray Allen said, prompting the first hospital visit. Upon returning home, Walker Allen began getting sick again, this time in his sleep, and his blood-sugar got very low.
"That's what we've been dealing with," Ray Allen said.
But on Saturday, improvement seemed to start. Walker Allen danced a bit when his father turned on some music — "that's one of his favorite things," his father said — and that put Ray Allen's mind more at ease.
"I have four kids," Rivers said. "I don't know how you do it, honestly."
Allen acknowledged it wasn't easy.
"Today was tougher than I expected, thinking and hoping he was OK," Allen said after the game. "I got the word that he was better once I got on the floor. But just knowing what he's having to deal with and me trying to switch the focus it was tough. Teammates carried me through it. That's a beautiful thing."
-- Tim Reynolds
Clippers announcers meet with Haddadi before game
LOS ANGELES — Clippers play-by-play man Ralph Lawler and color analyst Michael Smith met with Grizzlies center Hamed Haddadi before Sunday's game at Staples Center, where they expressed regret for an incident that earned the TV broadcasters a one-game suspension.
It was the first meeting between the teams since Lawler's and Smith's off-the-cuff remarks about the Iranian-born center during the final minutes of the Clippers' 106-91 loss at Memphis on Nov. 18. One offended viewer sent an e-mail to the Fox Sports Prime Ticket network.
"It went really well," Lawler told the Associated Press, about an hour before tipoff. "It was really good to get a chance to shake his hand and look him in the eye. We reached out to him, he reached back, and I feel real good about it."
Before Lawler and Smith spoke with Haddadi in the Grizzlies' dressing room, they had a conversation with his agent and three representatives of the Alliance of Iranian Americans in another room that coach Mike Dunleavy uses for his postgame press conferences.
"He doesn't speak a whole lot of English, so we had his manager translate for us," Lawler added. "He basically indicated that he's seen a number of our shows and thought that some people kind of took what we said out of context. He understood there were no ill intentions and understood our humor."
By sheer coincidence, Sunday was Iranian Heritage day.
"I think it's very fitting," Lawler said. "He said he's got a gift for us that the manager was going to bring to us later, just as a token of the good will that exists. So I couldn't be more pleased. I'm glad to finally put it behind us."
Last Monday, when he and Smith returned to the microphones, Lawler spoke at the top of the broadcast about how much the duo regretted the remarks and the firestorm it created.
"He's totally aware," Lawler said of Haddadi. "He had read the transcript, he had seen the video and was perfectly fine with it."
NBA fines Stoudemire, Chandler for in-game tweets
NEW YORK — The NBA fined Phoenix Suns forward Amare Stoudemire and Charlotte Bobcats forward Tyson Chandler $7,500 each Sunday for posting to their Twitter accounts during games in violation of league rules.
Stoudemire's Twitter feed was updated during the Suns' 126-111 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, and Chandler tweeted a message the same night while the Bobcats were on their way to a 116-81 win over Toronto.
The league also fined Celtics forward Rasheed Wallace $30,000 for publicly criticizing officials following Boston's 116-103 victory over Toronto on Friday night.
Stojakovic excused from Hornets game
NEW ORLEANS — Peja Stojakovic has skipped the New Orleans Hornets' trip to Sacramento for personal reasons.
Team spokesman Dennis Rogers says the Hornets' swingman had to attend to family matters and was out for Sunday night's game against the Kings. It was not immediately clear whether Stojakovic will be able to join New Orleans for Tuesday night's game at the Lakers.
Stojakovic has started nine of the Hornets '16 games this season, averaging 11.6 points and 3.9 rebounds. He has made 39 percent of his 3-point attempts and has been a key contributor as New Orleans won four of five games.
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