NBA Capsules: Jefferson has 23 points in Spurs' win over Kings

SAN ANTONIO — Manu Ginobili and the San Antonio Spurs were surprised by the visiting Sacramento Kings’ pep.

Richard Jefferson ended his recent slump with 23 points, including a dunk to cap a 14-point Spurs run at the end of the first half, and San Antonio ended a three-game losing streak with a 118-106 victory over Sacramento.

"A team that has come from New Orleans last night should have been more tired than us, but they ran more," said Ginobili, who had 11 fourth-quarter points in his fifth game back after being sidelined five games with a strained groin.

Tony Parker had 18 points and 11 assists for the Spurs, who beat Sacramento for the second time this season and seventh consecutive overall. Ginobili added 20 points, including five in a key late-game run.

Reserve forward Omri Casspi scored 20 points to lead the Kings, who lost their fourth in a row and were playing their second game in two nights on the road.

"(Big plays) just happened a couple of times late in the game," Ginobili said. "It made me feel really good, and it’s something that’s going to happen more often, hopefully."

Jefferson, a heralded offseason acquisition in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, came in averaging 12.8 points per game, and just 7.8 in the Spurs’ previous five games. But he set the tone with a fast-break dunk off an assist from Parker on the Spurs’ first possession.

"We got some buckets in transition and made some plays and for the most part just did things with confidence," Jefferson said. "I’d like to believe that the more I play, the more used to the offense I’m going to get."

Sacramento erased an early 10-point second-period deficit and took its first lead at 44-43 on Spencer Hawes’ three-point play with 6:37 left in the half. The Kings extended their lead to 54-49 on a fast-break layup by former Spur Beno Udrih before San Antonio scored the final 14 points of the half.

"(The Spurs are) struggling a little bit, but I believe they’ll get out it," said Udrih, who finished with 15 points. "We’ll get out of it, too. Start getting better at the end of games; in the fourth quarter, finish the game. Take care of the ball a little better and be more patient. I think the Spurs are a team that we can really learn that from."

Jefferson capped the Spurs’ run and an 18-point first half by rebounding a blocked shot by Antonio McDyess, driving the length of the court and firing down a dunk with four seconds left in the second period.

The Spurs again built double-digit leads early and late in the third quarter, but could not shake the Kings. Udrih and rookie Tyreke Evans combined for 20 points in the period to help keep Sacramento close, and Evans’ driving layup at the buzzer closed the Kings’ deficit to 89-82 entering the final period.

Jefferson opened the fourth quarter by blocking Casspi’s attempt at a layup, then nailing a 3-pointer on the other end.

But with Parker and Tim Duncan resting on the Spurs’ bench, the Kings continued to hang around, narrowing the San Antonio lead to 101-96 on Casspi’s 3-pointer with 6:08 remaining in regulation. Parker and Duncan came back in, but Duncan’s foul sent Jason Thompson to the line, and Thompson’s two free throws made it 101-98 to cap a 12-2 Kings run.

That was the last time Sacramento would threaten. Parker scored baskets on consecutive Spurs possessions to give San Antonio some breathing room, and Ginobili put it away with back-to-back drives, including a dunk with 1:57 left that followed a three-point play.

"We can’t handle the Parker-Duncan pick-and-roll for one thing; don’t know too many people that can," Kings coach Paul Westphal said. "They know when to run; they run it to perfection. Their shooters — 8 for 9 on 3s? Come on — that’s hard to do that in a gym by yourself. They were phenomenal tonight."

Ariza, Brooks lead Rockets past Cavaliers

HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets have won games this season with a balanced offense that almost always produces 100 or more points.

They used some of the stingy defense that has been their trademark in recent years to handle LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night

Aaron Brooks scored 27 points, Trevor Ariza had 26 and the Rockets held James and the Cavaliers to one of their worst offensive performances of the season in a 95-85 victory.

James scored 27 points, but was 8 for 21 from the field. No other Cleveland starter reached double figures and the Cavs matched their season-low point total.

The Cavaliers also had 20 turnovers — five by James.

"We just can’t have unforced turnovers," James said. "You have to take pride in avoiding them and we didn’t."

Shane Battier scored 14 points for Houston and played effective defense on James all night. Shaquille O’Neal scored only seven points on 2-for-8 shooting, and was one of three flustered Cavaliers to earn a technical foul.

"No one guy is going to stop LeBron, and no one guy is going to stop Shaq," said Battier, who also had three steals and two blocks. "But our guys did a great job of building a wall behind LeBron and just by being there, they deterred some of the drives. We played really good help-side defense."

Cleveland outrebounded Houston 47-37, but mustered only 19 points in both the first and third quarters. Cavaliers coach Mike Brown was ejected late in the first half for protesting a no-call on a James’ drive.

"We lost our composure a little bit," O’Neal said. "Way too many technicals. We still had our chances to win, but we just didn’t pull through."

The Rockets have won six of their last seven games against the Cavs in Houston. They beat Cleveland 93-74 last year, holding James without an assist for the first time in his career.

James missed five of his first six shots in this one, part of Cleveland’s 6-for-19 start. Battier not only shadowed James on defense, he also contributed at the other end, swishing a trio of 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes.

Houston shot 52 percent (13 of 25) in the first quarter and led 33-19. Cleveland had been the league’s highest-scoring team in the first quarter, averaging 29.8 points.

"The way they came out made it tough for us to bounce back," Brown said.

With O’Neal and James on the bench, Ariza drove for a reverse dunk with 7:17 left in the first half for a 39-27 Rockets lead. James returned a minute later, but he and the Cavs continued to struggle.

James backed into Battier with about 90 seconds left and missed a short shot after Chuck Hayes slapped the ball as James turned to shoot. No call was made, and Brown was ejected after storming onto the court and yelling at referee Scott Wall.

The Cavs scored 39 points in the first half, matching a season low, and trailed by 13. James went 3 for 11 from the field in the first half.

Cleveland didn’t look much better in the third quarter, either, giving away six turnovers in the first five minutes. Mo Williams and O’Neal earned technical fouls as the Cavs’ frustration boiled over.

"We let the zebras get to us, and we let it get away," O’Neal said.

The Rockets missed eight of their first 11 shots out of halftime and still stretched their lead to 60-43.

Houston led 68-58 heading to the fourth and James sank a 3-pointer with 11:10 left to cut the Cavs’ deficit to seven. Rockets coach Rick Adelman earned a technical a minute later after Ariza fell to the floor on a drive and no foul was called.

James drove into Ariza and landed on his right elbow with 9:20 left, then stayed down for a few seconds, wincing in pain. He sank two free throws to cut Houston’s lead to 71-66.

Ariza hit a jumper and Carl Landry put back an offensive rebound to push the lead back to nine. After Cleveland coughed up its 20th turnover, Ariza sank a 3-pointer and Houston led by 12 again.

NOTES: Cleveland was held under 101 points for the first time in six games. ... Cavs guard Daniel Gibson, a Houston native and former Texas star, left in the second quarter with a right hand bruise and did not return. ... The Cavaliers were trailing after the first quarter for only the third time in 17 games. ... The Rockets outscored Cleveland 18-2 in fast-break points.

-- Chris Duncan

Mavericks’ Thomas a figure in eatery fight

DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks forward Tim Thomas was at a Dallas restaurant when a fight broke out early Wednesday during a dispute between him and another patron.

Damien Pettie, 29, told police he approached Thomas and a group of people at a Denny’s at about 3 a.m. and said, "Hey, what’s up?" to the 6-foot-10 player.

Thomas responded by cursing at Pettie and using racial and gay slurs, according to the police report. Pettie cursed back, at which point he said he was struck twice in the face by someone in Thomas’ group.

"Then all parties within both groups began to throw chairs, knock over tables and fight each other," the report said. The fight broke up when the store manager announced he had called police. Thomas and his group left before officers arrived.

No one was arrested, and it was unclear whether police planned to pursue the case.

In an e-mail, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the 32-year-old Thomas was there but not involved in the incident.

Pettie sustained cuts on his lower lip and a finger, according to the police report. A working telephone number for him could not be located Wednesday.

One witness, Colleen Kissick, told The Associated Press she didn’t hear Thomas say anything before the fight. Another witness, reporter Roger Emrich of KRLD radio, said on the air that he heard Thomas say only, "Just keep going" to Pettie.

Kissick said her mother was hit by one of the chairs or tables as they dined. Kissick said she never saw Thomas involved in any fighting, but added that she didn’t think Pettie did anything to instigate the fight.

-- Jeff Carlton

Forbes: Lakers most valuable NBA franchise

NEW YORK — The Los Angeles Lakers are the NBA’s most valuable team, and 12 franchises lost money in the 2008-09 season, according to Forbes magazine.

In its annual listing of the value of NBA franchises, Forbes finds Lakers to be worth $607 million, up 4 percent for the league champions. Second are the New York Knicks at $586 million, but that is a 4 percent drop. The Knicks led the rankings for the four previous seasons.

The Chicago Bulls ($511 million), Detroit Pistons ($479 million) and Cleveland Cavaliers ($476 million) round out the top five.

At the bottom of the 30-team rankings are the Milwaukee Bucks at $254 million. The league average worth is $367 million, down 4 percent, according to Forbes.

The teams losing money in the last 12 months are the Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Bobcats, New Jersey Nets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Hornets, Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks.

Teams’ average operating income was $7.8 million, with the Lakers at the top with $51.1 million, just ahead of the Bulls at $51 million. Portland’s value has increased the most, by 10 percent, while the Kings and Grizzlies each have dropped the most, by 13 percent.

NBA sends Mutombo to India for court dedications

NEW YORK — The NBA is taking another step in its plans to expand its presence in India, sending Dikembe Mutombo to take part in a pair of events this week.

The former All-Star center, recently hired as the league’s global ambassador, was in Mumbai on Wednesday to unveil two refurbished courts, along with a learning center, which the league said will benefit more than 1,500 children.

He will take part in a groundbreaking ceremony for another new court Friday in Chennai, then remain there to run a coaching clinic over the weekend.

Much as it previously did with China, the NBA has tried to capitalize on its popularity in India. The league has held a number of events there the last two years, including a Basketball without Borders camp last summer.

Cleveland’s Brown ejected

HOUSTON — Cleveland coach Mike Brown was ejected late in the first half against Houston on Wednesday night for protesting a non-call on LeBron James’ drive.

James posted up Houston’s Shane Battier and when he turned to shoot, Rockets forward Chuck Hayes slapped the ball. James missed, Hayes rebounded and the Rockets scored on a fast break.

Brown then stormed onto the court and started yelling at referee Scott Wall. Wall quickly signaled two technical fouls and Brown was ejected with 1:22 left in the half.

The Rockets led 52-39 at the break.

Celtics G Daniels has thumb surgery

BOSTON — Boston Celtics guard Marquis Daniels has had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb.

The team announced that the procedure was performed Wednesday by Drs. Brian McKeon and Drew Terrono at New England Baptist Hospital.

No timetable has been set for his return.

The team said Daniels first noticed a problem about two weeks ago, then aggravated the injury in practice on Sunday.

The 6-foot-6 Daniels signed with the Celtics this summer after three years with the Indiana Pacers. He is averaging 5.7 points, 2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19 games this season.

Pistons’ Gordon out with ankle injury

PHILADELPHIA — Detroit guard Ben Gordon sat out the Pistons’ game Wednesday night against Philadelphia because of a sprained left ankle.

Gordon injured the ankle in late November and missed two games before returning to play. Gordon is averaging 18.7 points. He played 12 minutes Sunday against Washington.

The Pistons have already been playing without Richard Hamilton (ankle) and Tayshaun Prince (back).

Clippers guard Rush has knee surgery

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Clippers guard Kareem Rush had surgery Wednesday on his right knee.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache repaired a torn anterior cruciate ligament and partially torn lateral meniscus and also did a microfracture procedure.

Rush, injured against New Orleans on Nov. 17, averaged 1.3 points in 8.3 minutes in seven games this season.