Blazers clinch playoff spot, beat Knicks
March 31, 2010
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) scored 21 points before sitting out thefinal quarter, and the Portland Trail Blazers clinched a playoff spot with a118-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
The Blazers came into the game needing help to reach the postseason. SanAntonio defeated Houston 119-102 and Dallas beat Memphis 106-102, meaning allPortland had to do was beat the Knicks to seal it.
Those games were finished when the Blazers went into halftime with a 65-38lead over New York. They cruised the rest of the way, leading by as many as 36points.
Portland has won four straight and 12 of its last 14, including six straighthome victories. The Blazers have gone 15-5 since the All-Star break and sincetheir acquisition of former Knick Marcus Camby(notes) in a trade with the Los AngelesClippers.
David Lee(notes) had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who have dropped thefirst three games on a five-game road trip.
Knicks forward Al Harrington(notes) tweaked his left ankle in the third quarter anddid not return.
It was never close. Portland went ahead 50-30 in the first half afterMartell Webster’s(notes) dunk following a timeout. The Blazers led by as many as 28 inthe first half, with veteran Juwan Howard(notes) coming off the bench to score 12points.
Nicolas Batum(notes) hit a 3-pointer to put Portland up 80-44 before the midwaypoint of the third quarter. Before he took a seat on the bench, Brandon Roy(notes)dunked to make it 92-63 late in the quarter.
All of Portland’s starters sat in the fourth. Batum finished with 20 pointsand Roy had 16.
The Knicks, who beat the Blazers 93-84 in December at Madison Square Garden,were denied their first season sweep since 1999-2000.
It was Portland’s last game this season against an Eastern Conference foe.The Blazers went 17-13 against the East this season.
It is the second straight year the Blazers have made the playoffs after afive-season drought. Portland lost in six games to the Houston Rockets in thefirst round last year.
The Blazers have made the playoffs 28 times since joining the NBA in 1970.
NOTES: Former Blazer Chris Dudley, a Republican candidate for Governor inOregon, was among those on hand as the Blazers held their final “Decade Night”of the season for the team’s 40th anniversary. Some fans even held campaignsigns during the game. … Former Blazer Brian Grant was also honored, as wascurrent Blazers broadcaster Antonio Harvey. … Actor Timothy Hutton was amongthe fans at the game.
‘Run-in’ with coaches keeps Vujacic out
March 31, 2010
ATLANTA (AP)—Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson says Slovenian backup guardSasha Vujacic(notes) hasn’t played the last two games because of “a little run-in”with the coaching staff.
Jackson says the incident happened during last Friday’s game at OklahomaCity. He says Vujacic didn’t play at all in the next two contests at Houston andNew Orleans because he “hasn’t atoned himself for that error.”
Jackson refused on Friday to give any more details about the incident.Vujacic says he doesn’t know what his coach is talking about.
The Lakers are wrapping up a five-game road trip at Atlanta.
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Cavs squeak past improved Bucks 101-98
March 31, 2010
CLEVELAND (AP)—The Milwaukee Bucks have climbed in the standings—and instature.
In fact, they’ve risen so far, so fast that their confident coach felt as ifhis young squad handed a victory to the NBA’s best team.
“We should have won that game,” Scott Skiles said following a tough,101-98 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. “We gave them thatgame.”
Mo Williams(notes) made four free throws in the final 12.8 seconds and teamed upwith LeBron James(notes) on the game’s defining play as the Cavaliers held on to beatthe vastly improved Bucks, who are 17-6 since the All-Star break and could be ahandful for any team in the playoffs.
“Very dangerous,” Cavs forward Antawn Jamison(notes) said. “Any time you have acoach like Scott you know they’re going to be aggressive, they’re going to playhard throughout 48 minutes. They got a lot of confidence. They got a greatmixture of veteran guys as well as young guys.
“That’s a team that if they get it going, they can definitely get somemomentum and be very dangerous in the playoffs.”
James scored 23 and Williams 21 for the Cavs, who have won 10 of their past11 and are closing in on the league’s best record and home-court advantagethroughout the postseason. The win, coupled with Atlanta’s win over the LosAngeles Lakers, dropped Cleveland’s magic number for clinching the overall No. 1seed to 2.
John Salmons(notes) scored 28 points and Andrew Bogut(notes) had 19 points and 12 reboundsfor the Bucks, who attempted just nine free throws—none in the fourth quarter— to 45 for Cleveland.
Afterward, Salmons was careful not to complain about the discrepancy.
“I don’t want to lose my money,” Salmons said, shaking his head. “I’m notgoing to speak about that.”
Salmons’ 3-pointer with 8.6 seconds left pulled Milwaukee to 99-98, butWilliams, one of the NBA’s best free-throw shooters at 89 percent, was fouledand knocked down two free throws. James then stole a pass by Luke Ridnour(notes) with 2seconds left to seal it.
With the win, the Cavaliers (59-16) improved to 26-0 at home against EasternConference opponents in March under coach Mike Brown.
This one wasn’t easy, though. The Cavs were flat and sorely missed energeticforward Anderson Varejao(notes), who missed his second straight game because of a sorehamstring.
The Bucks overcame a 10-point deficit and took a 95-93 lead with 1:27 lefton a 3-pointer by Ersan Ilyasova(notes). The Cavs had been unable to separate from theBucks in the fourth mostly because they kept missing free throws, but James madetwo straight to tie it with 49.3 seconds left.
Salmons missed on Milwaukee’s next possession and the Cavaliers called atimeout during which they set up a play that has worked all season.
Williams took the inbound pass and drove the left side drawing twodefenders. Once in the lane, he threaded a bounce pass from under the rim to acutting James, who muscled in his layup over Bogut to put the Cavs ahead 97-95with 17.4 seconds left.
“It has not worked I think one time,” James said. “We played Charlotte athome and (former teammate) Flip (Murray) sniffed it out one time. We added acounter to it since then and it hasn’t failed us yet.”
So what’s it called?
“I can’t tell you,” James said, smiling. “It’s called, ‘always works.”’
Milwaukee called time and ran a play for Salmons, but as he started to thebasket he was stripped by J.J. Hickson(notes). The officials initially gave the ball tothe Bucks but changed the call after a video review. Williams was fouled andmade two free throws to make it 99-95.
Salmons then hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 8.6 seconds to go,giving the Bucks new life.
But Williams, mired in a shooting slump from the field, then made his twofree throws as the Cavs, who are a league-best 33-4 at home, finally put awaythe Bucks.
Cleveland made its final six free throws after beginning the fourth 5 of 11.
Skiles has the Bucks believing they can win every time out. Moral victoriesare no longer acceptable.
“I think we stopped doing that a long time ago,” he said. “Hopefullyevery guy in there knows we should have won that game. We played hard. I can’tfault the effort of anyone out there. The game was there for the taking and it’snot often when you come into this building and the game is there for the taking.
“When it is, you have to take it.”
Late in the third quarter, James provided another of those plays that onlyhe can make.
Taking a bounce pass on the right wing, he began to elevate just as he wasbeing wrapped up by Ridnour, who threw his arms around James’ neck. But evenwith the 175-pound Ridnour clinging to him, James rose off the floor. He missedthe layup but the awesome display of power drew oohs and aahs from the crowd asit was replayed on the giant scoreboard.
NOTES: Rapper Kid Rock sat courtside. … James warmly greeted formerteammate Darnell Jackson(notes) on the floor before the game. Jackson, who was waivedby the Cavaliers earlier this month, signed with the Bucks last week but has yetto appear in a game for Milwaukee. … The Cavs went 13-2 in March.
Wizards end team-record 16-game skid
March 31, 2010
NEW ORLEANS (AP)—Mike Miller(notes) scored a season-high 27 points and the WashingtonWizards snapped a franchise-record 16-game losing streak with a 96-91 win overthe New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night.
The Wizards avoided an 0-17 March with their first win since beating NewJersey on Feb. 28.
Andray Blatche(notes) scored 23 points, and Shaun Livingston(notes) added 18 for theWizards, who played without four regular starters but still shot 55.9 percentfrom the floor.
David West(notes) scored 18 points for the Hornets, who were coming off a home winagainst the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. Chris Paul(notes) had eight points and nineassists.
Washington almost blew a 12-point lead in the last 4:20. After trailing87-75, the Hornets had two chances to tie in the final 15.3 seconds, but JamesPosey(notes) missed a free throw and West was off target on a 3-point attempt.
Miller’s two free throws sealed the win with 4.4 seconds left.
Washington, which lost a fourth-quarter lead at Houston on Tuesday, was incontrol of this one almost all the way. The Wizards led by 4 at the half, 70-59at the end of the third quarter and answered every Hornets run.
After New Orleans pulled to 80-75 on a Darren Collison(notes) floater, Millerdrilled a 3-pointer, Livingston hit a mid-range jumper and Blatche converted twofree throws to give Washington a 87-75 lead with 3:32 left.
Even that advantage was not safe.
The Hornets went on a 11-2 run, closing the gap to 88-86 on a 3-pointer byMarcus Thornton(notes). The Wizards went back up by 6 on baskets from Blatche and JamesSingleton(notes), but the Hornets forced three consecutive turnovers in the finalminute and had a chance to tie it when Posey went to the free-throw line with15.3 seconds left.
He missed the first foul shot, and Livingston’s free throws put Washingtonahead 94-91 with 13.6 left.
West missed a contested 3-point attempt on the Hornets’ next possession,setting up Miller for his clinching free throws.
Until the frantic finish, everything came easily for the Wizards, who scoredfour consecutive baskets on layups or dunks early in the fourth quarter. Millerwent 9 for 14 from the field, Blatche was 8 for 10 and Livingston hit 8 of 10.
Collison, who had made 16 of 19 shots in the Hornets’ last two games, was anon-factor for most of the night, going 2 of 4 from the floor through threequarters.
The Hornets’ last lead was 3-2.
Blatche started quickly, hitting six of his first seven shots and scoring 12points in the first quarter against the sluggish Hornets.
The Hornets closed their deficit to 40-39 with a late 10-2 spurt, butBlatche’s outside shot gave the Wizards a 43-39 lead at the break.
NOTES: The Hornets played their first game without former lead assistant TimFloyd, who was named UTEP coach on Tuesday. Floyd, the head coach for NewOrleans in 2003-04, joined the Hornets on Nov. 12 when Byron Scott was fired ascoach and replaced by Jeff Bower. … Cedric Jackson(notes), whom the Wizards signed toa 10-day contract earlier Wednesday, did not play. Jackson, a rookie, averaged16.4 points and 7.4 assists for the Erie Bayhawks in the D-League … NewOrleans (35-41), which was eliminated from the playoff picture earlier thisweek, is guaranteed to have its first non-winning season since 2006-07.
Suns use big 3rd to win ninth straight
March 31, 2010
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP)—Sluggish for two quarters, explosive the next one.
The Phoenix Suns still pile up the points, and on Wednesday night they rangup far too many for the NBA’s lowest-scoring team to keep up.
Steve Nash(notes) had 24 points and 14 assists, Jason Richardson(notes) scored 23 points,and the Suns ran their winning streak to nine games by beating the New JerseyNets 116-105.
Amare Stoudemire had 15 points and three reserves were in double figures forthe Suns, who hit all six 3-point attempts in a 38-point third quarter thatturned around the game.
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“Tonight we just didn’t have the legs in the first half. Mentally aswell,” Nash said. “We were tired from a tough game last night. So we stayed inthe game in the first half basically and then played well in the second half.”
Phoenix, on its longest win streak since winning a franchise-record 17 in arow during the 2006-07 season, came in one game out of second place in theWestern Conference. The Suns, who clinched a playoff spot Tuesday, finished 12-2in March and are an NBA-best 18-4 since the All-Star break.
“And we’ve gone from fifth to fourth. Well, tied for fourth,” Suns coachAlvin Gentry said. “I think we’ve been playing great, it’s just usually if youhave a run like that, you put yourself in a pretty good situation and you haveseparation. And the only one we’ve separated ourselves from is the fact thatwe’re going to make the playoffs.”
Terrence Williams(notes) scored 21 points and Brook Lopez(notes) had 19 for New Jersey,which had won three of four, ensuring it wouldn’t finish with a share of theNBA’s worst record. Courtney Lee(notes) and Kris Humphries(notes) each added 17.
“I thought that we played hard but we lost a little bit of focus for acouple of minutes, and that’s just enough for this team,” Nets interim coachKiki Vandeweghe said.
The Suns came in as the NBA’s top-scoring team with 110.5 points per game,nearly 20 per game better than the Nets’ average. New Jersey kept up for a halfbefore Phoenix showed off all its offensive weapons.
Trailing by three after looking ordinary in the first half on the secondnight of a back-to-back, the Suns ran off the first 13 points of the thirdquarter. Richardson, Nash, and Richardson again hit three straight 3-pointersduring the spurt, which gave Phoenix a 63-53 lead.
“They came out guns blazing,” Nets guard Devin Harris(notes) said. “They gotinto transition. They got some easy looks. All night long they shot the 3incredibly well. When they do that, they’re tough to beat.
“You know they’re going to make runs. They just made one at the beginningof the third quarter. There is no way we can challenge them when they put up 38in a quarter. I thought we played they pretty well in three quarters but theygot too much of a head start in the third quarter.”
Jared Dudley(notes) hit two 3-pointers late in the period, the second increasingthe lead to 15 before the Suns took an 88-76 advantage to the fourth. They shot67 percent overall in the period.
“The third quarter, they came out like a playoff team,” Williams said.
New Jersey got within five early in the fourth quarter before Phoenixquickly regained command.
Nash said following Tuesday’s victory in Chicago that he was dealing with abad back and a cold, but there was nothing slowing him or the Suns down afterhalftime. Phoenix shot 57 percent from the field for the game and made 11 of 183-pointers (61 percent).
The bad back this time belonged to Harris, who shot only 2 for 10 and hadhis back wrapped when he came out in the third quarter. He said he fell on aphotographer’s knee in a recent game but is expected to play Saturday againstNew Orleans.
Dudley finished with 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting, Channing Frye(notes) scored 12and Goran Dragic(notes) had 11.
The game was tied at 23 after one quarter, then reserves Williams (10points) and Humphries (nine) helped the Nets score 30 points on 65 percentshooting in the second to take a 53-50 lead into the half. Phoenix had seventurnovers in the period and 10 in the first half.
NOTES: There was no Lopez vs. Lopez matchup because Suns center Robin Lopez(notes),Brook’s twin brother, is still out resting a bad back. … Yi Jianlian(notes) andRichardson both missed dunks in the third quarter. … Williams matched hiscareer high.
Hawks hand Lakers second straight loss
March 31, 2010
ATLANTA (AP)—The Atlanta Hawks are looking to make a lengthy run in the NBAplayoffs.
Their bench sure appears deep enough for the long haul.
Joe Johnson(notes) scored 25 points despite an aching thumb, but it was the Atlantareserves who came up big against Kobe Bryant(notes) and the Lakers. Maurice Evans(notes)scored 18, Jamal Crawford(notes) added 14 and Zaza Pachulia(notes) chipped in with his firstdouble-double in more than a year, leading the Hawks to a 109-92 victoryWednesday night.
“You can’t win the championship with five guys,” Pachulia said. “We havesome great players on the bench. Why not use them?”
Bryant scored 28 points but only eight in the second half as Los Angeleslost back-to-back games for just the fourth time this season. The Lakers wontwice on a five-game road trip and missed a chance to possibly clinch thePacific Division title before heading home.
“We’re not playing well defensively,” Bryant said. “This trip wasconsistently bad, so we’ve got to get back to work.”
The Hawks moved a game ahead of Boston in the race for the third seed in theEastern Conference with their ninth straight win at home—their longest suchrun since a 20-game streak at the old Omni during the 1996-97 season. TheCeltics lost at home to Oklahoma 109-104.
“Boston lost? Woo-hoo!” Pachulia said when he saw the final seconds tickoff on a big-screen television in the locker room.
Johnson hit five 3-pointers despite spraining the thumb on his right(shooting) hand while tangled up with Ron Artest(notes) in the first quarter. He missed4 of 5 shots in the second but found his touch after the break, knocking downfour shots from beyond the 3-point stripe.
“I didn’t want to shy away from the shots I was getting,” Johnson said.“I just tried to keep it as loose as possible.”
He didn’t have to worry about carrying the entire load, not with the way thebench played. The always-reliable Crawford had his usual double-figure night,but the Lakers surely weren’t expecting Evans to put up 13 more points than hisseason average. He went 7 of 9 from the field, his only two misses coming fromoutside the arc.
“Some games they need you less, some games they need you more,” Evanssaid. “When you get an opportunity to play, you want to take advantage of it.That’s what we did tonight.”
Pachulia scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, his first double-doublesince March 29, 2009, also against the Lakers.
“Basketball is a team game,” he said. “When you play 100 games in aseason, you definitely need everyone to help out. I’m sure the starters don’tmind. When you get to this point in the season, you can’t worry about minutes.”
Atlanta went ahead for good on Crawford’s 3-pointer with 1:35 left in thefirst quarter, stretched it out to 55-45 by halftime and was never seriouslythreatened over the final two quarters, pushing the margin as high as 18 points.
Bryant called it a night with 2 1/2 minutes to go, heading to the bench after aturnover and watching the rest of the game with a towel draped over hisshoulders. Pau Gasol(notes) scored 16 points and Artest had 15, but Jordan Farmar(notes) (16points) made the only significant contribution off the bench.
“It’s hard to digest,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “Everybody gotgoing on their team, basically, at some point.”
The attendance-challenged Hawks drew a full-house-and-then-some crowd of20,190, a team record since their move to Philips Arena in 1999. Among thosesitting courtside were Hall of Famer Julius Erving and Atlanta rapper T.I., whowas recently released from a halfway house after serving prison time on aweapons charge.
Things got testy in the fourth quarter.
One minute into the period, Artest stuck an elbow in Evans’ face as heattempted to block out on Atlanta shot. Evans took exception after Artestgrabbed the rebound, shoving the volatile Lakers’ forward. Evans walked awaywith Artest in pursuit, but teammates stepped in to keep them apart. Bothplayers drew technical fouls.
About 2 minutes later, Gasol took a pass from Bryant and went in for a dunk,only to get fouled hard by Marvin Williams(notes), who got a piece of the ball but alsoa good part of Gasol’s neck. Williams was called for an intentional foul, Gasolmade the free throw, and Farmar swished a 3-pointer to pull the Lakers within85-73.
But the Hawks pulled away from there.
NOTES: Jackson said F Luke Walton(notes) (pinched nerve, back) hopes to play Sundaywhen the Lakers host the Spurs, but added that C Andrew Bynum(notes) (Achilles’ strain)could be out another 10 days. … Hawks coach Mike Woodson said he has nocomplaints about the tiebreaker system that gives the advantage to a teamwinning its division. Atlanta swept Boston 4-0 in the season series, but theCeltics would get the third seed if the teams end up tied for winning theAtlantic Division. … Among the other celebrities attending the Lakers’ loneappearance in Atlanta: Keri Hilson, who sang the national anthem; rapper Jeezy;and NFL linebacker Takeo Spikes. … G Sasha Vujacic(notes) was the only Lakers playerwho dressed out and didn’t play. He sat out his third straight game afterJackson said he had “a little run-in” with the coaching staff last week atOklahoma City.
Bobcats inch closer to playoff spot
March 31, 2010
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Gerald Wallace(notes) had 24 points and 12 rebounds, TysonChandler(notes) added a season-high 15 points, and the Charlotte Bobcats moved a stepcloser to their first playoff berth with a 103-84 victory over the undermannedPhiladelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Bouncing back from a home loss two nights earlier to Toronto, the Bobcatsforced 25 turnovers, took 24 more free throws than the 76ers and dominated thesecond half to move four games ahead of ninth-place Chicago in the EasternConference with eight games left. The top eight teams make the playoffs.
Andre Iguodala(notes) scored 14 points amid foul trouble for the Sixers, whodressed only nine players in their second straight loss and 49th of the season.Elton Brand(notes) was held to eight points on 4 of 13 shooting.
Charlotte, meanwhile, got a strong game from Chandler inside—and it’s beena long time coming. Slowed for much of the season with foot and ankle problems,the player acquired from New Orleans for Emeka Okafor(notes) in the offseason hadfailed to provide the expected life and versatility inside.
But Chandler has said in the past few weeks he’s finally healthy, and he wasnearly perfect against the Sixers.
Chandler was 4 of 5 from the field and 7 of 8 from the line while grabbingsix rebounds. That made up for Stephen Jackson’s(notes) off night (16 points, 7 of 19shooting) as the Bobcats improved to 28-9 at home.
After beating likely playoff teams Milwaukee and Atlanta, the Sixers havereturned to their struggling ways with consecutive blowout losses to OklahomaCity and Charlotte.
Philadelphia was further short-handed after Rodney Carney(notes) couldn’t go afterinjuring his right big toe Tuesday against Oklahoma City. Thaddeus Young(notes) (thumb)and Louis Williams(notes) (back) didn’t travel.
To make matters worse, coach Eddie Jordan said before the game he’ll have tolimit Iguodala’s minutes because of the lingering plantar fasciitis in his rightfoot.
Foul trouble made it easy to sit him. Iguodala picked up his fourth foulwith 6:47 left in the third quarter. Before the period was over, Brand had fivefouls and Samuel Dalembert(notes) four, helping Charlotte take control with acollection of dunks and free throws.
Wallace had a one-handed alley-oop jam on a feed from Raymond Felton(notes), then alayup on a behind-the-head pass from Boris Diaw(notes) as the Bobcats took a 77-59lead.
After the Bobcats were upset with several calls down the stretch of Monday’sloss to Toronto, new owner Michael Jordan took little time to target thereferees from his seat next to the Charlotte bench. He yelled after an out ofbounds call went Philadelphia’s way, and the call was overturned by the trailofficial.
Jordan was in a much better mood when he rocked back in his chair inlaughter during a conversation with referee Leon Wood before the start of thesecond quarter. The Jordan on the other bench, however, was steamed with a 16-3free-throw discrepancy as the Bobcats built a 16-point first-half lead.
But Philadelphia’s inability to hold onto the ball played a big role, too.Rookie Jrue Holiday(notes) had seven turnovers and Brand four.
NOTES: Bobcats coach Larry Brown praised Eddie Jordan for how the Sixershave played hard after being eliminated from playoff contention. Asked if acoaching change would set the franchise back—Jordan’s future is uncertain—Brown replied, “I don’t think they ever help.” Brown finished his thought bytaking a shot at himself. “After watching us play the last game you might bethinking we should make a coaching change,” he said. … Bobcats F Tyrus Thomas(notes)(ankle) dressed but missed his second straight game. … Sixers F MarreeseSpeights(notes) picked up third-quarter technical foul.
DePaul to interview Timberwolves’ Theus
March 31, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Reggie Theus willinterview for the opening at DePaul.
“That’s my understanding,” Timberwolves head coach Kurt Rambis said priorto Wednesday night’s game against Sacramento.
Theus, who was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1978, said he hasn’t had adirect conversation with officials from the Chicago school, but said that hisagent is handling initial conversations.
“I’m getting calls, but I’m not picking up my phone until after the game,”Theus said.
The Timberwolves have lost 16 consecutive games, and Theus was responsiblefor the scouting report for Wednesday night’s game against the Kings.
Theus played 13 seasons in the NBA and was an assistant coach to Rick Pitinoat Louisville for two seasons. He later was the head coach at New Mexico Stateand led the Aggies to the 2007 NCAA tournament. Theus had a 41-23 record at NewMexico State before coaching the Sacramento Kings for one-plus seasons.
DePaul fired coach Jerry Wainwright in January, and assistant Tracy Websterwas the interim coach for the rest of the season.
A DePaul spokesperson told the Chicago Tribune that Theus would interview onThursday. The Timberwolves don’t play again until Saturday.
While Theus said his energy is focussed on the Timberwolves, he also addedthat, “there’s no doubt that I want to be a head coach again.”
Theus was a rookie with the Bulls in 1979, the last time the Blue Demonsreached the Final Four.
“It’s a great city,” Theus said. “I was there when DePaul was going goodand I know that the city of Chicago will support them if you put a good producton the floor.”
DePaul has struggled to do that for most of the past 20 years. Since 1992,the Blue Demons have advanced to the NCAAs only twice. The Blue Demons went 1-17in Big East play this season and dating to the middle of the 2007-08 season,DePaul has won only two of its past 46 regular-season conference games.
Rambis said he will support Theus if he leaves for a head coaching positionafter only one season with the Timberwolves.
“I’m happy if he gets a job, I’m happy if he gets something he wants,”Rambis said. “All the coaches who are here have head coaching aspirations. Ifthey get an opportunity, I want them to take advantage of it. I’m all for it.
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James unlikely to play for US at worlds
March 31, 2010
CLEVELAND (AP)—LeBron James(notes) has a busy summer ahead. Maybe too busy toplay basketball.
Cleveland’s superstar said Wednesday night that he’s “probably notplaying” for Team USA this summer in the world championships in Turkey. James,who was a captain on the U.S. team that won a gold medal at the Beijing Games in2008, is eligible for free agency after the season and is scheduled to film amovie.
His crammed itinerary may make it impossible to play for his country for thethird time. James also was a member of the 2004 Olympic team in Athens.
“I got a really, really, really, really, really busy summer,” James saidabout an hour before tip-off against the Milwaukee Bucks. “I would love if Ihad the opportunity and the time to play to represent my country and go outthere and do that. But there’s a lot of things I need to take care of first.”
So will he play?
“It’s very, very shady right now,” he said. “I’m probably not playing.There are a lot of decisions I need to make this summer before I decide to getback out on the court.”
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Shaq’s mom pens book about her struggles
March 31, 2010
CLEVELAND (AP)—Shaquille O’Neal’s(notes) mom has written a tell-all book—aboutherself.
Inspired and motivated by her superstar son, Lucille O’Neal is promoting,“Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go: From Mental Welfare to Mental Wealth,” abook that chronicles her life as an unwed teen mother, struggles with alcoholand her determination to get a college degree in her 40s.
On Wednesday, she signed copies of the book at Quicken Loans Arena beforeher son’s team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, hosted the Milwaukee Bucks. ShaquilleO’Neal is currently sidelined with a thumb injury but is expected to return forthe NBA playoffs.
His mom said the book has been “in me for years.” A mother of four andgrandmother of 14, she decided to write it to help motivate others who may seeher now and not realize the difficulties she has overcome.
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