The AP reports: Harry Mangurian Jr., a former owner of the Boston Celtics and renowned horse breeder, has died of leukemia. He was 82… Mangurian owned the Celtics from 1979-83, a tenure that included a championship in 1981 and the signings of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, the original “Big Three” of team lore.

The New York Daily News (Frank Isola) reports: Stephon Marbury will start tonight against the Celtics which tells you a little about Marbury and a lot about Jamal Crawford. I’ve heard for a few days that the coaching staff is not happy with Crawford’s defense nor is Crawford happy that he is averaging just seven shots per game in the preseason. Marbury has equipped himself well thus far and since trading him (he makes $21.9 million this season) is next to impossible, Mike D’Antoni may be reaching the conclusion that Marbury is the better option in the backcourt to play with Chris Duhon.

The New York post (Marc Berman) reports: Mike D’Antoni confirmed today that Stephon Marbury will start at shooting guard instead of Jamal Crawford when the Knicks play their second-to-last preseason game at the Garden against the Celtics tonight.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I’ve been saying for two months now that if there’s one season Stephon Marbury could redeem himself and rise up as a semi-star again, this one, under Mike D’Antoni, would be it. I know most (almost all) the local beat writers/columnists who cover the Knicks have said the team has to part ways with him, and I know the reasoning behind it, and understand it. Addition by subtraction and all that. Get rid of the bad attitude and the guy that pisses some teammates off. I’d totally buy into that, normally. But I still feel that Marbury could have his best season in years this year if he’s given the chance, and if that happens, the bad attitude and off-court issues would diminish — not totally, but to a bearable level. His contract is up after the season so what does it matter? I see no reason to buy him out. If the team wants to throw money away, buy out other players whose contracts don’t expire this summer. And it doesn’t make sense to bench him as long as he’s on the roster, unless it actually helps the team on the court to do so. I wanna see what he can do under D’Antoni’s offense and I bet it’ll be better than expected.

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has waived forwards DerMarr Johnson and Linton Johnson. DerMarr Johnson appeared in five preseason games for Washington and averaged 8.8 points in 19.6 minutes per game. Linton Johnson appeared in four preseason games as a Wizard and averaged 1.3 points in 12.8 minutes per game. Both players originally signed with Washington on September 22, 2008.

The Wizards roster now stands at 15.

Washington will be without star point guard Gilbert Arenas for a few months and role-playing center Brendan Haywood for most of the season. But fortunately, star forward Antawn Jamison should be healthy soon and OK for the start of the regular season.

For Phoenix, Shaquille O’Neal shot 6-of-10 for 18 points and 9 rebounds. Matt Barnes shot 8-of-16 for 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals but 6 turnovers. Robert Hite shot 6-of-11 for 14 points. Grant Hill had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists but 5 turnovers. Steve Nash didn’t play. Amare Stoudemire played just a bit, off the bench. For Charlotte, DJ Augustin shot just 4-of-20 but had 11-of-12 free throws for 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, but 5 turnovers. Jason Richardson shot just 5-of-14 for 15 points and 4 assists. Andre Brown shot 6-of-9 for 14 points and 8 rebounds. Emeka Okafor had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Adam Morrison scored 12.

The AP reports: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points, Brandon Roy added 21 and the Portland Trail Blazers never trailed in a 112-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings in a preseason game Monday night. The Kings could not contain Aldridge, who made nine of 16 shots and had six rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Blazers. Portland led by four points after three quarters and stretched the lead to as many as 11 in the fourth. Rookie guard Rudy Fernandez made four 3-pointers and had 16 points for the Blazers, while Greg Oden added 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Portland made 12 of 25 3-pointers. Kevin Martin scored 34 points and John Salmons added 27 for the Kings, who lost their fifth straight.

The AP reports: Wilson Chandler scored 22 points in his first start of the preseason, and New York got strong play from its reserve guards in a 114-106 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Monday night. Nate Robinson led the Knicks with 26 points, including a floater with 1:46 remaining after the Nets had trimmed New York’s huge lead to four. Stephon Marbury had nine points on 3-of-3 shooting and six assists in just 16 minutes… Devin Harris scored 21 points for New Jersey, still winless this preseason in North America… Top draft pick Brook Lopez, playing extra minutes with fellow center Josh Boone out, had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Vince Carter scored 13 points… Chris Duhon had 10 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

The AP reports: Dwight Howard had 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 109-103 preseason victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. Joe Johnson, who led the Hawks with 26 points, hit a 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining to pull the Hawks to 102-100. Howard responded with a 5-foot turnaround jumper to make it 104-100 with 54 seconds remaining… For Atlanta, Josh Smith added 13 points and five assists, Al Horford had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Bibby scored 13 points and had five assists. Johnson also had seven rebounds and five assists. Rashard Lewis scored 25 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Teammate Courtney Lee chipped in with 13 points and four rebounds.