The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has waived guard Maurice Ager.

Ager appeared in four games for the Wolves this season, averaging 3.8 points in 7.3 minutes. He was originally signed by the Wolves as a free agent on Sept. 24, 2010.

Andres Nocioni of the Philadelphia 76ers has been fined $25,000 for throwing his mouthpiece into the stands, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 2:08 remaining in the first quarter of Philadelphia’s 109-103 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 10 at Oklahoma City Arena.

The Springfield Armor, the New Jersey Nets, and the  NBA  Development  League  announced today that the Nets and Armor have entered  into a single affiliation partnership beginning during the 2011-12 season,  giving the Nets full control over the basketball operations of and making  them the sole affiliate for the Armor.  The Nets are the second NBA team  to enter into a single affiliation with an NBA D-League team, joining the Houston Rockets and the 2009-10 NBA D-League Champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

In a structure similar to other minor leagues, this partnership model, also referred  to  as  the  “hybrid affiliation,” allows for NBA teams to secure control over and cover the expenses related to the basketball operations of an NBA D-League team, while partnering with existing local ownership, which maintains responsibility for the team’s off-the-court business operations.

“The  New  Jersey  Nets’  decision  to  enter  into  a  single  affiliation partnership  with the Springfield Armor is yet another example of NBA teams understanding how integral the NBA D-League can be to their success, and an important  step  in  our continued evolution as a true minor league for the NBA,”  said  NBA  D-League President Dan Reed.  “With twenty percent of NBA players  having  used  the  NBA D-League as a springboard, it’s no surprise that  the  Nets  join  a growing number of NBA teams that have acquired the benefits of a one-to-one relationship with their NBA D-League affiliate.”

“The  Nets  organization  is very pleased to enter into this agreement with the Springfield Armor,” said Nets General Manger Billy King.  “We feel that the  ‘hybrid’  arrangement  will  allow our basketball team to maximize its affiliation  with  the  NBA  D-League  and  allow Springfield to serve as a fertile   training  ground  for  our  players,  coaches  and  front  office personnel, only strengthening our basketball product.”

“The  Springfield  Armor  organization is thrilled to be entering into this single  affiliation  partnership  with  the  New  Jersey  Nets,” said Armor Managing Partner Michael Savit.  “This is the wave of the future in the NBA D-League,  and  we’re  pleased  to  be  getting in on the ground floor as a partner  with  one  of  the  NBA’s  most  exciting teams.  It reflects very positively   on  the  NBA  D-League,  our  organization  and  the  City  of Springfield.”

During  the  2010-11  season,  the  New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, along with the Nets, will serve as affiliates for the Armor.

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have waived guard Garrett Temple.  Temple appeared in three games this season totaling 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 21 minutes.

Temple was signed originally by San Antonio on March 13, 2010.  He appeared in 12 games during the 2009-10 season, averaging 6.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 14.8 minutes.

The Spurs roster now stands at 13.

Frank Hanrahan of CSN Washington reports:

John Wall had a homework assignment this week. After turning the ball over too many times in his first 5 games, Wizards coach Flip Saunders told his prized rookie point guard to watch some game film of one the greatest point guards that ever played in John Stockton.

The shorts were super tight but so was Stockton’s game leading the Utah Jazz for 19 seasons. Stockton was the master of the pick and roll and it didn’t hurt to have another Hall of Famer running that two game man game with him in Karl Malone. Stockton left the NBA in 2003 as the all time assist and steals leader and later was a deserved Hall of Famer.

“It was about a 45 minute tape of Stockton that John (Wall) watched the last two days leading up to the Rockets game,” Saunders said. All he (Wall) was talking about was how Stockton was so deliberate and how he played under control.”

Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

On Wednesday, Beasley scored a career-high 42 points — 18 of them in the game’s first 10 minutes, 27 in the first half alone — on 17-for-31 shooting and on a bruised left hip that delivered the Wolves their first victory since the season’s second game.

“I had my popcorn ready, just watching the show,” Wolves injured point guard Jonny Flynn said as he sat in a joyous locker room afterward. “And that was definitely a show. Mike Beasley put on a show.”

Their nine-point victory followed Tuesday’s five-point loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles, ended a six-game losing streak and avenged a one-point, opening-night loss to the Kings at Target Center.

All this after they lost their first four road games by an average of 30 points.

It also was the Wolves’ first road victory since they won at Miami last February against a Heat team that included a guy named Beasley.

Beasley’s 42-point night puts him among such names in franchise history as Tony Campbell, Wally Szczerbiak, Isaiah Rider, Randy Breuer, Stephon Marbury, Al Jefferson and, of course, Kevin Garnett, all players who scored 40 or more points in a game.

Eddie Sefko of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports:

Humming along with a double-digit lead and the look of a team with payback on its mind, the Dallas Mavericks got a scare just before halftime Wednesday night.

Dirk Nowitzki went down in a crumble under the defensive basket with a sprained right ankle.

But rather than a difficult circumstance that could have ended up being an excuse for a letdown, the Mavericks — and Nowitzki — turned it into an opportunity, and a 106-91 thrashing of the Memphis Grizzlies.

At the start of the second half, Nowitzki was back on the court, clearly favoring his right leg, but determined to be there for his team.

In the Mavericks’ huddle, coach Rick Carlisle leaned in to his assistants and said: “He’s one tough dude.”

The AP reports:

Rookie John Wall got his first professional triple-double with 19 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Washington Wizards to a 98-91 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Yao Ming missed most of the game after he strained a tendon in his leg in the first quarter.

Washington used a 10-0 run late in the fourth quarter to pull away after blowing an 11-point lead…

Kevin Martin scored 31 points for the Rockets, who have lost six of seven.