Lakers forward Devin Ebanks arrested on suspicion of DUI

Devin Ebanks

Lakers forward Deven Ebanks was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor DUI in Los Angeles early Friday morning, according to law enforcement sources and booking records.

Ebanks, 23, was pulled over at 2:49 a.m. in the Hollywood area by California Highway Patrol officers and booked at 3:44 a.m.

Ebanks was released later Friday morning after posting $5,000 bail. A post on his Twitter account Thursday afternoon encouraged his followers to celebrate a woman’s birthday Thursday night at Roxbury night club near Hollywood.

Ebanks’ next scheduled court date is Dec. 7, according to booking records.

— Reported by Mike Bresnahan and Andrew Blankstein of the Los Angeles Times

Lakers fire coach Mike Brown

Lakers fire coach Mike Brown

The Lakers have fired Mike Brown as coach after the team’s 1-4 start, according to a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly about it.

Brown was barely a month into his second season with the team, which struggled badly amid high expectations.

It was unclear who would be his replacement.

It was believed to be the earliest firing of a coach in the team’s history. Del Harris was relieved of his duties 12 games into the 1999 season.

The Lakers were 41-25 in Brown’s first season, losing to Oklahoma City in the second round of the playoffs.

— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times

The Lakers have had a healthy Nash in the lineup for only 1½ of their five games so far thanks to a leg injury, while Howard has acknowledged that he’s still recovering from the back surgery that brought a premature end to his 2011-12 campaign and knocked him out of the London Olympics. Kobe Bryant has also been playing through a foot ailment.

The Lakers are off to the worst start in the Western Conference despite carrying the league’s largest payroll at just over $100 million, which would trigger an estimated luxury-tax bill at season’s end of nearly $30 million.

The team has also been trying to institute a form of the Princeton offense, a system that relies on reads and ball sharing in order to take some of the offensive load off Bryant. The results have been mixed, at best.

— Reported by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com

Russell Westbrook says Derrick Rose can be even better than before

Derrick Rose

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook said Thursday he believed his friend and summer workout partner Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose would return a stronger player when he returns from his ACL injury.

Rose tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during Game 1 of a first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers last season and had surgery May 12. Typically the recovery time after the surgery is eight to 12 months.

“Definitely, he’ll be stronger, definitely be a lot better after seeing him this summer, seeing how quickly he was getting better and better,” Westbrook said prior to Thursday’s game with the Bulls. “No doubt in my mind he will. He works hard at what he does, and he’ll definitely come back better determined and come back and try to be better.”

— Reported by Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago

Chris Paul now part-owner of PBA bowling team

Chris Paul now part-owner of PBA bowling team

Chris Paul has yet to make a long-term commitment to the Los Angeles Clippers, but on Thursday he became the owner of a new Los Angeles professional sports team.

Paul, along with former Los Angeles Rams running back Jerome Bettis, Terrell Owens and Kevin Hart, became the first celebrity owners in the inaugural season of the Professional Bowlers Association’s PBA League.

The PBA League will feature eight teams of five PBA players each and make its debut in January. ESPN will televise five weeks of PBA League competition beginning Jan. 27, plus the PBA League Elias Cup finals in April.

— Reported by Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles

Lakers coach Mike Brown could soon be in trouble

coach mike brown

An unsuccessful homestand for the Los Angeles Lakers, as they settle into Staples Center for the next six games, would put the job of Lakers coach Mike Brown in immediate jeopardy, according to sources close to the situation.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Lakers, while having publicly expressed support for Brown in the wake of a 1-4 start, have privately grown sufficiently concerned about the state of the team to the point that management is prepared to look seriously at a coaching change at this early juncture if L.A. can’t take advantage of what looks to be multiple winnable games in the upcoming stretch.

The homestand begins Friday night against the banged-up Golden State Warriors, who’ll be without injured center Andrew Bogut and key reserve Brandon Rush, and continues through Nov. 20 with games against Sacramento, San Antonio, Phoenix, Houston and Brooklyn.

The Lakers have had a healthy Steve Nash in the lineup for only 1½ of their five games so far thanks to a leg injury, while fellow newcomer Dwight Howard has acknowledged that he’s still recovering from the back surgery that brought a premature end to his 2011-12 campaign and knocked him out of the London Olympics. Kobe Bryant has also been playing through a foot ailment.

Yet sources maintain that patience in the organization is starting to erode as the wait continues for signs of improvement in the Lakers’ play.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Clippers build big lead, beat Blazers 103-90

jamal crawford

Jamal Crawford scored 25 points and the Los Angeles Clippers held off the Portland Trail Blazers for a 103-90 victory on Thursday night.

De’Andre Jordan and Chris Paul had 21 points apiece for the Clippers, who led by 25 in the first half. Los Angeles improved to 4-2 in its first game away from Staples Center.

Nicolas Batum had 23 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers, who mounted a second-half challenge but ultimately couldn’t catch up.

Rookie Damian Lillard’s pull-up jumper and Batum’s 3-pointer helped Portland trim Los Angeles’ lead to 75-69 late in the third quarter. Batum’s driving layup at the buzzer made it 77-71 heading to the final period…

Clippers star Blake Griffin had 10 rebounds and seven points while playing with a sleeve covering his right arm for the third straight game because of fluid in his elbow…

Portland’s reserves, averaging an NBA-low 12.8 points per game, had just eight points in the first half. Their counterparts with the Clippers scored 25.

— Reported by Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press

Durant helps Thunder edge Bulls 97-91

kevin durant

Kevin Durant scored eight of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Chicago Bulls 97-91 on Thursday night.

Durant iced the game with an off-balance jumper off one foot with 35.1 seconds to play.

Serge Ibaka scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half, and had a team-high nine rebounds for the Thunder, who beat the Bulls for the third time in their last four games at Chicago. Russell Westbrook chipped in with 16 points and 12 assists.

Luol Deng led the Bulls with 27 points, and Richard Hamilton added 20 points and eight rebounds. Joakim Noah had nine points, 13 rebounds and a team-high six assists.

Hamilton made a tying jumper with 2:52 to play, but then Durant took over, making a floater from the top of the key over Deng to keep the Bulls at bay…

It was a season-high point total for Durant, who entered averaging 20.8 points after scoring a league-best 28.0 points per game last season.

— Reported by Bradford Doolittle of the Associated Press

InsideHoops.com notes: Russell Westbrook shot just 7-of-22 for 16 points, though he dished 12 assists with just two turnovers… Thunder center Kendrick Perkins went scoreless in 20 minutes of play… Thunder guard Kevin Martin came off the bench to produce 15 points on just five shot attempts (he hit 8-of-9 free throws)… For the Bulls, Carlos Boozer struggled, shooting just 3-of-9 for 9 points, 11 rebounds and five turnovers.

NBA fans dicussed the game in this basketball forum topic.