The Associated Press reports: Stephon Marbury played the second half of New York’s loss to Phoenix on Sunday night unaware his father had been taken to a hospital, where he died before the game ended. Don Marbury was taken from Madison Square Garden to St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center during halftime, reportedly because of chest pains, but a family member advised a Knicks official not to inform Stephon Marbury at the time. Stephon Marbury learned of his father’s death from a family friend minutes after the game. “It’s a terrible thing that happened to him and his family last night,” Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said Monday after practice. “For any parent watching their son or daughter perform, and to have something like that happen, anyone who has kids would sympathize with the son and you also sympathize with the family.”
Category: NBA News Blog
NBA news blog
Tim Duncan hurt
The Associated Press reports: Tim Duncan bruised his right knee and sprained his right ankle in the first half and did not return to the game. The team said all of Duncan’s ligaments appeared stable but that he would undergo an MRI exam on Monday.
Finger sprain keeps LeBron out
The Associated Press reports: LeBron James missed his second straight game with a sprained left index finger when the Cleveland Cavaliers faced the Boston Celtics on Sunday. He was hurt in the second quarter Wednesday night in a loss to Detroit when Nazr Mohammed slapped at the ball as James began to shoot.
Rob Swift out another month
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports: The Sonics weren’t counting on Robert Swift for big things in the early season, and they found out this week that the fourth-year center likely will miss another month with knee tendinitis and plantar fasciitis. Swift, who will turn 22 on Monday, has played in just five of the Sonics’ 16 games because of soreness in his surgically repaired right knee. Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo said Friday morning that Swift had his knee examined by Lakers team doctor Stephen Lombardo, who performed the anterior cruciate ligament surgery a year ago.
NBA denies Mavs protest
The NBA today denied a game protest filed by the Dallas Mavericks over their 111-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers on November 23.
The Mavericks filed the protest because a basket by Indiana’s Troy Murphy with 9:59 remaining in the second quarter was mistakenly recorded as a 3-point field goal instead of a 2-point field goal (making the score 41-25 in Indiana’s favor), and the Mavericks contended that this extra point had a clear impact on the outcome of the game.
The NBA’s review confirmed that Murphy’s shot was mistakenly recorded; the Official Scorer erroneously believed that one or more referees had given the signal for a 3-point field goal. In fact, no referee made such a signal, nor was any referee aware until after the game that the Official Scorer had awarded 3 points to Indiana as a result of Murphy’s shot.
Although he concluded that an inadvertent error was made by the Official Scorer, NBA Commissioner David Stern determined that it did not have such a clear impact on the outcome of the game that a replay of the contest should be ordered. Murphy’s shot occurred with almost 34 minutes of regulation time remaining in the game, providing Dallas with a substantial opportunity to overcome the 1-point error. Dallas lost the game by four points.
Although NBA rules would have allowed the game officials to correct the scoring error at any time prior to the end of the game, it was not brought to their attention until after the game.
Spurs assign Darius Washington to D-League
The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have assigned guard Darius Washington to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League (D-League).
The 6-2, 195-pound Washington has appeared in 15 games for the Spurs, averaging 2.8 points and 1.10 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per contest. He finished with a season-high 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting vs. Milwaukee on Nov. 11.
The University of Memphis product was signed by San Antonio as a free agent on October 1.
Washington is the second player – Ian Mahinmi was assigned on 11/21 – the Spurs have assigned to the Toros since Spurs Sports & Entertainment purchased the Austin franchise on June 28, 2007.
Pat Riley statement on accusation against Smush Parker
Pat Riley made a statement today on Smush Parker: “We are currently investigating the reported incident. Until we have concluded it, Smush will not be with the team. He has not been suspended and is currently on our inactive list. This is a legal matter and we will have no further comment until the legal process runs its course.”
The statement is in response to the following, as reported by the Miami Herald:
A Miami woman accusing Heat guard Smush Parker of twisting her arm during a dispute over a valet fee is seeking criminal charges against the five-year NBA player. Yomaira McKenzie, 41, said Parker ”lost it” Tuesday morning when he was asked to pay the $12 valet parking charge he allegedly owed at a condo building at 355 Biscayne Blvd. McKenzie is an assistant manager at Standard Valet, which services the building. According to a Miami police incident report, Parker, 26, claimed he had paid the fee in advance a night earlier. He said he did not have any available cash to pay Tuesday. Tension apparently escalated when Parker, denied his keys until he settled the debt, allegedly pushed a valet podium and grabbed McKenzie’s arm in an attempt to get his keys, according to the incident report. Parker was not arrested or charged at the scene Tuesday, which is standard procedure in most simple misdemeanor battery cases that aren’t witnessed by police.
Remember, it’s just an accusation. Parker’s innocent, until proven otherwise.
Nuggets sign Jelani McCoy
The Denver Nuggets have signed F/C Jelani McCoy. He’s 6-10, 245 pounds and comes from the D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders team. The Nuggets have injuries up front and needed some extra size. They recently cut Mike Wilks.
McCoy is a pretty good player and I think he belongs in the league, towards the end of a bench, but with a legit deal.
Hit InsideHoops.com for more details about the transactions.
Suns assign Alando Tucker to D-League
The Phoenix Suns have assigned rookie forward Alando Tucker to their NBA Development League affiliate Albuquerque Thunderbirds, it was announced today by Suns President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Steve Kerr.
The 29th overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft, Tucker has made appearances in two games for Phoenix this season, averaging 6.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in 8.0 minutes of action. A product of the University of Wisconsin, Tucker finished his college career as the all-time leading scorer with 2,217 points, averaging 16.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 134 games. During his senior season he earned Big Ten Player of the Year and was named First-Team All-American by the Associated Press.
Tucker is the record-setting 12th NBA player assigned to the D-League this season. On this date last year there had been a total of three players assigned to the D-League, while in 2005-06 there were eight players assigned to the NBA Development League at this point.
Tucker joins an Albuquerque squad with a 2-1 record on the season, coached by 1984 NBA All-Star Jeff Ruland and features 2004 NBA champion Darvin Ham.
Matt Barnes’ mother dies
The San Jose Mercury News reports: Ann Barnes, mother of the Warriors’ Matt Barnes, died Tuesday after battling cancer. Matt has apparently told the Warriors that he wants to play tonight in Sacramento, which is home for him and is where he returned to be with his mother often over the last few fateful weeks. I can’t say anything more than his teammates have already said: They’re with him, they support him, they want whatever’s best for him.