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Austin Rivers will enter 2012 NBA Draft

Duke freshman guard Austin Rivers will enter the 2012 NBA Draft with plans to hire an agent, head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced on Monday. Rivers, the 2012 ACC Rookie of the Year, joins Corey Maggette (1999), Luol Deng (2004) and Kyrie Irving (2011) as Blue Devil freshmen to enter the NBA Draft after just one year of college basketball. The three previous freshmen early entrees were each selected among the first 13 players in their respective drafts, including Irving, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

“Austin [Rivers] had a terrific year as a freshman and has put himself in a position to pursue his dream of being a great player in the NBA,” said Krzyzewski. “He is an outstanding young man with an even more impressive family. We are in total support of Austin, his family and his decision. We look forward to watching him continue to develop and excel at the next level.”

Rivers averaged a team-high 15.5 points per game to join Johnny Dawkins (1983) and Bill Sapp (1945) as the only players to lead the Blue Devils in scoring as freshmen. The Winter Park, Fla., native scored in double-figures 30 times, with eight games with 20 or more points scored. He also averaged 3.4 rebounds, while finishing second on the team in assists (71) and steals (33) and third in three-point field goals (58).

In the Duke freshman record books, Rivers ranks among the all-time leaders in points (3rd – 527), points per game (3rd – 15.5), field goals (6th – 174), three-point field goals (5th – 58), free throws (1st – 121), free throw attempts (1st – 184), games started (t-6th – 33), minutes played (7th – 1,129), double-figure scoring games (t-3rd – 30) and 20-point games (t-5th – eight).

Rivers earned NABC third team All-America honors to become the first freshman in Duke history and the 24th player overall (38 honors) under Coach K to earn All-America accolades. He also became just the seventh freshman in ACC history to collect first team all-conference recognition.

“I would like to thank the coaches, my teammates and the fans for helping make this past year at Duke so special,” said Rivers. “Coach K and the rest of the staff really helped me develop and improve in all areas of the game. It was a difficult decision to leave Duke, but I am excited about chasing my dream of playing in the NBA.”

He had his best scoring performances of the year on the biggest stage on Feb. 8 at North Carolina. Rivers posted a season-high 29 points and nailed a three-point field goal at the buzzer to give the Blue Devils an 85-84 win over the fifth-ranked Tar Heels. He went 9-of-16 from the field, including 6-of-10 from three-point range, and added five rebounds in the victory.

Rivers reached double-figures in each of the final 17 games of the season averaging a team-best 17.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in that span.

“Duke has prepared me for the challenges that are ahead both on and off the court,” added Rivers. “I have learned so much from the coaching staff and my teammates that will help me succeed at the next level.”

Celtics end Bucks’ 6-game winning streak

With a team led by three veteran stars playing the seventh game of a taxing eight-game road trip, it wouldn’t have been shocking to see the Boston Celtics simply run out of gas.

Instead, they had more than enough energy to slow down and disrupt the suddenly streaking Milwaukee Bucks.

Paul Pierce scored 25 points to help Boston to a 100-91 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday night, snapping the Bucks’ six-game winning streak.

“It’s a good win definitely tonight, especially the way Milwaukee’s been playing as of late,” Pierce said. “This is a mentally strong group. We understand it’s been a long trip. This is a group that wants to get the next win and make it a great trip.”

Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Mickael Pietrus scored 13 points for the Celtics, who improved to 4-3 on the long road trip.

“These last two wins have been big,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “We felt like this game, we would have enough rest to play this game. We took two days off and that helped us.”

Brandon Jennings had 19 points for Milwaukee.

— Reported by Chris Jenkins of the Associated Press

Celtics center Jermaine O’Neal out for season

The Boston Celtics announced today that center Jermaine O’Neal will undergo surgery on his left wrist and will miss the remainder of the 2011-12 season.

O’Neal has a chronic degenerative wrist condition that was exacerbated after a fall during the Celtics’ game against the Dallas Mavericks on February 20th. The wrist has not responded to immobilization and physical therapy, and the decision was made to proceed with surgery.

“Jermaine worked hard to get himself in condition to play this season despite his ongoing wrist issues,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. “He played through pain the entire year and gave us all he could, but unfortunately after the fall against Dallas there simply wasn’t anything else he could do. We appreciate his contributions to our team over the last two years.”

Nets sign Gerald Green for remainder of season

Gerald Green

The comeback

The New Jersey Nets have signed forward Gerald Green for the remainder of the season, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

Green, who signed the first of two consecutive 10-day contracts with the Nets on February 27, has played in 11 games, averaging 11.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game. The 6-8 forward scored a season-high 26 points on two occasions this season and has reached double figures in scoring in each of the last five games.

Prior to joining the Nets, Green was named MVP of the 2012 D-League All Star Game and played in 22 games for the Los Angeles D-Fenders this season, averaging 19.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per game. The 6-8 forward was selected in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft (18th overall) by the Boston Celtics, entering the draft out of high school. Green played two seasons for the Celtics, having his best year in 2006-07 with averages of 10.4 points and 2.6 rebounds over 81 games (26 starts), as well as winning the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Following his stint in Boston, Green appeared in a total of 30 games with Houston and Minnesota in 2007-08, and 28 games in 2008-09 with the Dallas Mavericks.

Danny Ainge says he was involved in lots of trade talk

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Thursday night that he worked on deals of all varieties — big and small; for now and for the future — but ultimately couldn’t hammer out a swap that made sense for Boston and its potential trade partner(s) before the NBA’s 3 p.m. deadline passed.

“I guess what prevented any trade was making at least two teams in a deal happy, or satisfied that a deal was worthwhile,” said Ainge. “But as late as 2:57, there was still trades that were possible and being negotiated. We were close to handful of different types of trades — small to bigger — that just couldn’t be resolved. That happens often.”

Asked later if he approached the deadline as a buyer or a seller, Ainge added, “I was looking at both opportunities, to strengthen our team for the playoff run this year and/or build some chips and some assets for future. We actually had a lot of conversation on both sides, but nothing seemed good enough to do.”

— Reported by Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston

Celtics forward Chris Wilcox will miss remainder of season

The Boston Celtics announced today that forward Chris Wilcox will undergo aortic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic on March 29, and will miss the remainder of the 2011-12 season.

A team of leading cardiac specialists who consulted with Wilcox and the Celtics indicated that surgery should completely repair Wilcox’s condition and that he can expect to resume his NBA career next season.

Wilcox has long had an aortic abnormality that remained stable throughout his 10-year NBA career. However, as a precautionary measure, the Celtics medical staff scheduled frequent aortic scans for Wilcox, and a recent scan showed a significant enlargement of his aorta. After several follow-up tests, doctors recommended surgery.

“While we are saddened that Chris will not be able to play again this season, the most important thing is his health, and we were fortunate to have access to an amazing team of specialists to evaluate Chris’s case,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. “The entire Celtics family supports Chris during this difficult time in his career.”

Stephon Marbury denies hitting a fan after game in China

Stephon Marbury

Enjoys typing “love is love” thousands of times per day on Twitter

Former NBA star Stephon Marbury has denied hitting a fan after a testy playoff loss in a Chinese Basketball Association game.

The 35-year-old Marbury and his Beijing Ducks teammates were trapped in their team van after their 102-100 road loss on Sunday to the Shanxi Brave Dragons, Marbury’s original team when he joined the league in 2010. A newspaper photograph showed fans pounding on the windows of the van.

Marbury was quoted Tuesday by the official China Daily as saying he and the fans had been separated by guards. However, he disputed reports he’d hit a fan.

“I didn’t do that,” Marbury said. “How could I do that over the security guards?”

Marbury scored 25 points in the game that was interrupted for 10 minutes as Shanxi fans threw water bottles onto the court to protest what they deemed to be a bad call.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Lakers, Celtics discussed a Rajon Rondo trade

The teams talked last week about a trade for Celtics guard Rajon Rondo, though nothing was close to accomplished and discussions dried up.

The Lakers are unwilling to trade Pau Gasol for Rondo, making a deal with Boston unlikely before the trade deadline Thursday.

“Unless they give up Gasol, they’re not going to get a top-level point guard,” said a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to discuss it publicly.

Rondo had 24 points and 10 assists in the Lakers’ 97-94 victory Sunday over Boston at Staples Center. Gasol had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times

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Rondo drops monster triple-double on Knicks

There was never anyone quite like Rajon Rondo in the Ivy League when Jeremy Lin played at Harvard.

The game that was supposed to signal a changing of the guard in the Atlantic Division instead turned into the All Star point guard from the Boston Celtics schooling the Knicks young point guard.

Rondo recorded a triple-double as the Knicks, who elected not to foul in the final seconds of regulation and instead gave up game-tying 3-pointer to Paul Pierce, suffered a heart-breaking 115-111 overtime loss to the Celtics on Sunday.

Rondo finished with 18 points, 20 assists and 17 rebounds as Boston improved to 19-17 and beat the Knicks for the 11 straight time at TD Garden. The Knicks, who face the defending NBA champion Mavs on Tuesday in Dallas, fell to 18-19.

— Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

Danny Ainge predicts Rajon Rondo won’t be traded

Rajon Rondo’s trade status and thorny nature are again the stuff of national speculation, and Danny Ainge isn’t surprised.

“It’s never stopped,” the Celtics [team stats] president said yesterday after the latest wave hit with an ESPN.com report Wednesday. “It’s like if the Patriots [team stats] lose three straight games, and people start talking about trading Tom Brady [stats].”

Ainge was quick to insist Rondo’s most likely team following the March 15 trade deadline is the one that pays him now. He added that he is not currently trying to trade the point guard.

“I anticipate him being here for a long time,” said Ainge, who also derided reports that Rondo, who has butted heads with virtually every coach he’s ever had, now has a worsened relationship with Doc Rivers.

“Rondo and Doc get along fine. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t bumps in the road. But I would go so far as to say they get along now better than they ever have. This is nothing new. There are other issues that concern us so much more.”

— Reported by Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald