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Lakers outlast Thunder 114-106 in double OT

Metta World Peace was subdued and contrite in the Los Angeles Lakers’ locker room, apologizing to Oklahoma City’s James Harden for throwing the elbow that sent them both to the locker room in the second quarter.

They both missed a beauty of a game that could echo into the postseason for two division leaders.

Kobe Bryant scored six of his 26 points in the second overtime alongside an unorthodox Lakers lineup, and Los Angeles rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half for a 114-106 victory over the Thunder on Sunday.

Pau Gasol had 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers, who made an impressive comeback in their regular-season home finale against off-target Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who combined to miss 42 of their 56 shots. Los Angeles’ rally stunned the Thunder and set an early tone for their possible second-round playoff matchup…

Ibaka had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Thunder, who led by 11 points with 4 minutes left in regulation. Westbrook had 14 points on 3-for-22 shooting and 10 assists as Oklahoma City fell 1 1/2 games behind San Antonio atop the Western Conference with just its third loss in nine games.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Andrew Bynum says he will skip Olympics

Lakers center Andrew Bynum is not interested in playing in the Olympics because he wants extra rest and also plans to undergo the same innovative knee procedure that Kobe Bryant had in Germany last summer.

“I’ve got to take care of my legs in the off-season,” Bynum said Friday. “I’ve got some things planned for my knees…. I’ve got to do some therapy that I’m going overseas to do.”

Bynum has undergone surgical procedures on each of his knees in recent years.

The procedure in Germany is much less invasive and marketed as Regenokine or Orthokine.

It targets proteins or molecules called interleukin that cause inflammatory responses. Blood is removed from the affected area of a patient and spun in a centrifuge. The antagonists of interleukin are removed to create a serum that is injected back into the targeted area.

— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times

National Basketball Players Association requests that Derek Fisher quit

NBPA STATEMENT REGARDING THE NBPA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE VOTE REQUESTING THE RESIGNATION OF NBPA PRESIDENT DEREK FISHER

On April 18th, the NBPA executive committee cast an 8-to-0 vote that it lost confidence in Derek Fisher’s ability to act as Union President, and requested Derek’s resignation.

The Executive Committee based its decision on numerous instances over the past six months, where Fisher engaged in conduct detrimental to the union, including acting in contravention of the players’ best interests during collective bargaining, declining to follow the NBPA Constitution, and failing to uphold the duties of the Union President. To avoid further damage to the NBPA and its 450 members, the Executive Board again calls for Derek’s resignation.

The NBPA performs annual financial audits and shares the results of those audits with the Executive Committee and Player Representatives at its annual meetings. The NBPA completed a financial audit in February and will share the results of the audit with the Executive Committee and Player Representatives at the union’s summer meeting.

Additionally, the NBPA conducted two business reviews following the negotiation of the 1999 and 2005 Collective Bargaining Agreements. And with the support of the entire Executive Committee, the union will conduct another business review in a timely manner.

We hope for a swift and complete resolution to these issues.

Read NBA fan opinion and share your views in this basketball forum topic.

Basketball Wives star Jennifer Williams sues castmate`s personal assistant over slap

“Basketball Wives” star Jennifer Williams is filing a lawsuit Wednesday accusing a Manhattan woman of a flagrant foul for viciously slapping her face during a taping of the reality show.

Williams, ex-wife of NBA player Eric Williams, also has filed a complaint with the state attorney’s office in Florida, said lawyer Sanford Rubenstein.

“Violence used against any person is wrong but when a woman hits another woman it sets a horrible example for young girls everywhere,” Williams told the Daily News.

“I choose to use the justice system to fight back,” she said in an exclusive interview.

The defendant, Nia Crooks, is a personal assistant to “Basketball Wives” co-star Evelyn Lozada. Crooks belted Williams while VH1 cameras were rolling Jan. 21 in the presidential suite of the Gulfstream Park racetrack in South Florida.

— Reported by John Marzulli of the New York Daily News

Spurs rout Lakers, improve spot atop West

While last week’s blowout loss to the Lakers still stings the San Antonio Spurs, they found a way to feel better while moving into prime position to win the West.

Tony Parker had 29 points and 13 assists, Tim Duncan had 19 points and eight rebounds, and the Spurs handed Los Angeles its worst loss of the season, 112-91 on Tuesday night.

Just six days after the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers jumped to a 26-point lead during a comfortable victory at San Antonio, the Spurs answered by scoring 18 consecutive points during an impressive second-quarter spree. The Spurs snapped Los Angeles’ four-game winning streak while dominating a meeting of division leaders – albeit with Bryant sitting out his sixth straight game to rest his bruised shin…

Manu Ginobili scored 15 points as the Spurs (44-16) improved their position atop the Western Conference with their fourth straight win, moving a half-game clear of Oklahoma City (44-17) for the No. 1 playoff seed. Popovich didn’t sit his stars in the second game of a three-in-three-nights stretch, with Duncan playing 35 minutes and Parker 30…

Andrew Bynum had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers, whose Pacific Division lead over the Clippers dwindled to a half-game, although the Lakers hold the tiebreaker. Matt Barnes and Pau Gasol scored 16 points apiece, but with Bryant watching from the bench in a sharp suit, Los Angeles couldn’t match the depth of the Spurs, who got at least four points from 10 players.

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press

Kevin Garnett and Andrew Bynum named Players of Week

The Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Andrew Bynum today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, April 9, through Sunday, April 15.

Boston went 4-1 on the week, going 3-1 in games in which Garnett appeared. Garnett averaged 20.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks for the surging Celtics. He recorded three point-rebound double-doubles on the week, including a 21-point, 12-rebound effort on April 14 during a 94-82 win at New Jersey.

Bynum led the Lakers to a 4-0 week behind averages of 21.8 points, a league-best 16.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks. Bynum posted three point-rebound double-doubles on the week, including a 16-point, 30-rebound effort on April 11 during a 98-84 win over San Antonio.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Denver’s Kenneth Faried, Indiana’s Danny Granger, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul, Memphis’ Rudy Gay, New Orleans’ Eric Gordon, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Bynum grabs 30 rebounds, Lakers beat Spurs

Andrew Bynum had 16 points and 30 rebounds, the most in an NBA game this season, and the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t need Kobe Bryant to blow out the San Antonio Spurs 98-84 Wednesday night.

Metta World Peace scored 26 points and the Lakers, playing their third straight game without the injured Bryant, manhandled the Spurs underneath to hand the West’s second-place team one of their most embarrassing losses this season…

Danny Green led the Spurs with 22 points.

Pau Gasol added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who are now 2-1 without Bryant. Two nights after barely squeaking past lowly New Orleans, the Lakers played far livelier this time without their superstar…

Parker and Ginobili might as well have taken another night off. Parker scored four on 2 of 12 shooting and Ginobili scored 9. Duncan had 14 points and just two rebounds.

— Reported by the Associated Press

High school star Shabazz Muhammad will attend UCLA

Shabazz Muhammad, who grabbed nearly every award a high school basketball player can earn this season, said Wednesday that he plans to sign with UCLA. He chose the Bruins over Duke and Kentucky.

“Just making the decision was really difficult,” Muhammad said. “It’s a lot of jitters going through my mind. I thought how comfortable I was with the coach (Ben Howland). I chose to be a Bruin, so I’ll be at UCLA next year. I just think it’s a challenge, knowing how bad they were the last two years. It’s a challenge to get them back up to the top. With Kyle Anderson coming with Jordan Adams and hopefully Tony Parker, it will be a great team for the future.”

Muhammad, a 6-6 small forward for Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), averaged 29.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists while leading the Gaels to a state 4A title. Though most recruiting services list him as the No. 2 player behind Nerlens Noel, he won the Morgan Wootten Award and Naismith Award as the nation’s top high school player.

— Reported by Jim Halley of USA Today

Kobe Bryant likely out Wednesday vs Spurs

Kobe Bryant will not play Wednesday night in San Antonio, missing his third consecutive game because of an inflamed tendon sheath in his left shin.

Lakers coach Mike Brown huddled with athletic trainer Gary Vitti after practice in San Antonio about it. Bryant was at practice for medical treatment — and Vitti reported further improvement in Bryant’s condition, which made notable progress through Monday — but declined to comment. Bryant had ice over his shin during practice but left without the protective boot he has been wearing.

Bryant’s track record is that he will play in games if he is physically capable — and he could play now if the situation mandated it — but the issue is that the situation with his shin will likely recur if he does not rest until it is pain free. The Lakers don’t want this to be an issue that crops back up with the playoffs coming up (the Lakers’ first playoff game is expected to be April 29).

— Reported by Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register

Kobe Bryant sits out Suns game with injured left shin

Kobe Bryant sat out the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night with an injured left shin.

Lakers longtime trainer Gary Vitti says he decided to put Bryant’s left foot in a protective boot to rest the injury. Vitti says the All-Star guard has been playing through the very painful injury, an inflammation surrounding a tendon, but it hasn’t gotten any better.

He says the only way it will improve is with rest.

— Reported by Bob Baum of the Associated Press