Billy Hunter responds to NBA Players Union

Unable to secure an invitation to address NBA players directly, embattled union executive director Billy Hunter has released online his response to a report that criticized his leadership.

Hunter’s lawyers say his 2010 contract extension was valid and the leave of absence he’s been placed on is not. They say if ratification of his contract had been needed, it was president Derek Fisher’s responsibility to get it, not Hunter’s.

Hunter’s contract was a central part of the review conducted by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and released last month. The report urged players to discuss Hunter’s future this weekend and said they had ”powerful arguments” that the contract wouldn’t be legal if an attempt to remove Hunter led to litigation.

Hunter had hoped to attend the players’ meeting in Houston on Saturday during All-Star weekend, but he wasn’t invited.

”While we are terribly disappointed that the NBPA will not afford Mr. Hunter the opportunity to address the players directly, we stand ready to press his claims in the appropriate forum,” attorney Michael Carlinsky wrote in the rebuttal.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Carmelo Anthony expects to play in NBA All-Star game

carmelo anthony

Carmelo Anthony arrived in Houston yesterday, and a league source said the NBA has been told the Knicks’ injured superstar is expecting to play in Sunday’s All-Star Game.

Anthony injured his right biceps during Wednesday’s 92-88 loss to Toronto during which he shot just 5-of-24. Anthony said he was bothered by the injury, though he finished the game and took 10 shots in the fourth quarter.

An NBA bylaw stipulates if a player shows up for the All-Star Game and does not play, the league has the power to forbid the player from competing in the next game after the break. That is designed as a deterrent to players who exaggerate injuries to get out of the game.

Anthony, who was voted to start in the Eastern Conference frontcourt with LeBron James and adversary Kevin Garnett, called the injury a “contusion.”

— Reported by Marc Berman and Tim Bontemps contributing, of the New York Post

Clippers rout Lakers 125-101, clinch season series

chris paul

The Los Angeles Clippers have no banners on the walls or in the rafters at Staples Center. They would need decades to measure up to the Lakers’ history.

And they don’t care. The past is easy to overlook in Hollywood. The present belongs to Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the Clippers, who are running Staples Center with style this season.

Paul had 24 points and 13 assists, Griffin scored 18 of his 22 points in a spectacular first quarter and the Clippers cemented their supremacy in Los Angeles with a 125-101 victory over the Lakers on Thursday night.

Chauncey Billups hit five 3-pointers while scoring 21 points for the Clippers, who never trailed as they roared into the All-Star break by clinching the season series in their city rivalry for the first time in 20 years. The Clippers have won the Staples Center co-tenants’ first three games of the season, with Los Angeles’ longtime underdogs burying the 16-time champions in this latest meeting under a wave of 16 3-pointers…

Caron Butler had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers, who lead Golden State by seven games atop the Pacific Division standings. The win was their fourth straight in an impressive five-night stretch heading into what could be a memorable All-Star game for Los Angeles’ teams, which are contributing four of the West’s five starters this weekend in Houston…

Kobe Bryant had 20 points and 11 assists for the Lakers, who head to the break in 10th place in the Western Conference, four games below .500 with little reason to suspect things will get a whole lot better – particularly without Pau Gasol, who’s likely out until April with the latest in their series of serious injuries…

The Clippers lost Lamar Odom in the second quarter when the longtime Lakers big man got poked in the left eye. … The Lakers’ Jodie Meeks converted a four-point play late in the third quarter.

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press

LeBron streak ends, Heat beat Thunder 110-100

lebron james

With LeBron James playing at his best level yet, the Miami Heat powered into the All-Star break with a reminder to the Oklahoma City Thunder that the NBA championship still resides on South Beach.

James had 39 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and narrowly missed extending his record-setting streak of high-scoring games combined with top-notch accuracy, as the Heat trampled Oklahoma City 110-100 in a Thursday night showcase.

James was in position to continue his NBA record run of games with at least 30 points and 60 percent shooting to seven, but missed from a couple steps beyond the 3-point line as the shot clock ran down with just over a minute left and Miami up 10.

That dropped him to 14 for 24 in the game, or 58 percent. All that mattered to him, though, was that Miami’s winning streak reached a season-best seven straight games – and the Heat beat the Thunder for the sixth time in a row, dating to last year’s NBA Finals.

”Winning is hard to come by in professional sports. That’s what it’s about,” James said. ”Sixty percent doesn’t matter. Winning is all that matters.”

Chris Bosh chipped in 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who won the last four games of last season’s Finals after losing Game 1 in Oklahoma City and continued their dominance in the series after winning on their home court on Christmas Day.

”I thought we imposed our will, playing our style of basketball,” said Dwyane Wade, who had 13 points and eight assists before fouling out with 3:29 to play…

Kevin Durant had 40 points and eight rebounds, but missed his first seven shots as Oklahoma City fell hopelessly behind. After the slow start, he wound up making half of his 24 shots – going 8 for 10 in the fourth quarter to get Oklahoma City within 108-100 after trailing by as much as 23…

Russell Westbrook had 26 points and 10 assists, with six turnovers, for the Thunder. He had 20 points in the first half to keep Oklahoma City from getting run out of its own gym.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Kevin Garnett says 2013 will be his last NBA All-Star game

Kevin Garnett

Boston Celtics center Kevin Garnett says this weekend “is definitely my last All-Star game.”

Garnett would not elaborate on why he wouldn’t be back after playing in the midseason exhibition for the 15th time in his 18-year career. Garnett says he’s bringing along friends and family so he can enjoy this weekend’s game in Houston.

Is it possible that the 37-year-old Garnett is planning to retire?

— Reported by the Associated Press

Dwight Howard to work on conditioning during All-Star weekend

dwight howard

In theory, NBA All-Star weekend will give plenty of Lakers time to clear their minds and rest their dinged up bodies.

But not Dwight Howard, and the reasons go beyond his plan to participate in what will be his eighth All-Star appearance despite having a aggravated right shoulder and a surgically repaired back.

“Our team trainers are going to come and we’re going to get a lot of work in while I’m there,” Howard said. “I’m trying to get into better shape. That’s my main goal. All the stuff I’ll be doing, I’ll do just to make sure I get into better shape.”

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Lakers owner Jerry Buss in hospital with cancer

Lakers owner Jerry Buss has cancer and is at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to a report Thursday by Radaronline.com in which a source suggested Buss is nearing death.

Buss’ cancer was learned previously by the Register but not published out of respect for the Buss family’s wishes.

Buss, 79, has been called the greatest owner in pro sports history for his 10 NBA championships with the Lakers, in addition to being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 and currently owns 66 percent of the team.

On Aug. 22, Buss’ daughter and Lakers executive vice president of business operations Jeanie Buss posted to her Twitter account: “For all those who asked, Dr. Buss is doing really well, even spending time visiting with Kobe yesterday. My dad’s pumped for #Lakers season!”

— Reported by Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register

Paul Millsap welcomes rest during low-key All-Star break

paul millsap

Jazz forward Paul Millsap won’t be partying during the All-Star break.

Bruised and fatigued after starting every one of Utah’s first 54 games this season, Millsap plans a low-key mini-vacation in Salt Lake City.

“I’m going to be at home — resting,” Millsap said. “I like beaches and things, but it’s not the time. I just don’t want to do nothing right now. I don’t even want to leave the house.”

In the Jazz’s final game before the break on Wednesday night, Millsap scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds during a 97-93 win at Minnesota.

— Reported by Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune

J.R. Smith wants better Knicks defense

JR Smith

It seems that everyone, from Mike Woodson on down, is searching for ways to clean up the Knicks’ porous defense.

On Wednesday night, J.R. Smith offered his take, hinting that the Knicks’ need to improve on D.

“We haven’t been that defensive team that we started off the season as. We were aggressive. Everybody was communicating. Everybody was excited to play. It just hasn’t been like that the last 10, 12 games,” Smith said after the Knicks’ loss to Toronto.

He’s right, by the way.

Over the last 10 games, the Knicks rank 23rd in opponent field goal percentage (47 percent) and 20th in defensive efficiency, a measure of points allowed per 100 possessions. They ranked sixth and fourth, respectively, in those categories after the first nine games of the season.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Mavs may have interest in Eric Gordon

eric gordon

The odds of the New Orleans Hornets trading shooting guard Eric Gordon before the Feb. 21 deadline are slim.

The odds of the Mavs trading for Gordon before the deadline are much closer to none.

However, ESPN’s Chris Broussard reports in an Insider column that the Mavs, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors are among the teams that have inquired about Gordon. In the cases of the Mavs and Rockets – a couple of teams that will have enough cap space to enter the Dwight Howard summer sweepstakes – the inquiries are likely about exploring a potential offseason fallback option…

Is Gordon worth that kind of money when the Mavs could probably re-sign O.J. Mayo for significantly less?

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas