Zach Randolph suspended for punch

Zach Randolph of the Los Angeles Clippers has been suspended two games without pay for striking Louis Amundson of the Phoenix Suns in the face, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, in which Randolph was assessed a Technical Foul and was also ejected, occurred with 32.3 seconds remaining in the first quarter of the Suns 140-100 victory over the Clippers at US Airways Center on Feb. 17.

Randolph will begin serving his suspension tonight when the Clippers host the Suns at Staples Center.

Top 16 Week 3 Euroleague MVP: Ersan Ilyasova

Euroleague.net reports: In a week full of great individual performances, one of the Euroleague’s fastest-rising stars sparked his team to an important victory to become MVP of Top 16 Week 3. Barcelona power forward Ersan Ilyasova put on a career-best show for the home fans while leading his team back from a halftime deficit to defeat Alba Berlin 85-69 on Thursday and take exclusive hold on second place in Group F… Another power forward, Mirsad Turkcan of Fenerbahce Ulker, had the week’s second-best individual effort with an index rating of 37. Turkcan hit 8 of his 13 field-goal attempts and recorded a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds to go with 2 blocks, leading Fenerbahce to an impressive 55-65 road victory over Cibona in Zagreb. Tau Ceramica captain Sergi Vidal came off the bench to record the third best performance of the week with an index rating of 33.

Tony Allen out 8 weeks

The Boston Celtics announced today that guard Tony Allen underwent successful surgery to repair ligaments in his left thumb at New England Baptist Hospital.  Allen will miss the next eight weeks.

Allen, a 6’4” 213lb guard, is currently in his fifth season with the Celtics and is averaging 7.8 points and 1.25 steals in 19.1 minutes per game.  Allen has scored in double-figures 17 times this season in 42 contests and has led the Celtics in steals in 11 games. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy netted a season-high of 23 points against the Pistons on November 9.

Season over for Tracy McGrady

ESPN.com reports: The season has been a major disappointment for Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets. It might have just gotten worse. The forward told ESPN.com’s Stephen A. Smith on Tuesday that his troublesome left knee will end his season and that he will undergo microfracture surgery. McGrady’s name had come up earlier Tuesday in reported trade discussions between the Rockets and New Jersey Nets. The Nets were leery of McGrady’s contract and health in discussions involving Nets forward Vince Carter.

Gasol’s triple-double leads Lakers past Hawks

The AP reports: Having owned the Western Conference’s top spot through the first half, the Lakers got started on maintaining their status with a 96-83 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night… Pau Gasol had 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his third career triple- double, and Lamar Odom had 15 points and 20 rebounds, Derek Fisher scored 14 points, and Trevor Ariza and Jordan Farmar added 10 points each for the Lakers. With his teammates carrying the load, Kobe Bryant scored a season-low 10 points… All-Star Joe Johnson scored 14 points and Josh Smith added 13 for the Hawks, who had their three-game road winning streak end on the first night of their five-game West Coast trip.

Kirilenko returns to spark Jazz over Grizzlies

The AP reports: Andrei Kirilenko returned from an ankle injury to spark a key fourth-quarter run and help the Utah Jazz beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-99 Tuesday night. C.J. Miles scored 24 points and Deron Williams had 20 points and 15 assists… Despite his third straight double-double, Williams’ five-game streak of brilliant shooting came to an end. Williams was the first guard since Michael Jordan in November 1996 to score more than 30 points on better than 50 percent shooting for five consecutive games. He shot 7-of-18 against Memphis.

Big Barbosa game, Suns destroy Clippers 140-100

The AP reports: The Suns’ big win came at the expense of a Clippers squad without center Marcus Camby, out with an inner ear infection. The Clippers also played most of the game without leading scorer Zach Randolph, who was ejected in the first quarter after punching Phoenix reserve Louis Amundson. Leandro Barbosa scored 24 points and Amare Stoudemire added 23 as the Suns began their second-half push for the postseason. They’re one game behind Utah in the race for the last Western Conference playoff spot… The Suns shot 75.6 percent from the floor in the first half, with most of their buckets coming on layups and dunks. At halftime, Phoenix had more points in the paint (50) than the Clippers had total… Eric Gordon had 24 points for the Clippers.

Battier, Yao lead Rockets past Nets 114-88

The AP reports: The Houston Rockets made it look easy against the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night. Yao Ming had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Shane Battier scored a season-high 19 points in the Rockets’ 114-88 rout. Von Wafer scored 19 points and Ron Artest added 18 for the Rockets, who outrebounded New Jersey 56-30 and set season highs in 3-point field goals (15) and assists (27) in their sixth straight win over the Nets… The Rockets improved to 13-6 without McGrady this season. Vince Carter scored 30 points and Brook Lopez added 21 for the Nets, who have lost three straight after a four-game winning streak.

Paul hits game-winner in 100-98 Hornets win over Thunder

The AP reports: Returning again to the city where his NBA career got started, Chris Paul drove the lane for a layup with 2.7 seconds left to lift the New Orleans Hornets to a 100-98 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night… David West led the Hornets with 37 points and 13 rebounds, while Paul finished with 21 points and eight assists in the team’s first game since trading starting center Tyson Chandler to the Thunder earlier in the day for veterans Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox, plus second-round pick DeVon Hardin… Jeff Green added 24 points and Westbrook scored 12 points for Oklahoma City.