Nets’ Williams waived, jailed

On the same day he was waived by the Nets, forward Shawne Williams turned himself into authorities yesterday and was booked into Shelby County Jail in Memphis. He was indicted by a Shelby County grand jury on Tuesday on eight drug charges.

Williams was traded to the Nets on Monday with Kris Humphries in exchange for Eduardo Najera, but brass weren't impressed with what they saw. After Williams told them he needed to return home for an emergency, they announced he had been waived yesterday at 2:54 p.m. He was booked 22 minutes later.

"Bottom line, we brought him in to take a look at him, and he was way out of shape and we didn't really like what we saw," GM and interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. "He said he had to go home for some type of medical emergency. We waived him and then all this other stuff came down."

Williams was indicted on four counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture/deliver/sell, and four counts of conspiracy to manufacture/deliver/sell a controlled substance — a codeine-based syrup, according to the Shelby County District Attorney's office.

Both of the charges are considered Class E felonies and carry standard sentences of 1-2 years, as if being dumped by the worst team in the NBA wasn't bad enough. His bond was set at $16,000 and his case is assigned to Criminal Court Division 10, but no arraignment date has been scheduled.

Lakers are back at full power with Pau

Times change, as do people and, eventually, dynasties, but the Lakers won't be losing a season series to the Clippers, yet again.

Pau Gasol officially ended Hamstring Watch (Part 2), Andrew Bynum continued to rumble, and Kobe Bryant's back looked just fine in a 126-86 Lakers victory Friday at Staples Center.

What was a game for one half turned into a laugher in the other, the Lakers riding 30 points from Bryant and 20 each from Bynum and Gasol to win with ease.

It was the Lakers' second-largest margin of victory over the Clippers' franchise, narrowly topping a 38-point victory in 2009 and a 37-point victory in 2008 but still shy of a 46-point drubbing in 1979.

Along those lines, the Lakers haven't lost a season series to the Clippers since 1993 and are 2-1 against them this season. The teams don't play again until the April 14 regular-season finale.

Bryant no longer played as if on a tightrope, Gasol successfully ended his second stint on the injured list because of a strained hamstring and Bynum played as if Gasol were still sidelined, making eight of 13 shots and taking seven rebounds in 28 minutes.

Clippers owner Donald Sterling had seen enough with 2:54 to play, walking off the court with the Lakers ahead, 115-79.

A three-point halftime edge somehow exploded into a 40-point victory.

"Pretty hard to imagine that," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said.

The Clippers were fine in the first half, hanging with the Lakers despite no Blake Griffin and no Chris Kaman, who missed his third consecutive game because of a sore lower back.

Baron Davis had 11 points and five assists to keep the Clippers within 53-50 at the half.

But Davis had only three points in the third and the Clippers crumbled, as did Davis with 3:06 left in the quarter and the Lakers ahead, 80-60.

Davis swung an elbow while being trapped by Gasol and Derek Fisher in the corner, hitting Gasol squarely on the right shoulder. Davis was called for an offensive foul, then turned to Fisher and started jawing at him before Bryant intervened.

"I just felt there were too many slaps," Davis said. "I got slapped in my face a couple of times, the play before that. They just kept slapping me in the corner. What else was I supposed to do? Stand there and get slapped?"

Davis and Fisher were each called for a technical foul and Davis ended up being assessed a flagrant foul 1, leading to two free throws and possession of the ball for the Lakers.

The league will review the play this morning, as is the custom whenever a flagrant foul is assessed.

The whole quarter was worth reviewing in the Lakers' eyes, specifically their push to outscore the Clippers. Bryant and Gasol each had 12 points. The Clippers had no answer.

After a long hiatus from tossing rocks at the down-the-hall neighbors, Jackson lobbed some barbs at the Clippers' owner before the game.

In the wake of the Griffin season-ending injury news, Jackson was asked whether he believed in curses or hexes -- the suggestive question being whether the Clippers were, uh, cursed or hexed.

"I'm of that generation that believed in karma," Jackson said.

"If you do a good mitzvah, maybe you can eliminate some of those things. Do you think that Sterling's done enough mitzvahs to eliminate some of those? How about all those other incidents that we have on file?"

Jackson was referring to a housing-discrimination lawsuit Sterling settled two months ago by paying $2.7 million without legally admitting guilt.

Dangerous liaisons await the Lakers over the next couple of weeks, including a home game Monday against Orlando followed by an eight-game trip starting Thursday in Cleveland.

Utah Jazz still giddy, practice without Andrei Kirilenko, Deron Williams

SALT LAKE CITY — If fans are still beaming and buzzing about the Utah Jazz's thrilling buzzer-beating 97-96 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, they're certainly not the only ones.

Less than 12 hours after shocking LeBron James and his Cavalier crew, the Jazz reconvened for practice and were still acting giddy and geeked about the way the game ended, too.

And not just the players, mind you.

"It was wonderful to see it happen," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said of Sundiata Gaines' 3-pointer that gave Utah an unlikely win over Cleveland to cap a wild fourth quarter.

"Our players are very excited about it and our coaches are very excited about it."

Though all were excited, no doubt, not all were healthy enough to practice Friday. Both Deron Williams (sprained right wrist) and Andrei Kirilenko (hyperextended right knee) sat out of practice this morning to receive treatment and rehab the injuries they suffered in Thursday's game.

Williams and Kirilenko will be game-time decisions for Saturday night's home game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

That one, of course, will have a hard time matching the excitement level of Thursday night's magical moment — a win that happened for the Jazz with Williams and Kirilenko in the training room, a fouled-out Carlos Boozer on the bench and against a red-hot James on the court.

Not to forget the hero who caused pandemonium inside EnergySolutions Arena when he hit his first 3-pointer of his short NBA career on a day that he'd been informed that he would get a second 10-day contract.

"I was thrilled to death," Sloan said. "That's a once-in-a-lifetime thing for just about anybody. There aren't a lot of Michael Jordans around."

Even without Roy, Blazers find joy

No Brandon Roy?

For the Trail Blazers Friday night, no problem.

Drawing from major contributions by nearly everyone, Portland took out the Orlando Magic early and rolled to a 102-85 victory at the Rose Garden.

Roy sat out the game with a sore right hamstring, but the Blazers have grown accustomed to going without a full complement of players in what has to be one of the most injury-riddled campaigns in NBA history.

“When we hear someone’s not playing, it sucks for him, but we’re kind of used to that around here,” said Steve Blake, who came off the bench for 18 points and six assists. “You push forward, and develop a mindset toward a different kind of game.”

The Blazers (25-16) hit the midway point of the regular season with just the right kind of performance against an Orlando bunch that isn’t playing like the team that reached the NBA Finals a year ago.

It was the end of a run in which Portland played nine of 10 games at home. The Blazers were 6-4 in those games despite missing a legion of injured regulars, including Greg Oden, Joel Przybilla, Travis Outlaw and Nicolas Batum.

“The guys keep rising to the occasion,” Portland coach Nate McMillan said. “It’s been a collective effort. We just keep stepping up.”

The Magic (26-14), losing for the sixth time in eight games, misplaced their 3-point shot. They were 2 of 17 from beyond the arc in the first half, 7 of 30 (.233) for the game. That from a team that entered the game sixth in the NBA in 3-point percentage at .367.

“We couldn’t get anything going,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. “The first half tonight was similar to the second half at Denver (in a 105-87 loss on Wednesday). It just got away from us. We got totally outplayed.”

Free-throw shooting (10 of 20) hurt the Magic, but the biggest thing was the inaccuracy from 3-point range.

“Even good-shooting teams aren’t on every night,” Portland’s Andre Miller said. “Tonight just wasn’t their night.”

It was Portland’s, though, even without the services of Roy, who sat out the game with a tender hamstring. The Blazers jumped out to a 24-14 lead after one quarter and increased it to 52-32 at the half.

Orlando’s best stretch came in the first three minutes of the second half, with a 10-2 run that closed the gap to 54-42. Portland scored the next seven points, and the Magic never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

“Great basketball by our guys,” McMillan said. “Tonight it was everybody again. The first unit did a great job of establishing (itself), and the second unit got (its) rhythm in the second half.”

Portland shot .471 from the field, made 11 of 21 from the 3-point line (.524), won the rebound battle 42-38 and committed only nine turnovers.

“They played tremendously,” Van Gundy said. “They played as well as you can play the game — with tremendous energy, great unselfishness and ball movement. They worked very hard defensively, and played at a speed and quickness level far exceeding ours.

“I told our (players) afterward, that was a great team we played tonight. They were fantastic.”

Martell Webster led the way with 24 points — two shy of his career high — and nine rebounds, but he had plenty of help. Point guards Miller (19 points, nine assists) and Blake (18 points, six assists) were terrific, and LaMarcus Aldridge (14 points, 14 rebounds) pounded the middle with authority.

With converted power forward Juwan Howard drawing primary coverage, Portland blanketed Orlando’s Dwight Howard and held the all-star center to 11 points — including 3 of 10 from the line — and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes.

“It started with Howard and included Jeff (Pendergraph) and LaMarcus,” McMillan said. “We tried to mix up our defense on him. The guys did a good job of beating (Dwight Howard) to a spot and making him work. The guards did a good job with double-teaming and also in defending the three. They did a great job of rotating out.”

Though Orlando won the points-in-the-paint battle 44-32, much of it came in the fourth quarter when the game was decided.

“We did a good job of not letting them have anything easy in the paint,” Webster said. “Everything they had down low. we made them work for. Particular guys (read: Howard) weren’t going to get a shot. We executed our game plan perfectly tonight.”

Or as Van Gundy put it, “Every time Dwight got good position, they fouled him. It’s a game plan we’ve seen a lot, and when you go 3 for 10 from the line, that’s a game plan you’re going to continue to see.”

Summed Orlando guard J.J. Redick: “On both ends of the floor, they just kicked our butts.”

Vince Carter was 1 of 7 from the field and had five points in his 22 minutes — the eight-time all-star was 2 of 21 in his two games against Portland this season — but he wasn’t the object of Van Gundy’s wrath afterward.

“When you get beat the way we did, I’m not going to start on one guy or another,” the third-year Orlando coach said. “There’s enough blame for the 11 of us to handle. Trying to single one guy out would be pretty difficult tonight.”

Aldridge had three points and one rebound in Portland’s 92-83 loss at Orlando on Dec. 19. It was much different this time. Aldridge had his 13th double-double of the season two minutes before halftime.

“In the first game, I didn’t get any touches,” said Aldridge, who was 1 of 7 shooting in that one. “They took me out of the game by double-teaming me. I knew it was going to be different tonight. We had schemes to get me the ball in different spots, and it worked out. Last game, they fronted me and came with Dwight the whole game behind me. This game we had Juwan, so they couldn’t do that.”

Things went so well for Portland Friday night, Blake even buried a 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds left that guaranteed fans a free chalupa at their local Taco Bell.

“I had heard them chanting the possession before that, but I wasn’t really thinking about it that time,” Blake said. “Then when we got to the locker room, some guys were like, “The fans owe you.’ “

Webster said he feels the Blazers are playing their best ball as they enter the second half of the season.

“We’re tenacious, resilient,” said the small forward, who was 8 of 14 from the field, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. “Guys are, night in, night out, putting forth their best effort. We’ve had to compensate for a lot of losses, but we’ve done a great job of that.”

What can Portland expect on its upcoming trip, which begins Monday at Washington?

“We went 3-1 on our last road trip,” Webster said. “Going undefeated would be great.”

NOTES: Roy said he hopes to play against the Wizards, but it’s possible he will have to sit out the first game or two on the trip. ... Orlando had won eight of the previous 10 meetings between the teams. ... Second-year guard Jerryd Bayless, in his first career start, was the only Blazers who had an off night. Bayless finished with one point on 0-of-6 shooting in 20 minutes. ... McMillan on Miller, who made 8 of 14 from the field and had a superb floor game: “His plus/minus ratio lately is off the charts, especially for this game. He is making things happen, taking advantage of situations, making good decisions.” ... Miller, on the Blazers being on 50-win pace at the midway point: “Knowing the amount of injuries we had, that’s pretty good. We just want to continue to pick it up and finish the month off strong. This is the toughest part of the season, December and January. It’s an opportunity to pick things up going into the second part of the season.”

Announced attendance was 20,650, the 94th consecutive home sellout for the Blazers dating back to Dec. 21, 2007. ... Portland equalled its midway-point pace of each of the last to seasons. ... The Blazers are 11-5 the last 16 games and trail Denver (25-14) atop the Northwest Division. ... Portland's 11 treys ties a season high ... Webster has scored in double figures in eight straight games for the first time in his career. ... Blake's 18 points tied a season high. ... Portland led from start to finish for the fourth time this season.

Adidas drops Arenas as endorser following guilty plea

Athletic company Adidas said Friday it was dumping longtime endorser Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards following his guilty plea on felony gun charges in Washington, D.C.

The move demonstrates the short fuse that Madison Avenue now has with wayward athletic endorsers. Golf superstar Tiger Woods has been dropped by two corporate sponsors, AT&T and Accenture, following recent allegations of his alleged extramarital affairs with multiple women.

ARENAS: Pleads guilty to felony gun charge

"In response to Gilbert Arenas' guilty plea to felony charges, Adidas has terminated its agreement with the athlete effective immediately," spokeswoman Stephanie Von Allmen said in a statement. "Beyond this statement we have no further comment at this time.

Adidas initially said last week that it was "evaluating" its relationship with the 28-year old guard after NBA Commissioner David Stern suspended Arenas indefinitely without pay.

Arenas has pushed his signature shoe for Adidas since signing an endorsement deal in December 2003. He was one of Adidas' biggest basketball endorsers with fellow NBA stars Dwight Howard and Tracy McGrady.

Wade helps start 'Athletes Relief Fund for Haiti'

Retired NBA star Alonzo Mourning has flown to Haiti to assist relief workers in earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince, while he and former Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade (left) - the former Richards High School star - are trying to recruit other pro athletes in an effort to raise funds for the recovery.

Mourning and Wade are calling their venture the "Athletes Relief Fund for Haiti."

Speaking from Houston, where the Heat was playing the Rockets on Friday night, Wade said he thought the immediate effort to enlist other NBA players to help was "going pretty good."

"I know so many players want to do something but don't know exactly what, so we're trying to reach out to everyone," Wade said. "The main thing we ask is for people to give, whether it's a full-game salary, a half-game salary, whatever's in your heart to give. We want to make sure all athletes get together, because there's strength in numbers."

Numerous other athletes, leagues and organizations also have offered quick responses to the Haitian crisis since the earthquake struck Tuesday, causing the deaths of up to 50,000 people by Red Cross estimates.

Tiger Woods plans to help with relief efforts by supporting groups that provide resources to children. Greg McLaughlin, president of the Tiger Woods Foundation, said the foundation staff was evaluating "the most appropriate role" to help the Haitian people.

The NFL and the players' union announced Friday they would donate $500,000 each to the American Red Cross and Partners In Health. The NBA and its union said it will contribute $1 million toward relief efforts.

Major League Baseball already has pledged $1 million, while the NHL donated $100,000.

NBA

Arenas pleads guilty to handgun charge

Straight-faced and subdued, Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge connected to a Dec. 19 locker room argument about a card game, leaving his All-Star career in limbo and his freedom in doubt.

Arenas won't know whether he must serve jail time until his March 26 sentencing. He remains free until then. The government indicated it will not seek more than six months, although the judge can give Arenas anywhere from probation to the charge's maximum term of five years.

Arenas, suspended indefinitely without pay by NBA commissioner David Stern, was averaging 22.6 points per game.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Loyola holds off UIC

Geoff McCammon scored 26 points, going 6-of-7 from 3-point range, to lead Loyola to a 55-50 victory in its crosstown rivalry with Illinois-Chicago.

McCammon won a shootout with Robo Kreps, who led Illinois-Chicago with 20 points. No other player on either team hit double figures.

Courtney Stanley had seven assists for the Ramblers (12-5, 3-4 Horizon League), who broke a three-game losing streak. Brad Birton grabbed 10 rebounds for the Flames (5-12, 1-6), who lost their fourth in a row.

The Ramblers held edges of 42.9 percent to 30.5 percent in shooting and 41-31 in rebounding.

Loyola led 42-34 with 13:03 left. UIC tied it 46-46 on Kreps' 3-pointer with 8:41 to go. But the Flames went scoreless over the next 5:57, with eight missed shots and two turnovers.

UNC's Zeller out for 4 to 6 weeks

North Carolina coach Roy Williams said 7-footer Tyler Zeller will miss four to six weeks because of a stress fracture in his right foot. The sophomore is averaging 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds off the bench for the 12th-ranked Tar Heels.

College football

Tennessee taps Dooley

Tennessee's whirlwind search for a new coach ended with the Volunteers hiring Derek Dooley away from Louisiana Tech. The son of former Georgia coach Vince Dooley, Derek Dooley went 17-20 in three seasons at Louisiana Tech.

• Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart announced he will enter the NFL draft instead of staying at Stanford for a fifth season. Gerhart ran for a school-record 1,871 yards and a nation-leading 28 touchdowns this past season.

Golf

Palmer leading in Sony

Ryan Palmer shot a 4-under 66 at the Sony Open in Honolulu, taking a one-shot lead over a group that included Chad Campbell.

Campbell birdied his last two holes for a 64 and was tied for second with Robert Allenby and defending champion Zach Johnson, who overcame a triple bogey on the 17th hole for a 67.

Palmer was at 9-under 131.

NFL

49ers to play Broncos in London

The San Francisco 49ers will play the Denver Broncos next season at Wembley Stadium, the fourth straight year the NFL will stage a regular-season game in the British capital. The 49ers will be listed as the home team for the Oct. 31 game.

The NFL has played games at Wembley for the last three seasons, with more than 80,000 fans at each game.

Nets notes: Kiki Vandeweghe, Chris Douglas-Roberts clear air

Clearing the air

Kiki Vandeweghe met with Chris Douglas-Roberts after practice Thursday to make sure his small forward was still on board.

Douglas-Roberts has been upset after many losses, and has said plenty without saying too much. His shot attempts have gone down lately as the Nets have run the offense through Yi Jianlian more. It was a subject with the media Thursday prompting Vandeweghe wanting to speak to Douglas-Roberts.

"It was based on what a couple of guys said to him. They went and said I was complaining about shots and I was complaining about my role, which I hadn't done one time," Douglas-Roberts said. "He had some concerns about that and I was glad he did and I wanted to clarify that.

"We just talked about a lot of different things. But that was the main focus on me being unhappy. I'm unhappy but it's about the way we're playing. It's simple."

Frustrated tweets

Douglas-Roberts, a Twitter enthusiast, also has been hearing from the Nets' fans on his favorite social networking page.

"Nets fans have been all right," he said. "But it's just been love-hate since I've been here. That's just how I feel. Earlier on, [it was], 'I wasn't going to be anything.' Then as the season started I was loved. Now that they hear or read a story that they really don't know what's true or not – now it's 'get rid of him.'

"They always come to me with stuff like that: I talk too much; get rid of him; he has bad body language; he's selfish. I get that a lot. That's irrelevant. That doesn't mean anything to me. That's a person's opinion."

Williams waived

Shawne Williams' second chance lasted less than five days.

The Nets waived the troubled Williams a little while before he turned himself in to authorities Friday in Memphis. Williams, acquired Monday from Dallas with Kris Humphries for Eduardo Najera, was indicted on eight drug charges.

"[He was] way out of shape; didn't like what we saw," Vandeweghe said. "He said he had to go home for some medical emergency for his grandfather. So we sort of made the decision at that time this probably wasn't going to work. So we waived him and all this other stuff came down."

About time for Paul Pierce

Paul Pierce doesn’t enjoy any conversation in which a decrease in his playing time is the issue.

The Celtics [team stats] captain may be two weeks removed from two procedures to drain an infection in his right knee, but injuries elsewhere in the lineup have triggered an increase in his own minutes.

Asked about whether he needs to trim back on that time to allow the knee to fully heal and to take a strain off his game, Pierce nodded.

“I think so,” he said. “It’s been kind of difficult with the injuries. It’s good to get a couple of days off where we can rest our legs. Some of the guys coming back will help tremendously.”

There’s one problem with that statement. Pierce deftly steered the focus away from his own load and onto the team.

Asked to apply that question to himself, Pierce wasn’t as willing to take a minutes hit, even if he has averaged 38.0 of them since his return to the lineup six games ago.

“In my case, (it was) an infection,” he said. “It’s not like it was ligament damage. It’s putting time in the weight room, getting on the treadmill to strengthen up the quad. But playing in a game actually has helped get it stronger. Playing in the last four or five games has actually helped.

“It’s helped me gain some stamina, because it was weak in the first few games, and it’s getting stronger and stronger with the more I play.”

Pierce, at one time a regular member of the NBA’s top five in minutes played, is slowly - and quite by the design of his coach - dropping on that chart.

He’s 36th in the league with an overall 35.8-minute average, and, perish the thought, third in playing time on his own team.

Rajon Rondo [stats] (36.3 mpg, 29th in the league) and the aging but remarkably spry Ray Allen (36.2, 30th) now typically stay on the floor longer.

But the Celtics’ ongoing battle with injuries, which hit a peak during the last month starting with Pierce’s knee trouble, has added significantly to the captain’s load.

He’s gone more than 40 minutes four times during the six games since his return. In three of those cases (Thursday against Chicago and twice against Atlanta), the C’s lost. Pierce logged his heaviest number (43 minutes) during a tight Jan. 6 win at Miami.

Pierce may not admit the 40-minute-plus games have to stop, but his coach has another idea.

“We don’t need that, either,” said Doc Rivers, who even raised the prospect yesterday of lessening Pierce’s time by giving more opportunity to J.R. Giddens or the rarely used Bill Walker.

“I’ll play Billy or J.R. - one of them just to get Paul some more rest,” Rivers said. “The last couple of games we got into foul trouble, (putting more of a burden on) Paul. Someone else has to stay on the floor. I don’t mind a couple of 40-minute games from any of our guys because you can make it up.

“In the Jersey game he didn’t play that many minutes. (But) I still want to avoid it. If there are two or three (40-minute games) in the same week, then that’s too much. I just think he needed this (break). When he came back the first thing Eddie (Lacerte, the trainer) said is, ‘Listen, he’s in playing shape, but his leg has to get stronger again.’ It’s not surgery, but (when you think about it) he had surgery because of the drainage. So he needs this week. This is a good week for him.”

Rasheed Wallace up and running for Mavericks

The cause of his mild foot sprain may still be a mystery, but Rasheed Wallace says he should be ready for a return against the Mavericks tomorrow night at the Garden.

The big swingman, who missed the last three games, walked through sets with the first team during yesterday’s open practice for an American Express sponsorship group.

“I’m going to go (tomorrow), and I have one more day of practice to get under my belt,” he said. “It happened a while ago. I was playing on it for about two weeks, until the Toronto game last week sort of did it. So I had to sit down and give it a rest.

“Just a little sprain, but how I did it, I don’t have the slightest idea.”

The Celtics [team stats] have gone 1-3 in his absence, including losses at home to the Hawks and Bulls.

“It will help a lot,” said Kendrick Perkins [stats], who has shouldered most of the interior load during Wallace’s absence. “Sheed is another defensive-minded guy. He enjoys playing defense. Sometimes you need that veteran leadership from another big.

“With Rasheed there’s going to be a whole lot of talking going on for us, and it will just bring us back on track. It’s kind of hard getting on the same page when Kevin (Garnett) goes out, and then Sheed, and now you’re trying to get on the same page with (Brian Scalabrine). It takes time. You get to get reps with a lot of different guys, but if we get Sheed back now and then Kevin, it will be great.”

Active KG

Garnett took part in some of the conditioning drills.

He tossed a medicine ball with Wallace and even went through a knee flexing drill - an interesting development, considering he is recovering from a hyperextended right knee.

“We’ll see if he plays the Portland game (on Friday), and we don’t know that yet; it’s one game where we have a practice or so to get him ready for the next one, and that’s not a bad rhythm,” coach Doc Rivers said. “If Eddie (Lacerte, trainer) gives the clearance, then we’ll have four (other) guys come in and run dummy offense with Kevin.” . . .

Eddie House beat out Ray Allen, Paul Pierce [stats] and Wallace in a 3-point shooting contest. House, Allen and Pierce are interested in competing in the 3-point shooting contest during All-Star Weekend in Dallas next month.

Big win picks up Wizards

The Wizards managed to end one of the most dismal, exhausting weeks in franchise history with a victory, giving coach Flip Saunders his 600th career win by beating the Sacramento Kings, 93-86, last night in Washington.

Caron Butler scored 19 points to lead five players in double figures for the Wizards, who on the previous day had their biggest star, Gilbert Arenas, plead guilty to a felony gun charge and on the previous evening had lost a double-overtime game at Chicago.

Saunders improved his coaching record to 600-422, needing five tries to reach his latest milestone after a four-game losing streak. Antawn Jamison scored 14 points, Earl Boykins had 13, Nick Young added 12, and Brendan Haywood had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards.

Grizzlies 92, Spurs 86 - Zach Randolph had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Memphis beat San Antonio for its franchise-record eighth straight home victory.

O.J. Mayo scored 19 points and Marc Gasol had 14 for Memphis, which survived a late rally and won the second game of a back-to-back for the first time this season.

Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 23 points and eight rebounds.

Thunder 98, Heat 80 - Kevin Durant scored 36 points on the most efficient shooting night of his career (14-for-18) and also pulled down 10 rebounds as host Oklahoma City beat road-weary Miami.

Dwyane Wade had 24 points and six assists, breaking Tim Hardaway’s career record for the most assists in a Heat uniform.

Bobcats 125, Suns 99 - Stephen Jackson scored 29 points to surpass 10,000 career points, Gerald Wallace added 29 points and 13 rebounds, and host Charlotte continued one of its best stretches in franchise history with a rout of Phoenix.

Amare Stoudemire also reached 10,000 points, finishing with 19 for Phoenix, which has dropped 10 of its past 11 road games.

Jazz 112, Bucks 95 - In Salt Lake City, C.J. Miles scored 19 points, Deron Williams had 18, and Utah beat Milwaukee for its season-best fourth win in a row.

Williams, who aggravated a wrist injury and missed the dramatic end of Utah’s 97-96 victory against Cleveland on Thursday, was a gametime decision but showed little effect as he sparked a quick start and the Jazz never trailed.

Hornets 101, Pacers 96 - In Indianapolis, David West scored 24 points and Chris Paul just missed a triple-double, leading New Orleans to a victory against Indiana.

Paul finished with 22 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

Pistons 94, Knicks 90 - In Auburn Hills, Mich., Rodney Stuckey scored 20 points, Charlie Villanueva added 19, and Detroit won its third straight, beating New York.

Flynn, Rambis not troubled by rookie's slump

MEMPHIS - The Timberwolves reached the midway point of their season Friday night by playing their 41st game.

That's already three more games than rookie Jonny Flynn played all last season at Syracuse.

Flynn scored eight points on 4-for-15 shooting in Friday's 135-110 loss to the Grizzlies, the last game of an 0-4 road trip. During the road trip, Flynn shot 27.3 percent from the floor and averaged 9.8 points per game. Might he be hitting the proverbial rookie wall?

"I don't think so," Flynn, averaging 13.9 points per game this season, said before the game. "My body feels great. Just some games, you're not going to have the best games. I wouldn't put that due to a rookie wall or anything like that. It's just the way the ball bounces.

"I'm doing good. My legs are feeling great. My body's feeling good. I think I'm doing other things -- setting people up, getting some steals -- when the ball's not going through the basket."

Wolves coach Kurt Rambis said he has been contemplating unspecified lineup changes for days. Substituting Ramon Sessions for Flynn at starting point guard is not of them, he said.

"No," Rambis said of Flynn. "When you go back and look at where he was in training camp and where he is now, he has made tremendous strides. He makes mistakes out there, but that's fully expected. I wouldn't expect anything less. I'd be shocked if he didn't make mistakes. Even when he struggles shooting the basketball, I see other things he's doing well."

Reunion

It doesn't quite have the right ring -- or the weight -- to it that Roy-Foye did. But Memphis guard O.J. Mayo and Wolves forward Kevin Love will forever be linked and compared with each other because of that draft-night trade in 2008.

Denver coach George Karl earlier this week was asked to pick one or the other. He said he slightly prefers Mayo.

"That's a tough question," he said. "I think Mayo might be a point guard someday."

Tricky

Friday's game proceeded without incident, only three nights after the Grizzlies' game against the Los Angeles Clippers was delayed by 36 minutes after a water main broke, fire alarms sounded and FedEx Forum was evacuated.

The Clippers led by 12 by then, late in the third quarter. When played resumed, the Grizzlies rallied to win 104-102.

"Just a fluke thing," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "I'm not sure we wouldn't have come back and won the game anyway, but that break certainly cooled things off."

Upcoming

Monday's Martin Luther King Day matinee game against Philadelphia at Target Center will be preceded by an original theatrical performance called "Taking A Stand ... Moving the Dream Forward."

The 30-minute production, performed by Twin Cities high school students, begins at noon before the 2:30 game. A game ticket is required.

Etc.

• Wolves center Al Jefferson's 26 rebounds in Wednesday's triple-overtime loss at Houston were the most in the NBA this season. Memphis forward Zach Randolph has the most in a non-overtime game this season, with 24 on Dec. 20 against Denver.

• About 20 family members and friends made the three-plus hour trip from Portland, Tenn., to watch Wolves guard Corey Brewer play in his home state. Brewer led the Wolves with 22 points.

Kirk Hinrich blossoming in starting role

The Bulls were 7-3 entering play Friday since coach Vinny Del Negro inserted Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson into their starting lineup.

Coincidence?

"I don't know," Hinrich said. "Write whatever you want."

This is indisputable: Hinrich's statistics have blossomed in his first 10 games as a starter, even though his minutes have increased only slightly.

Hinrich entered Friday's game averaging 11.4 points as a starter compared to 8.5 as a reserve. His assists average is 5.8 as a starter and 3.8 as a reserve. His rebounding average is a full rebound higher at 3.9 per game while starting. And he's shooting 42 percent as a starter as compared to 36.2 as a reserve.

That percentage has even a more dramatic difference from 3-point range, 44.4 percent to 32.2 percent.

"I have been more aggressive offensively," Hinrich said. "And I feel I've shot it a little better. I've always tried to handle either role with the same approach, but, yeah, I do feel more comfortable starting."

Heads up: Tyrus Thomas drew plenty of airtime for his Thursday night foray into the TNT announcing table, where he barreled into Doug Collins and Kevin Harlan while chasing a loose ball.

It's a familiar place for Thomas.

In his first game back after missing seven weeks with a fractured radius in his left forearm, Dec. 26 against the Hornets, Thomas jumped the courtside seats pursuing a loose ball. The next game, Dec. 29 against Indiana, he did the same.

"I grew up jumping fences to get away from dogs, so jumping some fans in the first row is no big deal," Thomas said colorfully and light-heartedly. "I'm athletic and acrobatic. It's no big deal. I'm just hustling to try to help us win."

Layup: Asked repeatedly about the Gilbert Arenas incident pregame, Del Negro fired off perhaps the line of the season, blurring the NBA with the NRA: "Do we have a basketball game here? I feel like Charlton Heston."

Orlando Magic notes: Coach Stan Van Gundy has long talk with struggling Rashard Lewis

Coach Stan Van Gundy said he met with PF Rashard Lewis on Thursday "for quite a while" to discuss his frustration — and the team's.

Lewis said after Wednesday night's game loss to the Denver Nuggets that he wasn't getting quite enough shots.

Does he have a point?

"Yes and no. We need to find more shots for our keys guys, but part of it is the defense is keying on those guys, especially on Rashard," Van Gundy said. "Part of it his energy and aggressiveness. I talked to him quite a while (Thursday).

"I think he's frustrated. That's a bit of the problem. There's sort of a frustration running through our team. Rashard had made a comment that sometimes it feels like we're a last-place team. That sort of sums up a little bit of where our guys are right now."

Van Gundy said that given the injuries, new players and road-heavy schedule, that their 26-13 record heading into the Portland game says "they're doing a pretty good job. But the external and external expectations are real high.

"We have the fourth-best record in the league and we're frustrated. In some ways, that's good. It shows standard we're holding ourselves too."

Jameer says sitting out isn't an option

PG Jameer Nelson said he hasn't broached the idea of sitting out to allow his sore surgically repaired knee more rest.

"Have I thought about it? I don't know. My thing is I've always played through things," he said.

Nelson missed 16 games after Nov. 18 arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. He's played in 13 games and has been inconsistent, lacking quickness.

"Just got to find a way, man. I definitely want to get going (offensively). That's not necessarily about offense, either. I have to do a better job, defensively, and do other things," he said.

"It's tough. I'm out there. There's nothing I can do. If I felt I wasn't well enough to play, I wouldn't play. One day, this thing will get right."

Layups

SG Vince Carter laughed and said he shot the ball better than expected as he tested his sprained left shoulder in Friday's shootaround. He worked for 20-25 minutes.

SG Brandon Roy (hamstring) sat out the game against the Magic, continuing the Trail Blazers' injury-racked woes.

Dalembert still consumed by Haiti disaster

This has been one of the toughest weeks in Sam Dalembert's life, as the 76ers center has had to watch from afar the devastation that Tuesday's earthquake has wrought on his native Haiti.

Dalembert has been working relentlessly, trying to do as much as he can to raise money and awareness. He also has been working the phone and his computer tirelessly, trying to find out the status of family members.

His father, a brother and a sister all made it through fine, and Dalembert learned yesterday afternoon that an uncle who hadn't been heard from is OK. His godfather, who was visiting Haiti, was still among the missing.

"My godfather is from France, and I told him not to go yet, wait until the summer, and we'll go together," Dalembert said. "I have no news from him.

"My father, I laugh at him. He loves being part of helping people out. He's just like his mother, who was principal of a school. She loved to help people out, too."

Dalembert had planned to charter a plane this morning and help out for a couple of days before rejoining the Sixers in Minnesota for Monday's game. That plan was put on hold when Dalembert couldn't get clearance to get into Haiti.

"I might have to wait about a week for things to calm down," he said. "If I could, I would go down after every practice."

For now, it's watch and wait.

"It's very difficult. I try to stay away from the TV, but I can't," he said. "Everything is right there. I've been on the phone with different organizations, and try to figure out what's going on. I've been on the phone trying to get people connected with each other. You try to do as much as you can.

"Sometimes it's kind of hard to get away from the TV and step on the [basketball] floor to block it out for a little while and refocus. I got to bed about 3 or 4 a.m. [yesterday morning] and got up at 7 for shootaround. I think I'll go to bed right after the game."

The Sixers said they collected a little more than $30,000 from fans at last night's game, a total Dalembert said he intended to match, in addition to the $100,000 he gave from his foundation.

Tyreke home

For the first time as a pro, Chester native Tyreke Evans returned to Philly. And for the first time, he played at the Wachovia Center.

"It's good to see my family; I got to spend some time with them," the Sacramento Kings rookie said. "My main thing is to try to stay focused. People that I haven't talked to since high school are calling to get tickets. I only have a certain amount of tickets, so I gave them out to the people I thought who deserved them."

What Evans couldn't get, his brothers did what they could.

"One of my brothers got 40, and my other brother got 200." *

Bosh not giving out any hints

Chris Bosh said not to read anything into his uncontrollable laughter on a Ustream video when a caller asked about signing with the Knicks. But he hardly sounded convincing that he considers New York a viable destination.

"If I said something, you can read something into it," Bosh said before scoring 18 points last night in the Raptors' 112-104 victory over the Knicks. "People ask me all the time, every city I go to, in the streets, people have their video phones. That's all I can do without trying offend anybody is laugh."

The Raptors power forward would likely be a fallback for the Knicks if their main target LeBron James doesn't come to New York. Bosh, however, wasn't giving any hints.

"Everybody has to wait and see," Bosh said.

Bosh played for Mike D'Antoni on the U.S. Olympic Team, and that could be a magnet.

"He's a good coach," Bosh said. "He gets along well with his players. Any team you want to go to in the league, you want to play for a good coach."

On Thursday, Bosh spoke about the Garden in nice terms. But if he doesn't remain in Toronto, the best bet is he heads to play with Dwyane Wade in Miami or James in Cleveland, especially since the Knicks have David Lee, who plays the same position.

Bosh said that's a non-factor because Lee and several Knicks have expiring deals and may not be back. Bosh made the point even if the Knicks make the playoffs, it may not be as significant because of the unknown future of those players.

"Sometimes make the playoffs but in order to get certain guys you have to make room," Bosh said. "So there's no telling what kind of team will be here next year."

As for the Garden, Bosh said: "I like the Garden. The Garden has always been a fantastic place for me to play. It was sort of the first big stage I ever played on in the McDonald's Game [in 2002] when I was in high school. I've been there every year since. It's special."

****

Who knows if Gilbert Arenas will ever play in the NBA again, facing possible jail time under a plea agreement for gun charges, but Knicks president Donnie Walsh said he would never rule out the possibility of signing him.

"I don't know if he's available and I don't know if he's going to be able to play," Walsh told ESPN.com last night. "There are a lot of questions, and we'll be to see as the time passes what the story is. But I know this: When I had guys in the same situation, I traded them all."

Arenas, suspended indefinitely, has four years left on his Wizards' pact and it likely will be voided after he pleaded guilty yesterday to a weapons charge. That will make him a free agent in the distant future.

Lakers are unlikely to make a major trade this season

Mike Bresnahan covers the Lakers for The Times. Readers' questions about the Lakers will be answered every Friday at latimes.com/sports.

Question: I'm not one of those fans with unreasonable expectations from a trade -- say, LeBron for D-Fish -- but what's a realistic trade option that could improve the Lakers' chances of winning a championship?

Specifically, could they get a solid contributor for expiring contracts like Morrison and Farmar? Maybe a more consistent backup point guard or three-point threat coming off the bench? Or even a point guard good enough to push D-Fish to a backup role?

-- Mark Harris, Van Nuys

Answer: Thanks, Mark, for not throwing out an unreasonable trade scenario. There are plenty of those in my in-box. And I mean plenty.

The problem with the Lakers this season is that they don't have Kwame Brown. That's right. Kwame Brown.

Two seasons ago, with a massive expiring contract of $9.1 million and a charming penchant for fumbling entry passes, Brown was the Lakers' ticket to success when the Memphis Grizzlies, dying to cut costs, gladly took Brown, six weekday passes to Knott's Berry Farm and a two-night stay at the Buena Park Good Nite Inn in exchange for Pau Gasol.

Can the Lakers pull off another stunner before the Feb. 18 trade deadline? Probably not.

They have some expiring contracts to make an offer (Adam Morrison at $5.3 million, Derek Fisher at $5 million and Jordan Farmar at $1.9 million), but most teams insist on the deep-pocketed, large-market Lakers taking back players who don't come off the books until after next season at the earliest. The Lakers gladly devoured more than $50 million in salary in the Gasol trade, but they're tending to be more financially prudent the rest of this season thanks to a league-leading payroll of $91.3 million and an additional luxury-tax hit of $21.4 million.

Can't blame them for that. Jerry Buss has shown Lakers fans the money, undoubtedly, and is already in luxury-tax territory next season by committing $83.7 million toward only eight players for 2010-11.

There are still five weeks until the trade deadline and anything can happen -- remember, Andrew Bynum's knee injury in January 2008 led the Lakers to pull the trigger on Gasol -- but I don't predict anything major at this point because I look at other teams' backcourts and see nothing but more years and more money.

Toronto point guard Jose Calderon has three years and $29.3 million remaining on his contract, Chicago point guard Kirk Hinrich has two years and $17 million remaining, and New Jersey point guard Devin Harris has three years and $26.8 million.

Hinrich makes the most sense because the Bulls are reportedly trying to shave salary to make room for an off-season run at LeBron James or Chicago native Dwyane Wade. But, again, it's $17 million over the next two years, which means an additional $17 million because the team will almost surely be in luxury-tax territory over the same span. In other words, is Hinrich worth $34 million over the next two seasons? Right now, the Lakers' front office is collectively shaking its head.

More likely, there will be minor fine-tuning before the deadline. There are always veterans in the last years of their contracts who ask to be waived by losing teams so they can try to latch on to winning teams. Among those types, Sasha Pavlovic ($1.5 million) is sitting on Minnesota's bench after hitting 41% from three-point range last season for Cleveland. Are you listening, Sasha Vujacic?

If not Pavlovic, there's another guy out there in the final year of his contract. A backup center for Detroit who goes by the name of Kwame.

Q: Regarding your prognostication for the Lakers-Spurs game, don't give up your night job.

-- Lewis Leader, Carmel Valley

A: No doubt, I let myself down with that pick. I wrote four or five paragraphs in this week's "Bresnahan's Take" on how great the Spurs had been playing and how they had rebounded from a 9-9 start and how they were the team the Lakers should fear in the Western Conference -- and then I pick the Lakers to beat them on the road!

You deserve better, Lewis. And so do all of our readers. My 8-4 record in weekly picks is just not good enough.

As such, here's a decree to our readers. Think of it as the opposite of an Oscar winner's speech.

"I'd like to not thank my parents, who absolutely raised me the right way, paid for my education and taught me to be well-mannered with a sense of humor, but didn't take me to Vegas nearly enough as a kid. I'd like to not thank my high school PE coach, Mr. Goodman, who took me to the horse races time after time and taught me all about exactas and trifectas but never taught me the importance of knowing a blowout in a basketball game when it's about to happen. I'd like to not thank my brother, Chris, who knows the Lakers like few people on Earth but happened to be at his first day back at school and entirely unavailable when I was writing my Lakers-Spurs prediction. The music's starting to get louder in here, so I'd also like to quickly not thank the ridiculously expensive lunch I had at Neiman Marcus, the jerk at EBay who sent me two fake Hugo Boss ties, and the NBA schedule-maker who will make my life a living mess the next two months. No thank you, no thank you!"

Q: Are the Bynum-for-Chris Bosh rumors true? I don't understand why the Lakers would tinker with their current roster, when they have the best record in the NBA, and part ways with a true center who is having his healthiest and arguably the best season of his young career.

-- Javier Cossio

A: The Lakers don't understand the rumors either. Probably because they're not true.

There might be some off-season moves if this team doesn't win a championship, but the Lakers aren't ready to part with Bynum. They see what you see, a 22-year-old 7-footer who averages double-doubles with ease when he gets fed the ball on a consistent basis.

The way I see it, with Gasol returning Friday against the Clippers, it's up to Bynum's teammates to feed him and keep him on his recent roll (19 points and 11.8 rebounds a game during Gasol's six-game absence).

Q: What can the Lakers do to break the Portland curse?

-- Henry, Los Angeles

A: Nothing, Henry. Absolutely nothing.

Adidas Drops Arenas

Athletic company Adidas announced late Friday that it has ended its relationship with Gilbert Arenas.

A rep for the company released this statement to TMZ: "In response to Gilbert Arenas' guilty plea to felony charges, adidas has terminated its agreement with the athlete effective immediately."

The company made the move just hours after the Washington Wizards' three-time All-Star pled guilty to a gun charge in D.C. Superior Court Friday for bringing four guns into the team's locker room at Verizon Center. He could serve up to six months in prison; sentencing has been scheduled for March 26.

In the wake of Arenas' indefinite suspension without pay by the NBA, Adidas had told USA TODAY that it was reviewing its relationship with the 28-year old point guard.

"We are evaluating our relationship with Gilbert Arenas based on his recent conduct and subsequent suspension from the NBA," Adidas spokeswoman Lyn Famiglietti said in a statement to the newspaper last week. "We echo the Commissioner's concern for such a serious incident and will continue to follow the investigation by the league and law enforcement."

Once the guilty plea was in, though, Adidas wasted no time, TMZ noted.

Arenas' eight-year deal with the company, which began in December 2003, was worth $40 million. Arenas was one of Adidas' biggest basketball endorsers.

Arenas to Knicks? Walsh says wait and see

NEW YORK -- At nearly the exact same moment that Avery Johnson went on ESPN's "NBA Shootaround" show Friday night and demonstrably raised the possibility of the New York Knicks making a push for Gilbert Arenas, that very same topic was a matter of discussion between myself and Knicks president Donnie Walsh.

And although Walsh didn't exactly endorse the notion, he certainly didn't dismiss it.

"I don't know if he's available, and I don’t know if he’s going to be able to play. There are a lot of questions, and we’ll have to see as time passes what the story is, but I know this: When I had guys in the same situation, I traded all of them," Walsh said.

The difficulty of the Wizards finding a taker in an Arenas trade was heightened by the events of Friday afternoon when Arenas pleaded guilty to a felony gun possession charge, and Judge Robert E. Morin scheduled sentencing for March 26.

Arenas remains suspended indefinitely, but commissioner David Stern will eventually have to decide how long of a punishment fits the crime. A 50-game suspension would have the effect of wiping out the possibility of Arenas returning this season, but a less severe suspension (my early guess was 30 games, and I'm sticking with it) would allow for Arenas to return to the court this season. And with the relationship between Arenas and the Wizards organization seemingly headed toward a divorce, the most palatable option for Washington would be to try to find a team willing to trade for the three-time All-Star who has four years and $80 million remaining on his contract -- but who will have sat out the majority of the past two and a half seasons.

"I would assume they are going to go out and try to develop it, because they have to develop the market. That's what I had to do with [Ron] Artest and Stephen [Jackson]," Walsh told ESPN.com. "I mean, nobody’s going to call you up and say ‘I want the guy.' So you've got to call up, and it takes time."

Walsh said the situation was comparable to the time when he was president of the Indiana Pacers and was forced by ownership to trade Artest after the infamous Palace brawl, and again after Jackson was arrested for firing a handgun outside a strip club. (Jackson eventually pleaded guilty to a felony and was suspended for 7 games, the league office apparently deciding that his actions were not egregious enough to merit the minimum 10-game suspension mandated in the collective bargaining agreement for any player convicted of a violent felony.)

Walsh ended up trading Artest to Sacramento for Peja Stojakovic, and Jackson was dealt to Golden State in a multiplayer deal that brought back Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy.

"The first pass, nobody had interest," Walsh recalled of the Artest talks. "But you keep calling, and then something happens to a franchise, and they go ‘Yeah, you know what, we might be interested.'"

Walsh agreed with the assessment that with so much in limbo, Arenas -- for the time being -- is virtually untradable.

"Temporarily, because you've got to see what happens here, because I don’t know what the league is going to do, I don’t know what the court is going to do, but after it’s all cleared up, then it’s easier to answer that question."

The Knicks remain committed to clearing as much salary-cap space as they can for the summer of 2010, and they'll have enough room to go after another max-contract player in the summer of 2011 if they keep Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries on the roster for the remainder of this season and all of next season.

If they traded Curry and Jeffries (combined 2010-11 salaries of $18.15 million ) for Arenas (2010-11 salary of $17.73 million), they would in effect be taking themselves out of the 2011 free agent market because Arenas is owed $19.3 in '11-12, $20.8 million in '12-13, and $22.3 million in '13-14. But one prominent league official suggested that if Arenas was amenable to modifying his contract, agreeing to a team option in each of the final two or three years of his deal (Arenas currently has an early termination option after the '11-12 season), his tradability would increase significantly. But Arenas would thereby be putting $40-61 million of guaranteed money at risk, making for one hell of a huge financial gamble.

I asked Walsh whether he' would sacrifice his 2011 cap flexibility to trade for Arenas. His reply: "I’d have to make that decision at that time. But he’s a very good player."

Arenas is eventually going to try to resurrect his career somewhere, and New York -- the Knicks need a point guard -- cannot be dismissed as a possible option.

Wade breaks Heat's all-time assists record

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Dwyane Wade has become the Miami Heat's career leader in assists, breaking the record set by Tim Hardaway.

Wade entered Saturday night's game at Oklahoma City needing only four assists to match Hardaway with 2,867 in his career. He broke the record in spectacular fashion, with each of his first five assists of the game resulting in dunks for Miami.

Three of his first four assists were alley-oops that resulted in dunks for Michael Beasley, and the other was an alley-oop that Udonis Haslem finished with a jam.

Wade broke the record with 6:25 left in the third quarter, when he passed the ball to Jermaine O'Neal for a two-handed dunk.

Wallace expected back Monday after three-game absence

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) -- Rasheed Wallace expects to return for the Celtics' next game after missing three with a foot injury.

Boston's backup forward said after practicing Saturday that he'll be fine for Monday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks. But coach Doc Rivers said that Kevin Garnett, who missed the last eight games with a hyperextended right knee, will miss two more games but could return next Friday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Celtics have three days off between games after completing a grueling stretch with a 96-83 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. That was Boston's fourth game in five days and sixth in nine days.