But then McGrady rolled his right ankle, crumpled to the ground and limped off the court. Although he returned in the second half, he did not make another basket and the Celtics held on to beat the depleted Hawks 90-84 in overtime Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

“Tracy played well for us prior to him turning his ankle,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “We’ve been a team that has had adversity throughout the season, like everybody else, and it says a lot about your team when they can step up in the playoffs short-handed and still put themselves in a position to win the game. We certainly had our opportunity. We just fell short.”

The Hawks were already without top centres Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia when forward Josh Smith went out late in Game 2 with a strained tendon in his left knee. Still, Atlanta seemed to cobble together an effective lineup, employing such little-used reserves as Erick Dampier and Jason Collins while giving more minutes to McGrady.

“I knew I would have to get some production from other players,” Drew said. “I thought Erick Dampier came in and gave us some big minutes. He’s a guy that hasn’t been playing much at all for us. This is just a situation that I really needed another big body and he came in and gave us some really good minutes.”

McGrady is a seven-time All-Star and two-time NBA scoring champion who averaged more than 20 points in eight straight seasons before injuries curtailed his production. He managed just 65 games total over two seasons before bouncing back with 72 last year and then 52 — all of them off the bench — in this lockout-shortened, 66-game season.

Before the series-opener against Boston, he hadn’t appeared in the playoffs since 2008, scoring 40 for Houston in a first-round series against Utah. But he had 10 points and four rebounds in the second quarter alone before going up for a 3-pointer and coming down on Rajon Rondo’s heel late in the half.

McGrady went to the floor, tried to get up then fell back down. He was helped off the court, but he returned for the second-half warmups and re-entered the game soon after.

“It’s sore,” he said after the game. “Rondo was closing out on me, he just happened to come right up under me and I landed on his foot. It was a little extended, but I’m going to get some treatment and I will be ready to go for Sunday.”

McGrady had not played more than 30 minutes all season, but even with the injury he totalled 40:46, including overtime. He was 0-for-5 shooting in the second half and overtime, making just a pair of foul shots.

“He was playing big in that first half until he got hurt,” Hawks forward Joe Johnson said. “In the second half, he just gutted out, he gave us what he had and that’s all you can ask from him.”

As the Hawks seem to be losing more and more players, the Celtics are getting theirs back.

Rondo came back after serving a one-game suspension for bumping a referee and had his seventh career playoff triple-double with 17 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists. And Ray Allen returned for Game 3 on Friday night, his first appearance since April 10.

“Being back on the floor I felt alive,” Allen said. “I felt like I was back in my own skin and it was a great feeling.”

Allen received a standing ovation when he checked into the game in the first quarter, and he quickly made a short jumper. He finished with 13 points in 38 minutes, picking up more playing time after Avery Bradley injured his shoulder in the third quarter.

“Just having him out there really picked us up because we haven’t seen Ray in a jersey in so long,” Celtics forward Paul Pierce said. “Just having him out there, you heard the reaction from the crowd when he checked into the game. Stuff like that brings so much energy to the ball club, to have a guy that’s so vital come out there and give us a big lift. It’s huge having him out there, especially tonight with Avery going down.”

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Bradley has had the problem all year, but usually they are able to snap it back into place. Rivers gave his team the day off Saturday, even though it was their only chance to practice for Game 4 on Sunday night.

“They’re exhausted. … That’s unusual for us in the playoffs to take a day off, but they need one,” he said. “I was really worried going in the overtime, just looking at Paul, Kevin, and Rondo. They didn’t look that fresh. And honestly I looked at the other team; they looked pretty bad, too. So that made me feel a little bit better.”

Howard is done for the season and will miss the summer Olympics, but team doctor Craig Mintzer said the All-Star was doing well and is expected to make a complete recovery in about four months.

Mintzer said: “He shouldn’t have restrictions whatsoever. He should come back fully. There shouldn’t be an issue there. Really, it’s just a matter of time.”

The surgery was performed by Dr. Robert Watkins of Marina Del Ray, Calif.

Mintzer said told the Sentinel that Howard would likely remain in the L.A. area for at least three days, maybe longer before subjecting his back to air travel.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili all scored at least 20 points to help San Antonio beat the Los Angeles Lakers 121-97 on Friday night and remain atop the Western Conference.

Bryant, who had missed the previous seven games with a bruised left shin, scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

The Lakers went 5-2 without the NBA’s scoring leader, but with only two games left in the regular season for Los Angeles, Bryant returned as he aims to get into a rhythm before the playoffs begin.

Bryant wore a black sock over his lower left leg, with a padded sleeve protecting the injured area. While the Spurs said after the game that he’s not the old Bryant just yet, he’s not so sure.

“I’m back now,” Bryant said. “It took me a half. The second half, it felt like I was back in a good rhythm. The game just got away from us.”

The Spurs (46-16) won their sixth straight game and remain a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City for the No. 1 seed in the West. The Lakers (40-24) missed a chance to clinch home court in the first round of the playoffs.

These teams could meet in the opening round, and judging by their latest meeting, it would be a mismatch.

San Antonio has given Los Angeles its two worst losses of the season, Friday night and 112-91 on Tuesday. Duncan had 21 points and eight rebounds, Parker had 20 points and 10 assists, and Ginobili added 20 points and seven assists on Friday.

San Antonio broke the game open in the third quarter, when Bryant played his best. The Lakers’ star hit 5 of 6 shots in the quarter, directing his teammates on offence and yelling at them to “D-up” on defence.

It hardly mattered, though, as he was repeatedly on his heels on defence as the Spurs pushed the ball. San Antonio outscored Los Angeles 35-21 in the quarter.

“They did a great job spacing the floor,” Bryant said. “As a result, our defence was always late. It was always playing catch up on possessions. They did a great job shooting the ball. They did a great job on close outs. They played extremely well.”

While Bryant was sidelined, several Lakers increased their scoring, none more than Metta World Peace. World Peace more than doubled his scoring average with Bryant out of the lineup, but he had only 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting against the Spurs.

Andrew Bynum scored 17 points for the Lakers, while Matt Barnes had 14 and Pau Gasol 11.

The Lakers have little time to transition Bryant back into the system before the post-season, but Parker has been around long enough to expect the best from him.

“Yeah, he looked a little bit rusty,” Parker said. “It’s going to take some time. But I’m not worried about him. He’ll be ready when the playoffs start.”

Bryant isn’t worried facing the Spurs in the playoffs, despite the recent blowouts.

“Nah, listen. This team, (coach Gregg) Popovich, the experience that they have, the adjustments that they make, it is going to happen every now and then,” Bryant said. “But you have to make adjustments. If we’re fortunate to see them in the post-season, we’ll make our adjustments defensively.”

Kawhi Leonard, a rookie who was drafted largely for his defensive ability, started the game guarding Bryant. Popovich said before the game that it was time for his young players to see “the real thing.” Bryant quickly gave Leonard a taste, taking him down low and burying a shot over him while getting fouled. Bryant hit the ensuing free throw, but he didn’t score again until he hit a 15-foot jumper with 34 seconds left in the quarter.

“He did well,” Duncan said of Leonard. “It’s a learning process obviously, and Kobe got him with some vintage stuff and some and-ones. But Kawhi is a quick learner, very long and a very good defender. If we have to see him again, I think the experience is great for him.”

Cincinnati rapped out 12 hits — nine singles — and cruised to a 9-4 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday for the 10,000th win in franchise history.

“When you look at 30 different teams and being one of six, it’s a pretty cool thing,” said outfielder Drew Stubbs. “To be a part of it is pretty special.”

Harsh winds and chilly temperatures didn’t slow Cincinnati’s offence. Stubbs drove in three runs for the Reds, who joined the Cubs, Giants, Dodgers, Braves and Cardinals as the only teams to reach the 10,000 win plateau.

The Cubs dropped their sixth straight and fell to 3-11 on the year.

Winds were blowing in, gusting up to 27 mph, and the game-time temperature was 35 degrees with the wind chill.

Chris Volstad (0-2) laboured through a four-run, 41-pitch first inning. He gave up run-scoring singles to Joey Votto and Chris Heisey, and an RBI-groundout to Willie Harris as the Reds batted around for the first time this season.

“It breeds confidence the more hits you get,” said Reds manager Dusty Baker. “So it was good for us to get those hits.”

Starlin Castro and Marlon Byrd didn’t help Volstad by committing errors in the inning, but only one of the runs was unearned.

Fielding woes were contagious as Heisey was unable to haul in Castro’s fly ball in the third inning, which led to two unearned runs. The teams combined to make five errors.

The Reds tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth on Stubbs’ double into the right-field corner. He finished with three hits and two stolen bases.

“I stayed on every pitch,” said Stubbs. “Leading up to that I had been kind of pulling off of some sliders, especially, but I got a lot of them today and was able to drive one to right field.”

Homer Bailey (1-2) pitched seven solid innings for his first victory of the year. He allowed four runs, but only one was earned. Bailey struck out two and walked none. He also drove in a run with a groundout in the sixth.

“Especially with the wind, it’s here it is, hit it as hard as you can,” said Bailey. “It’s probably not going to go anywhere.”

The Cubs sent several balls into the teeth of the wind, blowing in from left field, including Castro’s third- inning fly ball and a ninth-inning blast off the bat of Geovany Soto. But none went beyond the warning track.

“This park plays like polar opposites, as different as any park I’ve ever seen,” said Stubbs. “When the wind’s blowing out, it’s hard to keep the ball in the yard. When the win’s blowing in, you can give it all you got.”

” You try to stay more on top of the ball, hit more line drives because anything in the air is going to get held up.”

Volstad gave up six runs, five earned, on seven hits over five innings. He was lifted for pinch-hitter Blake DeWitt in the fifth. DeWitt doubled and came around to score on Darwin Barney’s groundout to cut the Reds’ lead to 6-3.

“(The first inning) put me in a huge hole, put the team in a big hole,” said Volstad. “That’s not the momentum you want to put the team in right off the bat.”

The Reds added a run in the eighth inning on Stubbs’ single to score Devin Mesoraco, and on a ninth-inning pinch-hit triple by Todd Frazier.

Mesoraco finished 2 for 3 with two runs scored.

Aroldis Chapman struck out a pair in a scoreless eighth, and Jose Arredondo pitched a flawless ninth to close the door.

Bryan LaHair had two more hits for the Cubs. He’s batting .375 on the year and has a base hit in every game he’s started.

Nothing like a couple of bases-loaded situations to speed that process along.

Darvish kept wriggling out of trouble in five-plus innings, Josh Hamilton homered among his three hits and the Texas Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins 6-2 on Saturday.

“He was much better,” said Rangers manager Ron Washington when asked to compare Darvish on Saturday to his first outing on April 10. “Still have to work on getting ahead of hitters quicker. But he was much better today with his command.”

Adrian Beltre drove in two runs and put Texas ahead with a single in the seventh that scored Brandon Snyder, who had a career-high three hits.

The Rangers won their third straight and for the sixth time in seven games.

Denard Span led the Twins with three hits and an RBI double that tied the game at 2 in the sixth.

But the Twins failed to score with the bases loaded on three occasions, and lost for the sixth time in their first eight games.

“The past few games, we haven’t been getting hits, stringing them together,” said left fielder Josh Willingham, who had two hits and has hit safely in each of the Twins’ first eight games. “We had people on base almost every inning, but couldn’t get the big hit.”

Darvish, making his second start, was removed after hitting Jamey Carroll and walking Justin Morneau to load the bases with two outs in the sixth. He allowed two runs — one earned — on nine hits, striking out four and walking four.

The Japanese sensation did his best work when he was in trouble on Saturday. The Twins loaded the bases in the second and the fifth, but Darvish struck out Carroll in the second and Ryan Doumit in the fifth to escape.

“That’s what good pitchers do,” Washington said.

Darvish also prevented a run in the fourth by tagging out Doumit at home when a pitch in the dirt bounced away from catcher Mike Napoli.

“The main adjustment I have to make right now is knowing the hitters, knowing the teams,” Darvish said through an interpreter. “If I can start to learn those hitters and record them in my mind, those are the adjustments that I have to go through. It’ll get much better as the season goes on.”

Robbie Ross (1-0) relieved Darvish and got Morneau to pop out in foul territory to end Minnesota’s bases-loaded threat in the sixth.

Twins starter Nick Blackburn was matching Darvish before leaving with one out in the sixth with right shoulder stiffness. He is day to day and will get an MRI.

Brian Duensing (0-1) relieved Blackburn and got out of the sixth without allowing a run.

Jeff Gray relieved Duensing with runners on first and third in the seventh and allowed RBI singles to Beltre and Michael Young, making it 4-2.

Mitch Moreland, the Rangers regular first baseman, was a late-scratch after being up most of the night with a painful abscessed tooth. Snyder was given his first start of the season and made the most of it.

“Any time you get a chance to get in there, it’s something to remember,” Snyder said. “There was no real sense of anxiety. It was just about going out and playing the game again.”

Hamilton hit a 425-foot shot that sailed over the right-field bleachers and bounced high off the Target Field pavilion, putting the Rangers up 2-1 in the third.

Texas added two runs in the ninth on Beltre’s double and Trevor Plouffe’s throwing error.

Joe Nathan, the Twins all-time saves leader, pitched the ninth in his first appearance in Minnesota since signing with the Rangers in the off-season.

The team announced the move Friday on Twitter.

The 30-year-old Willis signed a deal with the Phillies this off-season and was competing for a bullpen spot this spring.

A two-time All Star with the Florida Marlins, Willis has pitched for four teams in nine seasons, all of them as a starter. The Phillies signed him to a nonguaranteed contract in December, and according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, he will receive $139,000 in severance pay.

In three appearances this spring, Willis has allowed five earned runs on five hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings. He made his last appearance Thursday against the Atlanta Braves.

The Phillies also reassigned catcher Steven Lerud to minor league camp on Friday.

The team fell to 1-1 on the trek following a 98-84 loss at New Jersey on Wednesday.

Jerryd Bayless ended with 16 points and 10 assists, while James Johnson also netted 16 points and DeMar DeRozan added 12 points for the Raptors, who have lost five of eight games and was coming off a win at Cleveland.

“The Nets outworked us. [Kris] Humphries had 21 rebounds. You have to be physical with him in the paint, and we didn’t have that,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said.

The Raptors shot 38.3 percent and got 11 points off the bench from Leandro Barbosa. Barbosa was then shipped to Indiana before the trade deadline for a second-round pick and cash. Toronto fell to 7-15 on the road this year and guard Jose Calderon missed his third straight game with a sprained right ankle. Calderon is questionable for tonight.

Toronto will also visit the Bobcats and Knicks on the trip and has lost six in a row to the Grizzlies, including a recent 102-99 setback on March 2 at Air Canada Centre. Memphis has won 15 of the last 20 meetings between the teams and eight of 10 encounters on Beale Street.

The Grizzlies didn’t do much to bolster their roster before the NBA’s trade deadline and look to get back on track when they resume their three-game homestand tonight versus the Raptors.

Memphis did send swingman Sam Young to Philadelphia in exchange for the rights to forward Ricky Sanchez. Young played 21 games for the Grizzlies this season, averaging 3.5 points and 2.0 rebounds. Sanchez has yet to play an NBA game since being selected by Portland in the second round of the 2005 draft.

The Grizzlies have lost two of three games since a five-game winning streak and opened the homestand with Tuesday’s 116-111 double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Marreese Speights had 25 points to lead Memphis and Marc Gasol scored 20 with 11 rebounds.

“We played a great game and we should have won the game,” Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins said. “We lost to a team that played better. We’ve got to give them their due and we’ve just got to get ready to come back on Friday.”

Mike Conley had 10 points and 11 assists, and has recorded multiple steals in a franchise-record and career-high 12 consecutive games. Hollins’ squad lost for only the third time in the past 13 games and will also host Washington on the residency. The Grizzlies are 15-6 at home and sit four games behind San Antonio for the Southwest lead.

Nowitzki scored nine of his 28 points in a game-clinching run after the Mavericks had lost the lead by going scoreless the first 7 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter, and Dallas beat the Knicks 95-85 on Tuesday night.

“This was a much-needed win. It was a big character win,” Mavericks guard Jason Kidd said. “We responded with some stops and Dirk made some big shots.”

Nowitzki made a 14-foot fadeaway jumper with 4:34 left, starting a 14-0 run when the 11-time All-Star forward scored nine points.

That was right after the Knicks, who had trailed by as many as 19, scored the first 15 points of the fourth quarter and went ahead 78-77 when Amare Stoudemire penetrated to make a shot with about 5 minutes left. It was their first lead since scoring the game’s first four points, and didn’t last long.

“The rhythm I had there in the second half, I was definitely looking for the ball,” said Nowitzki, who scored 24 after halftime. “I was chasing the ball sometimes, I was looking at Kidd and basically telling him, just bring it over here and let me try and take it home.”

Jeremy Lin had 14 points and seven assists, solid numbers but only half of what he had nearly 2 1/2 weeks ago when the Knicks won at home against Dallas. He had 28 points and 14 assists in that game before the All-Star break that ended a six-game winning streak for the Mavericks, and started a stretch of six losses in eight games before Tuesday night.

The Knicks are 2-4 since then, and have consecutive losses for the first time since Lin became a starter a month ago.

Stoudemire had 26 points. Tyson Chandler, who got his NBA championship ring from the Mavericks before the game, had six points, eight rebounds and a technical foul.

When Nowitzki made a short baseline shot with 2:27 left to stretch the lead to 88-78, Chandler was standing at the scorer’s table waiting to get back into the game. He was motioning for a travel call against his former teammate, and even tapped an official running by before Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni called timeout.

“First half we did a great job containing him,” Stoudemire said of Nowitzki. “Second half, he was able to get it going a little bit, a couple of open shots, a couple of tough shots, a couple of travel shots. But he played well.”

Chandler got called for the technical during the stoppage in play, and Nowitzki made the free throw.

Rodrigue Beaubois added 18 points for the Mavericks, while Kidd had 15 points and six assists.

Dallas, which lost at Oklahoma City on Monday night, wraps up a stretch of nine games in 12 days with three road games in three nights, starting Thursday in Phoenix.

Mavericks fans were cheering loudly with 13 seconds left in the third quarter when Nowitzki, with JR Smith pushing against him, finally moved around and drew the foul while driving toward the basket. Nowitzki made both free throws to make it 77-63, but the Mavericks didn’t score again until he dominated in the game-turning spurt.

Lin wasn’t even on the court the first 8 minutes of the fourth quarter when the Knicks briefly took the lead.

“We made a run with our second team,” Lin said. “We couldn’t close this game out and they obviously did a great job of getting defensive stops. Those stops led to quick easy buckets and Dirk is a clutch player who scores a lot in the fourth quarter.”

The Mavericks played without starting centre Brendan Haywood and post player Brandan Wright, who missed his third consecutive game after a concussion.

Coach Rick Carlisle said Haywood still had some swelling after rolling his ankle on the opening possession in the loss at Oklahoma City, but would travel with the team. Wright will not make the upcoming three-game trip.

Haywood became the Mavs starter after Chandler got a $56 million, four-year contract with the Knicks in a sign-and-trade that was part of a three-team deal at the start of training camp.

In a short ceremony before the game, Chandler became the last player from the Mavericks’ 2010-11 team to get his NBA championship ring.

A video of Chandler’s highlights from last season was shown before the 7-foot-1 centre got a nice ovation from Mavericks fans.

“To us, he was that missing piece last year that took us over the top,” Nowitzki said. “I was happy to see him get a great ovation by the crowd. That was a special moment for him and for us. I’m glad everything got their ring now and we can focus on getting to the playoffs.”

After missing two games and the All-Star game because of tendinitis in his left knee, Johnson returned to lead Atlanta with 18 points in Wednesday night’s 85-82 loss to Golden State. Johnson’s knee was stiff after playing more than 37 minutes.

The Hawks will be short-handed at shooting guard. Backup Willie Green will not play against the Bucks after leaving Wednesday night’s game with lower back spasms.

The team said Green also will miss at least two games, including Saturday’s game against Oklahoma City. The status of Johnson and Green will be updated before the team begins a six-game, 10-day road trip Monday.

The Bucks also will be without top reserve Mike Dunleavy, who has returned to Milwaukee to be with his wife, who is having a baby.

The players just pushed themselves like maniacs through a 33-game sprint, where they probably tested their mental will and drive harder over a longer period than at any point in their playing careers (playoffs included).

In past years, we’ve watched players and teams loaf through a ton of dull games that take us into the break, before games really start revving up in the second half. Not the case this year with the condensed schedule, where every game counts for positioning and getting into the playoffs or not.

So, in a showcase game that’s had its share of duds to go along with some memorable finishes, it will be interesting to see if the players take their foot off the gas, or if the first 33 games have them hard wired enough to not let up.

I’m hoping for the latter.

Anyways, enjoy the game. And just in case you forget just how cool the first half was, we’ve put together a mini-award show of Week Side Help favourites.

We’ll call them The First Halfies:

Most Mind Boggling Stat Line – Presenter: Kevin Love

Honourable Mention: Ersan Ilyasova – 29 pts, 25 reb vs. Magic
Even Jeremy Lin thinks this stat line came out of nowhere for Ilyasova.

Runner-Up: Monta Ellis – 48 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast / David Lee – 25 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast vs. Thunder

Winner: Kevin Durant – 51 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl / Russell Westbrook – 40 pts, 9 ast / Serge Ibaka – 14 pts, 15 reb, 11 blk vs. Nuggets
Any one of those lines on their own would be remarkable. Any combination of the two would be outstanding. That all three happened in the same game is the definition of mind boggling.

Play You’d Most Likely Have to Explain to Someone For Them to Believe it Happened – Presenter: Marion Barber

Honourable Mention: Rasual Butler, Raptors
Dude. Throw it in. Or call time. Those are your two options. You have five seconds.

Runner-Up: Martell Webster, Timberwolves
Even the Timberwolves broadcasters have no idea what they’re witnessing. It’s crazy, really.

Winner: Chris Paul, Clippers
It’s not that it’s a turnover that leads to a game tying three in a game the Clippers eventually lost. It’s that it’s Chris Paul, the mayor of control, and the premier point guard in basketball, with the type of play that only happens in the netherworld, or in Washington.

Best Carve Job on the Celtics, in Boston, in Crunch Time – Presenter: Magic Johnson

Honourable Mention: Russell Westbrook, Thunder
Good time to show that he’s now got a legitimate three point stroke.

Runner-Up: Kyrie Irving, Cavaliers
Four years ago, if I were to tell you a shifty little rookie point guard would foray into Boston’s paint for a winning score, we’d all think that would never happen.

Winner: Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
Championship pedigree.Got me off the couch. No doubt he was going to score.

Best LeBron and DWade Tandem Plays – Presenter: Chris Bosh

Honourable Mention: Game Winner vs. Timberwolves
They admitted to swiping this play off the Celtics. Nice Rip.

Runner-Up: Alley-Oop vs. Kings
For LeBron to get the block is one thing. To get the ball, make the mental assessment that there was a play to be made is another. To drop it from beyond half court perfectly for DWade to put down is unbelievable.

Winner: Alley-oop vs. Bulls
I’d say a full year together has helped their chemistry. So amazing.

Most Unfortunate Story – Presenter: Peyton Manning

Honourable Mention: Greg Oden
If there’s anyone that deserves a good basketball break more than this guy, I’d like to meet him. His knees are basically made of play-dough. Get better.

Runner-Up: Billups’ torn Achilles
Was a total glue guy on the Clippers, and the one point guard that could make that five point guard system sing, because of his ability to shoot. Tough to bounce back from this one at his age. Here’s hoping he comes back strong.

Winner: Steve Nash wasting away
He can help so many teams win, just not his current squad, which is built with spare parts. Take Grant Hill with you too. These guys deserve better.

Most ‘Enough Already’ Story: Presenters – Tim Tebow, Jeremy Lin and Brett Favre

Honourable Mention: The grueling schedule
Funny, the teams that are leading the league seem to be doing well with it.

Runner-Up: Turning everything LeBron says into controversy
No matter what, he gets ripped. If he were to say no more interviews, he’d be viewed as a coward. If he speaks his mind, like he did when he said coming back to Cleveland someday might be an option, he talks too much. Winning off court appears to not be his thing. Good thing he’s still got a shot on the court.

Winner: Dwight Howard’s ‘my focus is on winning a championship’ interviews
Let’s just make this clear: you can’t be all in if you want out. You don’t win titles that way. You get ripped that way.

Most Memorable Blake Griffin Crush – Presenter: Timofey Mozgov and Frederic Weiss

Honourable Mention: vs. Lakers
Double-clutch beauty.

Runner-Up: vs. Nuggets
The human equivalent of taking a helicopter to work and overlooking the traffic on the highway.

Winner: vs. Thunder
Dunk of the year. Book it.

Miscellaneous Can’t Get Enough Of – Presenters: Jessica Alba and Kate Beckinsale

Honourable Mention: Jeff van Gundy going off
Nobody adds colour better. You want X’s and O’s, he’s got you. You want effort and insight, he’s bang on. And he’s not afraid to call out and praise players. No one would have expected this out of him when he left the coaches box for the broadcast both in 2007, after his four year stint with the Rockets.

Runner-Up: TNT guys carving LeBron’s hairline
Everybody loves it except Kenny Smith. Makes it even more funny. Give LeBron credit for answering to it. Funny Stuff.

Winner: Kobe Bryant commercial
Give Under Armour and Adidas props for stepping up their ads. But Nike has been the front-runner in the creative market campaign. This is the latest gem. Aziz Ansari kills me every time.

Signature Dagger of the First Half – Presenters: Michael Jordan, Bulls and Michael Jordan, Bobcats Owner

Honourable Mention: Kobe Bryant vs. Raptors
You know that if there’s a way, any way that the ball gets into his hands, it’s going down. Told you.

Runner-Up: Kevin Durant vs. Mavericks
You know that if there’s a way, any way that the ball gets into his hands, it’s probably going down. Told you.

Winner: Jeremy Lin vs. Raptors
You knew that the ball was going to be in his hands. Once the clock got to eight seconds, and he had yet to get a screen to move to the hoop, you were pretty sure he was going to rise up for the jumper. Linsanity. At its apex. You know what the best part was? When the Knicks grabbed the offensive rebound, and kicked it out to Lin, the game clock was less than 24 seconds. When New York didn’t go with a timeout, it set up the moment everyone wanted to see. Perfect stage setup.

Microcosm Moments of the First Half:

Honourable Mention: Kevin Love game winner vs. Clippers
Would you ever have imagined that this would be one of the best games of the year between two of the more exciting teams? The new era is here.

Runner-up: Lin steal and slam vs. Mavericks
Right place, right time, makes the play, seizes the opportunity.

Winner: Bosh, LeBron, Wade vs. Bobcats
Perfect order of finish in close games.

Enjoy the second half of the season. On to the matchups:

Spotlight

Minnesota at LA Clippers (Tuesday at 10:30pm et)
Minnesota at LA Lakers (Wednesday at 10:30pm et)
Minnesota at Phoenix (Thursday at 9pm et)
Minnesota at Portland (Saturday at 10pm et)

Not exactly the welcome you want out of the All-Star Break for the suddenly frisky Timberwolves. At 17-17, they are in the mix in the West, just a game out of the final playoff spot, and only four games out of fourth. In the conference. This squad has the necessary parts to play tough every night, with the best power forward in basketball, a great budding point guard and a bunch of athletic parts that can compete each night. We’ll see what kind of resolve they have this coming week.

Miami at Portland (Thursday at 10:30pm et)
Miami at LA Lakers (Sunday at 3:30pm et)

Portland is no easy place to play, but a good tune up for the Heat before the star showdown at Staples. Miami has proven to be tremendously tough pressuring the perimeter, and they convert turnovers into points in a dynamic fashion. Kobe could use some help out there. Derek Fisher and Steve Blake probably aren’t going to cut it. But, if LA can make it a half-court game, Gasol and Bynum could dominate inside.

Chicago at San Antonio (Wednesday at 9pm et)
Great test for both teams coming out of the break. San Antonio is now officially Tony Parker’s team, with Tim Duncan riding shotgun quite well. Derrick Rose usually rises to the occasion in these big games, and we’ll see who’s will wins out among the all-star guards.

Boston at Cleveland (Tuesday at 7pm et)
New York at Boston (Sunday at 1pm et)

Hopefully the break did the Celtics some good. They staggered in, losing five straight, and will get a look at a team that is now has a legitimate shot of catching them in the East, should they continue to fade.

What truly made the Mavericks too tough for the sloppy Timberwolves to handle was the presence of their savvy old point guard, Jason Kidd.

Nowitzki welcomed Kevin Love back from his two-game suspension with a season-high 33 points, winning the matchup of Western Conference all-star power forwards and helping Dallas stave off a Minnesota in a 104-97 victory over on Friday.

“He makes the game so much easier for everyone,” said Jason Terry, the other part of the veteran trio that steadied the Mavericks down the stretch after a 19-5 run spurt by the Wolves brought them within 78-75 on Nikola Pekovic’s putback to open the fourth quarter.

Kidd, playing for the first time in seven games due to a strained right calf muscle, responded by swishing a three-pointer to stretch the lead to six with 10:15 left.

“He’s a big part of our heart and soul. When we’re without him, we can win some games but we’re not the same team,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.

Terry had nine of his 16 points in the final period. Kidd had eight points, 10 assists and five rebounds. The Mavericks blamed most of his eight turnovers on teammates unprepared for his slick passes, since they hadn’t seen them in a while.

Kidd joked it must’ve been fan appreciation night because of all the balls being thrown into the seats. He didn’t have time to think about his big shot because he was huffing and puffing on the stationary bike behind the bench — riding all the way across the river to St. Paul, he joked — until entering the game 17 seconds before.

“Whatever I can do to help my team,” he said.

Nowitzki topped 24 points for the fourth straight game by shooting 11 for 19 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from three-point range. Love finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds, going 14 for 14 from the free-throw line, but the Wolves missed a chance to sweep the season series from a Western Conference foe since beating the Memphis Grizzlies all three times in 2008-09.

“That is definitely vintage Dirk. He’s a Hall of Fame player and when he decides he wants it, more often than not he’s going to have success,” Love said.

The Wolves had a season-high 28 turnovers and shot just 6 for 23 from three-point range.

“Just being a youthful team, we’re going to have lapses like that and unfortunately it was against a team that we beat a couple of times,” Love said.

Love was punished for stepping on Luis Scola’s face against the Houston Rockets last weekend. He was by far Minnesota’s most productive player in his return, but his was still a rather quiet performance. He made nine of 12 shots from three-point range over the Wolves’ two previous wins over the Mavericks, but he went 0 for 3 behind the arc in this one.

Nowitzki, named to his 11th straight all-star game despite a relatively slow start to his 13th season, has clearly worked himself back into shape. After averaging less than 10 points over the three games prior to this spurt, Nowitzki is averaging 28 points in the last four games while shooting 60.5 per cent. Though he lost his touch late, he seemed to have an extra edge against Love. The two of them bumped elbows and torsos in the post all night.

“He’s been fun to watch. He’s an animal on the glass. We all know that. He’s tough to play,” Nowitzki said.

The Wolves (13-14) still haven’t had a record this good this late in a season in six years. The Mavericks (16-11) didn’t have to be convinced. They were blown out in both of the first two meetings.

But the league’s oldest team still has plenty of pride — and championship rings on their fingers. They showed the Wolves, who were the second-youngest team in the NBA when this lockout-sliced season began, that they’re still a team to be reckoned with in the top-heavy West.

The Wolves made only two baskets outside the lane in the first quarter and fell behind 29-16; Love and Wes Johnson combined to shoot 1 for 8 in that frame. Nowitzki’s first 3-pointer made it 11-6 Mavericks, and the Wolves didn’t get back within five again until a flying putback dunk by Derrick Williams at the end of the third.

“We threw passes away when we worked hard defensively and got the ball back. We just threw it away like there was no value to the ball,” coach Rick Adelman said, lamenting what he called a lack of concentration.

The Mavericks took advantage of the small Wolves backcourt by posting up Vince Carter often, and Nowitzki made them pay when they switched to a zone.

“His presence opens so much up for everyone else. That’s called an all-star presence, to me. It’s not always about the numbers,” said Mavericks backup Delonte West, who had 10 points.

He’s five foot nine. He wasn’t drafted. His 11 catches couldn’t prevent a Super Bowl loss four years ago. And in the run up to Sunday’s rematch against the New York Giants, the New England Patriots wide receiver is getting little attention.

Welker’s NFL-leading 122 receptions were in the shadow of the spotlight-filling injured ankle of six-foot-six tight end Rob Gronkowski. So does the small receiver feel he needs a big game to raise his profile?

“I don’t think I am really worried about that too much,” Welker said. “I just try to go out there and do my job to the best of my ability. I really just focus on whatever I have to do to help the team win the game.”

He could have a larger role with Gronkowski at less than full strength. His high left ankle sprain could keep him from tacking on plenty of yards, as he often does, after catching passes.

Tom Brady certainly relies on Welker, whose 554 receptions since 2007 lead the NFL, 80 more than Brandon Marshall’s second highest total.

“Wes Welker would make any quarterback better with his ability to get open and catch the ball,” Brady said. “He’s a very smart player who has a great feel for the game, who has a great feel for how to get open in man-to-man (coverage), where to find the spots in zone, great body language.”

That body language and Welker’s ability to confuse defensive backs are keys to his success. He also knows that reading what the safeties are doing is a key to how the defence will handle a play.

He usually lines up in the slot and tries to start his patterns the same way so a defender doesn’t know what’s coming.

Then the sure-handed receiver will plant his foot, cut sharply to the left or right or head downfield and latch onto Brady’s pass after eluding a defender.

“I think you go off and react to what they do,” Welker said. “However they decide to play you, you attack it. A lot of it is reaction and being quick and in and out of breaks and doing different things to get open.”

Deion Branch usually lines up on the outside and tight end Aaron Hernandez sometimes starts there, too. Gronkowski and Welker are at their best over the middle.

“I just think that they have a good system,” Giants cornerback Corey Webster said. “How they use (Welker) inside the system is wonderful. You can’t have a system without players inside of it as well.”

When Welker was at Texas Tech, he couldn’t imagine being so successful in the NFL, let alone making it to his second Super Bowl in four years.

“I didn’t really have any big expectations,” he said. “I really just wanted a job. I wanted to go out there and do the best I can to try to get that job.”

He signed as a free agent with San Diego. The Chargers waived him after the first game in 2004 and the Miami Dolphins signed him after the second. As a rookie, he returned kickoffs and punts but didn’t catch a single pass.

In seven seasons since then — five with the Patriots — he has 650 receptions. With 123 in 2009 and 122 this season, he joined Cris Carter as the only players with two seasons of more than 120.

“He’s a very decisive player,” Brady said. “When you watch him run routes, he makes very swift decisions. That gives me a lot of confidence.”

But the 30-year-old Welker doesn’t take time to think about how far he’s come — from a lightly-regarded college player to Brady’s passing partner in two title games.

In the 2008 championship game, his 11 catches tied a Super Bowl record, but the Giants won 17-14.

Still, not bad for a little guy who visited the Chicago Bears before the draft but drew little interest elsewhere.

“I just try to focus on the here and now, and what I have to do now to get ready for a game,” he said. “I don’t think you can really sit back and look back too much. You have just got to continue to get better, continue to try to learn and do what you can to try to help the team win.”

Tubby Smith’s fifth season at Minnesota has been a mixed bag. The talented Golden Gophers come into this contest with a 12-5 record, but since going 12-1 in non-conference play, UM has dropped four straight to begin Big Ten play, including last weekend’s 79-66 home game against Purdue.

Tom Crean’s Hoosiers are ready to vie for a conference crown. Indiana is an impressive 15-1 on the season, with the lone loss coming at red-hot Michigan State. The team does have a couple of marquee wins to its credit, topping both Kentucky (73-72) and Ohio State (74-70) and is coming off a shootout win over Penn State (88-82) to move to 3-1 in the Big Ten.

Indiana holds a 93-65 lead in the all-time series with Minnesota, but the two squads have split the season series the last two years. with all four games won by the home team.

The loss of star forward Trevor Mbakwe (14.0 ppg, 9.1 rpg) has certainly aided in Minnesota’s decline in play of late. Mbakwe went down with a knee injury a couple of weeks ago and the team has struggled to fill the void. Rodney Williams has done his best to assuage the loss with averages of 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Williams is averaging a near double-double in league play at 12.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. He is joined in double- figure scoring this year by Julian Welch at 10.2 ppg. However, the scoring pool dries up fast after that, as Ralph Sampson III ranks third on the team at 8.8 ppg, although he has upped his play in league action to 10.5 ppg. Minnesota fell victim to a hot-shooting Purdue squad that connected on 10 three-pointers in the first half and then held on for a 13-point win in Minneapolis on Sunday. Williams led the charge in defeat with a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds. Joe Coleman added 14 points, while Chip Armelin finished with 12 points off the bench.

The Hoosiers are one of those teams that can win games at either end of the floor, as evidenced by its impressive +18.6 scoring margin. The real strength is at the offensive end, as Indiana is netting 82.4 ppg, while shooting .505 from the floor overall (fourth nationally), including a scorching .476 from three-point range (first nationally). Freshman forward Cody Zeller has made an immediate impact in Bloomington, pacing the team in both scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg). Zeller leads the Big Ten and ranks fifth nationally in field-goal percentage at an impressive .661 clip. There is plenty of scoring depth to back Zeller up, as Christian Watford (13.5 ppg), Jordan Hulls (12.3 ppg), Victor Oladipo (11.4 ppg) and Will Sheehey (10.7 ppg) have all had their moments, although Sheehey, one of the best sixth-men in the nation, is currently shelved with a leg injury. It was Indiana’s long-range acumen that led to the win over Penn State last time out, as the Hoosiers drained 16-of-24 from behind the arc. Hulls was responsible for seven of those long range bombs, en route to a game-high 28 points. Matt Roth hit five three-pointers off the bench and poured in 22 points in the win. Zeller and Watford added 10 points each.

“We are looking forward to having Robert (Prince) direct our offense,” Petersen said. “He has been working for many years to become an offensive coordinator and I know he’ll do an outstanding job for us. I’m looking forward to what type of spin he’ll put on the offense.”

Prince, who returned to Boise State last season after a seven-year hiatus, served as the team’s wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator in 2011. He will continue to coach the wide receivers.

“My family and I are excited,” Prince said. “We love Boise, and we are looking forward to the opportunity. Offensively, we have a great staff and I’m looking forward to working with them in a new capacity.”

The promotion comes a few days after former offensive coordinator Brent Pease left the Broncos to become the offensive coordinator at Florida.

Prior to rejoining the Boise State staff this past season, Prince spent six of the last seven years in the NFL.

He was an offensive assistant for tight ends and running backs for Atlanta from 2004-2005 and was an assistant quarterbacks coach for the Falcons in 2006. Prince moved on and was the assistant receivers coach for Jacksonville from 2007-2008 and spent 2009 as the receivers coach for Seattle.

Colorado hired Prince to become the Buffaloes’ passing game coordinator and receivers coach in 2010.

Prince originally joined the Broncos in 2001, and served as the wide receivers coach from 2001-2003. He also spent the 2003 season as the passing game coordinator.

“You could kind of tell after about halfway through, he took three alley-oop lobs and a 360. I think without even talking to him that kind of spoke to us in volume that he was ready to go,” Erik Spoelstra said.

That was during the morning shootaround.

Then James did roughly the same thing against the New Jersey Nets.

James returned to the lineup and scored 22 of his 32 points in the first quarter, and the Miami Heat rolled to a 101-90 victory on Saturday night despite playing without Dwyane Wade.

Wade missed his third straight game with a bruised left foot, but James had the game under control by the time his all-star teammate arrived at his seat on the bench.

James made his first seven shots, leaping high for dunks, lobs and blocked shots and showing no effects from the sprained left ankle that forced him to miss a game. The NBA’s leading scorer added nine assists and seven rebounds.

“If I feel like I’m good to go, then I’m going to go out and play my game,” James said. “I’m not going to give no restriction, just try to do the things I do out on the court and I was able to get a couple of breakaways, some easy points, get to the free throw line and I was able to test the ankle out in the first quarter.”

Chris Bosh added 16 points after a slow start for the Heat, who won their third straight and ran the NBA’s best record to 8-1. They hope to have Wade back when they move to the West for the final three games of a five-game trip.

Kris Humphries tied a career high with 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Nets, who shot just 33.7 per cent in front of a sellout crowd of 18,711. Deron Williams had 10 points and 10 assists but was just 4 of 16 from the field.

James took part in the morning shootaround, but the Heat didn’t decide he would play until shortly before tipoff in order to see how he felt after warming up. And he denied his dunk show in the morning was designed to get Spoelstra’s attention.

“No, I don’t need to show no coaches what I can do,” he said, laughing. “I’ve been in this league long enough. Just trying to test it out this morning, try to get it warm, get it loose and see what I could do, what I couldn’t do.”

Once the game started, he did it all.

James took a hit but converted the basket for a three-point play barely a minute into the game during the Heat’s 10-0 start. He hung on the rim as the backboard shook for a couple of seconds after one dunk, appearing to motion to someone near the court.

Wade also worked out prior to the game before the Heat decided to give him additional rest. He arrived at the Heat bench near the end of the first quarter, just in time to see James throw down a fast-break dunk in the final minute and later hit a 19-foot jumper with 0.2 seconds left for a 31-18 lead.

“Mainly we turned the ball over and he’s gone,” said Nets coach Avery Johnson, whose team’s 22 turnovers led to 26 points. “He’s a combination of a wide receiver, tight end, running back once he gets two or three steps on you.”

James finally missed after returning from a second-quarter rest, off on an attempted bank shot, but made his final shot of the half and Miami took a 57-35 lead into halftime.

Bosh, who had 33 points and 14 rebounds Thursday in the Heat’s triple-overtime victory in Atlanta without the other two-thirds of the Big Three, shot 1 for 6 in the first half.

The Nets were 15 of 31 behind the arc in Friday’s 97-85 victory over Toronto, and Johnson said the 3-ball needed to be a weapon because his team has no post game with starting centre Brook Lopez out with a broken right foot. But the Nets missed 18 of their first 21 Saturday before finishing 10 of 33.

Williams criticized his play and the team’s.

“I like the offence. I like the system. I just think we’re not executing good,” he said. “We’re not finishing. We’re not hitting shots. You know we’re messing up plays. We’re not on the right spots. Yesterday we were. Today we weren’t. It’s a night and day frame you know where we were yesterday.”

Still, the Nets cut it to 10 on Williams’ 3-pointer with 4:27 left in the third, and had a chance to get closer on their next possession when rookie MarShon Brooks drove for a layup. But James blocked the shot to trigger a fast break that led to Shane Battier’s 3-pointer, and rookie Norris Cole followed with one to make it 72-56.

Udonis Haslem had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat.

Things sure are rollin’ on the river.

Brees led an unstoppable offence by throwing for 466 yards and three touchdowns, and New Orleans dominated the second half for a 45-28 NFC wild-card victory over the Detroit Lions on Saturday night.

New Orleans broke the post-season mark for total yards with 626, beating the record set 49 years ago.

“We were pulling out all the stops,” Brees said. “We play aggressive. We’re not going to apologize for that. That gives guys in the huddle a lot of confidence. We’re not going to pull the reins back. It’s pedal to the medal.”

Brees hit on 33-of-43 passes while throwing for the most yards in a regulation playoff game. He highlighted his night with three completions of at least 40 yards.

“We just focus on winning. We’re not focused on yards and records,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “I’m serious when I say that.”

As usual, the quarterback had plenty of help from an offence that set an NFL record for yards from scrimmage this season (7,474), outgaining Detroit on the ground 167 yards to 32. The Saints (14-3) will travel to San Francisco (13-3) for next Saturday’s second-round game.

Matthew Stafford threw for 380 yards and three TDs for the Lions (10-7), who simply could not keep pace in their first playoff appearance since the 1999 season. They have lost seven straight post-season games.

“It’s a learning experience for the whole team. We’ll get better. We’ll be back,” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. “Obviously it hurts right now.”

All-Pro receiver Calvin Johnson had 12 receptions for 211 yards and two touchdowns in his playoff debut for Detroit, but that was not nearly enough as the Saints’ defence responded in the fourth quarter with two interceptions by Jabari Greer.

“We did make the playoffs this year and that’s a great accomplishment,” Johnson said. “We have some things to work on and we will. We know what we have to do to make the next step.”

The teams combined for 1,083 yards, tying an NFL playoff record set by Buffalo and Miami on Dec. 30, 1995. The Superdome will likely host a much different contest on Monday night, when defensive stalwarts LSU and Alabama meet for the BCS national title. Fans in the dome cheered wildly for the LSU band as it played before the game and at halftime, then enjoyed a second half that culminated in what they hope will be the first of two Big Easy celebrations in three nights.

Pierre Thomas finished with 66 yards and one touchdown rushing, while Sproles added 51 yards, two scores and several other clutch plays.

Marques Colston overcame an early fumble with seven catches for 120 yards, including a 40-yarder to set up Jimmy Graham’s short TD grab.

Robert Meachem had four catches for 111 yards, including a 56-yard score. Devery Henderson added a 41-yard touchdown reception.

New Orleans showed guts and got a little good fortune on a decisive 14-play, 80-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter. The Saints ran Sproles around the left end on fourth-and-2 at the Lions 40 and gained three yards. Soon after, Brees’ pass as he was clobbered by Nick Fairley went right through the hands of defensive back Aaron Berry.

Berry would regret that drop two plays later as Sproles bolted 17 yards to make it 31-21.

Stafford tried to get some of that back quickly, throwing deep for Titus Young, but Greer ran under it and picked it off. Four plays later, Brees spotted Meachem behind blown coverage for his long score to make it 38-21.

The Lions became only the second visiting team all year to lead at halftime in the Superdome, where the Saints were unbeaten during the regular season.

“So going into halftime at a deficit, we just realized, ‘Listen, just bear down, one play at a time, one drive at a time,”‘ Brees said, “and I think we scored on every drive in the second half. I guess that’s what you hope for.”

New Orleans has won nine in a row overall.

The Saints opened the second half by driving 78 yards to take their first lead on Brees’ 31-yard pass to Henderson. New Orleans then widened its lead to 24-14 with a 92-yard drive that included what may have been a favourable spot on Colston’s third-down grab at the Saints 18. Later, Brees converted a risky dive over the pile on fourth-and-one at the New Orleans 38 to sustain the drive before finding Colston for a 40-yard gain to the Detroit three. Brees hit Graham for a score on the next play.

“It was fourth and inches and we felt like we had a rhythm going,” Brees said. “Obviously it was a gutsy call but we’ve been known to make those types of calls.”

The Lions fought back with a quick 80-yard scoring drive highlighted by Stafford’s 42-yard completion to Johnson at the Saints two, setting up Stafford’s dive for the pylon on a bootleg that made it 24-21 late in the third quarter.

Detroit could not have planned a much better start to its first playoff game since the ‘99 season.

Stafford completed five of his first six throws for 70 yards, starting with a 22-yard completion to Johnson on the second play from scrimmage. A 10-yard strike to reserve tight end Will Heller gave the Lions a 7-0 lead.

New Orleans responded by quickly driving into Lions territory, but Colston was stripped by Stephen Tulloch on the 18-yard line and Justin Durant recovered. It was a rare lost fumble for the Saints, who had an NFL low and franchise record low five during the regular season.

New Orleans found the end zone on its next drive to tie it 7-7, but Stafford led the Lions right back downfield, hitting Johnson in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard score.

The Saints then fumbled a second time in Detroit territory when Brees was stripped just before throwing by defensive end Willie Young and the ball squirted to Durant for his second recovery. Durant wanted to return it, but the play was inexplicably blown dead. What might have been a touchdown return instead became a stalled drive.

The Saints thought they had tied it when Colston’s catch in the back of the end zone was ruled a touchdown, but it was overturned on replay and New Orleans wound up settling for John Kasay’s 24-yard field goal and a 14-10 halftime deficit.

Less than an hour after Hurd was cut by the Chicago Bears, defence lawyer Brett Greenfield told reporters that his client planned to fight the charges and wanted one thing made clear.

“Sam has asked me to address one point, with respect to the rumours that Sam has been supplying drugs to other members of the NFL, out of respect to the NFL, out of respect to teammates and out of respect to other players, he 100 per cent denies that allegation,” Greenfield said. “It is patently and totally false. It just didn’t happen.”

League spokesman Brian McCarthy said the NFL was closely monitoring the situation. Asked about a report that authorities have a list of NFL players with ties to the drug case, McCarthy said: “We are not aware of such a list.”

U.S. Magistrate Young Kim ordered Hurd to surrender his passport and any firearms. Hurd is expected to be tried in Texas, where the criminal complaint was filed this week by the U.S. attorney.

Hurd, who appeared in court in an orange jumpsuit with his feet shackled, waived his right to a preliminary hearing, meaning the next step is for prosecutors to take their case before a grand jury. Several members of Hurd’s family, including his wife, mother and brother, attended the hearing but he didn’t appear to look at them, even as he was led out of the room. He was later released after posting US$100,000 bond.

Hurd was arrested Wednesday night outside a Chicago steakhouse, according to the complaint. He allegedly told an undercover agent he was interested in buying five to 10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week to distribute in the Chicago area.

Hurd told the agent a “co-conspirator is in charge of doing the majority of the deals” while he focused on “higher-end deals,” the complaint said. He agreed to pay $25,000 for each kilogram of cocaine and $450 a pound for the marijuana, according to the charges, and then said he could pay for a kilo of cocaine — about 2.2 pounds — after “he gets out of practice.” He walked out of the restaurant with the package and was arrested.

Hurd faces up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine if convicted of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, or half a kilogram.

Teammates said they were stunned by the allegations and general manager Jerry Angelo said he was, too, as he announced the team was cutting Hurd.

“There were no facts, there were no flags, that anybody could present tangibly to say we should have known otherwise, and I want to make that perfectly clear to the public, to our fans,” Angelo said Friday. “We do our homework. We do our due diligence. We did everything you could possibly do given the information that we can allocate.”

The 26-year-old Hurd was in his first year with the Bears and sixth year overall in the NFL after five years with the Cowboys. Angelo said the Bears performed an extensive background check on Hurd, a San Antonio native who played at Northern Illinois, before signing him in July to a three-year deal reportedly worth up to $5.15 million, including a $1.35 million signing bonus and base pay this season of $685,000.

“We go back, we ask questions,” Angelo said. “Is there something we could have done, something we should have done, in the process? Sometimes, there are glitches, but in this case, there are none. I could sit here and tell you with total transparency that we did everything we know to do in terms of our research, and there was nothing that we found that would create a flag or an alert or a real concern in Sam Hurd’s case.”

Asked how certain he was that other players on the Bears or around the league were not involved, Angelo said, “I can’t talk about that.”

“I’m certainly not going on any witch hunts about players,” he added. “The one thing that we’ve done when there’s been a wrong, we’ve acted. We don’t justify wrongs. We’ve acted. We have a track record of doing that. Unfortunately, a situation arose that caught us off guard, but not to the point where we aren’t going to do the right thing.”

The Bears announced their contract agreement with Hurd on July 29, one day after federal authorities say he had agreed to a “consensual interview” with Homeland Security investigators over $88,000 in cash that had been seized in a car he owned in the Dallas area. The money was inside a canvas bag that authorities said was covered in a plant-like material that tested positive for “properties of marijuana.”

Hurd said the money was his and that he had given the car to his acquaintance, a car shop employee, for maintenance and detail work, the complaint said.

“From my understanding, he wasn’t the one that was pulled over,” Angelo said. “His vehicle was pulled over. He was not the driver. That was never made public. So he was never charged with anything. There was never any record to our knowledge. And it was, from my understanding, a citation, but other than that, there was no other information that was presented to us.”

Angelo would not say if the Bears would try to recoup some of the signing bonus. He also gave a terse answer when asked whether the case might affect his own future with the Bears, telling a reporter to “whistle Dixie.” Angelo is under contract through 2013.

As for Hurd, receiver Earl Bennett described him as a “guy with high character who just loves to play the game of football, loves to have fun.” Bennett also said he doesn’t think other players are involved.

“I wouldn’t think so,” he said. “A lot of guys in this locker room are very high-character guys.”

Coach Lovie Smith echoed that sentiment.

“We have a great group of guys,” he said. “But sometimes when you’re dealing with this many, it’s hard to have all the players be a certain way. But you can’t let that scar what else we’re getting done here. It’s always about the team. Every once in a while a guy will go outside what’s best for the football team and there are consequences that you deal with. That’s how life goes. There are life lessons that are being learned here by our football team.”

Greenfield said he wasn’t sure whether Hurd would try to get picked up by another team as he fights the drug case.

“Sam’s a football player and he wants to play,” he said. “Hopefully he’ll be playing in the near future with another team.”

If not, the lawyer said, there are other options.

Howard agreed to a deal with the Jazz on Thursday, pending a physical. O’Connor said he expects Howard to be in uniform Saturday night when the Jazz have an intrasquad scrimmage.

“The first thing he brings is an ability to play in the NBA,” O’Connor said Thursday night. “He’s a guy that at the three spot has rebounded the ball exceptionally well. And he’s played on a winning team and in an NBA championship series.”

O’Connor said it will be “all hands on deck” with a 66-game schedule that includes six games in eight days to start the season.

The Jazz made adding an athletic shooter their top priority in free agency after re-signing backup point guard Earl Watson last week.

“That was our first goal,” O’Connor said of bringing back fan-favourite Watson.

“The second was to improve the wing position. We did that in the draft with Alec (Burks) and with signing Josh. Now we’ll see how it goes.”

Agent Marc Fleisher, who represents free agent Andrei Kirilenko, said the Howard deal “most likely” means the Jazz will not re-sign the Russian forward.

O’Connor declined comment Thursday night when asked about Kirilenko, who has been playing in Russia during the lockout but is coming off an injury-plagued season.

O’Connor previously said there had been ongoing discussions with Kirilenko. But it was clear the 10-year veteran was going to have to take a major pay cut to return after making more than US$17 million last season.

Howard was a key player for Dallas from 2003-10 and helped the Mavs in their run to the NBA finals in 2006. He averaged a career-high 19.9 points in 2007-08 and has played in 453 games (381 starts).

He will be reunited with former Mavs teammate Devin Harris, now Utah’s starting point guard following the February trade of Deron Williams to New Jersey.

O’Connor said he relied on Harris’ input on Howard and said he came “highly recommended.”

O’Connor also took a trip back to North Carolina on Wednesday to work out Howard and discuss his role with the Jazz.

“It went well enough to sign him,” O’Connor said.

He acknowledged Howard will have to shake off some rust after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee a month after he was traded to Washington in February 2010.

He developed tendinitis last season, and only appeared in 18 games for Washington in 2010-11, averaging 8.4 points.

Howard also was considering returning to the Wizards, or signing with San Antonio, Portland and New Jersey.

While visiting a local charter school in Washington last week, Howard told reporters he wanted to be on a good team, where the players were hungry.

The NBA announced the compacted, 66-game schedule on Tuesday night, one that will require every team to play on three consecutive nights at least once. And it will force every team to navigate demanding stretches that are never seen during a full season, such as the nine games in 12 nights the Atlanta Hawks face starting with their Dec. 27 opener.

The Raptors play their first game Dec. 26 in Cleveland against the Cavaliers before opening their home schedule Dec. 28 against the Indiana Pacers. Toronto plays 17 of its first 26 games on the road.

In their busy January, the Raptors play five games in six days from Jan. 9-14. That includes back-to-back games Jan. 9 at home to Minnesota, Jan. 10 at Washington and Jan. 11 at Air Canada Centre against Sacramento.

The Los Angeles Lakers visit Toronto on Feb. 12, while Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat play at ACC on March 30.

The league’s 66th season begins with five games on Christmas, including the Lakers hosting the Chicago Bulls. Los Angeles then visits Sacramento the next night before returning home to host Utah on Dec. 27.

Teams will play 48 conference games and 18 against the opposing conference, meaning they play only three nonconference opponents home and away. The league did preserve its most storied rivalry, with the Lakers travelling to Boston for a Feb. 9 matchup before the Celtics open a stretch of eight road games in 13 nights in March with games on back-to-back nights at Staples Center.

Dallas and Miami also will play twice, following their Christmas NBA finals rematch with a March 12 game in Miami. The Heat and Lakers also play two games.

The 50-game 1999 season featured 64 sets of back-to-back and was plagued by sloppy basketball being played on fatigued legs. The NBA faces a similar predicament now after failing to reach a new labour deal in time to save the Nov. 1 start to the season.

Instead, a tentative agreement was reached on Nov. 26. Lawyers for the owners and players are still finalizing the rest of the deal, with both sides expected to vote on it Thursday before training camps and free agency open on Friday.

Aging teams such as the Celtics, Lakers and NBA champion Mavericks will have to pace themselves, while younger teams such as Oklahoma City figure to be better prepared for the grind.

“You’re not going to have those breaks of three or four days that you sometimes got in the old 82-game schedule, when it was the normal regular schedule,” former NBA coach and current analyst Mike Fratello said during the schedule announcement on NBA TV. “Now with everything being compacted, games come that much more quickly, you’ve got to gear up back up again, you move onto the next one immediately.”

The Denver Nuggets, hit hard by free agency with three of their players in China, face another difficult obstacle in the schedule. They play five games in six nights spanning the new year, including a home-and-home set with the Lakers on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

The Nuggets do not host Carmelo Anthony, whom they traded to the Knicks last February. Deron Williams, sent from Utah to New Jersey days later, is scheduled to return to Salt Lake City on Jan. 14.

Other quirks of the schedule include:

–Cleveland has its longest homestand ever, nine games from Feb. 8-28 — including a visit from LeBron James and the Heat on Feb. 17.

–Philadelphia plays its first five games on the road, its longest season-opening trip ever.

Miami will appear on ABC or ESPN 16 times, the most allowable, followed by 15 appearances apiece for the Lakers and Bulls. The Lakers and Celtics each appear a league-high 10 times on TNT.

The Nets’ final game in New Jersey after 35 years before heading to Brooklyn will be April 23 against Philadelphia. The Kings could play their finale in Sacramento on April 26 against the Lakers without a plan for a new arena.