NBA

Former star pleads innocent again

FLEMINGTON, N.J. -- Jayson Williams pleaded innocent again in the shooting death of a limousine driver.

The former NBA star pleaded innocent last year to a similar list of charges, only to have prosecutors substitute a new indictment this month.

It adds a weapons offense to the seven charges Williams already faced in the death of Costas "Gus" Christofi, increasing the possible prison sentence by 10 years. The 35-year-old could face nearly 55 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

The former Nets player is accused of recklessly handling the shotgun that killed Christofi then trying to make it look self-inflicted. The shooting occurred Feb. 14, 2002, inside Williams' mansion.

BLAZERS: Guard Damon Stoudamire agreed to attend drug and alcohol counseling and stay out of legal trouble for the next year to have marijuana charges against him dropped. Stoudamire and teammate Rasheed Wallace were passengers in a vehicle that was stopped for speeding Nov.22 on a highway outside Chehalis, Wash., after a game against Seattle. A search turned up a small amount of marijuana, police said. Wallace did not attend the hearing because he had not completed a drug-evaluation survey. He was expected to reach the same agreement.

LAKERS: Shaquille O'Neal became the 28th player to score 20,000 during Los Angeles' game in Sacramento, Calif.

PACERS: Ron Artest was suspended for the fifth time this season, getting a two-game ban for a flagrant foul five seconds into a game.

Thursday's games

SPURS 112, MAVERICKS 110 (OT): Tony Parker flipped a layup over Shawn Bradley and Dirk Nowitzki with 1.2 seconds left in overtime, giving visiting San Antonio the win in a matchup of the league's top teams. The Spurs moved within 21/2 games of Dallas in the Midwest Division. The win guarantees the Spurs no worse than tying the season series, the first tiebreaker. San Antonio also has two more conference wins than Dallas, putting it ahead in the next tiebreaker. Tony Parker nailed a twisting fadeaway with 29.3 seconds to go to put the Spurs ahead 102-100, and Nick Van Exel answered with an 18-footer over a fallen Parker to force OT.

PISTONS 113, 76ERS 85: Chauncey Billups scored 29 to lead six double-figure scorers for host Detroit. Philadelphia's Allen Iverson scored five -- snapping a 186-game streak of scoring in double figures.

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