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NBA briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 22, 2001

Trade deadline today

Dikembe Mutombo is available. Jason Kidd isn't. Gary Payton might be.

Trade talks got hot in certain cities and cool in others Wednesday as today's 6 p.m. trade deadline moved closer.

The team most likely to make a major move was the Atlanta Hawks, who were sorting through offers for Mutombo from the 76ers, Knicks, Mavericks, Trail Blazers and Suns.

"Nothing may happen, but things have heated up dramatically the last 24 to 48 hours," Hawks general manager Pete Babcock said.

The Sixers and Knicks were believed to be the leading contenders. Philadelphia was offering a package that included shot-blocking specialist Theo Ratliff and forward Matt Geiger; Atlanta was asking for Toni Kukoc instead of Geiger. The Knicks were offering Marcus Camby and Glen Rice, the Associated Press reported, with the Hawks asking for Allan Houston instead of Rice.

Ratliff had surgery on his right wrist Wednesday to repair a stress fracture.

Kidd was prominent in the rumor mill for about 24 hours, but Phoenix general manager Bryan Colangelo said he "will not be traded."

Payton was uncertain whether his 11-year career in Seattle was about to end. His agent, Aaron Goodwin, said he had heard the Sonics were discussing a trade with the Bucks. The AP reported Milwaukee was not in the mix.

GRIZZLIES: The search for a new home for the financially troubled team is down to three or four cities, including New Orleans, owner Michael Heisley said. He would not identify the others. Among those that have shown public interest are Louisville, Ky.; St. Louis; Anaheim, Calif.; and Buffalo, N.Y.

MAVERICKS: Owner Mark Cuban apologized to the Cavaliers for the "Chalupa Caper."

Cleveland coach Randy Wittman said he received an e-mail from Cuban apologizing for his and his team's behavior last week when the Mavericks tried to reach 100 points in the final minutes of a blowout victory to win fans discounted fast food.

"He said if they could do it over, they would have handled it differently," Wittman said.

PISTONS: A second man surrendered to Flint, Mich., police to face murder charges in the drive-by shooting death of Herbert Cleaves, brother of rookie Mateen Cleaves. Herbert was killed in a drive-by shooting Sunday.

SUSPENSIONS: Milwaukee's Glenn Robinson and Chicago's Ron Artest were suspended without pay for one game each and fined $7,500 for fighting in a game Tuesday.

TRAIL BLAZERS: Scottie Pippen took part in full-court drills for the first time in a month but said he was not going to rush back from right elbow surgery. Pippen has missed 18 games.

Wednesday's games

LAKERS 101, SPURS 99: Visiting Los Angeles won despite missing Kobe Bryant, the NBA's third-leading scorer with 29.6 average. Bryant sat out after spraining his right ankle Tuesday when he stepped on Shaquille O'Neal's foot during the Lakers' 119-109 win over Dallas.

ROCKETS 89, TIMBERWOLVES 83: Visiting Houston extended Minnesota's losing streak to five games and moved within three games of the Timberwolves in the hunt for the West's final playoff spot.

NETS 113, RAPTORS 111: Stephon Marbury had 35 points and a season-high 14 assists and host New Jersey made 13 three-pointers, tying its most since joining the NBA in 1976. Vince Carter had 39 points for Toronto.

76ERS 107, GRIZZLIES 91: Allen Iverson had 36 points as host Philadelphia won its fifth straight and snapped Vancouver's franchise-record five-game winning streak.

SUNS 100, HEAT 85: Phoenix won for the eighth time in 11 games. Miami lost its third straight for the first time since November.

PISTONS 90, KNICKS 85: Jerry Stackhouse scored 32 points as host Detroit survived a fourth-quarter New York rally. Cleaves returned after missing a game following his brother's death.

CLIPPERS 100, CAVALIERS 94: Quentin Richardson scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to spark Los Angeles, which won in Cleveland for the first time since Dec. 8, 1992.

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