News from April 24. The NBA suspended Metta World Peace (LAL) for 7 games for elbowing James Harden (OKC) in the head during Sunday's OKC-LAL game. The suspension will take placed for the Lakers' last regular season game and first 6 playoff games [if the Lakers were to lose in less than 6 games, then the remaining suspension games would occur at the start of the 12-13 regular season]. Golden State named Bob Myers as GM. Former GM Larry Riley was named as director of scouting. New York named Glen Grunwald as executive VP and GM. Washington signed president Ernie Grunfeld to a 2 year contract extension. Philadelphia signed Xavier Silas for the rest of the season. Oklahoma City activated Reggie Jackson and placed James Harden (concussion) on IL. Utah activated Josh Howard and placed C.J. Miles (gastroc strain) on IL. With their win over Phoenix, Utah clinched the 8th spot in the Western Conference. All 16 playoff berths have now been clinched, though the final order is still to be determined. Dominique Ferguson (junior, Florida International, forward) and Quincy Miller (freshman, Baylor, forward) declared themselves eligible for the NBA draft. OKC 118, Sac 110 at OKC Kevin Durant (OKC) had 32 points including 15-16 FG and 9 rebounds. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 13 points including 4-13 FG, 8 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 6 assists. Daequan Cook (OKC) had 19 points including 4-7 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. Travis Outlaw (Sac) had 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. Jason Thompson (Sac) had 22 points including 9-11 FG and 6 rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins (Sac) had 32 points on 13-22 FG and 7 rebounds. Hassan Whiteside (Sac, sprained right ankle), Terrence Williams (Sac, ill), and Marcus Thornton (Sac) did not play. Atl 109, LAC 102 at Atl Joe Johnson (Atl) had 28 points including 10-17 FG and 6-9 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Josh Smith (Atl) had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Jeff Teague (Atl) had 21 points. Blake Griffin (LAC) had 36 points including 17-23 FG and 8 rebounds including 5 offensive. Chris Paul (LAC) had 34 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 10-11 FT, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists. Bos 78, Mia 66 at Bos Sasha Pavlovic (Bos) had 16 points on 7-10 FG. Marquis Daniels (Bos) had 13 points and 5 rebounds. Dexter Pittman (Mia) had 12 points. James Jones (Mia) had 11 points including 3-4 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Bos shot 10-16 FT and Mia shot 4-7 FT. Kevin Garnett (Bos, hip flexor), Rajon Rondo (Bos, sore lower back), Greg Stiemsma (Bos, sore right foot), Dwyane Wade (Mia, dislocated left index finger), Chris Bosh (Mia, leg muscle fatigue), and LeBron James (Mia, rest) did not play. Uta 100, Pho 88 at Uta Paul Milsap (Uta) had 26 points including 6-11 FT, 15 rebounds, and 3 steals. Al Jefferson (Uta) had 18 points and 16 rebounds. Derrick Favors (Uta) had 13 points, 11 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 5 blocks. Jared Dudley (Pho) had 15 points and 6 rebounds. Steve Nash (Pho) had 14 points including 4-11 FG, 11 assists, and 5 turnovers. Earl Watson (Uta, knee injury) and Channing Frye (Pho, subluxed right shoulder) did not play. NO 83, GS 81 at GS Marco Belinelli (NO) had 23 points including 9-14 FG. Gustavo Ayon (NO) had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Carl Landry (NO) had 14 points and 6 rebounds. Klay Thompson (GS) had 16 points. Brandon Rush (GS) had 15 points including 3-4 3-pointers. NO shot 19-31 FT and GS shot 9-13 FT. Trevor Ariza (NO), Eric Gordon (NO, rest), Chris Kaman (NO, bruised left tibia), Jason Smith (NO, sprained left ankle), Andris Biedrins (GS, concussion), and David Lee (GS, strained groin) did not play. Schedule for Wednesday, April 25 (All times Central) Charlotte at Orlando 6:00 pm Washington at Cleveland 6:00 pm Chicago at Indiana 6:00 pm LA Clippers at New York 7:00 pm ESPN Philadelphia at Milwaukee 7:00 pm Denver at Oklahoma City 7:00 pm San Antonio at Phoenix 9:30 pm ESPN Schedule for Thursday, April 26 (All times Central) Philadelphia at Detroit 7:00 pm Milwaukee at Boston 7:00 pm New Jersey at Toronto 7:00 pm Miami at Washington 7:00 pm New York at Charlotte 7:00 pm TNT Dallas at Atlanta 7:00 pm Cleveland at Chicago 7:00 pm Orlando at Memphis 7:00 pm New Orleans at Houston 7:00 pm Denver at Minnesota 7:00 pm Portland at Utah 7:00 pm LA Lakers at Sacramento 9:30 pm San Antonio at Golden State 9:30 pm TNT ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html