Cavs tie NBA record, CV tweets again

Brian Windhorst, Plain Dealer: "The Cavs tied an NBA record in the 97-92 overtime victory over the Trail Blazers by turning the ball over just twice. The second turnover came in the final seconds as Mo Williams was trying to run out of the clock and a pass at the rim went out of bounds. They tied the Milwaukee Bucks, also with Williams as the point guard, on April 1, 2006 against the Atlanta Hawks. The Cavs' previous franchise record was four. It was the fewest turnovers ever in an overtime game, besting the Knicks' three against Detroit on March 11 this year. 'It was the difference in this game, amazing by our guys,' said Cavs coach Mike Brown, who won his 200th game. 'It was an ugly game but you have to win ugly sometimes.'"

SportsByBrooks: "Earlier this week Villanueva was reprimanded by the Milwaukee Bucks for tweeting at halftime of a game against the Celtics. Thursday, Villanueva, who played for Jim Calhoun at UConn, was back tweeting. This time it was about the status of his former coach for the Huskies’ Saturday game vs. Texas A&M. Villanueva tweet: 'Calhoun will coach next game, inside source.' Calhoun, who has beaten prostate cancer but underwent treatment in May for a form of cancer called squamous cell carcinoma, was unable to coach UConn in its first round NCAA Tournament win over Chattanooga Thursday. An 'undisclosed illness' was cited as the culprit. Up until now, there has been no reliable word as to whether Calhoun would be stalking the sidelines in Philadelphia. I’m guessing Villanueva’s source is as inside as it gets (read Calhoun himself)."

AP: "Boston coach Doc Rivers has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for criticizing a referee earlier in the week. Rivers was penalized Thursday. He was irate following the Celtics' 127-121 loss at Chicago on Tuesday night, after he got whistled for his second technical foul in the final minute. That led to an automatic ejection and a rant against referee Bill Kennedy. After John Salmons' basket gave the Bulls a 124-119 lead with 29.8 seconds left, the Celtics called a timeout and then Rivers got tossed. The league also fined referee Kennedy an undisclosed amount."

Paul Coro, Arizona Republic: "Suns guard Leandro Barbosa will be out of game action one to three weeks after suffering a bone contusion in his left knee during Wednesday's win against Philadelphia.Barbosa hyperextended his left knee inward when his leg planted as he ran past the basket and looked back at his layup that was blocked. Barbosa left the game. His X-ray was negative. Suns head athletic trainer Aaron Nelson said a Thursday MRI exam showed Barbosa's knee did not have ligament damage but had a bone contusion on the top of his left tibia, where the femur hit upon hyperextension. Nelson said a straight-in hyperextension reduced the chance of ligament damage and that his extra step before planting kept his full weight off the hyperextension. Barbosa can do non-impact workouts for the next week. In a best-case scenario, he could play next Thursday at Portland. If he needs three weeks, he would miss 10 of the final 14 games."

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "A week that started with Dwyane Wade stressing it would take more than a nagging injury to keep him off the court is ending with the Heat guard insisting he won't rush back from such an ailment. 'I just try to be smart about it and see how I feel,' Wade said Thursday of the strained right hip that kept him out of Wednesday's 112-108 overtime loss in Boston, his first absence of the season. As teammates went through a light workout at the Nets' practice facility in advance of tonight's game against New Jersey, Wade put up a few shots and then put up with various contortions of his midsection by the training staff. Wade said he would be a game-time decision tonight, adding that the goal is to get to a point 'where I can really help my team and then not go in and out, just try to be smart about it and see how I feel.'"

Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun: "Coach Jay Triano shrugged off the presence of unemployed NBA head coach Marc Iavaroni at practice the past few days, saying it was just a professional courtesy extended by the team. 'It's great,' Triano said. 'From day one, I've opened my practices. We had Dave Smart from Carleton University (as well as a minor league coach who dropped by yesterday) and we've had Marc. It's a common thing among coaches because you always learn, whether it's a drill or situational stuff. Marc and I met over in Italy years ago (at an NBA clinic), then he lost his job. He's going to visit three or four different teams and that's a credit to him. He's still trying to learn, to build his resume and trying to get better.' Iavaroni, once linked to the Toronto job prior to Sam Mitchell's extension coached a year and a half in Memphis before being let go last year. Triano laughed off any 'paranoia' about Iavaroni being in the same gym."

Mike Jones, Washington Times: "Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin says he is ready to dig deeply into his own pocket to win the NBA championship that has eluded him for three decades — even if it means incurring stiff financial penalties by exceeding the league's salary cap for the first time. 'I'm sure [team President] Ernie Grunfeld and his staff will make sure that we take advantage of any potential opportunity that presents itself during the offseason,' Mr. Pollin, 85, said in an interview conducted this week via e-mail. 'With that said, I also believe NBA teams need to be financially responsible and the luxury tax is a well-designed penalty/reward system. The penalties are severe. While I will say that I don't want to go over the luxury tax threshold, I also will not rule it out.'"

Ronald Tillery, Memphis Commercial Appeal: "One of the Grizzlies' offseason priorities will be to sign Rudy Gay to a contract extension. That springtime fact already puts the organization and Gay on the same page for what could be a busy summer. While the 6-8 forward is focused on finishing this regular season on a strong note, Gay has one eye on his future. And Gay said his offseason goal is to work out a deal that keeps him as an integral part of the Grizzlies' rebuilding. 'As a player and a person, I want to be set going into next season,' Gay said as the Griz prepared to play a road game tonight against the New Orleans Hornets. 'I want to be comfortable and work on trying to be an All-Star. So yeah, (an extension) is important to me.' Gay is winding down his third NBA season. He is eligible to negotiate a contract extension beginning July 1."

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