Celtics coach Jim O'Brien saw a decline in Vin Baker's play and suspected that the forward might may have faltered in his treatment for alcoholism.
"This was not necessarily a complete shock to me," O'Brien said Wednesday, one day after Baker was suspended for three games for failing to comply with the conditions of his aftercare program.
"I saw a deterioration in his play -- what I would consider a significant deterioration in his play from the beginning of the year. I was not sure of what the problem was. I knew that he was not the player he was a month ago."
PHOTO: AFP
"I hope it's just a phase of the program that leads to the better outcome," said Wyc Grousbeck, a managing partner with the Celtics. "It was doing great for a long time. I can tell you everybody in the Celtics organization is feeling badly for Vin, and supportive."
O'Brien, Grousbeck and team captain Paul Pierce said they haven't spoken to Baker since the suspension.
"Calls are out and I expect that we will be talking to Vin very soon," Grousbeck said.
Baker is scheduled to miss home games Wednesday against Orlando and Friday against Cleveland and a road game Sunday against Houston.
"It's an unfortunate circumstance. We really give our support to Vinny," Pierce said. "We're here to lend a helping hand. Right now he's going through a difficult time."
"It's an ongoing struggle and there are ups and downs along the way," Grousbeck said. "He's come so far that I hope he can keep going forward."
bad boys, bad boys ...
Kenyon Martin and Corey Maggette were suspended for two games without pay by the NBA on Wednesday, a day after they were ejected from a Clippers-Nets game for fighting.
The players threw punches in the third quarter of the Nets' 92-75 win Tuesday, after New Jersey's Martin committed a hard foul on Maggette on a drive.
Maggette appeared to shove Martin to the court, and Martin got up and went after Maggette. Each player threw two punches.
Maggette will serve his suspension during the Clippers' games at Philadelphia on Wednesday and at Toronto on Friday.
Martin will miss games at Philadelphia on Friday and against Washington on Jan. 14.
76ers 100, Clippers 80
Allen Iverson scored 20 points and the Philadelphia 76ers reached 100 points for the first time in nearly two months, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 100-80.
Iverson and Glenn Robinson combined for 16 points during a 21-5 run to start the third quarter that gave the Sixers a 17-point lead.
With Iverson on the bench in the fourth quarter, the Clippers were able to cut the deficit to 11, but a series of turnovers led to a 17-4 run by Philadelphia that put the game out of reach.
Getting hit on drives to the basket is nothing new for Iverson, but Eddie House's physical play Wednesday resulted in a rare outburst by the Sixers' guard.
"I don't care when guys hit me in my arm or my leg or my chest or anything like that real hard," Iverson said. "But when you hit me in my face or my head, it's a different story."
Robinson had 19 points for the Sixers, Kenny Thomas had 16, Eric Snow 15 and Samuel Dalembert 12.
"Going into the third quarter, we thought we had the momentum," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "But we gave it right back to them with turnovers."
Elton Brand led the Clippers with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
Celtics 101, Magic 93
In Boston, Paul Pierce had 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Mike James added 21 points as Boston extended Orlando's losing streak to six games.
After trailing 90-72 with 8:16 remaining, Orlando went on a 14-2 run featuring three 3-pointers and 11 points by Tracy McGrady. But the Magic got no closer as Pierce scored four straight points to make it 96-86.
McGrady scored 28 points to lead Orlando, which has lost six straight on the road. He had 14 points in the fourth quarter. Keith Bogans added a career-high 18 points.
Chris Mihm made his first start for Boston since being acquired 12 games ago and had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Raptors 75, Cavaliers 69
In Toronto, Vince Carter scored 11 of his 14 points in the final eight minutes, including a clinching windmill dunk with 21 seconds left as Toronto downed Cleveland.
Carter was 1-for-12 from the field and hadn't scored since the first quarter before putting Toronto ahead on a 3-pointer with 7:34 remaining.
After LeBron James missed a jump shot with less than a minute left, Alvin Williams grabbed the rebound and found Carter downcourt for a dunk that gave Toronto a 73-67 lead.
James had 21 points and five assists but shot 2-for-8 with no assists in the fourth quarter.
Pistons 85, Rockets 66
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Richard Hamilton scored 16 points as Detroit held Houston to its lowest point total while extending its NBA record of holding teams under 100 points to 38 straight games.
The Pistons won their seventh straight game, their longest winning streak in nearly 12 years, and the longest current streak in the league. They have won five straight against Western Conference teams.
Detroit's Tayshaun Prince scored 13, Mehmet Okur had 10 and reserve Chucky Atkins added 11. Ben Wallace, the reigning NBA player of the week, had nine points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.
The Pistons scored 12 consecutive points midway through the second quarter to build a double-digit lead they had no trouble padding and maintaining.
Heat 102, Bulls 95
In Miami, Eddie Jones scored 27 points and Lamar Odom added 25 as Miami, coming off its lowest-scoring game of the season, held off Chicago.
The Heat, who lost 87-65 to Indiana on Monday, topped the 100-point mark for the fifth time and won for the sixth time in nine games.
Bulls rookie Ronald Dupree was impressive in his NBA debut, scoring a team-high 18 points.
The Heat led 76-70 entering the fourth quarter and kept at least a three-point lead the rest of the way. Dupree's free throws pulled the Bulls to 97-93, but Jones knocked down a pair of foul shots to provide a six-point lead with 23 seconds to go.
Bucks 95, Suns 87
In Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 23 points, including 13 in the third quarter, as Milwaukee beat Phoenix to extend its winning streak to a season-high four games.
Desmond Mason scored 17 points, Joe Smith had 14 and T.J. Ford 11 for Milwaukee.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB