All-Star point guard Jason Kidd was placed on the injured list by the New Jersey Nets on Friday with a bruised left knee.
The Nets activated Tamar Slay to take Kidd's roster spot.
Kidd missed a recent four-game road trip earlier this month because of the same injury, a bone bruise of the left knee.
PHOTO: EPA
Kidd scored 10 points in 39 minutes on Thursday in an 89-71 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Kidd appeared a step slow on two plays in the third quarter when Detroit guard Chauncey Billups drove around him easily.
Kidd has played in 62 games this season, averaging 16 points, 6.7 rebounds and a league-leading 9.5 assists.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Slay has appeared in nine games this season, averaging 2.9 points. The first-year pro has been on the injured list three times this season, missing 56 games.
Kings 94, Pacers 92
Mike Bibby hit a jumper from just inside the 3-point arc with 1.2 seconds left to lift the Sacramento Kings to a 94-92 victory over the Indiana Pacers in a matchup of NBA conference leaders.
Bibby scored 25 points and Chris Webber had 24 points and 16 rebounds Friday night for the Kings (50-19), who moved within one game of the Pacers (50-18) in the race for NBA's best record and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
"When you get off to great starts, you can't have a letup and tonight we did and it cost us the game," Carlisle said.
Jermaine O'Neal had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who were playing without second-leading scorer Ron Artest. Artest was suspended for one game without pay by the NBA on Friday for elbowing Portland's Derek Anderson on Wednesday night.
"Obviously it's a huge difference," Kings coach Rick Adelman said about Artest's absence. "He guards Peja [Stojakovic], he gives them their second scorer. It was a break for us."
Knicks 79, Nets 65
In New York, Stephon Marbury had seven of his nine assists in the first quarter, and finished with 21 points to help New York snap a five-game losing streak against its cross-river rival. The Nets played without stars Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin. Kidd (bone bruise, left knee) went on the injured list earlier in the day and Martin (knee tendinitis) also sat out.
Tim Thomas added 16 points for New York. Richard Jefferson scored 25 points for New Jersey.
Bulls 96, Raptors 91
In Toronto, Eddy Curry had a season-high 28 points to help Chicago beat Toronto and snap a seven-game losing streak.
Kirk Hinrich added 21 points and 13 assists, and Antonio Davis had 18 points and 14 rebounds against his former team.
Davis and Jerome Williams returned to Toronto for the first time since they were traded for Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall on Dec. 1. Rose had 24 points, and Vince Carter led Toronto with 30.
Jazz 97, Cavaliers 88
In Cleveland, Raja Bell scored 23 points to help Utah end the Cleveland's seven-game winning streak.
Andrei Kirilenko had 21 points and four blocked shots, and Carlos Arroyo had 15 points for the Jazz.
Cleveland's LeBron James, sick with a cold, was 4-for-14 for 14 points. Zydrunas Ilgauskas led Cleveland with 24 points.
Wizards 94, Hawks 84
In Washington, Kwame Brown scored 27 points and Gilbert Arenas had his third triple-double of the season as Washington downed Atlanta.
Brown was 10-of-14 from the field, and also had 11 rebounds. Arenas finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Stephen Jackson led the Hawks with 17 points.
Mavericks 120, Celtics 104
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and Antoine Walker added 21 points and nine rebounds against his former team to help Dallas beat Boston.
Josh Howard had a season-high 19 points and Antawn Jamison added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Mavericks. Dallas is 30-5 at home, matching Sacramento for the NBA's best home record.
Mark Blount had a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics.
Pistons 94, Nuggets 75
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Rasheed Wallace scored 20 points and surpassed the 10,000-point mark in his career to lead Detroit over Denver for its seventh straight victory.
Richard Hamilton added 20 for the Pistons, 11-3 since trading for Wallace on Feb. 19. Nuggets rookie Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points, but had just four points in the second half.
SuperSonics 91, Hornets 80
In New Orleans, Rashard Lewis scored 31 points and Ray Allen had 19 to lead streaking Seattle beat New Orleans.
Vitaly Potapenko added 14 points and 10 rebounds to help Seattle run its winning streak to four games, all on the road. Baron Davis led New Orleans with 25 points.
Timberwolves 93, Suns 80
In Phoenix, Latrell Sprewell scored all 16 of his points in the second half to lead Minnesota past Phoenix.
Kevin Garnett had 17 points and 20 rebounds for his NBA-leading 60th double-double of the season, and Wally Szczerbiak led Minnesota with 24 points. Shawn Marion had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns.
Lakers 106, Clippers 100
In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 27 points in the last four minutes as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Los Angeles Clippers. Shaquille O'Neal added 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Lakers, winners of four straight and eight of 10. Corey Maggette led the Clippers with 31 points.
Warriors 90, Rockets 84
In Oakland, California, rookie Mickael Pietrus scored a career-high 20 points to lead Golden State past Houston for its third straight win.
Troy Murphy added 16 points to help the Warriors end a 15-game home losing streak against the Rockets. Cuttino Mobley led Houston with 25 points.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
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