Malone heads Cavaliers

Cavaliers coach Paul Silas wipes his forehead during their 106-91 loss to the Heat in Miami, in this April 9, 2004 photo. Silas was fired on Monday. PHOTO: AP

Paul Silas was fired as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday with his team fighting for a NBA playoff spot after leading its division earlier this year. Long-time NBA assistant Brendan Malone will be the interim coach.

Silas AP he was informed at a morning meeting with general manager Jim Paxson and new owner Dan Gilbert. Silas' son, assistant Stephen Silas, also was fired.

"They didn't think the team was performing as well as it should be and they wanted to make a change," Paul Silas said.

The Cavaliers have struggled since the All-Star break last month. They have lost nine of 12 and nine straight road games, including Sunday's 105-98 loss to Toronto when James scored a franchise-record 56 points.

"We believe in our players, and that progress just wasn't being made," Paxson said at a news conference on Monday. "We have 18 games left in this season. We're fifth in the Eastern Conference right now, and we felt that if we didn't make this decision that we were jeopardizing our ability to be a playoff team this year."

The Cavaliers entered the All-Star break at 30-21, then went into a slide, the decline marked by personnel issues.

The trouble may have culminated on Sunday when Silas benched starting guard Jeff McInnis and replaced him with Eric Snow. Snow did not score in Cleveland's loss at Toronto, and McInnis, despite being dressed and available, didn't play.

This season, Silas threw Snow off the bench after the two exchanged words during the first quarter at Detroit, a move that stunned the team because of Snow's reputation as a leader.

Last week, Silas was fined US$10,000 by the team for a derogatory comment he made about Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer, who left the Cavaliers as a free agent last year. Silas apologized.

The 61-year-old Silas joined Cleveland in June 2003 after being fired by the New Orleans Hornets, having led them to the playoffs four straight times.

Malone, in his first season with the Cavaliers, was the first coach of the expansion Toronto Raptors, spending one season with the team. He's been an assistant with New York, Indiana, Seattle and Detroit in 19 years of NBA coaching.

The Cavaliers are ninth team to make a coaching change since the start of the season, nearly one-third of the league. They join Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis, Minnesota, New York Knicks, Orlando and Portland.

As a coach, Silas has a record of 355-400 with the Los Angeles Clippers, Hornets and Cavaliers. His Hornets teams (both in Charlotte and New Orleans) went 13-16 in the playoffs.

In 16 NBA seasons as a player, Silas averaged 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds in 1,254 career games. Twice selected as an All-Star, he won three NBA championships -- two with Boston and one with Seattle.

LeBron James scored 29 and got some sorely needed help from the Cavaliers bench to give interim coach Brendan Malone a win in his first game, 91-76 over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.

"We played great tonight," Malone said. "Our defensive intensity was great against one of the best teams in the NBA."

Malone more playing time to Anderson Varejao and other reserves and it paid off. Varejao scored 11 and played tough defense with a couple blocks that ignited Cleveland.

The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Cavaliers and snapped the Pistons' five-game winning streak.

Rasheed Wallace scored 25 points and Tayshaun Prince had 22 for the Pistons.

Detroit without Richard Hamilton, who was out with a sprained left ankle.

Nets 98, Pacers 91

In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Vince Carter scored 33 points to give New Jersey the win over Indiana and its longest winning streak of the season.

Rookie Nenad Krstic scored seven of his 15 points during a 14-2 run that put the Nets in control midway through the final period, as New Jersey won its fifth straight game.

Stephen Jackson scored 23 points for Indiana, but was limited down the stretch because of foul trouble.

Suns 105, Hawks 94

In Atlanta, Amare Stoudemire had 40 points and 13 rebounds to help Phoenix beat Atlanta and become the ninth NBA team to win 50 games following a 50-loss season.

With Stoudemire controlling the lane and Steve Nash handing out 11 assists, the Suns improved the league's best road record to 27-7 with an eighth straight victory outside Phoenix. They have won three of four overall.

Shawn Marion had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Suns, who can tie the franchise record Wednesday night in Charlotte for consecutive road wins, a mark set in 1997-98 and matched the next season.

The Hawks, who were led by Al Harrington's 16 points, fell to an NBA-worst 8-25 at home.

Jazz 115, Lakers 107

In Salt Lake City, Mehmet Okur had 27 points and 16 rebounds and Utah handed the Los Angeles Lakers their sixth straight loss, despite 43 points from Kobe Bryant.

The Jazz stopped a season-long nine-game losing streak and won the season series against the Lakers for the first time since 1999, taking three of four games.

Bryant nine of 15 3-pointers, but missed all four of his 3-pointers in the fourth quarter while scoring just four points.

Los Angeles, which fell 4 1/2 games behind Denver for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, continued its longest losing streak since 1993-1994 -- the last time the Lakers missed the playoffs.

Matt Harpring scored 23 points and had five assists and Gordan Giricek, making his first start since Feb. 1, scored a season-high 22 points for the Jazz.

Utah hadn't won since beating Atlanta on March 2.

Allen Iverson was fined US$10,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for a heated exchange the Philadelphia guard had with an official following the 76ers' loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.

Iverson, upset about calls, challenged referee Marc Davis after the 94-88 loss. Iverson had to be restrained by teammates, and a few minutes later was seen heading in the direction of the referees' dressing room before general manager Billy King interceded and calmed him down.

On Monday, Iverson said he expected to be fined or suspended for his comments to Davis.