7-Foot-2 Donaldson Called In To Pinch Hit

James Donaldson, the 7-foot-2 veteran of 13 NBA seasons, was signed to a 10-day contract Tuesday by the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz, seeking help in the middle after a season-ending Achilles tendon injury to starting center Felton Spencer, said Donaldson would join the team in time for Utah’s game at Detroit tonight.

Utah is leading the Midwest Division and riding a streak of 13 straight road wins. The NBA record is 16, set in 1972 by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Donaldson, who played college basketball at Washington State, signed the contract Tuesday morning in Salt Lake.

Hornets’ Johnson honored

Larry Johnson of the Charlotte Hornets won NBA Player of the Week honors after helping his team to three straight wins.

Johnson averaged 23 points, nine rebounds and 5.3 assists per game during victories over Cleveland, Minnesota and Chicago.

Other candidates for the weekly award were Scottie Pippen of Chicago, Terrell Brandon of Cleveland, Dikembe Mutombo of Denver, Joe Dumars of Detroit, Danny Manning of Phoenix, David Robinson of San Antonio, Olden Polynice of Sacramento, Detlef Schrempf of Seattle and Karl Malone of Utah.