Seikaly Goes Again, This Time To Nets
It appeared the NBA trade deadline would pass without much frenzy Thursday until the New Jersey Nets announced late in the day they had acquired Rony Seikaly from the Orlando Magic.
Three other deals were made, the biggest of which sent Isaac Austin from the Miami Heat to the Los Angeles Clippers for Brent Barry.
Also, the Chicago Bulls sent forward Jason Caffey to Golden State and the New York Knicks acquired veteran forward Terry Cummings from Philadelphia.
The Nets gave up David Benoit, Kevin Edwards, Yinka Dare and a lottery-protected 1998 first-round draft pick for Seikaly and forward Brian Evans.
It was the second trade of Seikaly this week. The center was dealt to the Utah Jazz on Monday for Chris Morris, Greg Foster and a No. 1 pick, but that trade was voided when Seikaly refused to report to the Jazz within 48 hours.
In all, there were four deals made involving 13 players.
Moten staying on
The Washington Wizards signed guard Lawrence Moten to a second 10-day contract, providing depth to an injury-riddled backcourt.
The 25-year-old Moten, who spent the past two seasons with the Vancouver Grizzlies, has played sparingly in five games since signing with the team on Feb. 9.
Dancer injures official
NBA official Scott Wall sustained a concussion during pregame warmups of Thursday night’s Houston-Detroit Pistons game when he was struck by a Rockets dancer.
Wall sat out the game and was not hospitalized after a male dancer doing a back flip knocked the official to the floor.
On the courts
Scottie Pippen scored 22 points and Dennis Rodman had 19 rebounds Thursday night, leading the visiting Chicago Bulls to an easy 123-86 victory over the shorthanded Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors played the game with nine players, including only two of the six acquired in trades in the past week.
In Houston, Clyde Drexler scored 29 points and led an early fourth-quarter spurt that sent the Houston Rockets to a 100-90 win over Detroit.
Reggie Miller scored seven consecutive points in a crucial 13-2 third-quarter spurt and the Indiana Pacers held on to defeat Philadelphia 82-77 for the 76ers’ eighth straight road loss.
Joe Smith, who traveled all night to join the team after being traded by Golden State on Wednesday, missed his first six shots in his debut with the 76ers. He scored seven points.
At Dallas, rookie Tim Duncan had 26 points and 16 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs won their seventh straight game against the Dallas Mavericks, 87-81.