Tomjanovich calls it quits
The stress of coaching the Los Angeles Lakers wore down Rudy Tomjanovich to the point at which he needed medication just to get by.
When that didn’t work, he realized something had to change.
So, Tomjanovich resigned Wednesday, his tenure as coach of the Lakers lasting barely half a season.
“I think this is the best decision for me and the Lakers,” a subdued Tomjanovich said at a news conference. “A month ago, I became conscious of not feeling good. As the time went by, I started to feel my resistance going down. I went from this energetic, pumped-up guy to all of a sudden being sapped of a lot of energy.”
Tomjanovich, 56, said he’ll never coach again.
Tomjanovich will remain with the Lakers as a consultant, mainly working as a scout.
General manager Mitch Kupchak said assistant Frank Hamblen would stay on indefinitely as coach of the Lakers, but didn’t rule out the return of Phil Jackson.
“Phil Jackson’s name will come up. If there was a business contact (with Jackson), I would know about it. I’m not aware of any business contact with Phil Jackson.”
On the court
Raptors 98, Pacers 97: At Indianapolis, Chris Bosh had 25 points and 15 rebounds, and Jalen Rose added 22 points as Toronto rallied from 19 points down in the third quarter to hand Indiana its sixth straight loss. Stephen Jackson led the Pacers with 18 points.
Kings 111, Warriors 107 (OT): At Oakland, Calif., Brad Miller scored four of his career-high 38 points in the final 10.8 seconds of overtime, and Sacramento overcame the absence of three injured starters to beat Golden State. Jason Richardson scored 37 points for the Warriors, who lost for the 15th time in 16 games.
Trail Blazers 97, Nuggets 94: Nick Van Exel scored 26 points at home to help Portland beat Denver, ending the Nuggets’ three-game winning streak under new coach George Karl. Damon Stoudamire added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, who have won three of their last five. Andre Miller had 27 points and nine assists for the Nuggets.
Rockets 118, 76ers 95: At Philadelphia, Tracy McGrady had 34 points and outperformed the NBA’s leading scorer, Allen Iverson, as Houston knocked the 76ers out of first place in the Atlantic Division. Combined with Boston’s victory over New Jersey, the 76ers fell a half-game behind the Celtics in the division standings. Iverson had 10 assists and Samuel Dalembert had 16 points for the Sixers.
Mavericks 90, Hornets 82: At New Orleans, Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points on an off-shooting night and Jerry Stackhouse added 19 points to lead Dallas past New Orleans. Former Gonzaga Bulldog Dan Dickau was the only Hornet scoring with regularity, finishing with a team-high 18.
Pistons 99, Hawks 84: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Chauncey Billups scored 27 points to help Detroit past Atlanta for its fifth straight victory. Tony Delk led Atlanta with 20 points.
Celtics 110, Nets 89: Paul Pierce had 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his fifth career triple-double, and Raef LaFrentz added 21 points and eight rebounds to lead Boston over visiting New Jersey. Jason Kidd had 25 points for New Jersey.
Suns 108, Timberwolves 79: At Minneapolis, Amare Stoudemire had 23 points, five of his teammates scored in double digits and Phoenix defeated Minnesota. Wally Szczerbiak scored 16 points and Trenton Hassell had 14 for Minnesota.
Top Hornets official resigns
Jack Capella resigned as the New Orleans Hornets’ executive vice president and chief operating officer, saying he wants to pursue business opportunities in consulting and development.
He was the state’s lead negotiator in the talks that helped bring the Hornets to New Orleans from Charlotte, N.C.
Around the league
The Atlanta Hawks put rookie swingman Josh Smith on the injured list with a sprained right knee and activated Donta Smith, who missed the past five games with tendinitis. … Forward Troy Murphy went on the Golden State Warriors’ injured list with a broken left thumb, and the Warriors activated Zarko Cabarkapa, who had been out with tendinitis in his left knee