O’Neal injury leaves Pacers without leader
Jermaine O’Neal is expected to miss at least eight weeks with a left groin tear, leaving the Indiana Pacers without their leading scorer and rebounder.
The news came Thursday, a day after the Pacers acquired sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic from the Sacramento Kings for the volatile Ron Artest.
O’Neal was hurt during the fourth quarter of Indiana’s loss at Cleveland on Tuesday.
“When my injury happened, I knew it was going to be serious because of the actual pop in the area where I was having the most pain the last three or four weeks,” he said.
The Pacers described the injury as “significant,” but said it was doubtful he would need surgery.
O’Neal leads Indiana with 20.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Minnesota, Boston pull trade
The struggling Minnesota Timberwolves shook up their roster, sending swingman Wally Szczerbiak to the Boston Celtics for guard Ricky Davis in an exchange involving seven players and three draft picks.
Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, Justin Reed and two conditional second-round draft picks are coming to Minnesota, and in exchange the Celtics are getting Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi and Dwayne Jones and a future first-round draft pick, the teams announced.
The Wolves had been involved in trade speculation for weeks, with both Szczerbiak and Olowokandi frequently being mentioned in rumors. They were in need of a spark after losing their last two games by 20 points or more, and finally made their move after a 107-87 loss to Memphis, their third straight defeat.
Around the league
Toronto fired general manager Rob Babcock, saying they should have hired someone with more experience. Babcock held the job for less than two years. The Raptors are 14-29 – the fourth-worst record in the league. … Former pro forward Luther “Sally” Green, who played for the New York Nets and Philadelphia, died Wednesday from lung cancer. He was 59. Green died at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York. … Greg Ostertag was suspended indefinitely by Utah for his conduct after a loss to Seattle on Wednesday. The center did not show up for practice a day after playing less than 10 minutes in a 113-94 loss. Jazz vice president for basketball operations Kevin O’Connor planned to meet with Ostertag and coach Jerry Sloan to get the matter resolved soon. … The Phoenix Suns acquired 7-footer Nikoloz Tskitishvili from the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 2006 second-round draft pick.
On the court
Pat Garrity opened overtime with consecutive 3-pointers and scored a season-high 24 points, Hedo Turkoglu had 25, and the Orlando Magic beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-115 at Philadelphia for their season-high fifth straight win.
Suns 107, Heat 98: At Miami, Raja Bell scored 22 points, Steve Nash had 21 points and 14 assists, and Phoenix blew most of a 21-point, second-half lead before beating Miami.