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Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith is due to appear in a New Jersey municipal court next week to face traffic summonses stemming from a car crash that killed a friend in 2007. A Monmouth County grand jury in October declined to indict the New Jersey native on vehicular homicide charges that could have carried a jail term.

New York coach Mike D'Antoni said Eddy Curry won't make his season debut Tuesday night when the Knicks play the Oklahoma City Thunder. Curry has missed the entire season with a knee injury. D'Antoni said last week that Curry could return to the Knicks' lineup during a four-game Western Conference road trip that began in Oklahoma City.

Houston Rockets forward Ron Artest missed his second straight game with a sore right ankle, sitting out Tuesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. Artest is averaging 16 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Rockets. He stretched his ankle on the court about an hour before tip, but was not healthy enough to play.

Carmelo Anthony didn't care for the color of the new removable splint he was sporting on his broken right hand, preferring it to be Denver Nuggets blue over bright red. Then again, a splint of any color sure beats surgery. The Nuggets All-Star guard will miss at least three weeks after breaking a bone in his shooting hand in a victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.

Elton Brand is making progress while rehabbing his injured right shoulder and the 76ers forward could be back with the team in about two weeks. "I can feel it coming," Brand said Tuesday. "It's not far away and that's very encouraging." Brand hasn't played for the struggling Sixers since he sustained a fracture and tear in his right shoulder on Dec.

LeBron James is still talkin' the walk. Two days after he was surprisingly whistled for traveling in the closing seconds of Cleveland's 80-77 loss at Washington, James maintains his "crab dribble" was legal and that he has no plans to remove it from his arsenal. The Cavaliers superstar was adamant after the game that he didn't walk.

Phoenix Suns guard Jason Richardson apologized Tuesday for creating a "distraction" after being accused of driving under the influence of alcohol. A citation filed in court says the ex-Michigan State star was stopped by a Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community police officer in the early morning of Dec.

The Phoenix Suns have released Dee Brown less than two weeks after signing him to fill the team's need for a backup point guard. Brown appeared in two games for Phoenix and averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 assists. Brown was signed by the Suns on Dec. 24 after appearing in 17 games with the Washington Wizards to begin the season.

Carmelo Anthony could barely put on his socks and struggled to fasten his watch. Tying his shoes? That was simply too much for his injured right hand. Anthony scored 21 points and set a season-high with nine assists despite injuring his hand in the third quarter of the Denver Nuggets' 135-115 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.

Paul Millsap is helping the Utah Jazz get by without Carlos Boozer. Millsap scored 19 points and had 14 rebounds to lead the Jazz to a 119-114 victory over the Warriors on Monday night. It was his 18th consecutive double-double in place of Boozer, who has missed 23 straight games since injuring his left knee on Nov.

Charlie Villanueva thought any win the Milwaukee Bucks could get without Andrew Bogut would be big. This one was Villanueva's first. Michael Redd scored a season-high 35 points and Villanueva added 13 of his 25 in the fourth quarter Monday night, leading Milwaukee to its first victory without Bogut in 21 months, 107-97 over the Toronto Raptors.

With leading scorer Devin Harris sidelined in the second half, the New Jersey Nets turned to Vince Carter and couple of other things that have not been as reliable -- Yi Jianlian and defense. Carter scored 29 points, Yi added 22 points and a season-high 13 rebounds and the Nets limited Sacramento to 36 second-half points in handing the Kings their 11th straight road loss, 98-90 on Monday night.

The circus comes to Miami this week, so it seemed appropriate for the Heat to force the San Antonio Spurs into walking the proverbial tightrope. For the surging Southwest Division leaders, it wasn't a problem. Tim Duncan scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and the Spurs trailed for only one possession in a nip-and-tuck 91-84 win over the Heat on Monday night, San Antonio's 14th victory in...

The Golden State Warriors waived rookie guard DeMarcus Nelson on Monday and recalled forward Jermareo Davidson from the D-League's Idaho Stampede. Nelson, an Oakland native and former Duke star, was the Warriors' starting point guard on opening night, but he quickly fell out of favor with coach Don Nelson.

Raptors center Jermaine O'Neal and guard Jose Calderon were not with the team when Toronto began a two-game road trip Monday night against the Bucks. Milwaukee was without center Andrew Bogut for the second straight game because of back spasms, and coach Scott Skiles didn't sound optimistic he'd have his big man back before the Bucks' next game Wednesday night.

Add LeBron James' "crab dribble" to the lengthy list of talking points in the Cavaliers-Wizards rivalry. "I'll have to check in my book to see what a 'crab dribble' is. I'm not quite sure," Washington interim coach Ed Tapscott said with a smile Monday. "I do know that we don't seem to get away with very many of them, whatever they are." James and the rest of the Cavaliers were given Monday off by...

Suns guard Jason Richardson is facing charges of driving under the influence of alcohol in an American Indian tribal community in metropolitan Phoenix. A citation filed in court says the ex-Michigan State star was stopped by a Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community police officer in the early morning of Dec.

Oklahoma City rookie forward D.J. White had a second surgery to remove a benign growth from his jaw, and is expected to miss at least the next 12 weeks. Thunder officials said team doctors performed the final procedure on Sunday at Integris Baptist Medical Center. The initial surgery was performed Oct.

The Los Angeles Clippers acquired 7-foot-1 Cheikh Samb of Senegal from the Denver Nuggets on Monday for a conditional second-round draft pick. The Clippers also waived forward Paul Davis and guard Fred Jones and received cash considerations as part of the deal. Samb played in six games with the Nuggets this season, averaging 0.7 points, 1.5 rebounds in 4.0 minutes.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Walton will be sidelined for at least two weeks by a foot injury. Walton, who started 11 consecutive games before missing Sunday's 100-86 win over Portland, has sesamoiditis in his right foot and will wear a protective boot for a week, the team said Monday. The condition is an irritation of the sesamoid bones that extend to the big toe and generally heals without...