Yahoo Sports - NBA News
James may see Miami-Ohio St. in Columbus (AP)
LeBron James didn't change all his teams this summer. James posted on his Twitter feed Thursday that he's considering going to Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 11 to see the matchup between No. 2 Ohio State -- his longtime team of choice -- and No. 13 Miami. And no, the former Cleveland Cavaliers star isn't rooting for the Hurricanes.
Hawks sign free agent C Thomas (AP)
The Atlanta Hawks have signed free agent center Etan Thomas to add bulk in the frontcourt. The 6-foot-10 Thomas spent most of his career with the Washington Wizards but finished last season with Oklahoma City. He's averaged 5.8 point and 4.8 rebounds per game over his eight-year career, which includes 74 starts.
Varejao, Barbosa power Brazil into 3rd (AP)
Marcelo Machado scored 18 points, Anderson Varejao grabbed 12 rebounds in his longest stint at the world championship, and Brazil clinched third place in Group B with a 92-74 victory over Croatia on Thursday. Brazil (3-2) bounced back from a pair of narrow losses to earn a meeting with South American rival Argentina on Tuesday.
US sluggish vs. Tunisia but goes to 5-0 (AP)
With nothing to play for, the United States looked as if it didn't want to play. Outworked and outhustled, the Americans led winless Tunisia by only four points early in the third quarter before turning the game into a rout over the final 15 minutes of a 92-57 victory Thursday. Eric Gordon scored 21 points for the U.S., which had already clinched first place in its group and was more interested...
Krstic helps Serbia upset Argentina (AP)
Aleksandar Rasic made four free throws in the last 11 seconds Thursday to help Serbia upset top-ranked Argentina 84-82 and win Group A at the basketball world championship. Argentina captain and Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola sank two free throws with 38 seconds left to make it 77-77, but Serbia's Dusko Savanovic hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining.
Dragic, Slovenia in elimination stage (AP)
Goran Dragic of the Phoenix Suns scored 18 points, and Slovenia surged into the elimation stage of the world championship with a 65-60 victory over Iran on Thursday. The Slovenians (4-1) won their last three games after losing to the United States to take the No. 2 seed from Group B. They will face Australia, the No.
Barea, Puerto Rico ousted from worlds (AP)
Charles Abouo scored 19 points to lead Ivory Coast to an 88-79 win over Puerto Rico on Thursday at the basketball world championship. Despite the win, China will move on to Istanbul on a point differential ahead of the Ivory Coast and Puerto Rico in Group C. Mohamed Kone had double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Mamadou Lamizana added 17 points for the Ivory Coast.
Mills lifts Australia into next round (AP)
Australia beat Angola 76-55 Thursday to clinch third place in Group A of the basketball world championship. Patty Mills had 11 points for Australia, which broke open the game with an 11-0 run in the second quarter. No player scored in double figures for Angola, which played without top scorer Olimpio Cipriano.
Barea, Puerto Rico ousted from worlds (AP)
Charles Abouo scored 19 points to lead Ivory Coast to an 88-79 win over Puerto Rico on Thursday at the basketball world championship, yet China will advance to the knockout round because of the tiebreaker. Mohamed Kone had double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Mamadou Lamizana added 17 points for the Ivory Coast.
Fernandez helps reigning champ Spain win (AP)
Spain finished Group D play at the basketball world championship with consecutive strong games, routing winless Canada 89-67 Thursday. The defending champions started slowly but won their final two games by a total of 56 points. Spain will finish as either the six-nation group's second- or third-seeded team going into the knockout rounds.
Varejao returns but Brazil falls (AP)
Jaka Lakovic scored 20 points, hitting consecutive 3-pointers to halt a furious Brazil comeback, and Slovenia blew nearly all of a 17-point lead before holding on for an 80-77 victory Wednesday. Slovenia (3-1) took sole possession of second place in Group B, while Brazil (2-2) came up just short again after losing by two to the United States on Monday.
US easily wins first meeting with Iran (AP)
In the political arena, Iran vs. the United States is a matchup that gets attention. In a basketball arena, not so much. "For me, it's a normal game," Iran captain Mahdi Kamrany said. The United States won it easily, earning a top seed in the knockout round of the world championship with an 88-51 victory Wednesday in the first meeting between the countries with a history of contentious...
Kleiza lifts Lithuania to top group spot (AP)
Jonas Maciulis had 19 points and Linas Kleiza added 15 points as Lithuania beat France 69-55 Wednesday to clinch top spot in Group D at the basketball world championship. "It's a big step," Lithuanian coach Kestutis Kemzura said. "But all the interesting things are just starting." Lithuania (4-0) handed France (3-1) its first defeat and, after playing Lebanon (1-3) on...
Suspended G West returning to Celtics (AP)
Delonte West is returning to the Boston Celtics. The team announced Wednesday that it has signed the 6-foot-3 guard, who was suspended for the first 10 games of the 2010-11 season after pleading guilty to weapons charges in Maryland. West played his first three seasons with Boston before being traded to Seattle in 2007 in the deal that brought Ray Allen to the Celtics.
Scola scores 30 again, Argentina now 4-0 (AP)
Top-ranked Argentina won its fourth straight game at the basketball world championship by defeating winless Jordan 88-79. Luis Scola scored 30 points, his third straight game with 30 or more, and had 13 rebounds. Carlos Delfino added 18 points. Rasheim Wright had 22 for Jordan and Ayman Idais scored 20.
Turkoglu helps Turkey remain perfect (AP)
Host Turkey maintained its perfect record at the basketball world championship by narrowly beating Puerto Rico 79-77 Wednesday, despite trailing its rival in the first three quarters. Hidayet Turkoglu of Phoenix Suns led Turkey (4-0) with 16 points and Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks had double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds as the host team pulled away in the last quarter.
Krstic returns from ban as Serbia wins (AP)
Nenad Krstic returned from a three-game suspension for a brawl and had a double-double in Serbia's 94-79 victory over Australia at the basketball world championship on Wednesday. Krstic scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds, Milos Teodosic added 19 points and Novica Velickovic contributed 18 points and nine rebounds for Serbia, which clinched a place in the single-elimination round.
Russia defeats China to advance (AP)
Sergey Monya scored 17 points and Sasha Kaun had a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds as Russia beat China 89-80 Wednesday and moved into the second round of the basketball world championship. The victory, the second in as many days, left Russia with seven points in Group C. For China, it was the team's second loss in a row after falling to Puerto Rico 84-76 Tuesday.
Croatia routs winless Tunisia (AP)
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and Croatia defeated winless Tunisia 84-64 at the basketball world championship. Marko Popovic added 16 points and Ante Tomic 15 for Croatia, which ran off the first 10 points of the game on Wednesday. Croatia led by as much as 25 points and used its height advantage to shoot 56 percent, scoring 48 points in the paint.
Penney helps New Zealand oust Canada (AP)
Kirk Penney scored 18 points to help New Zealand eliminate Canada from the basketball world championship Wednesday with a 71-61 win. Jevohn Shepherd led Canada with 15 points but it wasn't enough to prevent a fourth straight loss. Canada plays Spain in its last Group D game on Thursday, but is guaranteed to finish in the bottom two and miss out on the knockout round.
