David Carr practiced again Thursday, but Carolina coach John Fox still held off naming him the starting quarterback ahead of Vinny Testaverde for Sunday’s game against Indianapolis. Fox said Carr, who has been slowed by a compression fracture in his lower back, responded well to consecutive practices.
Kirk Hinrich scored 20 points and Ben Wallace scored eight points before leaving late in the second quarter with a sprained left ankle as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 97-81 on Thursday night. In their final preseason game, the Bulls also lost forward Tyrus Thomas in the third quarter with a right foot injury and rookie forward Joakim Noah went down in the fourth quarter with what…
The Orlando Magic finally got to test the new inside-out combination of Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis. After a rough first quarter, coach Stan Van Gundy liked what he saw. Lewis scored 16 points in his first preseason game in three weeks, lifting the Magic over the San Antonio Spurs 99-90 Thursday night.
Kobe Bryant will miss the Los Angeles Lakers’ exhibition game against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night because of a sprained right wrist — an injury that isn’t considered to be serious. Lakers spokesman John Black said Bryant didn’t travel to Las Vegas for the team’s seventh and final exhibition game.
David Stern acknowledged Thursday that more than half of his 56 referees had violated NBA policies about casino gambling, but said none will be punished because he felt the rules were outdated. Instead, Stern said he is altering the policies, leaning toward allowing referees to gamble in casinos during the offseason — except for betting in sports books.
Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey had surgery on his broken left hand Thursday and is expected to be out for about six weeks. The rookie from Eastern Washington injured his hand in Detroit’s final exhibition game Wednesday night. He averaged 12.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals in eight games.
Andrew Bogut has a sprained left wrist, the Milwaukee Bucks said Thursday after the 7-foot center had more tests to determine the severity of the injury. Bogut left the Bucks’ exhibition game at Denver on Tuesday night in the third quarter. X-rays after the game were negative, and an MRI exam on Wednesday revealed no broken bones or other serious problems.
Antoine Walker’s turbulent time with the Miami Heat is over. The Heat traded the three-time All-Star forward to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday in a five-player deal that came one day after Miami completed a winless preseason. Walker, backup center Michael Doleac, oft-injured forward Wayne Simien and a conditional first-round draft pick were sent to Minnesota for former Miami swingman…
Suns rookie D.J. Strawberry drains a 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left to beat the Nuggets on Thursday for the Haier Play of the Day Oct. 25, 2007.
NBA Properties 2005
Alexander Frolov was one of the players the Los Angeles Kings were depending on to turn their fortunes around this season. When he faltered coming out of the gate, so did they. On Thursday night, Frolov scored in his third consecutive game following a season-opening eight-game drought. His go-ahead goal, along with Jason LaBarbera’s 29 saves, helped the Kings beat Dallas 2-1 and snap a nine-game…
