SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Former NBA All-Star Mike Mitchell, who played 10 seasons for the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs, died Thursday after a struggle against cancer. He was 55.

Mitchell died in San Antonio after the former Auburn star fought the disease for two years, said his son, Mike Mitchell Jr.

Mitchell averaged 19.8 points and 5.6 rebounds during his career. He was an All-Star in Cleveland in 1981 but had his winningest years in San Antonio, playing alongside George Gervin and Artis Gilmore.

NEWMAN: Cavs’ hot scorer Mitchell claiming attention at last (1.21.80)

“We have a great deal of respect and admiration for Mike Mitchell,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. “He was a good man who cared deeply about his family and the community of San Antonio.”

The Spurs reached the Western Conference Finals in 1982 and 1983 but fell to Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers both times. It was the farthest San Antonio would advance in the playoffs until David Robinson put the Spurs back in the conference finals a decade later.

A first-round draft pick in 1978, Mitchell spent 3 1/2 seasons in Cleveland before being traded to the Spurs. He averaged 24.5 points during his one All-Star season, which took place while the Cavaliers were among the league’s worst teams.

Mitchell played more than a decade in Europe after his NBA career ended in 1988.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Spurs’ Ginobili doubtful for playoff opener

San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili is doubtful for Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies after spraining his right elbow in the regular-season finale.

The all-star had an MRI exam Thursday that confirmed the sprain. Ginobili hyperextended the elbow in the first quarter of Wednesday’s loss at Phoenix.

The Spurs said Ginobili will be listed as doubtful for the playoff opener Sunday. San Antonio locked up the No. 1 seed in the West last week and plays the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.

Coach Gregg Popovich sat his stars Tuesday at the Los Angeles Lakers, but played them against the Suns with the goal of keeping them in a rhythm for the playoffs. The 33-year-old Ginobili averaged 17.4 points this season.

Source: NBA fines Lakers, Jackson $75,000

A person familiar with the decision has told the Associated Press that the Los Angeles Lakers and Phil Jackson each have been fined $75,000 for comments the coach made about collective bargaining. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity Thursday because the league will not announce the fines.

The two fines come a day after the league fined Lakers star Kobe Bryant $100,000 for using a derogatory gay term in frustration over a referee’s call.

Golden State GM gets new contract

New Golden State Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber gave general manager Larry Riley a vote of confidence Thursday.

Riley received a new multiyear contract to stay put as GM and executive vice president of basketball operations. Former sports agent Bob Myers was hired as the team’s new assistant GM and vice president of basketball operations to serve as Riley’s right-hand man and contract expert.

Golden State finished the season with a 110-86 home win Wednesday night against the playoff-bound Portland Trail Blazers – and did so without leading scorer Monta Ellis, who sat out his second straight game with a concussion.

- Inquirer wire services

Read More: Andrew Bynum (C – LAL), San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers, Apr 12, 2011 10:30 PM EDT

The Los Angeles Lakers managed to end their five-game losing streak by beating the San Antonio Spurs’ B-team 102-93 on Tuesday, setting up a wild final day of action. But there was a casualty in the action: Lakers center Andrew Bynum hyperextended his knee in the first half, and will have an MRI on Wednesday. He will not play in Sacramento Wednesday night, and could miss a game or more of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. That sound you heard was Lakers Nation’s collective gulp, followed by the collective curse words.

The game was actually tied at halftime as the Lakers looked as disinterested as the Spurs’ benched starters did. Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Antonio McDyess all sat; as a result, Chris Quinn, Steve Novak, Danny Green and James Anderson all played more than 20 minutes. L.A., meanwhile, needed Kobe Bryant to play 37 minutes, and because of Bynum’s injury, Pau Gasol played 41 and Lamar Odom 36. Five-game losing streaks in April make rest impossible, you see.

L.A. needs to beat the Sacramento Kings in what could be that franchise’s final game in California’s capital in order to finish No. 2 in the West. Welcome back to the starting five, Lamar.

Read More: Andrew Bynum (C – LAL), San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers, Apr 12, 2011 7:30 PM PDT

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) – Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, Lamar Odom added 23 and Pau Gasol totaled 17 points and 17 rebounds, as the Los Angeles Lakers won the game against the San Antonio Spurs, 102-93, though they may have lost the war due to an injury to Andrew Bynum. The Spurs took advantage of wrapping up the top seed in the Western Conference by resting Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili.

The Lakers, on the other hand, are still jostling for position and had to play their regulars, proving costly as Bynum went down with a hyperextended right knee in the second quarter. Bynum will have an MRI on Wednesday to determine the extent of the injury. Los Angeles is tied with Dallas for second place in the West and can secure the spot with a win over Sacramento in Wednesday’s regular season finale.

The Spurs were led by Gary Neal’s 16 points, while Matt Bonner chipped in 13 points in the loss, the club’s first in five games. The Lakers led by as many as 10 in the first quarter and were on top, 24-15, after 12 minutes of play. The Spurs, though, scored the first 11 points of the second to take the lead, and the teams went into the locker room tied, 45-45.

San Antonio went cold in the third and trailed 70-64 at its conclusion, but went in front just 4 1/2 minutes into the fourth on a Danny Green jumper. Odom broke an 83-83 tie with a three-point play, and the Lakers led from there. The Sixth Man of the Year candidate got three more points the unconventional way a little latter, then hit one from long range to cap an 11-0 run for a 102-88 cushion that put the game away.

Game Notes

The Lakers snapped a season-long five-game slide, their longest since a seven- game drought from March 2-15, 2007…The teams split the season series…Derek Fisher scored 13 points for the Lakers, who finished the season with a 30-11 record at Staples Center.

For more news and information on the Lakers, or on tonight’s game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Silver Screen and Roll.

LOS ANGELES — Andrew Bynum awkwardly sprawled onto the court, staying down for an uncomfortably long moment. The 7-foot center then walked cautiously to the locker room with more than one teammate staring at his perpetually problematic knees.

The Los Angeles Lakers ended their five-game losing streak Tuesday night.

They’ll find out what it cost on Wednesday.

Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, but Bynum hyperextended his right knee in the two-time defending NBA champions’ 102-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs’ role players.

The Lakers’ hopes for a third straight title might have taken a significant blow when Bynum fell after stepping on DeJuan Blair’s foot during the second quarter. Los Angeles’ superb low-post defender will have an MRI on Wednesday while the Lakers wrap up the regular season at Sacramento.

Bynum downplayed the injury while walking comfortably out of Staples Center, and the Lakers are cautiously hoping for news that won’t derail their playoff run before it begins. Yet it’s tough not to assume the worst with Bynum and his rickety 23-year-old knees.

“There’s always concern,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who acknowledged Bynum could be out for at least a few games. “We’ve seen him go down a couple of times that have been debilitating, so there’s a concern. It was kind of a freaky play, but they usually are, and that’s what basketball is.”

Bryant describes the shot-blocking center as the Lakers’ most important defensive player, and his absence from the 2008 NBA finals was one reason Los Angeles lost to Boston before winning the next two championship series with Bynum in the middle. Bynum had surgery last summer to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

“He allows us to be the dominant team we’re capable of being,” said Derek Fisher, who scored 13 points. “It’s hard to think about not having him for any significant length of time. It was tough to see. He’s so important to what we do, so to even think for a second that he might be out, the impact that would have on him after all of his work, it’s tough to deal with in the moment.”

Lamar Odom scored 23 points as the Lakers struggled to hold off the Spurs, who rested stars Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker with the Western Conference’s top seed already wrapped up.

Pau Gasol had 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Lakers (56-25), who will get the No. 2 seed in the West with a win at Sacramento or a loss by Dallas (56-25).

Gary Neal scored 16 points and Matt Bonner had 13 for the Spurs, whose four-game winning streak ended.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich didn’t worry about falling into a tie with surging Chicago (61-20) for the NBA’s best overall record, yet his junior varsity nearly knocked off the discombobulated Lakers, who couldn’t breathe easily until Bryant’s 3-pointer put them up 96-88 with 2:55 to play.

“I think it showed the character, the heart that we have, and we’re a pretty deep team,” said George Hill, who scored 11 points. “We tried to give the best effort we could, and that’s all you can hope for. All of us thought we could win. That was our whole motive going into the game.”

The Lakers hadn’t won since April 1, falling apart after a sparkling 17-1 stretch. They still haven’t fixed the defensive execution issues that have plagued them this month — but if Bynum’s potential absence doesn’t get the champs’ attention, maybe it can’t be got.

“Hopefully he’ll be back soon, and we’ll get him back at 100 percent and just keep plugging away,” said Odom, who scored 21 points in the second half.

Bryant played with a short fuse and a scowl even before Bynum’s injury. He earned his 15th technical foul of the season for arguing in the third quarter, picking up a T in his third straight game and moving right to the brink of an NBA-mandated one-game suspension.

Bryant punctuated the tantrum by punching a chair on the bench. If he gets another technical foul in the season finale, the suspension would be for the first game of next season.

If the Spurs and Bulls finish with the same record, every tiebreaker is even, so a random drawing would determine who got homecourt advantage in the NBA finals – a nonexistent concern to Popovich, a four-time NBA champion.

Popovich plans to get Duncan back in the lineup Wednesday night in the season finale at Phoenix.

“It’s a back-to-back, and I’d rather play [Duncan] tomorrow and not have such a long time before the weekend,” Popovich said. “[The reserves] got some experience. I’m happy with what they did.”

The Spurs’ patchwork starting lineup included Neal, Hill and Tiago Splitter. The Lakers took an early 10-point lead but couldn’t hold it, giving up a 13-1 run and going into halftime tied at 45.

San Antonio took a lead on Danny Green’s jumper with 7:28 to play, but Odom’s three-point play put the Lakers right back ahead.

Notes

• The Lakers played without backup point guard Steve Blake, who will miss at least two games after contracting chicken pox, and reserve forward Matt Barnes, who rested his sore right knee.
• Veteran C Theo Ratliff appeared in just his second game for the Lakers since Nov. 9, playing 2 minutes. He missed most of the season after arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
• Fans near courtside included Dennis Haysbert and director Adam McKay.

Read More: Gregg Popovich (H – SAN), Andrew Bynum (C – LAL), San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers

The San Antonio Spurs fell behind early on Tuesday night, but rallied back to tie the Los Angeles Lakers at the half, 45-45. Head coach Gregg Popovich is resting his starters against the Lakers, but that hasn’t stopped the Spurs from storming back after a sluggish start, outscoring Los Angeles 30-21 in the second quarter alone. Poppovich saw up-close and personal why it’s a good idea to rest the starters with the playoffs already locked up when Andrew Bynum went down with an apparent knee injury in the second quarter, putting his postseason status in doubt for the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant still leads all scorers with 16 points on 5-12 shooting. Pau Gasol added another 11 points as the two formed a dynamic duo in the first half. Derek Fisher has six points and three assists, as well.

It’s been all about balance for the Spurs as nine of the 10 players to log minutes have scored. George Hill finished with eight first half points in a starting role while Matt Bonner added eight points off the bench. DeJuan Blair and Richard Jefferson each had six points, with Steve Novak chipping in five.

For Spurs coverage, check out Pounding The Rock. For more on the Lakers, visit Silver Screen And Roll and SB Nation Los Angeles.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — When looking ahead to Tuesday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said that the Spurs have a much deeper team than the Lakers.

The bench disparity could be even bleaker for the Lakers after Steve Blake did not make it to shootaround on Tuesday because of an illness.

The team announced later Tuesday afternoon that Blake has chicken pox and would not play Tuesday; beyond that, he is out indefinitely.

Also, Matt Barnes has been added to the injury list with a sore right knee and a decision about his playing status would be made before the game.

Blake did not practice on Monday because of a fever. The back-up point guard is averaging four points and 2.2 assists in 20 minutes per game this season. Blake scored nine points and made all three of his 3-point attempts in his last game Sunday against Oklahoma City.

The Lakers have called up guard Trey Johnson from the D-League’s Bakersfield Jam and will work him out before considering signing him for the remainder of the season.

Johnson, who was one of the Lakers’ final two cuts in training camp, averaged 25.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds this season for the Jam and also averaged 4.0 points and 1.6 assists in seven games earlier in the season as a call-up with the Toronto Raptors.

Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Follow Dave McMenamin on Twitter: @mcten

Shannon Brown (12) of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket in a 99-83 road victory over the Spurs on March 6. (D. Clarke Evans/Getty Images)

When the Los Angeles Lakers picked up their ninth straight win on the first day of April, it was becoming apparent they — and not the reeling San Antonio Spurs — had emerged as Western Conference favorites.

Five consecutive losses later, that’s a title even Lakers head coach Phil Jackson can’t endorse.

The Lakers look to snap their longest losing streak in four years Tuesday night against the visiting Spurs, who will try for a fifth straight win that would put them a step closer to ensuring home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

San Antonio (61-19) has had the West’s best record all season, but from the all-star break through April 1, Los Angeles had played like the conference’s top team.

The Lakers won 17 of 18, including a 99-83 road rout of the Spurs, to pull to within 1½ games of San Antonio for the West’s No. 1 seed, but five straight defeats have erased that possibility. After Sunday’s 120-106 home loss to Oklahoma City, Los Angeles could now finish as low as fourth.

“The measure of success is what you’ve just recently accomplished, it’s not what’s been accomplished in the past or what we did post all-star break,” Jackson said. “So, for right now, we’re back into the middle of the pack playing basketball.”

The Lakers (55-25) haven’t lost this many in a row since a seven-game skid March 2-15, 2007. Perhaps more importantly, though, they’ve had a total of two three-game slides in their five championship seasons since Kobe Bryant’s been in Los Angeles. They’ve had four alone in 2010-11.

“I think we started to actually look ahead and look above as opposed to just kind of staying in the present,” Lakers guard Derek Fisher said. “We lost that step and it’s tough to get it back when you’re playing against professionals. We’ll go back to work and get ready to try and win a game on Tuesday night.”

Bryant admonished the Lakers for playing “horrible defense” after Sunday’s loss, but they’ve been excellent on that end against the Spurs despite losing two of three. They’ve held San Antonio to 39.9 per cent shooting, though they’ve shot just 41.7 per cent themselves.

Tony Parker has averaged 19.3 points in the series, but Los Angeles has done an outstanding job against Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan. Ginobili’s been held to 9.7 points per game while shooting 28.2 per cent and Duncan has totalled 12 points and missed 21 of 26 shots in the three games while dealing with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

While the Lakers are struggling, San Antonio has bounced back from six consecutive losses with four victories. It’s shot a combined 59.2 per cent in the last two, with Richard Jefferson’s 20 points leading six double-figure scorers in a 111-102 win over Utah on Saturday.

Two more victories would guarantee the Spurs home-court advantage throughout the post-season, though if they lose once and Chicago wins out, it’ll come down to a random draw.

Still, San Antonio seems as concerned with staying healthy as the league’s best record.

“We’ve played this well all season long. We’d love to finish at the top of the NBA,” Duncan. “We’re going to try to do the best of managing minutes, winning games and all that stuff … at the same time, so we’ll see what happens.”

The Spurs have been sharing the ball lately, averaging 24.3 assists in the four straight wins — 6.3 more than during the six-game skid.

When San Antonio has at least 22 assists, it’s 42-1.

NBA: Two of the top teams in the Western Conference share the court tonight when the Los Angeles Lakers host the San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers are trying to hold on to the No. 2 spot in the West. They entered Monday’s games tied with Dallas and one game ahead of Oklahoma City. The Spurs have clinched the top seed in the West and hold a one-game lead over Chicago for the best record in the league. 10:30 p.m., TNT

Read More: Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs

The Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday afternoon marked the defending NBA champions’ fifth straight loss and moved them into a tie, at 55-25, with the Dallas Mavericks for second place in the Western Conference. Though the San Antonio Spurs already put first place out of reach, the rest of the schedule ought to matter to L.A., as homecourt advantage against the rest of the West’s playoff bracket is at stake.

Currently, the Lakers own the tiebreaker over Dallas because they are division champs and the Mavericks, well behind San Antonio, is not. But it’s still possible for Dallas, and even fourth-place Oklahoma City, to pass the Lakers in the standings outright.

For Dallas, passing L.A. would require winning its final two games and the Lakers dropping at least once. Further, if the Lakers lose their remaining two games, the Mavericks win at least once, and the Thunder win their final two games, the Lakers would slip to fourth out West.

Not so long ago, the Lakers had a chance to steal first place from the then-slumping Spurs. But now, they’re the juggernaut in danger of needlessly complicating its path to the championship by losing grip on a high playoff seed.

POSTED: Wednesday, April 6, 2011

UPDATED: 12:30 am CDT April 7, 2011

The San Antonio Spurs snapped a four-game losing streak on the road with a 97-90 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.
“Finally,” said Spurs guard Tony Parker. “It was a big win for the team and our confidence and to prepare ourselves for the playoffs.”
The victory allows the league leading Spurs (59-19) to maintain their grip on home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
They remain 1-1/2 games ahead of the Eastern Conference leading Chicago Bulls, who beat the Phoenix Suns 97-94.
Manu Ginobili scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Spurs,
who held a one point advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Atlanta seized control of a see-sawing first quarter with an 11-2 run late in the period.
They built an 11-point lead in the second quarter but the Spurs pushed back with a 12-4 run at the end of the period to narrow Atlanta’s lead to 46-43 at halftime.
San Antonio completed the comeback and took the lead on two free throws by Parker in the third quarter. Atlanta briefly regained the lead but Parker put the Spurs ahead for good with a short jump shot with four minutes left in the third.
“I think they picked up the tempo a little bit and it took us out of some things we wanted to run and how we wanted to do it,” said Hawks center Al Horford.
“They’re just a great defensive team. They have a lot of guards that just keep attacking you in different ways.”
Parker led the Spurs with 26 points while Tim Duncan added 17 points. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 21 points and Jamal Crawford scored 20 points off the bench.

Rookie Hayward powers Jazz past Lakers

Rookie Gordon Hayward hit the game-winning free throw with six seconds left and scored a career-high 22 points as the Utah Jazz edged the Los Angeles Lakers 86-85 Tuesday.
Paul Millsap scored 22 points for the Jazz, who halted an eight-game losing streak with the victory at Staples Center arena.
The Jazz had a five-point lead before Kobe Bryant helped Los Angeles storm back with two three-point shots late in the game.
Bryant finished with 20 points and hit a tying three-pointer with 16 seconds left. Bryant then tried to beat the buzzer with a drive to the basket but fumbled the ball away.
With their second consecutive defeat following a 17-1 stretch, the Lakers may have lost the chance to catch San Antonio at the top of the National Basketball Association’s Western Conference standings.
San Antonio have a 3 ½-game lead with five games remaining for the Lakers.

By Justin Burning – Editor

Read More: Steve Nash (G – PHO), Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers

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Apr 6, 2011 - Welcome to the second-to-last edition of the NBA Power Rankings, which will also serve as the official “Adios, playoffs!” Phoenix Suns Edition. With their loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Steve Nash and the Suns are out of the postseason picture (even though Nash didn’t play that game, and that likely contributed heavily to the outcome). It would be great to say this was a memorable season for Phoenix, but it wasn’t. In fact, it was pretty miserable overall outside of the acquisition of Marcin Gortat, the development of Channing Frye, and that’s about it. There are only five players left from last year’s Western Conference Finals roster. Insert sadness here.

As a result of Phoenix’s disappointing play (including losing five of their last six games), the Suns have slid down most of the Power Rankings, generally into the bottom halves with the rest of the lottery teams. Another fun Suns stat: Phoenix has only been to the lottery four times since 1988. That’s a lot of successful that serves to emphasize just how unsuccessful this season has been. They’re also entering the lottery in a consensus weak draft. Anyway, that’s probably enough purple-and-orange pessimism for this edition of the Power Rankings.

In a somewhat shocking turn of events, the San Antonio Spurs’ once-insurmountable lead in the Western Conference standings is dwindling, thanks to the Spurs losing half of their games in March and the Los Angeles Lakers winning all but one of theirs. The Lakers are unlikely to actually pass the Spurs, but it just illustrates how swiftly a team’s fortunes can change heading into the postseason. While the Spurs’ big men have struggled, Lakers center Andrew Bynum has been playing relatively inspired basketball. If he can stay on the court, this may be the year he finally has a huge impact in the playoffs.

Perhaps the biggest post-All Star Break shocker, however, is how well the Denver Nuggets are playing without Carmelo Anthony. They were left for dead after the trade, but they decided not to cooperate and are 15-4 since. The Nuggets, the fifth seed with a clinched playoff berth, are hovering in the top five in most rankings thanks to their hot streak.

Sorry, back to the woes of the Phoenix Suns: departed free agent All-Star Amare Stoudemire helped the New York Knicks get back into the playoffs (oddly enough, in spite of the Anthony acquisition), though the team is hardly considered a powerhouse, currently sitting at .500 and having their recent three-game winning streak preceded by an embarrassing six-game losing streak.

On to the rankings:

SBNation.com | NBA Power Rankings: Bulls Lead, Heat And Lakers Chase
The Chicago Bulls maintain their reign over SBNation.com’s NBA Power Rankings as we move into the final week of the regular season. The Spurs recovered with a win Sunday to snap a six-game losing streak, but the Bulls, Heat, Lakers and Celtics have got to be feeling as if the NBA Championship is within reach. Can the Nuggets join the party? Are the Mavericks toast? Let’s sort it all out.

NBA.com | Nuggets earn a spot in the top five
At this point last year, the Chicago Bulls trailed the Toronto Raptors by a game for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Right now, things are a little different. The Charlotte Bobcats, Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets are technically still alive, but the 16 teams making the playoffs are very close to being set.

ESPN.com | Power Rankings: Lakers still have top spot
There is no change at the top in the season’s second-to-last batch of weekly NBA Power Rankings at ESPN.com. The rest of the top 10, though, has been given a good shuffle.

SI.com | NBA Power Rankings: ‘Melo-less Nuggets surge to No. 4
The Nuggets’ resurgence is the best story in the NBA, and there is the tantalizing prospect that it is going to get much, much better in the weeks ahead.

CBSSports.com | Power Rankings: Celebrating season’s biggest disappointments
So as we embark on the first full week of April, it’s appropriate that we celebrate … the losers. Yep, it’s time to identify the NBA’s 2010-11 Most Disappointing Team. Here are the candidates.

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