Stephen Jackson

It always seemed as though Larry Bird's 15-year tenure with the Pacers has been on borrowed time. He never looked comfortable on the sideline, as if he were counting the seconds before he could retire and return to French Lick. Bird, who was named NBA Executive of the Year last week, is not comfortable in the spotlight, a primary reason why he stepped down as coach of the Pacers after the 2000 season to become the team's vice president. He inherited the job of president when mentor Donnie Walsh stepped down in 2003, and it has taken years for him to rebuild the Pacers into a...

It always seemed as though Larry Bird's 15-year tenure with the Pacers has been on borrowed time. He never looked comfortable on the sideline, as if he were counting the seconds before he could retire and return to French Lick. Bird, who was named NBA Executive of the Year last week, is not comfortable in the spotlight, a primary reason why he stepped down as coach of the Pacers after the 2000 season to become the team's vice president. He inherited the job of president when mentor Donnie Walsh stepped down in 2003, and it has taken years for him to rebuild the Pacers into a...

By Gary Washburn, Globe Staff OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Celtics continue their West Coast road swing with a game at shorthanded Golden State but don't be fooled by the Warriors lack of players. After they dealt Monta Ellis, Kwame Brown and Ekpe Udoh to the Milwaukee Bucks for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson, they whipped the Sacramento Kings 115-89 with 17 points each from Nate Robinson, Brandon Rush and David Lee. Bogut, Jackson and Stephen Curry are out tonight, so the Celtics have a chance to steal one here.

Tim Duncan had 23 points and 11 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs remained the hottest team in the NBA, beating the Indiana Pacers 112-103 for their seventh consecutive win Saturday night. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili added 18 points apiece. The Spurs are 8-1 since making a rare plunge into midseason moves by adding forwards Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw, giving what Duncan calls the deepest San Antonio bench of his career. Paul George and Danny Granger each scored 18 for Indiana.

The Charlotte Bobcats have selected the star of this spring’s NCAA tournament, point guard Kemba Walker of Connecticut, with the ninth pick in the NBA draft. The 6-foot-1 Walker averaged 23.5 points in leading the Huskies to the national championship. He’ll know be paired with another small guard, 6-foot D.J. Augustin, as Charlotte looks to rebuild. The move comes after a person familiar with the deal said the Bobcats agreed to send Stephen Jackson to Milwaukee in a three-way trade that gave Charlotte the No. 7 pick from Sacramento.

Chauncey Billups scored 20 points and Tayshaun Prince had 16 points and seven rebounds as the Detroit Pistons used a balanced scoring attack to defeat the Indiana Pacers, 88-76, last night in Indianapolis. Detroit won its second straight after losing four in a row, while Indiana has lost three straight and five of seven. The Pacers dropped under .500 for only the second time this season. The Pacers' scoring burden was carried by Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson, who were both involved in the Nov. 19 melee when Pacers players brawled with Pistons fans.

■When, where: Tonight, 7:30, at TD Garden. ■TV, radio: CSN, WEEI (850, 93.7). ■Scoring: Brandon Jennings 18.2, Drew Gooden 12.8, Mike Dunleavy 11.0. ■Rebounds: Ersan Ilyasova 8.6, Gooden 6.3, Luc Mbah a Moute 4.5. ■Assists: Jennings 5.3, Stephen Jackson 3.0, Beno Udrih 3.1. ■Head to head: This is the first of three meetings. ■Miscellany: Center Andrew Bogut has been out since Jan. 25 with a broken left ankle . . . Jackson, who has been at odds with coach Scott Skiles, has been sidelined for several games with a sore right hamstring . . . Ilyasova,...

The Golden State Warriors aren't used to blizzards or early starts. They had to deal with both yesterday and it didn't go well in Auburn Hills, Mich. Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points, Antonio McDyess had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and the Pistons never trailed in beating the Warriors, 109-87. The game started at 12:30 p.m. and was played in a half-empty arena due to a major snowstorm in Detroit. "We weren't ready to play, and we got our butts kicked," Stephen Jackson said.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Indiana Pacers players will be charged for fighting with fans during the Nov. 19 brawl at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons, Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca told The Detroit News. "Whoever was involved in fisticuffs will be charged, regardless if they were wearing a jersey. It's obvious there were several Pacers and fans that dealt blows," Gorcyca said, the newspaper reported yesterday. The prosecutor declined to say which players would be charged or what the charges might be. Auburn Hills police Lt. James Manning told the newspaper he...

Karl Malone's return was an energizer -- but for the Minnesota Timberwolves, not the Lakers. Kevin Garnett had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Troy Hudson added 19 points off the bench to lead Minnesota to a 96-86 victory over Malone and the Los Angeles Lakers last night in Minneapolis. Shaquille O'Neal led Los Angeles with 24 points and 13 rebounds and Malone had 13 points in his first appearance since Dec. 21. 76ers 99, Knicks 94 -- Kenny Thomas hit a tying 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in regulation, then made a tying layup with 0.2 seconds left in the first overtime to...

DeJuan Blair scored 23 points and Tim Duncan had four key points down the stretch as the San Antonio Spurs beat the short-handed Hornets 89-86 on Saturday night. The Spurs, chasing the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the Western Conference, trailed by a point twice in the final two minutes. Duncan responded each time, atoning for a lackluster game by making two free throws and tipping in a missed shot with 1:19 left to give San Antonio the lead for good. Jarrett Jack had 27 points for the Hornets, 25 in the first three quarters.

Monta Ellis returned to Oracle Arena in his much-hyped Bucks debut and finished with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists as one of six Milwaukee players in double figures in a 120-98 win over the Golden State Warriors that was plenty emotional for both sides. Luc Mbah a Moute had a career-high 22 points and season-best 17 rebounds for Milwaukee, which played without starting forward Ersan Ilyasova because of an illness that kept him at the team hotel in San Francisco. Drew Gooden added 16 points, 11 rebounds and four assists and Carlos Delfino had 15 points...

By Gary Washburn, Globe Staff OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Celtics continue their West Coast road swing with a game at shorthanded Golden State but don't be fooled by the Warriors lack of players. After they dealt Monta Ellis, Kwame Brown and Ekpe Udoh to the Milwaukee Bucks for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson, they whipped the Sacramento Kings 115-89 with 17 points each from Nate Robinson, Brandon Rush and David Lee. Bogut, Jackson and Stephen Curry are out tonight, so the Celtics have a chance to steal one here.

On an emotional evening that marked the end of leading scorer Monta Ellis' time in Golden State, the stunned Warriors did the unexpected: They played with considerable hustle and emotion. Nate Robinson, David Lee and Brandon Rush all scored 17 points for the Warriors, who managed to put aside the surprising five-player trade with Milwaukee by game time Tuesday night in beating the Sacramento Kings 115-89 for their third straight victory. The Warriors traded Ellis, forward Ekpe Udoh and center Kwame Brown to Milwaukee for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson in...

■When, where: Tonight, 7:30, at TD Garden. ■TV, radio: CSN, WEEI (850, 93.7). ■Scoring: Brandon Jennings 18.2, Drew Gooden 12.8, Mike Dunleavy 11.0. ■Rebounds: Ersan Ilyasova 8.6, Gooden 6.3, Luc Mbah a Moute 4.5. ■Assists: Jennings 5.3, Stephen Jackson 3.0, Beno Udrih 3.1. ■Head to head: This is the first of three meetings. ■Miscellany: Center Andrew Bogut has been out since Jan. 25 with a broken left ankle . . . Jackson, who has been at odds with coach Scott Skiles, has been sidelined for several games with a sore right hamstring . . . Ilyasova, a forward,...

Drew Gooden scored 23 points and the undermanned Milwaukee Bucks made sure the Lakers' road struggles continued, beating Los Angeles 100-89 on Saturday night. Kobe Bryant scored 27 for the Lakers, who are 1-7 on the road this season. Ersan Ilyasova and Mike Dunleavy added 15 points each for the Bucks, who managed to beat the Lakers without two of their best players. Already scrambling to compensate for the long-term absence of injured center Andrew Bogut, the Bucks found themselves without guard/forward Stephen Jackson on Saturday because of an NBA suspension.

LeBron James scored 32 points and Larry Hughes had 15 as Cleveland won in overtime last night in Oakland, 106-104, by rallying from an 18-point halftime deficit. Cleveland spoiled the Golden State debuts of Stephen Jackson (29 points), Al Harrington (14 points, 12 rebounds), and Sarunas Jasikevicius, who arrived in an eight-player trade with Indiana Wednesday. The Warriors played without Baron Davis, who served a one-game suspension for throwing a punch Wednesday at the Clippers' Quinton Ross.

Brandon Jennings scored 27 points and Stephen Jackson added 25 to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons 102-93 on Thursday night. The game was only the second in the shot-clock era without a missed free throw. The Bucks were 17 of 17 and the Pistons 24 of 24. The other game was Dec. 22, 2000, when Atlanta and Toronto hit all 16 free throws shot in the game. The Bucks improved to 4-0 at home and 4-6 overall, while the Pistons dropped to 2-9 with their sixth straight loss and fifth in a row on the road.