Elliot Perry

Draft day became a labor day for the Clippers, who Wednesday made seven personnel decisions and finally traded for a veteran point guard, a move months in the making. An expected three-way deal with Atlanta and Denver broke down when the Clippers pulled out rather than wait until the draft started at about 4:30 p.m. PDT.

Draft day became a labor day for the Clippers, who Wednesday made seven personnel decisions and finally traded for a veteran point guard, a move months in the making. An expected three-way deal with Atlanta and Denver broke down when the Clippers pulled out rather than wait until the draft started at about 4:30 p.m. PDT.

Anthony Peeler and Doug Smith each scored 29 points as Missouri defeated Memphis State, 96-82, in a nonconference men's basketball game Wednesday night. Peeler missed only one shot en route to scoring 18 points in the first half. In the second half, it was Smith, the Big Eight Conference player of the year last season, who led the way with 21 points. Elliot Perry led Memphis State (6-5) with 19 points.

Derek Harper made a key steal with 51 seconds to play and New York held San Antonio scoreless in the final 1:51 as the Knicks defeated the Spurs, 92-88, Monday night. Patrick Ewing scored 13 points in 34 minutes despite an injured right knee. The Spurs held Knick guard John Starks scoreless in the fourth quarter. Charles Oakley led New York with 16 points and helped Ewing clog the middle against Spurs center David Robinson. Robinson still scored 29 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

USC, with three oral commitments, and UCLA, with two, are both seeking even bigger hauls as the week-long early signing period begins today for high school basketball players around the country. The Trojans, in Coach George Raveling's first full year of recruiting, are expected to sign Ronnie Coleman of Compton Dominguez, Duane Cooper of Lakewood and Calvin Banks of Toledo, Ohio. Beyond that, they are still in the running for David Whitmore of Playa del Rey St.

Stephon Marbury was traded to the New Jersey Nets on Thursday in a nine-player deal involving the Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks. Minnesota owner Glen Taylor said Marbury, who helped turn the Timberwolves into one of the best teams in the Western Conference, moves to the Nets along with guards Chris Carr and Elliot Perry and forward Bill Curley.

With the shot clock winding down and the Phoenix Suns hot on the comeback trail, Clipper point guard Jeff McInnis knew what he had to do. After being passive on offense in the first half, McInnis was the Clippers' top scorer after halftime and he wasn't going to stop shooting at a key moment in the fourth quarter.

Dave Buckner scored 25 points, including six of seven shots from three-point range, as Fordham defeated South Florida, 76-66, at Tampa, Fla., in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. Fordham shot 77.8% in the second half to improve to 25-7--the best record of any team that wasn't selected to play in the NCAA tournament. Radenko Dobras led South Florida (19-11) with 16 points.

Minnesota owner Glen Taylor accepted a suspension and vice president Kevin McHale agreed to a leave of absence as punishment for an illegal deal with former player Joe Smith, and the NBA restored one of the Timberwolves' five forfeited draft picks. "It's time--we got something back--to put this thing to rest," McHale said Friday. His unpaid leave is through July 31; Taylor's suspension ends a month later. The league gave back the Timberwolves' 2003 first-round pick.

With two minutes to go and the Denver Nuggets holding a 16-point lead, not a single fan headed for the exits at McNichols Arena. Some were prepared to witness history--a rare Denver victory. The rest wanted to see how the home team would blow that advantage, as it had squandered leads all season. The Nuggets held on, winning successive games for the first time in more than a year by beating the Portland Trail Blazers, 92-82, Saturday night behind Johnny Newman's 33 points.