MIAMI (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal and his wife Shaunie are coordinating a major relief effort designed to help some of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Through Saturday, the O'Neal family will have collection boxes set up at eight El Dorado furniture stores in South Florida, and are asking the public to donate toiletries and other personal health items that will be transported to Baton Rouge, La. in the coming days.
O'Neal, the Miami Heat's 12-time All-Star center, played his college basketball in Baton Rouge at LSU. He canceled his annual charity golf tournament there earlier this month, and spent several days in Louisiana viewing the damage and attempting to assist with relief efforts.
"The O'Neal family joins the rest of the nation in their concern and support for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina and prays that everyone will do their part to help relieve the burden of these victims," the couple said in a statement released by the Heat on Tuesday.
Heat officials say they will soon finalize their organizational plan to help Katrina's victims.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The trial of a television color analyst for the Orlando Magic basketball team accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl is scheduled to start today.
Forty-eight-year-old Jack Givens was arrested in June 2004 on charges of sexual battery and lewd molestation. He has denied that he molested the teen.
According to the arrest affidavit, the alleged incidents occurred in a swimming pool and a bedroom at the girl's home, where Givens had gone for a personal basketball coaching session. They knew each other from a youth basketball league, where she was a player and he was a coach for another team.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- No matter who wins the NBA championship, there's a strong likelihood the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs will be competing for titles for the next several years.
Both teams have been built to last.
The Pistons, who were tied with the Spurs 2-2 heading into Sunday night's Game 5, are back with the same starting five that defeated the Los Angeles Lakers last season. The changes made to the roster in the offseason -- trading Corliss Williamson and allowing Mehmet Okur and Mike James to leave as free agents -- were made in order to free up future salary space to re-sign Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince to long-term deals.
The other three starters, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton, are already locked into long-term deals at reasonable prices, a big part of the season why Detroit's $52 million payroll might just be the most cost effective in the NBA.
"We're deep, talented and big," team president Joe Dumars said. "We have experience and we're battle-tested."
The same can be said for the Spurs, who tinkered with their roster this season by bringing in Brent Barry as a free agent, then trading Malik Rose to New York for Nazr Mohammed. Their starting five also is locked in for the long haul.
San Antonio also will be over the salary cap for the first time in several years this summer, allowing them to use the midlevel salary cap exception to make a run at forward Luis Scola of Argentina, the team's 2002 second-round pick.
"He's the best forward in Europe right now," coach Gregg Popovich said.
The Spurs have been among the league's elite teams ever since Tim Duncan entered the league eight years ago, but the way their supporting cast has been put together is a testimony to the talents of general manager R.C. Buford.
Buford drafted Manu Ginobili 57th overall in the 1999 draft, Tony Parker 28th overall in 2001 and backup point guard Beno Udrih 28th in 2004. He also signed free agents Barry, Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry.
In the two years since San Antonio defeated New Jersey to win the franchise's second title in five years, the Spurs have turned over nearly two-thirds of their roster while staying atop the Western Conference.
CHICAGO (AP) -- If rookies Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni can put on this kind of show in their first NBA playoff game, imagine what's in store down the road.
Gordon scored 12 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, and Nocioni added 25 points and 18 rebounds while playing all 48 minutes to lift the Chicago Bulls to a 103-94 victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday. It was Chicago's first playoff victory since the dynasty days.
"This is great for the franchise," Gordon said. "We haven't been here in so long."
The playoffs could be a regular event again in Chicago if Gordon keeps playing this way. The third overall pick in last June's draft has reached double figures in the fourth quarter 22 times this season, but none was bigger than this show.
Already hampered without ailing starters Eddy Curry and Luol Deng, the Bulls looked like they might come up short with Tyson Chandler in foul trouble. But just as he's done all season, Gordon was there to carry the Bulls.
"We're riding Ben like we always do," said Kirk Hinrich, who finished with 17 points on a rough shooting night.
Gordon's late-game heroics have many in the city calling him the next Michael Jordan, as in, "Gordon, rhymes with Jordan." He shies away from the comparisons, but it's hard to argue with the numbers.
Trailing 82-77 going into the fourth, Gordon scored 10 points as the Bulls opened with a 13-4 run. He got it started with a pair of free throws after getting fouled by Anthony Peeler, then followed with a jumper from the top of the key. On the other end of the floor, Chris Duhon poked the ball away from Juan Dixon and took it in for a fast-break layup, cutting Washington's lead to 84-83 with 8:42 to play.
