NEW YORK – Carmelo Anthony had come a long way without a productive pass on Saturday, and as Kevin Garnett closed hard on Anthony, 'Melo waved his screener Kenyon Martin far away from the ball.

Right away, Anthony's instincts told him these were unwise circumstances to defy the double team. And so, inside of a minute left in Game 1 of this Eastern Conference playoff opener, Martin rolled to the rim and, yes, 'Melo owed that old, familiar face a pass over the top of a compromised defense.

Anthony fired high and wide, but Martin reached toward all those dusty banners in the rafters, snatching that wayward pass and somehow dropping the ball into the basket for the most devastating blow in this 85-78 victory over the Celtics.

"Dez Bryant," the Knicks' Jason Kidd marveled later. "That catch was incredible."

For all the fluidity of those Anthony jumpers on the way to his 36 points – so good early, and so good late in the victory – his first assist with 40 seconds left

With his brief tenure rapidly reaching a crossroads, Detroit Pistons coach Lawrence Frank informed owner Tom Gores that he shouldn't be retained for the third year of his contract unless the franchise is willing to guarantee the deal's fourth-year team option, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Lawrence Frank guided the Pistons to a 29-53 record this season. (AP)In the week prior to completing his second season as Pistons coach on Wednesday night, Frank delivered this message to Gores and Detroit general manager Joe Dumars in face-to-face and telephone discussions, sources said.

Within the organization, Frank has been insistent that the Pistons' full-blown rebuilding project and recent instabilities in the head coaching position make it largely unworkable for him to return as a lame-duck coach for the 2013-14 season.

Nevertheless, Frank has been passionate in his desire to stay the course through Detroit's long-term rebuilding process. After purchasing the Pistons in 2011, Frank was Gores' first significant hiring as owner.

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Lucas Nogueira is 7 feet tall and could be a first-round draft pick. (Getty Images)Brazilian 7-footer Lucas Nogueira has decided to enter the June NBA draft, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Nogueira, 20, possesses a 7-6 wingspan and has been an intriguing prospect to NBA executives for several years. He is considered  a potential first-round pick.

The center entered his name into the 2011 draft but withdrew before the deadline. The rules don't allow for a player to do that a second time, so Nogueira is committed to this year's draft after declaring.

Nogueira played for Estudiantes in the elite Spanish ACB League this season. His athleticism has been a striking element of his game, and Nogueira's offensive abilities have shown improvement as he's gained strength and polish.

[Also: Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr. will enter NBA draft]

Nogueira made a strong initial impression on pro executives with a spectacular performance at the under-18 FIBA championships in San Antonio in 2011.

DraftExpress.com rates him as the fourth-best international prospect in his age

Junior Tim Hardaway Jr. is projected to be a second-round pick. (Getty Images)Michigan junior Tim Hardaway Jr. will enter the NBA draft, sources told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday.

Hardaway is the second member of the NCAA runner-up Wolverines to leave school early this spring for the NBA, joining consensus national player of the year Trey Burke.

Hardaway has an on-campus news conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Hardaway, a 6-foot-6 forward, is considered an unlikely first-round draft pick and could slip well into the second round of the draft, league executives told Yahoo! Sports.

Draftexpress.com has Hardaway rated as the 56th-best prospect among the likely players in the NBA draft June 27 in New York.

[Also: James Michael McAdoo’s return boosts North Carolina’s hoops title hopes ]

Hardaway averaged 14.2 points and shot nearly 44 percent for Michigan this past season. Now the Wolverines wait to find out if two players projected to be first-round picks – freshmen Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III – will decide to leave school for

Oklahoma State point guard Marcus Smart – projected to be a top-five pick in the NBA draft – will return to school for his sophomore year, sources told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday night.

Marcus Smart was projected to be a high pick in the NBA draft. (USA Today Sports)Smart will make his decision public on Wednesday in a news conference on campus. The decision shocked many in the NBA because no other young prospect slotted for the lottery had chosen to bypass the draft.

Smart's decision to stay in school, presumably for next year's draft, makes the potential 2014 class only even stronger. Smart could join Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, Andrew and Aaron Harrison, and more, in an explosively talented group.

[Also: NBA legend acts as Kevin Durant’s photographer]

Smart, 19, averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 assists for Oklahoma State. He won the Wayman Tisdale award for national freshman of the year and was a second-team Associated Press All-American.

DraftExpress.com had him as the third overall pick in the June NBA draft.

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Free agent Tracy McGrady has signed a contract to play for the San Antonio Spurs for the rest of the season, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Tracy McGrady played in China this season. (AP)McGrady, 33, played this season for Qingdao in the Chinese Basketball Association and averaged 25 points a game on 56 percent shooting. He worked out for the Spurs in the late summer before signing in China, but wasn't offered a contract.

[Also: Nerlens Noel entering NBA draft, may be top pick]

With the release of Stephen Jackson and surgery to Boris Diaw, McGrady gives the Spurs some athleticism, scoring and maybe most of all still – an effective passer.

McGrady's letter of clearance arrived from China on Monday, which allowed the Spurs to sign him. Because McGrady wasn't on an NBA roster this season and waived after March 1, he is playoff eligible.

McGrady has averaged 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.21 steals in 32.7 minutes during his 15-year NBA career.

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Free agent Tracy McGrady has reached agreement on a deal to play for the San Antonio Spurs for the rest of the season, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

McGrady, 33, played this season in China. He worked out for the Spurs in the late summer before signing in China, but wasn't offered a contract.

North Carolina junior forward Reggie Bullock has decided to enter the 2013 NBA draft, a source told Yahoo! Sports on Monday night. Reggie Bullock addresses the media during the 2013 NCAA tournament. (USA Today)

A formal university announcement is expected as soon as Tuesday.

Bullock, 22, has gone back and forth on his decision, but ultimately decided in the past 48 hours to make the move into the pros. North Carolina coaches tried to convince Bullock to remain for his senior year and improve his draft status, but Bullock, a 6-foot-7 small forward, made the choice to leave now.

Bullock is considered a late-first to early second-round draft pick, league executives tell Yahoo! Sports. For North Carolina, Bullock averaged 13.9 points on 48 percent shooting as a junior.

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