NBA-National Basketball Association roundup

April 22 (The Sports Xchange) - The Oklahoma City Thunder fired coach Scott Brooks on Wednesday after the team missed the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. The Thunder finished 45-37 after star forward Kevin Durant missed most of this season, playing in only 27 games. - - The Atlanta Hawks reportedly have been sold to a group led by billionaire Tony Ressler and former NBA star Grant Hill. The sales price is about $850 million, including $107 million in debt for Philips Arena, according to Yahoo Sports. The price of the team alone was $750 million, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. - - If the Dallas Mavericks are going to rally from a 2-0 deficit to overtake the Houston Rockets in the best-of-seven Western Conference playoffs matchup, they might need to climb back into it without point guard Rajon Rondo and small forward Chandler Parsons. Rondo, according to reports, is out indefinitely with a back injury. Parsons (right knee) sat out Game 2 and was officially ruled out for the rest of the season on Wednesday. - - Houston Rockets guard Jason Terry was fined $5,000 by the NBA for violating the league's anti-flopping rules during Game 2 of the first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. The incident occurred with 6:25 remaining in the third quarter of Rockets' 111-99 victory over the Mavericks on Tuesday night in Houston. - - Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic has been ruled out for Game 3 of the playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. Mirotic suffered a strained left quadriceps and swollen left knee in Game 2 on Monday night. - - The NBA will play its first exhibition game in Africa this summer. The league and the National Basketball Players Association announced Wednesday that the game will take place Aug. 1 at Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg, South Africa. - - Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Zeller underwent surgery to repair a tendon in his right shoulder and remove a bone spur and scar tissue. Zeller, who had missed 19 of the final 20 games of the season, is expected to be recovered in three months. - - Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell became the latest freshman to join the one-and-dones since the season ended when he declared for the draft Wednesday. The versatile 6-foot-5 guard averaged 19.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game for the Buckeyes last season while landing first-team All-American and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. (Editing by Frank Pingue)