NBA roundup: Nets fire coach; Knicks lose point guard
New York was a busy place in the NBA on Thursday with one team firing its coach and the other losing its point guard.
The Brooklyn Nets fired head coach Avery Johnson after a 14-14 start, general manager Billy King announced.
The team named assistant P.J. Carlesimo as interim coach. He has previously been a head coach with the Portland Trail Blazers (1994-97), Golden State Warriors (1997-2000) and Oklahoma City Thunder (2007-09).
The Nets, who are 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Miami Heat in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, reportedly are looking for a veteran coach to run their veteran team. They've lost their previous two games and have gone 3-10 in December.
Johnson was in the final year of his contract. He was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for October and November following after an 11-4 start.
In Manhattan, New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton told reporters that he expects to miss at least a month with a fractured finger, but he insisted he'll play again this season.
"This isn't a season-ending injury," Felton told reporters in Phoenix. "It's something that will last four to six weeks at the most."
Felton suffered a broken right pinkie finger during the third quarter of a Christmas Day loss to the Los Angeles Lakers when he and Steve Nash fought over a loose ball. X-rays revealed the break.
---Golden State Warriors guard/forward Kent Bazemore and forward/center Jeremy Tyler have been assigned to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League, the team announced.
---Denver Nuggets rookie forward Quincy Miller has been assigned to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League, the team announced.
