NBA notebook: Clippers F Griffin suffers concussion
Los Angeles Clippers star forward Blake Griffin sustained a concussion after taking an elbow in the forehead late in the first quarter of Saturday's game against the Golden State Warriors.
Griffin drove the baseline and was challenged at the rim by Warriors backup center JaVale McGee with 2:11 remaining in the opening quarter.
Griffin was inadvertently elbowed by McGee on the play and collapsed to the Staples Center floor. After several minutes, Griffin walked to the locker room on his own power and didn't return.
Griffin is averaging 23.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 23 games this season. The five-time All-Star scored five points before exiting Saturday's game.
--Hall of Famer Julius "Dr. J" Erving has been released from the hospital after he became ill while attending a 76ers game in Philadelphia on Friday night.
According to his management team on Saturday, the 67-year-old Erving was released from the hospital after a comprehensive medical evaluation. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Erving rang the ceremonial Liberty Bell replica prior to the 76ers' 114-78 rout of the Detroit Pistons. Yahoo Sports reported that he became ill in a suite at Wells Fargo Center and subsequently was taken from the arena in a wheelchair.
Erving spent the final 11 seasons of his career with the 76ers, from 1976-77 to 1986-87, winning an NBA championship in 1982-83. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
--The Los Angeles Lakers requested waivers on center Andrew Bogut.
The announced move by the Lakers will give the 7-footer an opportunity to sign with a potential playoff team. The Lakers also faced a deadline this weekend on Bogut's one-year partially guaranteed contract.
Bogut, 33, is expected to continue working out in Los Angeles as he searches for a contender to join, according to Yahoo Sports. Bogut, who joined the Lakers in the offseason, played in 24 games (five starts), averaging 1.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 9.0 minutes per contest.
--The Lithuanian team that signed LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball has withdrawn from the Baltic Basketball League and will play in a series of "friendly" games to get the brothers extensive playing time.
Prienu Vytautas now will play in the "Big Baller Brand Challenge" and the team announced it will show each of the games on Facebook, according to ESPN.
Prienu Vytautas will continue to play in the Lithuanian domestic league. The Baltic league is considered lower-level than the Lithuanian league, which features squads from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The Ball brothers' first game with Prienu Vytautas will take place Tuesday as part of the Big Baller Brand Challenge, and the opponent now will be Zalgiris 2, the younger team of Lithuania's premier program.
--Field Level Media
