Associated Press
The NBA notebook …
NEW YORK ó Shaq is back in the All-Star game.
After being left out of the NBA’s midseason gala for the first time in his career last season, Shaquille O’Neal received his 15th All-Star selection when the reserves were announced for the Feb. 15 game in Phoenix.
O’Neal and Suns teammate Amare Stoudemire give the host team two Western Conference All-Stars.
New Orleans, San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers also had multiple players on the West roster, which will be coached by the Lakers’ Phil Jackson.
The Orlando Magic made out best in the East, with Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis picked as reserves by the conference’s coaches alongside starter Dwight Howard. It’s the first time Orlando has had three All-Stars.
But for the second year in a row, only two of the Boston Celtics’ Big Three made the initial roster: Paul Pierce was voted in with starter Kevin Garnett, while Ray Allen was left out.
WALLACE UPDATE
CHARLOTTE ó Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace has been released from a Los Angeles hospital after being treated for a partially collapsed lung that resulted from a flagrant foul in a game this week.
The Bobcats said on Friday that Wallace was released from Centinela Hospital on Thursday night. Doctors had inserted a tube into Wallace’s left lung to help restore full function. He also fractured a rib late in the team’s double-overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Wallace scored 15 points before a flagrant foul by Andrew Bynum left him rolling on the floor in pain.
MASON’S KNEE
OKLAHOMA CITYó Oklahoma City Thunder guard Desmond Mason has undergone successful surgery after suffering a hyperextended right knee.
Thunder officials have said they expect Mason will make a full recovery, although he will miss the rest of the season.
MILES SIGNEDMEMPHIS, Tenn. ó The Memphis Grizzlies signed forward Darius Miles for the rest of the season Friday.
The forward has averaged 5.7 points in 12.1 minutes in 10 games with the Grizzlies.