Corey Maggette will sit out the Los Angeles Clippers game against Portland on Saturday night with a chest contusion.

Maggette, coming off 19 points and seven rebounds in a win over Sacramento on Friday night, was injured in the second half against the Kings, but still finished the game.

The Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League have been assigned guard Jordan Farmar from their NBA affiliate, the Los Angeles Lakers. Farmar is the 24th NBA player assigned to a D-League affiliate this season.

Farmar, 6-2, 180, has played in 62 games this season for the Lakers and has averaged 4.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.  He was selected by the Lakers with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft.

?This is just what the Lakers had in mind for the D-Fenders.  It?s a chance to give the young guys some extra playing time and we are happy to be a part of that,? said D-Fenders Head Coach Dan Panaggio.  ?We hope Jordan will bring some leadership and added defensive punch to the D-Fenders line up.?

Farmar will wear jersey #2.

If it weren't for UCLA playing in today's men's Final Four, Sonics guard Ray Allen would have had surgery on his injured left ankle this week. Instead, Allen will have the season-ending procedure April 7 because the operating doctor promised his daughter, a Bruins fan, that he'd take her to the event in Atlanta.

"I'm in a holding pattern right now," Allen joked. "When the game [between UCLA and Kansas] was on the other day, you know who I was rooting against."

Dr. Richard Ferkel will perform the surgery to remove the large bone spurs in Allen's left ankle at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Los Angeles. Allen is contemplating also having scar tissue in his right ankle repaired simultaneously because the anesthesia causes nausea.

New Orleans Hornets guard Peja Stojakovic said Friday that a setback in his rehab from back surgery will further delay his return to the court.

"It got a little sore and stiffer," said Stojakovic, a three-time All-Star who had a disc fragment removed from his lower back Dec. 17. "I'm going to relax a couple days and get some medication and see how it goes."

The Hornets had planned to re-evaluate Stojakovic to see whether he would be able to play Saturday night against the New York Knicks but Stojakovic was unable to go through practice Friday. He started the session by shooting, but said he started to stiffen up when he started running. He worked out with trainers instead of practicing with teammates.

In the closing seconds of regulation on Friday night, the Wizards held a three-point lead over the Raptors. Anthony Parker's long pass lofted harmlessly in the air, was deflected and grabbed near the three-point line at the Washington end by forward Michael Ruffin.

Ruffin landed with the ball but then attempted to throw it high into the air toward the other end of the court. Instead, the ball slipped out of Ruffin's right hand and landed directly in the hands of Toronto guard Morris Peterson, who made a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

"My natural reaction was to just throw the ball in the air and let time run out but I didn't get a good throw on it and there was a little more time than I thought," Ruffin said. "When I threw it, it kind of slipped off my palm. I didn't get a good grip on it."

The Raptors went on to win in the overtime session.

Jermaine O'Neal was nearly in tears after the Pacers fell to the Magic by a final score of 95-87 on national television Friday.

"It's just disappointing to lose the way we have been losing," O'Neal said. "It's embarrassing; it's a lot of things."

O'Neal was asked about wanting to be traded, a question likely to continue to come up as the Pacers move closer to missing the playoffs for the first time since 1996-97.

After pausing for 10 seconds to take in the question, O'Neal put a towel over his face to hide his emotions and ended the interview session. O'Neal has said a number of times since last summer that he plans to sit down with CEO Donnie Walsh and president Larry Bird at the end of the season to address future plans.

Phil Jackson, the head coach of nine NBA championship teams, has been named to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame, a league source said.

The new members won't be announced until Monday, but nominees who are elected are typically informed by Hall of Fame officials the Friday before the announcement takes place.

Kevin Durant is in no rush to make a decision on whether he will leave Austin for the NBA.

"The NBA can wait," Durant told ESPN.com. "I love college so much and if I decide to stay, that's going to show a lot of freshmen that they don't have to go to college just for one year.

"I love my family so much at Texas and I really don't want to leave them," Durant said. "[The NBA] is my dream but it's going to be a hard decision."

Rashard Lewis is one of Ray Allen's favorite teammates but the sharpshooter will not pester him about remaining in Seattle.

"He has the chance to do something special in Seattle," Allen said. "But I want Rashard to do what he feels is necessary for himself and his family."

A right knee injury forced Vince Carter to the sidelines for part of Friday's game versus the Pistons.

Carter drove to the basket and missed a short shot. He landed on his left leg and took a couple steps without apparent pain, but crumpled to the court after turning to run back upcourt.

Carter was helped off the court by teammates, then went back to the New Jersey locker room at the end of the quarter. He returned midway through the second with a slight limp.