San Antonio Spurs center Ian Mahinmi yesterday underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle. The surgery was performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Richard Ferkel.

During the surgery a small piece of avulsed bone was removed from Mahimni's ankle.  During activity, the bone was becoming entrapped in the medial aspect of the ankle, leading to persistent pain.  The surgery revealed no other cartilage defects throughout the ankle or distal tibia.  

Mahinmi originally injured the ankle while working out on 8/4.  He had yet to appear for the Spurs this season due to the injury.

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have recalled Malik Hairston from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League (D-League).  

Hairston is currently the fifth leading scorer in the D-League with 21.1 points per game.  In 23 games for the Toros this season he has also averaged 5.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 40.6 minutes. Hairston was named D-League Performer of the Week on 12/22 after helping lead the Toros to three straight wins while averaging 24.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.

TNT featured a double-header of quality NBA action on Thursday night, with the Magic and Spurs winning marquee games.

- Orlando 99, Cleveland 88

Team FIC Differential: Magic +13.7, Cavaliers -13.7

The Magic (35-10) opened up the game with a strong third quarter to defeat the Cavaliers (35-9) at Amway Arena on Thursday night. Dwight Howard starred 22 points and 18 rebounds, Hedo Turkoglu posted 19 points and 13 boards, and Rashard Lewis scored 19 points in the win. Orlando outrebounded Cleveland by nine and limited the Cavaliers to 41% shooting. LeBron James had 23 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, J.J. Hickson tallied 13 points and 7 boards, and Wally Szczerbiak added 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting in just nineteen minutes of action.

Game FIC Scores

Dwight Howard, Orlando ? 22.5

LeBron James, Cleveland ? 14.2

J.J. Hickson, Cleveland ? 12.5

Rashard Lewis, Orlando ? 12.2

- San Antonio 114, Phoenix 104

Team FIC Differential: Spurs +10.2, Suns -10.2

Deadlocked a halftime, the Spurs (31-14) used a good second half to record a win over the Suns (25-19) at US Airways Center. Tony Parker led with 26 points, Tim Duncan tallied 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili contributed 30 points and 9 boards off the bench. San Antonio outrebounded Phoenix by eight, and the team combined to turn the ball over just fourteen times. Amare Stoudemire had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Grant Hall posted 20 points and 10 boards, and Steve Nash added 16 points and 18 assists in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

Manu Ginobili, San Antonio ? 23.8

Steve Nash, Phoenix ? 20.6

Tim Duncan, San Antonio ? 18.3

Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix ? 17.8

? RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)

( )'s indicate a negative FIC score.

It is also used to rank players and to determine their ?Reina Value.?
Click here to view the player rankings with the Reina Value for the current season

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich admitted on Friday that he would have liked to entertain the idea of signing center Nenad Krstic last month.

"Ah, I love him," said Popovich. "But we thought Kurt (Thomas) knew the system, and Fab (Oberto) was just getting (healthy)."

A team source doesn't believe that the Bucks will trade guard Michael Redd this season, but multiple teams have inquired about the sharp-shooter.

"We need to make the playoffs this season to regain our fan base," the source said.

"Everyone is interested [Portland, San Antonio and Dallas, etc.], but their offers are pure [garbage]."

New Jersey point guard Devin Harris is doubtful for the team's battle with San Antonio on Friday night.

He is expected to sit because of a rib injury that forced him to leave the team's game against New Orleans on Wednesday in the third quarter.

Officially, Harris has a bruised right rib and is listed as day-to-day.

Tuesday's schedule was a light one, and the action wasn't overly exciting, but there were still some highlight performances and eight teams in action.

- Atlanta 105, Chicago 102

Team FIC Differential: Hawks -13.6, Bulls +13.6

The Hawks (25-16) won a tight game against the Bulls (18-25), who simply refused to give up on Tuesday night. Mike Bibby led with 31 points and 6 assists, Josh Smith posted 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Joe Johnson contributed 13 points, 7 dimes and 5 boards. Chicago shot better and won the rebounding battle, but didn?t take very good care of the basketball. Ben Gordon scored 21 points, Joakim Noah tallied 9 points and 11 rebounds, and Kirk Hinrich added 13 points, 5 assists and 4 boards off the bench in defeat.

Game FIC Scores

Mike Bibby, Atlanta ? 23.8

Josh Smith, Atlanta ? 18.0

Luol Deng, Chicago ? 14.2

Ben Gordon, Chicago ? 13.2

- San Antonio 99, Indiana 81

Team FIC Differential: Spurs +43.3, Pacers -43.3

The Spurs (28-13) broke things open in the third quarter on their way to an easy win over the Pacers (15-27) at the AT&T Center. Tim Duncan starred with 27 points and 10 rebounds, Tony Parker posted 13 points and 7 assists, and Manu Ginobili turned in 26 points and 8 boards off the bench. San Antonio held Indiana to just 37% shooting and won the rebounding battle by twenty-one. Danny Granger had just 17 points on 5-for-15 shooting, Troy Murphy tallied 6 points and 10 rebounds, and Mike Dunleavy added 15 points in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

Manu Ginobili, San Antonio ? 25.9

Tim Duncan, San Antonio ? 21.0

Troy Murphy, Indiana ? 7.2

Mike Dunleavy, Indiana ? 6.1

- Denver 118, Sacramento 99

Team FIC Differential: Nuggets +47.7, Kings -47.7

The Nuggets (28-15) took a lead in the second quarter and never looked back against the Kings (10-32) on Tuesday night. Chauncey Billups had 22 points and 7 assists, Linas Kleiza tallied 27 points and 6 rebounds off the bench, and Nene added 13 points and 12 boards in the win. Denver shot a blistering 56% and outrebounded Sacramento by eight. Kevin Martin led with 25 points, rookie Jason Thompson posted 16 points and 8 rebounds, and Bobby Jackson added 15 points and 4 boards in a reserve role for the Kings.

Game FIC Scores

Chauncey Billups, Denver ? 19.4

J.R. Smith, Denver ? 17.5

John Salmons, Sacramento ? 13.2

Kevin Martin, Sacramento ? 12.0

- Utah 112, Minnesota 107

Team FIC Differential: Jazz +21.1, Timberwolves -21.1

The Jazz (25-17) withstood a furious charge at the end of the fourth quarter to defeat the Timberwolves (13-27) at Energy Solutions Arena. Paul Millsap starred with 28 points and 15 rebounds, Deron Williams posted 17 points and 11 assists, Mehmet Okur poured in 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting. Minnesota shot 51%, but turned the ball over seventeen times and were whistled for thirteen more fouls. Al Jefferson led with 25 points and 8 rebounds, Kevin Love tallied 12 points and 8 boards, and Sebastian Telfair contributed 17 points and 9 assists in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

Paul Millsap, Utah ? 26.5

Mehmet Okur, Utah ? 15.9

Sebastian Telfair, Minnesota ? 14.9

Mike Miller, Minnesota ? 12.0

? RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)

( )'s indicate a negative FIC score.

It is also used to rank players and to determine their ?Reina Value.?
Click here to view the player rankings with the Reina Value for the current season

Tony Parker very nearly left France to attend UCLA but was too enamored with his home country to leave at that point.

"I almost went to college," said Parker.  "I was that close to going to UCLA. At the last moment I changed my mind, and I stayed playing professional in Paris."

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed free-agent forward Austin Croshere to a 10-day contract.

The 6-10, 235-pound Croshere joins the Spurs after being waived by the Milwaukee Bucks on 1/6.  Now in his 12th NBA season, he has also played for the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors.  Croshere was originally drafted 12th overall by Indiana in the 1997 NBA Draft.

This season Croshere appeared in 11 games with the Bucks and averaged 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 7.0 minutes per game.  Over his career he has averaged 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in 656 games.  Croshere has also appeared in 68 playoff games where he averaged 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds.

Sixers coach Tony DiLeo has revealed that Elton Brand is an outside chance to play tonight against the San Antonio Spurs the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting.

Brand has been out since suffering a dislocated shoulder in a Dec. 17 game against the Milwaukee Bucks. He returned to practice on Monday.

"He'll be a game-time decision," DiLeo said.

"There are still other factors, but I'm definitely optimistic," said Brand, who has taken some hits in practice the last few days. "In the thick of the season, there are no true practice dates, so it's kind of hard to gauge game-like situations. But it's encouraging to know [the shoulder] is not popping out again."