Los Angeles Lakers forward Jordan Hill faces a felony assault charge after his girlfriend accused him of choking and shoving her in Houston earlier this year.

Hill is charged with assaulting 28-year-old Darlene Luna on Feb. 29 at his apartment while the New York Knicks’ former first-round draft pick was playing for the Houston Rockets.

The 24-year-old Hill was charged by Harris County prosecutors in March, and he has a court appearance scheduled for Tuesday in Houston.

Hill was apologetic, but said little about the accusations after the Lakers’ practice at their training complex Monday.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics has been suspended one game without pay for making contact with a game official,it was announced today by Stu Jackson,NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 0:41 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’83-74 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on April 29.

Rondo will serve his suspension tomorrow when the Celtics play the Hawks in Game 2 of their opening round series in Atlanta.

Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that Paul Silas will not return as head coach and a search for his successor will begin immediately.

“I would like to personally thank Paul for everything he has done for this team under some pretty unique circumstances,” Higgins said. “His basketball experience as a coach and a player speak for themselves. We have been fortunate to have someone of his character associated with this franchise and we hope he will continue to be a valuable resource to us in the future.”

Silas recently completed his first full season with the Bobcats, after being named interim Head Coach on December 22, 2010, and then having the interim title removed on February 16, 2011. He led the team to a 25-29 record (.463) over the remainder of the 2010-11 season and compiled an overall record of 32-88 (.363) with the Bobcats.

In 11 seasons as an NBA head coach, Silas has a career record of 377-531 with the Clippers (1980-83), Hornets (1999-2003), Cavaliers (2003-05) and Bobcats. He also spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach for the Hornets, Knicks, Nets and Suns.

Photo by InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner of some of my favorite new Brooklyn Nets gear:

InsideHoops.com is live in Brooklyn, NY right now as the Nets introduce their new colors and logos.

Jeremy Lin, who has been out since April 2 surgery on his left knee, said he hopes to play in this series — as early as Game 4 next Sunday — but was discouraged by soreness in the knee Sunday, something he termed a “setback.”

Lin had been encouraged a day earlier when he cut and moved laterally in a one-on-one game with Knicks assistant Kenny Atkinson.

“I’m going to evaluate it at the end of the week and see,” he said. “I can do basic cutting but I haven’t gone to contact [drills] yet. The main thing is to be able to play without thinking about [the injury]. I don’t want to make a promise because I don’t know how I’m going to feel.”

– Reported by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald

But amid the rubble of Saturday’s 100-67 disaster, Carmelo Anthony gave a call to arms to his troops that a 1-0 series deficit is not a death sentence.

“We’re definitely not at a low,’’ said Anthony, who shot 3-of-15, scored 11 points, turned it over four times and got outclassed by LeBron James. “We’re definitely still a confident team. We felt we didn’t play our game [Saturday] and we want to correct that. [Today’s] a new day. [Today’s] Game 2 and Round 2.

According to a source, co-captains Anthony and Stoudemire arranged an evening workout session at a private Miami gym last night with several teammates.

All logic suggests the Knicks will get knocked out again after their embarrassing performance in Game 1. Chandler remains questionable for tonight after staying back at the hotel yesterday, with Mike Woodson saying Chandler is “barely hanging in there.’’

– Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian have decided to pull the plug on their spin-off show “Khloe & Lamar.”

Sources tell TMZ, the show’s second season will be its last … because Lamar wants to focus on reviving his fizzling NBA career.

As we previously reported, Lamar was relegated to the Dallas Mavericks’ inactive list after putting up career low numbers this season. If he’s lucky, he’ll be traded. If not, who knows.

– Reported by TMZ

It used to be that the sight of former Sixers superstar Allen Iverson running up and down the pine, hitting his jump shot, would scare many an NBA opponent.

Nowadays, the dude is just plain scary, according to legal documents filed in Atlanta by A.I.’s once better half, Tawanna Iverson, 36.

The Answer is so frightening, she claims in the filing, that the former Tawanna Turner wants a restraining order issued against him because he’s harassing her and her family, according to a TMZ.com report. (The estranged couple have four children, ages 3 to 17.)

– Reported by Regina Medina of the Philadelphia Daily News

Caron Butler fractured his left hand during the third quarter of the Clippers’ playoff game against Memphis on Sunday.

Butler was holding his hand after he scored a basket in the third quarter. He had 12 points on five-for-12 shooting.

The Clippers said Butler’s status for the rest of the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series against the Grizzlies will be determined later.

– Reported by the Los Angeles Times

Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert improved his ability to block shots without fouling by watching the NBA’s best center — ironically, the missing anchor in the middle for the Orlando Magic in this NBA playoff series.

Hibbert said watching film of Magic All-Star Dwight Howard helped him understand how to jump straight up with his arms extended to contest shots.

Hibbert set a franchise playoff record by blocking nine shots in Game 1 Saturday.

Howard is out for the rest of the season with a back problem.

“I watched tape of Dwight do that when I was a rookie when he was in the playoffs,” Hibbert said. “I tried to learn some things and it’s been working for me.”

– Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

The New Jersey Nets are no more. The team is now officially the Brooklyn Nets.

And today, they confirmed the new Brooklyn Nets logo, which was actually leaked and seen all around the Internet late last week.

Here’s the first new Brooklyn Nets logo. There are other versions, with the full word “Brooklyn,” and we’ll update this page and post them here later today (Monday).

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From the Nets:

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And this is via Ben Couch of the Nets:

Rajon Rondo could be facing a suspension after making contact with official Marc Davis in the final minute of the Celtics’ 83-74 loss to the Atlanta Hawks Sunday night.

Rondo had been suspended for two games after being ejected for tossing the ball at official Sean Wright in a 96-81 loss at Detroit Feb. 19.

“I was upset with the [foul call on Brandon Bass] and I said something to [Davis],’’ Rondo said. “As I was walking, I thought he stopped and my momentum carried me into him. I think I might even tripped on his foot. I didn’t intentionally chest-bump him.’’

Asked about a possible suspension, Rondo replied, “We’ll see, it’s out of my control. Obviously, I want to be there for my teammates but, other than that, I have no control right now.’’

– Reported by Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe

Chris Paul hit a pair of free throws with 23.7 seconds left, and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from 27 down to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 99-98 Sunday night in the opening game of this Western Conference series.

Rudy Gay missed a 15-footer with 0.9 seconds left after the Grizzlies squandered a lead they held for the first 47 minutes.

The Clippers lost Caron Butler to a broken left hand. But Nick Young scored 19 points off the bench, including three 3-pointers in the midst of the Clippers’ 26-1 run. Paul finished with 14 points, and Blake Griffin had 17. Butler had 12 before leaving the game.

– Reported by the Associated Press

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The Boston Celtics lost Game 1 — and they may have lost their floor leader for Game 2.

Josh Smith scored 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks built a big lead early, then held on for an 83-74 victory over the Celtics in their opener of the Eastern Conference playoffs Sunday night.

But this one will be remembered for what happened in the final minute, not the Hawks’ blistering start. While complaining about a call, Boston star Rajon Rondo was ejected for bumping an official and faces a possible suspension when the teams meet again Tuesday night in Atlanta.

“I didn’t intentionally chest-bump him, but that’s what it appears to be,” Rondo said…

Rondo, who scored 20 points and dished out 11 assists, clearly appeared to stick out his chest to strike the official. That’s a huge no-no and will almost surely draw the wrath of NBA Commissioner David Stern…

Garnett bounced back to put up 20 points and 11 rebounds. Paul Pierce had only 12 points, going 5 of 19 from the field and missing all six of his 3-point attempts.

“For us to win, I have to be a better player,” Pierce said. “I was a really big culprit.”

– Reported by the Associated Press

Joe Johnson had another poor performance in the playoffs. It’s not as if he doesn’t know he’s going to get pressured. He handled it pretty well early (it helped that the Hawks played faster) but then Joe came out after halftime and seemed to want to go one-on-one.

“I missed a lot of wide open shots I normally make. I’m sure Game 2 will be a lot different,” Joe said. “I’m just glad guys like Jeff [Teague] and Josh was able to pretty much carry us down the stretch.”

You can’t fault Joe for missing open shots. Well, I guess you can, but that happens. More problematic were all the possessions that came to a halt because Joe was dribbling aimlessly (or, worse, getting stripped by Paul Pierce) while his teammates stood and watched.

“I look at the stat sheet and he didn’t have a typical Joe Johnson game shooting-wise,” Drew said. “Yet we still won the game. With this team, I always try to focus on the positive with things like that. He’ll watch the tape and, like everyone else, he will make adjustments. We will continue to run plays through him, put the ball in his hands and put him in position to score the ball.”

– Reported by Michael Cunningham of Atlanta Journal-Constitution Blog 

Photo taken today by InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner of an NYC basketball court, in a nice park setting. Just a nice, simple picture. Enjoy:

Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, Andrew Bynum posted the Lakers’ first playoff triple-double in 21 years with an NBA postseason record-tying 10 blocked shots, and Los Angeles thoroughly controlled the tempo in a playoff-opening 103-88 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

Bynum, the Lakers’ All-Star center coming off his best regular season, also had 10 points and 13 rebounds while incredibly blocking 11 percent of the Nuggets’ 90 shots.

While Bynum had the Lakers’ first playoff triple-double since Magic Johnson in the 1991 NBA finals, fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol added 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the playoff-tested Lakers, who never trailed while forcing the NBA’s highest-scoring team to play Los Angeles’ preferred half-court style.

Game 2 is Tuesday night.

Danilo Gallinari scored 19 points for the sixth-seeded Nuggets, but the NBA’s second-youngest playoff roster struggled to run. Andre Miller had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while helping out Ty Lawson, Denver’s leading scorer, who managed just seven points while failing to make a shot in the first three quarters.

Bynum blocked eight shots in the first three quarters before surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s franchise-record nine blocks in the fourth. He swatted Timofey Mozgov’s shot for No. 10 in the closing minutes to equal the NBA record set by Utah’s Mark Eaton on April 26, 1985, and matched by Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon on April 29, 1990.

– Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press

Tony Parker scored 28 points and added eight assists to lead the Spurs to a 106-91 victory over Utah Sunday afternoon in Game 1 of the NBA playoffs at the AT&T Center.

The victory snapped a six-game losing streak of Game 1 losses in the Spurs’ most recent playoff series. And coming into Sunday’s game, the Spurs had won only two of their 10 most recent playoff games.

But a big effort by the Big Three help lead them to the victory. Tim Duncan added 17 points and 11 rebounds and Manu Ginobili added seven points in the victory.

The Spurs are 12-0 this season when Ginobili, Duncan and Parker combine for at least 50 points this season.

The Spurs are 27-6 in NBA playoff series where they won the first game.

New acquisitions Stephen Jackson accounted for 14 points and Boris Diaw scored nine for the Spurs, who claimed their 11th straight victory this season.

Paul Millsap led Utah with 20 points and nine rebounds and Al Jefferson added 16 points and nine rebounds.

The victory came despite an injury to Tiago Splitter, who sustained a sprained left wrist in the second quarter and did not return. Splitter finished with four points and a rebound in seven minutes.

– Reported by Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News (Blog)

Pending no rehab setbacks with point guard Stephen Curry, power forward David Lee and center Andrew Bogut, who each had surgery last week, the Warriors will go into next season with four solid starters.

Soon-to-be sophomore shooting guard Klay Thompson will join the trio, but the team still has a big decision to complete the starting lineup. At small forward, the Warriors have Richard Jefferson and Dorell Wright under contract, are expected to put a qualifying offer on Brandon Rush and have voiced interest in re-signing Dominic McGuire.

“I think he’s there now; I think we have a starter,” general manager Bob Myers said. “The question is who is going to embrace that role and own it? He has to fit with the other players on the floor.”

Since Curry, Lee and Thompson are proven scorers and Bogut is a capable offensive player, Myers said the right small forward would have to be able to be effective without the ball in his hands. Myers and coach Mark Jackson said they’d like to find a small forward who defends and rebounds and can knock down the occasional three-pointer.

– Reported by Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle

The 2012 NBA Development League Most Valuable Player Justin Dentmon scored a team-high 30 points to lead the Austin Toros to its first-ever NBA Development League Championship with a 122-110 victory over the Los Angeles D-Fenders Saturday night at the Toyota Sports Center in L.A.

The Toros led end-to-end for the second straight game in L.A., and overcame a Game One loss to beat the D-Fenders in three games. The team finishes the 2012 postseason a perfect 6-0 in elimination games.

Eric Dawson, the 2012 NBA D-League Impact Player of the Year, scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while six Toros, including all five starters, scored in double figures. Julian Wright netted 19 points, while Brad Wanamaker poured in 18.

“We expected to win every game,” said Toros head coach Brad Jones. “We beat one heck of an L.A. D-Fenders team and we did it as a group so I’m really really excited for our guys.”

Mardy Collins finished with a game-high 31 points off the bench for the D-Fenders, while teammate Elijah Millsap scored 26. Malcolm Thomas recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.