Christie said Rice deserved to be let go and it was the tight action to take in light of the disgraceful incidents. Rutgers is the largest public university in New Jersey with about 58,000 students. Rutgers is supported by taxpayer money and Rice was paid $655,000 in salary last year. The team has been competing in the Big East Conference with Georgetown University, the University of Connecticut, and Syracuse University. Rice was currently in the third year of his five-year deal with the school.

The video which condemned Rice was released by ESPN on April 2 and it showed several instances of disturbing behavior according to Robert Barchi, the President of Rutgers. Barchi said that it’s impossible to allow Rice to continue to coach the team because he lacks the proper responsibility, public accountability, and leadership traits. In the video Rice can be seen throwing balls the player’s midsections and heads from a close distance as well as pushing some of them down to the floor. He can also be seen and heard screaming homophobic slurs and obscenities at them.

The video was seen back in December by Tim Pernetti, the athletics director at Rutgers, and he suspended Rice for a short period of time without pay and also fined him. When the coach’s suspension ended the school kept Rice on as the basketball team’s head coach and told him he had to take an anger-management course. Pernetti later said that a suspension wasn’t enough. He claimed that he thought it would be better to try and rehabilitate Rice, but he was wrong and he now hopes he can regain the trust of Rutgers and the local community.

The 44-year-old Rice apologized on television for is unruly behavior while being interviewed by a local station outside of his home. He said he didn’t have any reason or explanation for the video and he had no excuse for it. He admitted he was wrong to do what he did and is very sorry for any pain and anguish his actions have caused.

Rice was hired by Rutgers in 2010 to improve a team which hadn’t made it to a post-season basketball tournament since 1991. However, Rice wasn’t the answer they were looking for as the team endured losing season in all of his three seasons in charge. Rice formerly coached at Pennsylvania’s Robert Morris University and he led the school to a pair of NCAA tournaments.

The video that showed Rice’s actions was put together by one of his associates at Rutgers, Eric Murdock, who is a former NBA player. A lawyer representing Murdock claimed that Rutgers wouldn’t renew his contract after Murdock showed them the video. But Pernetti said Murdock’s contract wasn’t renewed because he attended a public speaking engagement after Rice asked him not to.

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KNICKS 104, SPURS 100

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Raymond Felton scored 25 points and the New York Knicks stayed undefeated by rallying to beat the San Antonio Spurs 104-100 on Thursday night.

J.R. Smith added 17 points, Jason Kidd had 14 and Tyson Chandler 13 for the Knicks (6-0), who closed on a 22-11 run to remain the NBA’s lone unbeaten team.

Tony Parker led San Antonio (7-2) with 19 points and 12 assists. Kawhi Leonard added 16 points and Tim Duncan had 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Smith and Kidd hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Knicks a 100-95 lead with a minute left in the game.

NETS 102, CELTICS 97

NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Johnson made the tiebreaking basket with 3:03 left, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez each scored 24 points, and Brooklyn won its fourth straight.

Williams had eight assists and made all nine free throws on a night Paul Pierce had two huge misses in the final minute for the Celtics, who played without injured point guard Rajon Rondo.

Johnson finished with 19 points and eight rebounds for the Nets in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,732.

Pierce scored 22 points and Leandro Barbosa had 17 in place of Rondo, who was out with a sprained right ankle. Kevin Garnett added 14 points but Boston had its three-game win streak snapped and lost to the Nets for just the third time in 21 meetings.

HEAT 98, NUGGETS 93

DENVER (AP) — LeBron James had 27 points and 12 assists, and the short-handed Miami Heat ended a decade-long drought in Denver with a 98-93 win over the Nuggets on Thursday night.

Shane Battier added 18 points — all on 3-pointers — in the Heat’s first win at Denver since Jan. 29, 2002, a streak of 10 straight losses. Every other NBA team has won at the Pepsi Center during that span.

The Heat nearly blew a 19-point second-half lead but held on despite being without Dwyane Wade (foot) and Mario Chalmers, who went to the bench after just 7½ minutes with a strained right triceps.

Andre Miller had 19 points and Kenneth Faried led the Nuggets with 16 points and a career-high 20 rebounds. Ty Lawson, who is averaging 13.5 points, didn’t score.

NBA Roundup: Knicks stay perfect, beat Spurs 104-100 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

“We are thrilled to have Jeremy back as part of the Rockets family,” said Rockets Owner Leslie Alexander. “In his limited opportunity last season, Jeremy showed that he has all the skills to be a great player in this league for many years to come. In addition to being a great passer, he is also exceptional at driving to the rim and finishing plays. He also showed a poise well beyond his years by making winning plays at the end of numerous games last season. Jeremy is a winner on and off the court and we view him as an important part of our plan to build a championship contender.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome Anthony to the Hornets family,” said General Manager Dell Demps. “Anthony is an incredible person and very talented basketball player. We look forward to him being a part of the sustained success of our franchise on and off the court going forward.”

“I’m excited about having the chance to work with Anthony,” said Hornets Head Coach Monty Williams. “We have added an incredibly talented, athletic big man with great length who is also a proven winner. In getting to know him, he’s also a high-character kid and someone I look forward to helping develop further.”

“The first thing I said after the Lottery was ‘it would be great to win another championship in New Orleans.’ It’s a great city,’ said Davis. “Monty is a great coach who has played in the league and will tell you how it is. He has given me some great advice and I can’t wait to get out on the court with him.”

In his only collegiate season, Davis (6-10, 220) won six of the seven major National Player of the Year awards, getting the nod from the AP, USBWA and Basketball Times, and capturing the Wooden, Adolph Rupp and Naismith awards. Additionally, the Chicago, Il. Native was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player after leading Kentucky to national title in New Orleans.
 
The 19-year-old led the nation in blocks (4.65 bpg) as a freshman, while leading his team in scoring (14.2 ppg), rebounding (10.4 rpg) and field goal percentage (.623). Davis broke school and SEC records as well as the NCAA freshman record for blocks in a season (186). He finished the season with 20 double-doubles, tops in the SEC and tied for the UK freshman record en route to being named SEC Defensive Player of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year, First Team All-SEC, SEC All-Freshman Team and SEC All-Defensive Team.
 
The Hornets also pick 10th and 46th in tonight’s draft, marking the first time in franchise history the Hornets have held two Lottery selections in the same draft. The last time the Hornets had three picks in the same draft was in 2006 (12th, 15th and 43rd)

He said he wanted to belong to a championship team after putting in a lot of hard work, but wasn’t sure when exactly it would happen. The Heat struggled last season and found the going a lot closer than they expected this year too. The Boston Celtics gave them a scare in the finals of the Eastern Conference before the Heat won the last two games of their series. James scored 45 points against the Celtics in game six and the Heat wrapped up the series in the seventh and final game.

Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade also had fine postseasons for the Heat with Bosh scoring 24 points in the clinching game against the Thunder and Wade adding 20. Mike Miller scored 23 points in the contest with 21 of them coming on three-pointers. The supporting cast in Miami definitely took some of the pressure off of James’ shoulders throughout the series with Shane Battier helping out with 17 points in the second game and Mario Chalmers coming through with 25 in the fourth game.

The series looked to be over just before half time in game five when the Heat had a commanding 53-36 with just under five minutes to go. The Thunder deserve a lot of credit though as they surprised many fans by beating the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and San Antonio Spurs on the way to the final. They have several young players all under the age of 23 in Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka and could be a force to reckon with in the Western Conference for the next several years. However, their inexperience could have cost them in the final series. Durant said it was great to make it all the way to the finals, but it hurts to lose.

It’s doubtful any team could have stopped the in-form James though, who was as dominant as could be with an excellent display of strength and speed. It was a completely different performance from him compared to last year’s playoffs when he was mocked for choking in the big games. However, the first four games were a lot closer than many fans realized with the Heat outscoring the Thunder by just 389 to 384 in them. Everything fell into place in the fifth game for James and his teammates though with the team equalling the NBA record of 14 three pointers in a game.

The 2011-12 version of the Heat is now the third team in NBA history to win all three home games in the league’s playoff format of two-three-two. The Detroit Pistons won all three at home in 2004 over the Lakers and the Heat did it once before in 2006 over the Mavericks. It was Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra’s 34th playoff win (34-22), tying the club record set by Rick Riley who was 34-36.

Recorded the first 20-point game of his career with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes at Indiana on Dec.30.

Against New Jersey on Jan. 27, scored 21 of his season-high 32 points in the fourth quarter, including 17 in the last 2:58 becoming the first rookie to score at least 21 points in the fourth quarter of a game since Marcus Williams of New Jersey (November 24, 2006) and first player to score 17 or more points in the final three minutes of a game since Vince Carter, who did it with the Nets (April 11, 2006).

At Boston on Jan 29, scored the game-winning layup with 2.6 seconds remaining. He finished with game highs in points (23) and assists (6).

Notched a game-high tying 23 points, including shooting 5-5 from the foul line, in 39 minutes against Sacramento on Feb. 19. Trailing by one with 2.9 seconds remaining, Irving knocked down two free throws to win the game.

Dished out eight assists, to go along with 25 points on 8-15 (.533) shooting in 39 minutes of work against the Pistons on Feb. 21. In the fourth quarter, he scored 17 points on 6-9 (.667) shooting, including 3-3 from three-point range.

Scored or assisted on the Cavs’ final 12 points in the last 2:36 of the game, including making the game-winning layup with 4.0 seconds remaining, in a 100-99 win at Denver on Mar 7.

Had a career-high 12 assists, to go along with nine points in 31 minutes against the Thunder on Mar. 9, including scoring the go-ahead basket in the fourth quarter to help the Cavs to a 96-90 road victory, snapping Oklahoma City’s 14-game home winning streak.

Scored 28 points on 11-16 (.688) shooting and added three rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes at Milwaukee on Mar. 14.

Recorded his first career double-double with 19 points and 10 assists in 37 minutes against Atlanta on Mar. 18.

Finished with 29 points, a career-high nine rebounds and nine assists in a career-high 42 minutes at Atlanta on Mar. 21, becoming the only rookie this season to reach totals of at least 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a game.

Went 6-6 from three-point range and finished with a game-high 29 points on 11-20 (.550) shooting, to go along with a team-high five assists and three rebounds in 32 minutes against Milwaukee on Mar. 30. By shooting a perfect 6-6 from three-point range, he became the first rookie in the NBA to make at least six three’s in a game without a miss since Stephen Curry for Golden State on Jan. 5, 2010. Irving also set the Cavalier rookie record for the most three-pointers made in a game and most three-pointers made in a game without a miss.

Scored a game-high 25 points on 10-16 (.625) shooting in only 29 minutes at Memphis on April 23. He also added four assists and three steals.

Irving received a total of 592 points, including 117 first-place votes out of a possible 120, from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received.

The 6-foot-3 point guard averaged 18.5 points on .469 shooting, 3.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 30.5 minutes per game. He also shot .399 from three-point range and .872 from the free throw line. Among all rookies, he ranked first in points per game (by a margin of 5.7 points) and free throw percentage, second in three-point percentage, assists per game and player efficiency rating (21.5) and fifth in field goal percentage. Irving swept the NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award each month this season (Dec./Jan., Feb. and March) with the exception of April, in which he only played in six of a possible 16 games due to injury. He was also named MVP of the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge at the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend after posting game highs of 34 points and nine assists and shooting a perfect 8-8 from three-point range.

In receiving the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award this season, he becomes just the second player in franchise history to receive the award (LeBron James) and the third No. 1 overall pick in the past four seasons to win the award, joining Chicago’s Derrick Rose (2008-09) and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin (2010-11). He also joins Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Allen Iverson and James as the only No. 1 overall draft picks to average at least 18.0 points and 5.0 assists and is one of just six rookies in league history to post averages of at least 18.0 points, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steal and .450 shooting along with Alvan Adams, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Grant Hill and Tyreke Evans. He and Larry Bird are the only rookies in NBA history to average over 18.0 points and shoot at least .399 from three-point range.

In the fourth quarter this season, the 20-year-old led all rookies in scoring (6.4) while ranking fifth overall (behind only NBA All-Stars Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose and Kevin Love). He also led all rookies in scoring in the final three minutes of games (3.2) and trailed only Chris Paul for the league lead. On three occasions, Irving scored the game-winning basket or made the go-ahead free throws to lead the Cavaliers to victory: at Boston on Jan. 29, against Sacramento on Feb. 19 and at Denver on March 7. His game-winning layup at Boston made him the third-youngest player (19 years, 312 days) to make a game-winning shot (field goal or free throw) since 2002-03, behind only Kevin Durant (19 years, 48 days) and Shaun Livingston (19 years, 206 days).

James capped off the season averaging 27.1 points, a career-high tying 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.85 steals and 37.5 minutes while shooting career highs in both field goal percentage (.531) and three-point range (.362). He led the HEAT in points (1,683), rebounds (492), assists (387), steals (115), field goals made (621), free throws made (387) and minutes (2,326). He posted 23 double-doubles on the season while leading the team in points 43 times, assists on 42 occasions and rebounds 23 times. He led Miami in scoring in 12 consecutive games from April 1 thru April 19, tying for the fourth-longest streak in HEAT franchise history.

James earned Player of the Month honors twice this season, first in January and then in February, and was named Player of the Week six times, having now won the award 37 times during his career, the most by any player in NBA history. He finished the season having scored in double-figures in a career-best 419 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the league and as of now the seventh-longest streak in NBA history. After eclipsing the 19,000-point career mark this season, he became just the 14th player in NBA history to score at least 19,000 points, grab at least 4,500 rebounds and dish out at least 4,500 assists.

In his first game of the season, James scored 37 points at Dallas on December 25, marking the highest point total ever by a HEAT player on opening day. He shot a single-game career-best 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the field at New Jersey on March 6. His 24 first quarter points at Milwaukee on February 1 set a new HEAT franchise record for points in a first quarter and his final 17 points in Miami’s win at New Jersey on April 16 tied the HEAT franchise record for the most consecutive points to end a game in a HEAT victory. He posted back-to-back 30-10-5 games without committing a single turnover after tallying 38 points, 11 rebounds and six assists without a turnover on March 1 at Portland and then the next night on March 2 at Utah, James totaled 35 points, 10 rebounds and six assists without a turnover, becoming the only player in the last 35 years (since the NBA started to keep turnovers as a stat during the 1977-78 season), to post back-to-back 30-10-5 games without turning the ball over. Additionally, his game at Portland on March 1 marked the only HEAT player in franchise history to post at least 38 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, five steals and a block during a single game. He recorded at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in 25-straight games from April 8, 2011 thru February 3, 2012, becoming only the second player in NBA history to post those minimums in that many games, joining Oscar Robertson as the only players to achieve that feat. James shot at least 55 percent from the field in eight consecutive games from December 25, 2011 thru January 7, 2012, tying the fourth-longest streak (with at least 10 field goal attempts) in HEAT history and becoming the only non-center to do so that many consecutive times in franchise history. Among league leaders this season, he finished second in total points, third in scoring average, third in steals, sixth in minutes, 12th in field goal percentage, 13th in assists and tied for 25th in rebounds.

Davis will apparently undergo surgery later this week and will be out of action for approximately 12 months.