National Basketball Association

By Terry Wallace

Roy Tarpley, the former Dallas Mavericks star center whose NBA career was cut short by drug abuse, died Friday. He was 50.

Tarpley had played in Greece for Olympiakos as well as Aris and Iraklis in Thessaloniki.

The Los Angeles Clippers have traded guard Jared Cunningham along with the draft rights to Turkish guard Cenk Akyol and cash to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the draft rights to Serhiy Lishchuk.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James grabbed the early lead in fans voting for the 2015 National Basketball Association all-star game.
      
Two-time all-star game MVP James has a slim lead over Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
      

LOS ANGELES - Famous Serbian basketball player Vlade Divac showed at a recent game between his former team the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors that he still has great skill, despite retiring 9 years ago.

Turkish center Enes Kanter has posted a career-high 29 points for the Utah Jazz in an effort that could not stop hi,s side from losing to his fellow countryman Ömer Aşık's New Orleans Pelicans.

Kanter added seven rebounds and one assist to his points as the Pelicans overcame a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 119-111 victory Dec. 16.

Turkish center Ömer Aşık posted the 45th double-double of his NBA career with 16 points and 14 rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans beat the New York Knicks 104-93 on Dec. 9, handing New York a ninth straight defeat.

Tyreke Evans, who led his team with 27 point, netted eight points and Aşık had seven during a fourth quarter in which New Orleans out-scored New York 27-20.

BELGRADE - Vlade Divac, president of the Serbian Olympic Committee, said that he is not surprised by the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to grant full recognition to Kosovo.

Tim Duncan had 23 points and Tony Parker added 22 to help the San Antonio Spurs beat Fenerbahçe Ülker 96-90 in an exhibition game

GRANADA - Serbia lost its fifth round match in Group A of the FIBA Basketball World Cup to host Spain 89-73 (34-20, 20-15, 17-21, 18-17) late on Thursday at the City Arena in Granada.

Turkish national basketball team started the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in fussy style after beating New Zealand 76-73 in Group C game in the Spanish city of Bilbao on Aug. 30.
     
The “Tall Blacks” were the dominating side in the first half of the game, which saw the Oceanian side grasping a double-digit lead at the end of the second quarter: 38-28.