- It was an odd time for a players-only meeting — minutes after a blowout victory over Portland — but the Los Angeles Lakers felt they needed to clear the air. So, according to sources, team leaders Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher gathered everyone together in the Lakers’ locker room Monday night and tried to set the tone for the second half of the season. ESPN.com
- Their message was clear: Trade rumors do not matter; your feelings about management or the coaching staff don’t matter; all that matters is that the 14 men in that locker room support and believe in one another. If they stay together and stay on the same page, they can get to where they want to go as a team. ESPN.com
- The Lakers’ front office knows Kobe Bryant is looking for it to improve the roster, and GM Mitch Kupchak has been working the phones. He’s spoken to Minnesota about Michael Beasley, and sources say the Lakers are intrigued by the Timberwolves’ small forward. The Lakers were actually in discussions with Minnesota about a potential trade for Beasley before the season started. If they would have been able to pull off the deal for Chris Paul, there is a good chance that a trade for Beasley would have followed. ESPN.com
- Hawks All-Star Joe Johnson has returned to Atlanta for an MRI on his left knee. He will not be in uniform for the next two games. Twitter
- An arena grows in Brooklyn, as you can see in the photo below. The Nets released it this morning, announcing that construction is on schedule and the Barclays Center is scheduled to open Sept. 28. Of course, there is no word yet on whether Dwight Howard and Deron Williams will be playing together in Brooklyn next season. The Nets remain the prohibitive favorites to land both, unless the Dallas Mavericks can trade away Shawn Marion’s two remaining years for an expiring contract, which would give them the cap space to go after two max-salary unrestricted free agents — a subplot to the Dwight Drama that I mentioned in Sunday’s Power Rankings, as well as the previous week’s Power Rankings. SheridanHoops
- Upon seeing Wilson Chandler in the Denver locker room, Nuggets coach George Karl greeted him with a handshake and a smile. “I could’ve used you tonight,” Karl said. That wish could soon be a reality.Chandler, a restricted free agent, attended Denver’s 103-101 overtime victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night and said he hopes to sign a new contract with the Nuggets “in the next week or so.” NBA.com
- Chandler, 24, finished last season with the Nuggets but spent the past several months playing in China, where he averaged 26.6 points and 11.6 rebounds in 32 games with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions. “I like being in Denver,” he said. “It’s a great team, a great young team. They’re playing hard. The injuries have been tough, but it’s still a pretty good team. I’m looking forward to being back.” NBA.com
- Frustration abounds in Atlanta right now, and sources say Marvin Williams wants out because he wants to play somewhere where he’ll have an increased role offensively. Williams is averaging just 9.6 points per game, his lowest since his rookie season. ESPN.com
- Rondo was upset that a foul wasn’t called with about 3:00 left in the quarter and tossed the ball at referee Sean Wright. He followed that with a verbal barrage directed at Wright and was ejected from a game for the first time in his professional career. “You’re always disappointed when that happens,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “You should never put yourself in front of the team. But it’s an emotional game. We can all agree that it was a pretty bad foul and a clear foul that wasn’t called. At the time, we were getting our butts kicked and the frustration was high and it’s a human game. I can guarantee you five seconds, 30 seconds after it happened, I guarantee you Rondo wished he could take it back.” Boston Globe
- With Anthony and Lin on the floor together, the Knicks were a minus-8. Anthony was clearly rusty, missing seven of 11 shots and scoring 11 points with six assists and six turnovers. Lin shot 7-for-18 for a team-high 21 points, with nine assists, seven rebounds and three turnovers. “My mind-set was not to come in and do too much,” Anthony said. “Try to fit in and try to play my game within the system. The way we’ve been playing the last couple of weeks, passing the ball and finding the open man, and making the right play, I felt good with that.” “We can both make plays,” Lin added. “We need to find a good balance. It’s a little tough with no practice time and then to throw in J.R. Smith and Baron Davis. Like Coach said, there is going to be a little adjustment time. It is Day 1 and obviously we are not happy with Day 1 but sometimes you have to go through tough times as a team.” New York Daily News
- After getting lit up by the then-unknown Jeremy Lin for 25 points the last time the teams met, on Feb. 4, Williams, playing his third game in three nights, came out firing tonight, lighting up the scoreboard for a season-high 38 points and a career-high eight 3-pointers before fouling out with 3:07 to play. Without him at the end, the Nets managed to hang on despite some scares in the final moments to stun the Knicks, 100-92, in Madison Square Garden, giving them their second win in the three-in-three sequence and their 10th win on the season (10-24). “We definitely had this one circled,” Williams said. “The whole team did. I personally did, because it stuck in my mind, it all started on me.” Newark Star-Ledger
- Trail Blazers center Greg Oden went into a Vail, Colo., operating room Monday thinking he would have minor arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to remove debris. He ended up having yet another microfracture surgery.Oregonian