John Wall ejected in Wizards' loss to Heat

7:33 PM john wall, nba No Comments

WASHINGTON -- LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat had a surprisingly tough time against the lowly Wizards -- even after No. 1 draft pick John Wall was ejected for a second-quarter scuffle.

James finished with 35 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Wade had 33 points and nine assists, and Chris Bosh scored 26, helping Miami get past Washington 123-107 Wednesday night and avoid what would have been a second consecutive embarrassing loss.

Washington was left without its best player when Wall and two Miami reserves -- Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Juwan Howard -- were kicked out of the game. Crawford -- like Wall, a rookie -- scored 39 points, 12 more than his previous career high.

The 6-foot-4 Wall moved out to play tight defense on 7-3 center Ilgauskas near the 3-point arc. Wall responded by swinging his right hand at Ilgauskas.

As officials went to intervene, Wizards center JaVale McGee arrived to separate Wall and Ilgauskas and was pushed away by Heat backup forward Howard. Eventually, Wall and Ilgauskas each was assessed a flagrant foul-2 and ejected. Howard was called for a technical foul and ejected for escalation; McGee was called for a technical but allowed to stay in the game.

Ilgauskas had two points in 2 minutes, while Howard was scoreless.

Without Wall, Washington allowed Miami to lead 63-52 at halftime. In that game, Washington's Hilton Armstrong flagrantly fouled Miami's Joel Anthony. Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was in the crowd.

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Sloan resigning after clash with Williams

12:07 AM nba, Sloan resigning after clash with Williams No Comments

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The increasingly contentious relationship between Sloan and Williams boiled over when they clashed at halftime of a loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. The showdown between Sloan and Williams became so heated on Wednesday, at least two Jazz players feared that the coach and star could come to blows – even though the confrontation ended before reaching that point.

Sloan, 68, had agreed to a one-year contract extension in the past week but his growing frustration became public after a long meeting with Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor following the team’s loss to the Bulls in Salt Lake City.

Sloan, the NBA’s longest-tenured coach, and his longtime assistant, Phil Johnson, resigned together on Thursday.

Sloan’s relationship with Williams had grown progressively worse over the course of the season, league sources said, and the coach had tired of dealing with the team’s best player. The frustration escalated on Wednesday night when Sloan and Williams clashed in the locker room at halftime.

“He decided right there in halftime that he was done,” a league source told Yahoo! Sports. “He felt like ownership was listening more to Williams than they were to him anymore. He was done.”

One source said Sloan had become tired of Williams “blaming everything on everyone else.” Still, Williams, who can become a free agent in the summer of 2012, has remained the Jazz’s best and most consistent player after the departure of several key teammates. Williams has always had a reputation for wanting to win badly and being a strong leader.

After feeling undermined, one source said Sloan told Jazz owner Greg Miller that if this is how he wanted to run a franchise, he could do it without him as coach.

Assistant coach Ty Corbin has been named acting head coach, and league sources expect the team will move to secure him as Sloan’s long-term replacement in the near future.

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