Pacers’ Chris Copeland, wife stabbed outside Manhattan nightclub: Report

Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland, was stabbed—along with his wife and another woman — outside of a trendy night club in Manhattan early Wednesday, said NYPD sources.

The 31-year-old Copeland, was arguing with his wife outside the infamous Chelsea hotspot 1Oak Club on West 17th Street around 4 a.m. when the 22-year-old suspect interrupted them, according to the N.Y. Post.

Copeland reportedly told the man to get lost, which is when the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed Copeland in the stomach.

He then turned the blade on the basketball player’s wife, Katrine Saltara, and stabbed her in the breast, buttocks and arm, police sources said. Another woman, who was known to the stabber, was also attacked.

Copeland and his wife were rushed to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, authorities said. The other woman was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital, authorities said.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, was taken into custody at the scene and charges against him are pending. A knife was recovered.

Two players from the Atlanta Hawks were also taken into police custody after they refused to get out of the crime scene, sources said.

Pero Antic was charged with obstructing governmental administration, disorderly conduct and menacing, sources said. Thabo Sefolosha was charged with resisting arrest as well as obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct, sources said.

It wasn’t immediately clear what set off the violent scene outside the notorious celebrity hangout.

Copeland has sort of a familiarity with the NYC club scene. He played 56 games for the New York Knicks from 2012 to 2013.

The Pacers are in town playing the Knicks. Their next game is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m at Madison Square Garden.

The Hawks are in town playing the Brooklyn Nets.

Brandon Knight blocks own jump shot during game (VIDEO)

Can't really put my finger on what happened to Brandon Knight during this play but, it looks like someone  — or something — got their hands on the ball while the Bucks guard was lining up for an easy jump shot against the Pacers.

Considering that no one else was even within five feet of the ball, it begs the question: Is there such a thing as fouling yourself?

LeBron James get flagrant for elbow to Roy Hibbert's face (VIDEO)

If Wednesday night's wildly physical regular season game between the Heat and Pacers is any indication, a playoff meeting between these two teams will be a rough-and-tumble affair.

It was so rough that even LeBron James was called for a flagrant foul after driving into Roy Hibbert during the second half of the 84-83 Pacers win.

A rarity for James.

James' elbow went high, whether to make contact or to try and get around Hibbert for the layup, and hit Hibbert under the chin. Hibbert landed and seemed disoriented. He tried to get up, and then fell back down.

Hibbert would go to the bench, be treated, leave for the locker room, then return to shoot the free throws for the flagrant. He would then leave again, presumably for the NBA's concussion test protocol, and then return to the game.

Ironically, after the loss to the East-leading Pacers, it was James who took issue with how hard fouls on him — and hard contact dealt out by him — were officiated.

"I don't want to fall into the pit of what's going on," James said, when asked in the visiting locker room if he felt he was being targeted by the Pacers when he went to the basket. "You see me and Blake Griffin, we take some hard hits. They call it how they want to call it. It's very frustrating though. Very frustrating."

Pacers’ David West ejected for elbowing Blake Griffin (VIDEO)

Blake Griffin is used to being the target of unnecessary fouls — with his reputation for high-flying dunks and all — but David West's totally uncalled for elbow to the Clipper's head warranted a stiff penalty. And he got it.

Although it seemed minor in real time, the referees determined that the act required a flagrant-two foul, which comes with it an automatic ejection.

Anytime something like this happens, it’s likely the result of a push-come-to-shove that’s taken place between the two players up to this point of the game. Nevertheless, West’s not-so-subtle elbow here was pretty stupid, and the referees likely did the right thing in removing him from the rest of the game.

The Pacers did just fine without the big guy, and went onto a 106-92 victory over once streaking Clips.

'Sir Lancealot' wants your All-Star vote for Lance Stephenson (VIDEO)

The Pacers' Lance Stephenson is having a pretty good season for the best team in the NBA.

So "Sir Lancealot" is here to tell you why you should cast your All-Star vote for Stephenson in a one-minute video.

And it's actually pretty funny.

Paul Pierce gets flagrant-two foul and ejection for clothesline of George Hill (VIDEO)

Late in the third quarter and with the Nets trailing by 19 points to the Pacers at Barclays Center, Paul Pierce took out his frustration with a cheap foul on George Hill.

As Hill raced toward the other end for what appeared to be an easy fast break score, Pierce chased him down to give a no-layup type of foul, but since he caught Hill in the head and then followed through by taking him down around the neck, the officials ruled it a flagrant-two, which comes with it an automatic ejection.

Pierce—who was already 0-for-7 from the field — might have been trying to send a message to Hill, but only showed his 36-year-old legs can't keep up with the young Pacers anymore.

It was more Get off my lawn! than Not in my house!

Hill managed to keep control of the ball and, more surprisingly, kept his cool after the unnecessary foul.

Fugitive sister-in-law of Jalen Rose arrested after 36 years on the run: Report

A woman who eluded Texas authorities for nearly four decades and who was arrested this week in Michigan is former basketball star Jalen Rose's sister-in-law.

The former Indiana Pacers and Michigan Wolverines star confirmed that Kathlyn Regina Huff is married to his brother, Kevin Rose, The Detroit News reported.

Authorities say she was indicted in 1977 by a grand jury in Bexar County, Texas, on attempted murder charges. She's accused of shooting her common-law husband, who survived.

The fugitive evaded capture by leaving San Antonio, getting married and changing her name to Kathlyn Regenia Rose. U.S. Marshals arrested the 58-year-old Huff on Wednesday outside her suburban Detroit home in Farmington Hills.

I guess a Rose is still a Huff by any other name.

Huff is jailed in Oakland County and faces extradition. Jalen Rose told the newspaper that he will pay for her lawyer.

Chris Bozeman, U.S. Marshals spokesman in San Antonio, said the case was referred to the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force Cold Case Squad by both San Antonio police and the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. Marshals first tracked Huff to Seattle and then to Farmington Hills, where they found her parking her car in her driveway.

Bozeman said the marshals have no information to suggest any of her immediate family knew about the San Antonio warrant or tried to hide her. He also said that Jalen Rose's name did not come up during the investigation.

Marshals did interview her ex-husband, the alleged victim in this case. Bozeman declined to identify the ex-husband.

Roy Hibbert had a Bengay issue Friday night

A lot of people must have been wondering why Roy Hibbert looked so mad during the Pacers' win over the Bobcats Friday night; because after the game the Pacers star tweeted this explanation:

I looked angry during the game its cause I used flexall/Bengay on my knees under my black tights. Somehow it got on my balls. Burned so bad
— Roy Hibbert (@Hoya2aPacer) December 14, 2013

Hibbert — despite the burning sensation between his legs— still had 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

As any woman can attest — tights and Bengay — not a good mix.

Lance Stephenson serves up sweet post-Thanksgiving dish to Paul George (VIDEO)

Lance Stephenson continues to prove his breakout season last year for the Indiana Pacers was no fluke and, if this behind-the-back- pass to Paul George is any indication, it looks like the upcoming free agent will be on more than the Pacers shopping list this summer.

Sweeter than a pumpkin pie.

Mike Woodson ready to 'punch' panic out of J.R. Smith

If you thought all of the talk of "panicking" from J.R. Smith has affected Mike Woodson's sense of humor — think again.

The Knicks head coach certainly didn’t enjoy some of Smith’s public negativity after recent Knicks losses to Indiana and Washington, but is taking it in stride.

After the heartbreaking loss against the Pacers Wednesday, Smith said: "Like you say, it’s too early to panic, but me, personally, I’m panicking. I don’t like this."

In Washington, Smith said he felt every possession is starting to feel packed with “pressure’’ and the team isn’t having fun and “overanalyzing.’’

When asked if he was irritated by Smith’s panic remark, Woodson said: “To be sitting here after 12 games talking about I’m in a panic stage, I might need to punch him out and get it out of his thought process.”

Woodson then smirked, but it wasn’t meant entirely as a big joke.

"I don't like players feeling that way," Woodson said before Monday night's loss to Portland when Smith scored only six points. "It's a long season. I've been around long enough to see where things can turn awfully fast."

Remember ... Woodson did have a smirk on his face. Let's see how long it lasts.

LeBron gets started on his man-cave photo gallery with devastating block of Splitter

LeBron James must have been inspired by Roy Hibbert's idea of using a photo of a monumental block to decorate his man-cave so the Miami Heat star went out and got one for himself.

James' fourth quarter block of big man Tiago Splitter in a 103-84 defeat of the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the 2013 NBA Finals resembled Hibbert's rejection of Carmelo Anthony in Game 6 of the Pacers-Knicks Eastern Conference semifinals last month.

Hibbert was sent a couple framed photos of his iconic block and made no secret he planned to adorn the walls of his man-cave with the mementos.

James' and Hibbert's blocks are almost identical in composition and end with the same dramatic result — total demoralization of their opponents.

LeBron's posters should be in every Heat fan's man-cave by Game 3 on Tuesday.

Hibbert posterizing his man cave with photos of epic block on Melo

Carmelo Anthony may never accept an invitation to Roy Hibbert's house but, if he does, the New York Knicks star might want to avoid his host's man cave.

Hibbert, the Indiana Pacers' 7-foot-2 center who tormented the Knicks forward during the Eastern Conference semifinals, is planning on decorating his house with not one — but at least a couple — large, framed posters of his epic blacked shot against Melo in the playoffs.

The photo shows Hibs going above the rim to block Melo's shot with his left hand when the Knicks led 92-90 with 5:04 left in the fourth quarter of Game 6. The game-changing block turned the tide of the game as the Pacers went on a 16-7 run to win the contest and snuff out the Knicks season.

He posted the pictures of the framed photos on his Twitter account with the message: "Got 2 of these now. 1 from a real good friend here in Indy. The other from the @Pacers Def man cave material."

Got 2 of these now. 1 from a real good friend here in Indy. The other from the @pacers Def man cave material. twitter.com/Hoya2aPacer/st…
— Roy Hibbert (@Hoya2aPacer) June 7, 2013

It shows just how easily one player's bulletin board material becomes another's man-cave decoration.

Floyd Mayweather reportedly made $6.5 million profit on Miami Heat bet

Floyd "Money" Mayweather reportedly laid down a whopping $5.9 million bet on Miami Heat winning last night's Game 7 NBA game - and they did, earning the fighter a cool $6.49 million profit.

Mayweather - the highest earning athlete in the world - put down the bet on the game between the Indiana Pacers and the Heat, Vegas Gambling Steam tweeted before the game. 

The Heat were a seven-point favorite against the Pacers, and luckily for Mayweather, the team ended up soundly beating their opponents, 99-76, more than doubling the sports star's bet.

Mayweather apparently made the bet just after he signed a six-fight $200 million with Showtime and agreed to fight Canelo Alvarez in September for some $40 million.

The boxer is no stranger to gambling, and winning, but even for him the almost $6 million wager is unheard of.

Vegas Gambling Steam broke the news of the $5.9M bet on Twitter.

"Good source from my #HeavyHitters Vegas crew alerted me that Floyd Mayweather has laid over $5,900,000 on Heat -7 tonight in Vegas," the tweet read.

"This is kind of ridiculous. C'mon Floyd," Benjamin Lee Eckstein of AmericasLine.com, a nationally-syndicated odds column, told the New York Daily News.

"I know that there have been people who walked into a casino and bet a million dollars, but not on basketball. It was always the Super Bowl."

According to Vegas Gambling Steam, the wager was so large Mayweather had to spread the bet across nine sportsbooks.

Beting parlors are notoriously tight-lipped about who wagers what and how much, but Mayweather usually isn't. It shouldn't be too long before he tweets a photo of the cash and the betting slip.

Chalmers uses Hibbert's head to save ball from going out of bounds

It's been a rough Eastern Conference Finals playoff series so far for Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert. So far against the Miami Heat, Hibbert has been benched in crunch time and kneed in the groin. In the third quarter of Game 3 on Sunday, Mario Chalmers used Hibbert's head to save the ball from going out of bounds by intentionally bouncing it off of his opponent's melon.

It looked like a schoolyard game of dodgeball bombardment.



It got even worse for Hibbert as the Heat went on to easily beat the Pacers, 114-96, for a 2-1 lead in the series.

Remember, if you can dodge a wrench ...

Paul George posterizes Chris Anderson and LeBron approves

Paul George laid down a ferocious fourth-quarter dunk over Chris Anderson Friday night leading the Indiana Pacers to a stunning 97-93 victory over the Miami Heat.

The posterizing jam even got a low-five from LeBron James who chased George down and gave him some respect after crashing the Birdman under the rim.

"I got you back, young fella," James told the rising superstar.

It's hard to say what's more impressive — George's slam or the James' hand.

J.R. Smith played against Pacers with swollen left knee: Report

Carmelo Anthony wasn't the only New York Knicks star playing through an injury during the playoffs. For those wondering why J.R. Smith continued to shoot jumpers during his postseason slump as opposed to driving to the hoop, the answer might be related to his left knee more than his late nights.

Marc Berman of the New York Post:

Not only did Carmelo Anthony play with what an MRI exam Wednesday revealed was a partial tear in his left shoulder, but The Post has learned J.R. Smith's nightmarish playoff performance was partly because of a swollen left knee that contained fluid buildup.
According to a league source, Smith likely will have his knee drained of the fluid in the next two weeks — the same procedure Anthony underwent in March. So Smith's struggles weren't only about his sharp elbow in the Celtics series, alleged hangover and viral infection.

Smith had been playing with a swollen knee toward the end of the regular season, but talk about the injury seemed to stop during the playoffs.

Funny how his knee seemed fine when he was chasing Rihanna around the Manhattan nightclub scene that week.

Roy Hibbert rejects Carmelo Anthony at the rim when it counted most (VIDEO)

Lance Stephenson might have been the catalyst in Saturday night's Game 6 series clincher over the New York Knicks but it was Roy Hibbert's emphatic late-game rejection of a Carmelo Anthony dunk that represented how much the bigger, stronger Indiana Pacers dominated the Knicks under the basket throughout the series.

After the Knicks had taken a 92-90 lead on J.R. Smith’s three-pointer with five minutes left, Anthony had a chance to extend it, but Hibbert — who dominated the paint — blocked Anthony’s dunk attempt after Anthony had spun past Paul George along the baseline. It was Hibbert's fifth block of the night.

Orange ball, say hello to Hibbert's hand.

“That was a big play by Hibbert,” Anthony said. “It kinda shifted momentum a little bit.”

Over the next three minutes, Indiana scored nine unanswered points while Anthony fell apart. He committed three turnovers, starting with an offensive foul, and also missed a pull-up jumper and the Pacers eliminated the Knicks and moved on to the NBA Eastern Conference finals with a 106-99 victory.

Tyson Chandler shows Lance Stephenson who's the boss in the paint

Indiana Pacers guard Lance Stephenson tried to get high and mighty with New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler late in the second quarter of their Game 5 Madison Square Garden playoff battle and found out the hard way why Chandler is one of the top defensive big men in the NBA.

As Stephenson dribbled into the paint, Chandler prevented him from "climbing the ladder" with a hard foul that left the Pacer sprawled on the floor seeing more stars than the ones sitting on MSG's Celebrity Row.

Better luck next time.

Mike Woodson pulls out of regular radio spot, ESPN host blames Knicks brass for muzzling coach

A previously scheduled, heavily-promoted radio appearance by Mike Woodson on ESPN-98.7 was abruptly cancelled when an industry source said the New York Knicks head coach called co-host Stephen A. Smith before the show and said he would not be appearing on the afternoon broadcast.

On Wednesday morning, the day after the Knicks lost 93-82 to the Indiana Pacers and fell behind 3-1 in the NBA second-round playoff series, Woodson pulled out of his regular radio segment.  Smith put the blame squarely on the higher-ups with the Knicks organization, according to The New York Daily News.

“Mike Woodson was supposed to be coming on, ladies and gentlemen. We didn’t lie to you. The New York Knicks organization backed out,” Smith said at the beginning of Wednesday’s show. “The coach didn’t back out because Mike Woodson wouldn’t do that — no matter what he says.”

An industry source said Woodson called Smith prior to the show and told him he would not be making his scheduled appearance. The station had promoted the Woodson segment during its morning programming.

“The New York Knicks (organization) pulled him, so be it,” Smith said on the air. “I don’t need to talk to Mike Woodson today. As much as the Knicks stunk out the joint last night, what the hell is there to say?”

Throughout the season, Woodson has been candid while discussing his team with Smith and his partner Ryan Ruocco. During his last appearance, the coach made news when he revealed he would consider benching J.R. Smith.

“I don’t blame them for wanting Mike Woodson to be quiet,” Smith said. “Good move by the Knicks organization — for a change.”

The Knicks have self-destructed in the series and are creeping towards elimination.  They were out-rebounded 54-36 even after the team went bigger on Tuesday night. They must win three games in  a row starting on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

And now James Dolan's paranoid lackeys pump up the controversy.

Woodson did talk to the media who showed up at the Knicks practice at their Greenburgh, N.Y. practice facility on Wednesday afternoon.

J.R. Smith questionable for Game 3 because of illness

New York Knicks sixth man J.R. Smith is questionable for Game 3 against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night due to illness, the team said.

Smith did not participate in shootaround on Saturday morning, according to ESPN.com.

The extent and nature of his illness is unclear but Mike Woodson said Smith woke up with a 102-degree fever and was back with the team doctors at the hotel.

"I got to wait until I get back to see where he is," said the head coach. "We just got to gauge it. I don’t know if he’s going to play tonight. If he don’t, someone else has to step up."

Smith is mired in an extended shooting slump. He's missed 23 of 30 shots in the first two games of the series and has been the focus of the Knicks' woes.  Smith was accused of partying too late on Saturday before the opening game and was fined $5,000 by the NBA for taking a flop in the game.

Carmelo Anthony was a lot more confident, smirking when asked about possibly not having Smith tonight.

"J.R.’s going to play tonight," Anthony said about his teammate

If Smith can't play in Game 3, Iman Shumpert, Pablo Prigioni or Chris Copeland could see an increase in playing time.

I wonder if there is a quick cure for Rihanna-itis.

The series is tied at 1-1.