Hooped Up

Portland Trail Blazer forward Zach Randolph has been granted bereavement leave effective immediately, the team announced Monday.

No details were given. “All we are saying is what was issued in the statement,” Blazer spokeswoman Robyn Jamilosa said.

The team announcement said Randolph, their leading scorer, will rejoin the Trail Blazers at some point during the team’s upcoming four-game road trip.

ESPN

Jalen Rose is getting another chance. Rose, buried on the bench for 38 games after arriving in Phoenix in November, will be an option again after coming up with eight points in six minutes during the Suns’ debacle Saturday at Denver, Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said.

Rose got only a brief tryout after he was waived by the New York Knicks and picked up by the Suns, evidently because D’Antoni deemed Rose too slow for Phoenix’s high-octane offense.

Even now, he cautions that moves such as re-inserting Rose “are like side dishes. Our main group has to play well.”

Rose, 34, also took a low-key approach to his inclusion in the rotation.

“I will be a versatile player as I have been for 13 years and I’ll try to do what I can to contribute.”

“We have a great team. We have three All-Stars. I’m here to supplement that.”

East Valley Tribune

A group of NBA executives and scouts has descended on southern China to watch top Chinese players Yi Jianlian and Wang Zhizhi battle it out in the China Basketball Association finals.

Top officials from the Chicago Bulls , Philadelphia 76ers , Golden State Warriors , Phoenix Suns and New Jersey Nets watched Wang’s Bayi Rockets dispatch Yi’s Guangdong Tigers 94-89 in Sunday night’s opening game.

Their presence dominated Chinese press reports.

Yahoo

The Cavs don’t expect the NBA office to levy a fine on Scot Pollard for his bad “hey kids, do drugs” joke on television last week. The team, however, did hit Pollard with a fine, which will not be announced.

Akron Beacon Journal

Fights between fans during a championship high school basketball game at Madison Square Garden turned into a melee that spilled into the streets and subways, drawing police on horseback and in riot gear.

Gunfire was heard as the crowd went from the arena to Times Square, but no injuries were reported, police said.

Twenty-one people, mostly teenagers, were arrested, police said. Some were charged with disorderly conduct or resisting arrest and one was arrested on a riot charge.

Chicago Tribune

With his latest 50 point game, Kobe Bryant took over the NBA scoring lead from Nuggets Carmelo Anthony. It’s the first time Anthony hasn’t led since games entering Nov. 18. Bryant is averaging 30.0 points to 29.75 for Anthony.

“We talked about going to Kobe early in games and not waiting,” coach Phil Jackson said. “He had been playing the team role, feeling the game out and waiting ’til the second half to get going. But there’s just not enough time right now in the season to develop that.”

Rocky Mountain News

Peja Stojakovic hasn’t played since November 24 because of a back injury that ultimately required surgery on December 17. Hornets head coach Byron Scott ruled out Stojakovic for the team’s games against the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies on March 19-20, but he estimated it being a 30 percent chance of Stojakovic playing Friday March 23 against the Los Angeles Lakers in New Orleans.

NBA

Pau Gasol may not be a member of the Bulls, but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t want to be when he requested a trade out of Memphis.

“The Bulls are a very good team,” said Gasol, addressing Chicago reporters Saturday for the first time since trade talks between John Paxson and Grizzlies general manager Jerry West failed. “They’re very talented and have very good options to move forward and become a dominant team in the East.

“I think they’re a young team and have the right pieces. I just think they need somebody in there to provide the scoring and control the tempo of the game a little better, especially down the stretch.”

Asked if the Bulls were one team he had in mind when he went to Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley about his desire to play for a contender, Gasol said, “absolutely.”

Chicago Tribune