NBA Roundup: Anthony likely NBA scoring winner, FBI met with Rodman

By The Sports Xchange | The SportsXchange
The NBA will have a new winner of the regular-season scoring title.

Three-time defending scoring champion Kevin Durant of theOklahoma City Thunder said he would sit out Wednesday night's regular-season finale against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Durant posted Wednesday morning on Instagram that he would not play. Even if he did, the scoring title would have been long shot. Durant needed 70 points to overtake New York Knicks forwardCarmelo Anthony. Durant's career high is 52.

Thunder coach Scott Brooks told The Daily Oklahoman, "He has no shot. I guarantee you he won't get it."

Durant has averaged 28.1 points to Anthony's 28.7 in 14 more games than the Knicks All-Star. Injuries have limited Anthony's playing time this season.

---THE FBI met recently with former NBA player Dennis Rodman to seek information about his trip to North Korea earlier this year.

After Rodman received worldwide attention when he visited the country and its leader, Kim Jong Un, in February, he said the FBI sought him out to ask questions and learn more about the political climate in the Communist nation that has heightened international tensions with its nuclear program.

Rodman, the flamboyant figure and Hall of Famer, a diplomat? Rodman, 51, wasn't representing the U.S. government on the trip with the Harlem Globetrotters for a new HBO series.

Of Kim, who assumed power in 2011, and his treatment of the North Korean people, Rodman said, "As a person to person, he's my friend. I don't condone what he does."

---New York Knicks forward Rasheed Wallace has retired again from the NBA, effective immediately.

The Knicks announced that Wallace won't be with the team for the playoffs. The 38-year-old ended his two-year retirement in October to join the Knicks, but injuries limited his playing time this season.

Wallace played four minutes on Monday night against Charlotte in his first action since Dec. 13 after suffering a stress fracture in his right foot, but the soreness was still there.

A four-time All-Star during his 15-year career with four teams, Wallace played in 21 games this season and averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds. His career averages are 14.4 points and 6.7 rebounds.

Wallace had retired after spending the 2010 season with the Boston Celtics.

The Knicks have yet to announce whether they would fill Wallace's spot on the roster.

---San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili was expected to play Wednesday night in the regular-season finale against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The veteran's minutes were to be limited, coach Gregg Popovich told the media Wednesday morning. Ginobili has missed the Spurs' past nine games with a strained hamstring.

The Spurs (58-23) will begin the NBA playoffs later this week as the second seed behind Oklahoma City in the Western Conference.

---The Golden State Warriors signed guard Scott Machado and forward-center Dwayne Jones from the NBA Developmental League.

Machado, 22, has appeared in 28 D-League regular-season games with Santa Cruz and Rio Grande Valley in 2012-13, averaging 8.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists.

Jones, 29, averaged 8.8 points and 12.6 rebounds in 21 games with Texas in the D-League this season. The D-League veteran has played in 82 NBA games in five seasons with Boston, Cleveland, Charlotte and Phoenix. His last appearance in the NBA came in 2010 with the Suns.