OKC’S WESTBROOK FINED, GIVEN LATE T
YORK» Russell Westbrook has NEW been fined $10,000 and assessed a postgame technical foul for initiating a confrontation with Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert on Monday.
The league made the announcement Tuesday.
The Oklahoma City Thunder guard came onto the court as a substitution after a stoppage with 7:55 remaining in the fourth quarter of a 113-96 Game 4 loss to the Jazz. He intervened in an incident between Gobert and Oklahoma City backup point guard Raymond Felton.
Westbrook committed four fouls in the first half and finished with five. He had 23 points and 14 rebounds, but had just three assists and made 7-of18 shots.
The Thunder trail the Jazz 3-1 and host Utah on Wednesday in an elimination game.
• The New Orleans Pelicans say they’ve voided around 2,500 playoff tickets that were purchased improperly during a pre-sale event for the second round of the NBA playoffs. The club says the event was designed exclusively for season-tickets holders. But promotion codes provided for the pre-sale were shared with people who were not eligible. The Pelicans say they’ve sought to notify those whose tickets have been voided. They have also notified authorized ticket resellers.
Ex-Ram Prentiss now a Cyclone.
IOWA» Iowa State has added AMES,
Colorado State transfer Prentiss Nixon, a 6-foot-2 guard who averaged a team-high 16.2 points per game as a junior last season for the Rams.
Nixon also hit 152 3-pointers in three seasons at Colorado State. He will sit out next season and be eligible to play in 2019-2020, coach Steve Prohm said Tuesday.
The addition of Nixon, even if only for one season, would help bolster the Cyclones in the event that star point guard Lindell Wigginton bolts for the NBA. Wigginton is unlikely to be drafted this spring, but that could change if he builds on an impressive freshman campaign.
Former Virginia guard-forward Marial Shayok will also sit next season at Iowa State under NCAA transfer rules.
Tar Heels get Buckeyes transfer.
N.C.» North Carolina will CHAPEL HILL, add Ohio State transfer Antonio Williams to its backfield.
The school announced that the running back is transferring with two years of eligibility remaining after he sits out this fall due to NCAA rules. He played in 12 games last year for the Buckeyes and 13 for his career, rushing 63 times for 318 yards and three touchdowns during his time there.
IOC urges honesty.
TOKYO» The head of an IOC inspection team urged organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to be more direct answering questions about progress and planning.
The advice from John Coates, which followed a two-day inspection tour, came a week after several sports federations openly criticized Tokyo’s preparations. The games are just over two years away.
Coates said work is largely on track, but said organizers have hesitated to fully explain their planning. Coates hinted at cultural differences between his direct Australian style and the more reserved Japanese.
“You just have to answer the questions, and be forthright in doing so,” Coates said, sitting next to organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori — a former Japanese prime minister — and CEO Toshiro Muto.
They both sat still and showed little emotion.
“It might not always be in your nature, but I think the questions are going to increasingly come,” Coates added.
Footnote.
Henri Michel, who played for France at the World Cup and later coached the team to the semifinals at the 1986 tournament, has died, according to France’s Professional Footballers Associatation. He was 70.