Cavs coach Lue returns as observer, not on bench
Tyronn Lue is back around the Cavaliers.
Cleveland’s coach, who has been away from the team for medical reasons, attended Friday night’s game against New Orleans. Lue remained off the floor, however, not sitting on the bench.
Lue announced he was leaving the club on March 19, saying he experienced chest pains and “other troubling symptoms” this season. The 40-year-old missed two games earlier in the year with illness.
Lue, who took over the Cavs midway through the 2016 season and guided them to an NBA championship, last coached in a game on March 17 in Chicago. But after the first half, he remained in the locker room and did not return.
Associate head coach
Larry Drew has been coaching the Cavaliers in Lue’s absence.
It’s still not clear when Lue will return to the team in a full capacity, but he could be back in the near future.
The Cavs also got back All-Star forward Kevin
Love after he missed one game with a concussion suffered Tuesday in Miami.
Forward Kyle Korver rejoined the team following his younger brother’s funeral but wasn’t ready to play because of a sore right foot.
Kings support protesters
The struggling Sacramento Kings find themselves in the national spotlight and it has nothing to do with another disappointing NBA season in their sparkling new twoyear-old arena.
The Kings have turned their attention to demonstrators who have joined hand-in-hand on game nights to block entrances to the building.
The wave of protests stem from the March 18 fatal shooting by police of
Stephon Clark, a 22-yearold unarmed black man.
The Kings have embraced their role in the situation and have been supportive of both the Clark family and the protesters.
The demonstrations could grow in numbers this weekend. Sacramento police shot Clark eight times — seven from behind, according to autopsy results released Friday — and the Kings play host to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
Former Kings players
DeMarcus Cousins and Matt Barnes offered to pay for Clark’s funeral. Barnes, a Sacramento native who spent part of last season with the Kings, also was a pallbearer at the funeral and has organized a march prior to Saturday’s game against the Warriors.
Griffin has bone bruise
•The Detroit Pistons say former Oklahoma star
Blake Griffin has a bone bruise on his right ankle and will be evaluated again in a week.
Griffin was scratched from Thursday night’s win over Washington and had an MRI that night. The Pistons say a timetable for his return will be provided “as appropriate” — Detroit’s playoff chances are slim, and the regular-season finale is April 11.
Schroder also has MRI
•Point guard Dennis
Schroder will miss the Atlanta Hawks’ final seven games with a medial bone bruise and a sprained left ankle.
The team said Schroder, its leading scorer, underwent an MRI on Friday. Expected recovery time is at least two weeks.
Bulls’ Lopez fined $25,000
•Chicago Bulls center
Robin Lopez has been fined $25,000 for yelling at officials and failing to leave the court quickly enough after he was ejected from a game against the Miami Heat.
The league announced the fine on Friday for Lopez’s behavior in the fourth quarter of Chicago’s 103-92 loss to Miami on Thursday.
Lopez picked up a pair of technicals with 8:43 remaining, and he gestured and pointed as he yelled at officials while walking off the floor.