Los Angeles  - Spaniards Rudy Fernandez of the Portland Trail Blazers and Mar Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies will try to snap a six-game stranglehold the Sophomores have over the first-year players, after being selected on Wednesday to the Rookie Challenge Team.

The event kicks off next month's NBA All-Star Weekend, February 13-15 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, the first overall pick in the 2008 draft, leads the rookies team, which is highlighted by two sets of teammates.

Los Angeles  - The Charlotte Bobcats beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, but it came with a price.

Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace was diagnosed with having 30-40 per cent of his left lung collapsed and a non-displaced fracture of the fifth rib following a CT-Scan at Centinela Hospital in Los Angeles, the team announced.

Wallace had a chest tube inserted into the lung to help restore it to functional capacity, but will remain in the hospital over the next 48 hours for observation. Additional information about his progress and a timetable for his return will be updated in the coming days ahead.

Los Angeles  - Marc Iavaroni was fired as Memphis Grizzlies head coach late Thursday night due to a poor record, the club told the Commercial Appeal daily.

Former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, currently an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks, is expected to be named Iavaroni's successor over the weekend.

He will add former Philadelphia 76ers head coach Maurice Cheeks and LA Clippers coach Barry Hecker as assistants, according to the newspaper.

Los Angeles  - Paul Pierce didn't like looking up at the Orlando Magic in the standings, so he and the reigning league champions did something about it.

Pierce had 27 points with 10 rebounds and Glen "Big Baby" Davis scored a season-high 16 as the Celtics rolled to their seventh straight win by clamping down on the Magic for a 90-80 victory on Thursday night in a showdown between two of the league's elite teams.

"This was a very big game for us. We wanted to make a statement on the road," Pierce said.

Los Angeles  - Dwight Howard put on a red Superman cape last year and soared to a resounding victory in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. This year, the Orlando Magic centre didn't need any superpowers to become the first player in NBA All-Star Game balloting history to top 3 million votes.

Los Angeles  - In the end, Alonzo Mourning chose his health rather than another comeback, and the seven-time All-Star centre officially retired Thursday.

"That's what it's all about, it's my health," Mourning said during a press conference at Miami's American Airlines Arena. "My health is more important than anything.

"So many of us take it for granted, underestimate it until something seriously happens to us. I've gone down with something seriously physically happening to me, and I can surely appreciate my health at this particular state that I'm in right now."