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2B Daily News ��� Friday, December 28, 2012 Net loss: Brooklyn fires coach NEW YORK (AP) ��� Coach of the month in November, out of a job by New Year���s. The Brooklyn Nets have elevated expectations this season, and a .500 record wasn���t good enough. Coach Avery Johnson was fired Thursday, his team having lost 10 of 13 games after a strong start to its first season in Brooklyn. ������We don���t have the same fire now than we did when we were 11-4,������ general manager Billy King said at a news conference in East Rutherford, N.J. ������I tried to talk to Avery about it and we just can���t figure it out. The same pattern kept on happening.������ Assistant P.J. Carlesimo will coach the Nets on an interim basis, starting Friday night with a home game against Charlotte. King said the Nets might reach out to other candidates, but for now the job was Carlesimo���s. The GM wouldn���t comment on a report that the team planned to get in touch with former Lakers coach Phil Jackson. King said the decision to dismiss Johnson was made by ownership after a phone discussion Thursday morning. Owner Mikhail Prokhorov had expressed faith in Johnson before the season. ������With the direction we were going we felt we had to make a change,������ King said. Johnson was in the final year of a three-year, $12 million contract. ������It���s a really disappointing day for me and my family. It���s my wife���s birthday. It���s not a great birthday gift,������ Johnson said. ������I didn���t see this coming. But this is ownership���s decision. It���s part of the business. Fair or unfair, it���s time for a new voice and hopefully they���ll get back on track.������ The Nets have fallen well behind the first-place New York Knicks, the team they so badly want to compete START (Continued from page 1B) passes for 115 yards, no touchdowns and one interception for a 45.7 passer rating. ������I felt a little rusty,������ Leinart said. ������I think my footwork, for me, wasn���t as good as I wanted it to be, and what I work on. But I think again, that was just kind of getting in there, hadn���t played in a while. But it is what it is, moved on and watched the film and been practicing well this week and just trying to correct those mistakes.������ Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp acknowledged the difficult situation Leinart went into but was disappointed in his play. Knapp was particularly upset by an interception late in the first half that led to a Panthers touchdown and a ball Leinart threw away on fourth down late in the game. with in their new home. But after beating the Knicks in their first meeting Nov. 26, probably the high point of Johnson���s tenure, the Nets went 5-10 and frustrations have been mounting. ������Our goal is to get to the conference finals,������ King said. ������We started out good and then we stumbled. We have to get back to playing winning basketball. It���s the entire team. It���s not like golf, where Tiger Woods can blame the caddie. It takes five guys on the court and they���re all struggling. We have to figure out the ways to get back to winning. I don���t know what happened. I���m not sure. But unfortunately, it did happen.������ The Nets were embarrassed by Boston on national TV on Christmas, then were routed by Milwaukee 10893 on Wednesday night for their fifth loss in six games. Star guard Deron Williams recently complained about Johnson���s offense, and Nets CEO Brett Yormark took to Twitter after the loss to Celtics to voice his displeasure with the performance. King said the change was not made because Williams was unhappy, and he added the point guard himself has to play better. Johnson also stood by Williams. ������From Day One, I always had a really good relationship with him. I don���t think it���s fair for anyone to hang this on Deron,������ Johnson said. ������We were just going through a bad streak, a bad spell. It���s not time for me to be down on one player. That would be the easy way.������ Brooklyn started the season 11-4, winning five in a row to end November, when Johnson was Eastern Conference coach of the month. But he couldn���t do anything to stop this slump, one the Nets never anticipated after a $350 million summer spending spree they believed would take them toward ������He didn���t play as well as I would have liked,������ Knapp said. ������I wished his footwork would have been better on a consistent basis. It���s hard for any backup quarterback to come in on short notice without any reps, but that comes with the job. You got to know that going in. He struggled a little bit with the footwork and his consistency. He had it sometimes but not all the time.������ The Raiders have an interesting decision this week. Coach Dennis Allen said Pryor wasn���t ready to be the backup last week but could start this week after getting more practice time than usual. Allen and general manager Reggie McKenzie have talked about wanting to get a better look at Pryor down the stretch, but whether that���s as a part-time player or a starter remains to be seen. ������I think I deserve to play, I deserve to start, not sure what���s going to happen, but Oakland Raiders San Diego Chargers Sunday 1:25 p.m. CBS OAKLAND (4-11) At SAN DIEGO (6-9) OPENING LINE ��� OFF RECORD VS. SPREAD ��� Oakland 4-11; San Diego 7-8 SERIES RECORD ��� Raiders lead 58-46-2 AP PRO32 RANKING ��� Chargers No. 21; Raiders No. 30 LAST MEETING ��� Chargers beat Raiders 22-14, Sept. 10 LAST WEEK ��� Raiders lost to Panthers 17-6; Chargers beat Jets 27-17 RAIDERS OFFENSE ��� OVERALL (18), RUSH (29), PASS (8) RAIDERS DEFENSE ��� OVERALL (21), RUSH (20T), PASS (22) CHARGERS OFFENSE ��� OVERALL (29), RUSH (27), PASS (23) CHARGERS DEFENSE ��� OVERALL (11), RUSH (4), PASS (18) STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES ��� Chargers coach Norv Turner, general manager A.J. Smith expected to be fired after season since Chargers out of playoffs for third straight season. Turner 113-122-1 in three stints as head coach, including at Oakland from 2004-05. ... Chargers can thank Raiders fans for sellout that lifted TV blackout in Southern California. Previous three Chargers home games were blacked out after several thousand tickets for each game went unsold. ... Chargers had four blackouts this season. ... Chargers had no players selected to Pro Bowl for first time since 2003, when they were NFL-worst 4-12. Six seasons ago, Chargers had 11 Pro Bowlers, including five starters. ... Raiders also had no players picked for AFC roster. ... Teams have combined for 10 wins; four of them have been against Kansas City (2-13), which is last in AFC West. ... Raiders coach Dennis Allen says it���s possible both Matt Leinart and Terrelle Pryor could play after starting QB Carson Palmer went out with cracked ribs and bruised lung after being hit from behind by Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy. ... Chargers have won seven of last nine home games vs. Raiders. ... Chargers scored one TD in season-opening 22-14 win at Oakland on Sept. 10, relying on five FGs from Nate Kaeding, who was released Oct. 30. the top of their conference. Johnson has been the Nets��� coach for a little more than two seasons. He went 60-116 with the Nets, who moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn to start the season. Johnson coached the Dallas Mavericks to a spot in the NBA Finals in 2006. ������You don���t always get a fair shake as a coach,������ Johnson said. ������I���m not the owner. If I were the owner, I wouldn���t have fired myself today. But life is not always necessary fair. It���s a business and in this business, the coach always gets blamed.������ This is the NBA���s second coaching change this season following the dismissal of Mike Brown by the Los Angeles Lakers. Johnson arrived in New Jersey with a 194-70 record, a .735 winning percentage that was the highest in NBA history, but had little chance of success in his first two seasons while the Nets focused all their planning on the move to Brooklyn. They looked to make a splash this summer when they re-signed Williams and fellow starters Gerald Wallace, Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries, traded for Atlanta All-Star Joe Johnson, and added veteran depth with players such as Reggie Evans, C.J. Watson and Andray Blatche. Johnson didn���t have a contract beyond this season but seemed to have the confidence of Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire who before the season said he had faith in ������the Avery defense system.������ Some thought the Nets would finish as high as second in the East behind defending champion Miami, and the predictions seemed warranted when the Nets started quickly amid much fanfare. But all the good publicity faded in recent weeks once the losing started. that���s all you can do -- just keep preparing, keep working hard, be here, be accountable and whatever happens, whatever decision is made, that���s what���s made,������ Leinart said. ������If they want to start Terrelle and evaluate him and see what he can do, then I���ll support that and I���ll help him this week and help him during the game. But if they make me the starter and stuff, I���m just going to go out there and try to capitalize on that opportunity.������ Palmer won���t travel to the game because of the bruised lung but Leinart said he is doing better even though he is moving around slowly. ������He���s one of the toughest guys I���ve ever been around,������ Leinart said. ������When he was laying on the ground I knew something was wrong because he���s normally up, not matter what. He���s the type of guy who will never tell you if something���s wrong, and obviously, he took a big shot, but he���ll be fine.������ NOTES: The Raiders placed DT Richard Seymour on IR with a hamstring injury. Seymour missed the final eight games of the season with the injury and is eligible for free agency in the offseason. ... G Mike Brisiel has passed the concussion protocol but is still sidelined by an ankle injury which could give rookie Tony Bergstrom a chance to start. ... DBs Tyvon Branch (neck, ankle) and Phillip Adams (groin) and RB Mike Goodson (illness) did not practice. Arizona Cardinals San Francisco 49ers Sunday 1:25 p.m. FOX ARIZONA (5-10) at SAN FRANCISCO (10-4-1) OPENING LINE ��� San Francisco by 15 RECORD VS. SPREAD ��� Arizona 6-8-1; San Francisco 9-6 SERIES RECORD ��� 49ers lead 25-17 AP PRO32 RANKING ��� San Francisco No. 6; Arizona No. 27 LAST MEETING ��� 49ers beat Cardinals 24-3, Oct. 29 LAST WEEK ��� 49ers lost to Seahawks 42-13; Cardinals lost to Bears 28-13 CARDINALS OFFENSE ��� OVERALL (32), RUSH (32), PASS (28) CARDINALS DEFENSE ��� OVERALL (12), RUSH (28), PASS (3) 49ERS OFFENSE ��� OVERALL (11), RUSH (4), PASS (25) 49ERS DEFENSE ��� OVERALL (2), RUSH (6), PASS (4) STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES ��� 49ers can clinch NFC West for second straight season with win or Seattle loss against St. Louis. If 49ers win and Green Bay loses at Minnesota, San Francisco will earn No. 2 playoff seed and first-round bye. If 49ers lose and Seattle wins, San Francisco will be wild-card team and head on road for first round. ... Arizona has lost 10 of last 11 games. ... Bryan Hoyer will be fourth different quarterback to start for Cardinals this season. ... Aldon Smith needs three sacks to equal Michael Strahan���s single-season record of 22 1/2 set with New York Giants in 2001. Smith has not had sack in consecutive weeks for first time this season. ... Michael Crabtree is 67 yards shy of becoming San Francisco���s first 1,000-yard receiver since Terrell Owens (1,102) in 2003. ... 49ers 7-0 following loss or tie under coach Jim Harbaugh. ... Alex Smith completed 18 of 19 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns in San Francisco���s 24-3 rout at Arizona on Monday Night Football on Oct. 29. Smith has since been replaced by Colin Kaepernick, who is 4-2 as starter. ... Larry Fitzgerald caught eight passes for 111 yards in Arizona���s 28-13 loss to Chicago last week. It was first time since Sept. 23 against Philadelphia he broke century mark. Fitzgerald had 89 yards receiving in last five games combined. He has 69 receptions for 785 yards. ... 49ers DL Justin Smith missed last week���s loss at Seattle with elbow injury, snapping streak of 185 straight starts. He is not expected to play Sunday. ... 49ers K David Akers has made at least one field goal in 32 consecutive games. That���s second-longest streak in NFL history behind Matt Stover, who had 38-game streak with Baltimore from 1998-2001. BOWL (Continued from page 1B) board. He went over the 4,000-yard passing mark for the season, hitting Kyle Nunn for a 33-yard score to give the Spartans a firstquarter lead and finding the stutter-stepping Chandler Jones for an 18-yard reception that put San Jose State back in front, 19-13, in the third quarter. Bowling Green retook the lead in the fourth quarter with a 68-yard drive, finished off by John Pettigrew���s 1-yard run with 10:26 remaining. But Fales went 7 for 10 on a 68-yard march that got well within range for Lopez, who had a perfect season ��� making all 17 of his field goal attempts. The Spartans then forced a turnover that led to Eskridge���s clinching touchdown. Lopez was less fortunate as an emergency punter after Harrison Waid was injured on San Jose State���s first punt of the game. Lopez���s first punt was blocked, setting up a Bowling Green field goal. It was the first of two blocked punts in the game. San Jose State���s Bene Benwikere got his hand on one NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division W L Clippers 22 6 WARRIORS 19 10 Lakers 14 15 Phoenix 11 18 KINGS 9 19 Southwest Division W L San Antonio 22 8 Memphis 18 8 Houston 16 12 Dallas 12 17 New Orleans 6 22 Northwest Division W L Oklahoma City 22 6 Denver 16 14 Portland 14 13 Minnesota 13 13 Utah 15 15 Pct .786 .655 .483 .379 .321 GB ��� 3.5 8.5 11.5 13 Pct .733 .692 .571 .414 .214 GB ��� 2 5 9.5 15 Pct .786 .533 .519 .500 .500 GB ��� 7 7.5 8 8 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB New York 21 8 .724 ��� Boston 14 13 .519 6 Brooklyn 14 14 .500 6.5 Philadelphia 14 15 .483 7 Toronto 9 20 .310 12 Southeast Division W L Pct GB Miami 20 6 .769 ��� Atlanta 17 9 .654 3 Orlando 12 16 .429 9 Charlotte 7 21 .250 14 Washington 3 23 .115 17 Central Division W L Pct GB Indiana 16 12 .571 ��� Chicago 15 12 .556 .5 Milwaukee 15 12 .556 .5 Detroit 9 22 .290 8.5 Cleveland 7 23 .233 10 ������������������������������������������������������ Thursday���s results Oklahoma City 111, Dallas 105, OT Boston at L.A. Clippers, late Today���s games New York at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Philadelphia at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Orlando at Washington, 4 p.m. Phoenix at Indiana, 4 p.m. Atlanta at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m. Charlotte at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. Miami at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Toronto at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Denver at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Houston at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Utah, 6 p.m. Portland at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Saturday���s games Boston at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Indiana at Atlanta, 4 p.m. New Orleans at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Toronto at Orlando, 4 p.m. Cleveland at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. Washington at Chicago, 5 p.m. Oklahoma City at Houston, 5 p.m. Denver at Memphis, 5 p.m. Phoenix at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Miami at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Portland, 7 p.m. NBA LEADERS Through Dec. 26 SCORING AVERAGE G FG FT PTS AVG Bryant, LAL 29 300 212 876 30.2 Anthony, NYK 24 235 152 684 28.5 Durant, OK 27 245 225 758 28.1 Harden, HOU 27 206 233 697 25.8 James, MIA 26 259 111 665 25.6 Westbrook, OK 27 199 141 578 21.4 Aldridge, POR 25 210 108 528 21.1 Pierce, BOS 27 180 143 553 20.5 Curry, GOL 29 202 97 588 20.3 Wade, MIA 23 175 107 464 20.2 REBOUNDS PER GAME G OFFDEF TOT AVG Varejao, CLE 25 138 223 361 14.4 Randolph, MEM 26 124 204 328 12.6 Asik, HOU 28 93 238 331 11.8 Howard, LAL 29 105 236 341 11.8 Lee, GOL 29 93 231 324 11.2 Hickson, POR 26 108 180 288 11.1 Noah, CHI 27 98 187 285 10.6 Jefferson, UTA 29 65 230 295 10.2 Duncan, SAN 29 51 240 291 10.0 Faried, DEN 30 121 180 301 10.0 Chandler, NYK 29 122 167 289 10.0 ASSISTS PER GAME G ASTAVG Rondo, BOS 24 286 11.9 Paul, LAC 28 266 9.5 Holiday, PHL 25 221 8.8 Vasquez, NOR 28 242 8.6 Westbrook, OK 27 233 8.6 Williams, Bro 27 216 8.0 Calderon, TOR 29 220 7.6 Parker, SAN 28 201 7.2 Lawson, DEN 30 214 7.1 James, MIA 26 180 6.9 STEALS PER GAME G STL AVG Paul, LAC 28 76 2.71 Conley, MEM 25 61 2.44 Jennings, MIL 27 58 2.15 Rondo, BOS 24 50 2.08 Westbrook, OK 27 56 2.07 Kidd, NYK 25 47 1.88 Walker, CHA 28 52 1.86 Allen, MEM 23 42 1.83 Harden, HOU 27 49 1.81 Lin, HOU 28 49 1.75 BLOCKED SHOTS PER GAME G BLKAVG Ibaka, OKC 27 81 3.00 Sanders, MIL 26 78 3.00 Hibbert, IND 28 80 2.86 Duncan, SAN 29 73 2.52 Howard, LAL 29 73 2.52 Lopez, Bro 21 50 2.38 Noah, CHI 27 58 2.15 Lopez, NOR 28 59 2.11 Smith, ATL 25 52 2.08 Gortat, PHX 29 58 2.00 in the second half. The ball went out of the end zone for a safety that cut Bowling Green���s lead to 13-12. Soon, Fales had the Spartans back in front. ������Two years ago, we were 2-10,������ Clawson said. ������We were awful. A year ago we made a nice step that we went from being awful to average. I felt this was a team that could make that next step, and we won three more games. ... We found a way to get from five to eight. Now we have to find a way to get from eight to 11.������ The Military Bowl was supposed to pit Army against an ACC team, but Army isn���t bowl-eligible and the ACC didn���t have enough bowl-eligible schools to fulfill its bowl tie-ins. As a result, there was little excitement for the game in the nation���s capital. The upper deck of RFK Stadium was virtually empty during the second half of the MAC-WAC matchup, and the attendance was announced as 17,835. NFL AFC West W y-Denver 12 San Diego 6 RAIDERS 4 Kansas City 2 East W y-New Eng. 11 Miami 7 N.Y. Jets 6 Buffalo 5 South W y-Houston 12 x-Indy 10 Tennessee 5 Jacksonville 2 North W y-Baltimore 10 x-Cincinnati 9 Pittsburgh 7 Cleveland 5 L 3 9 11 13 T 0 0 0 0 Pct .800 .400 .267 .133 PF 443 326 269 208 PA 286 329 419 387 L 4 8 9 10 T 0 0 0 0 Pct .733 .467 .400 .333 PF 529 288 272 316 PA 331 289 347 426 L 3 5 10 13 T 0 0 0 0 Pct .800 .667 .333 .133 PF 400 329 292 235 PA 303 371 451 406 L 5 6 8 10 T 0 0 0 0 Pct .667 .600 .467 .333 PF 381 368 312 292 PA 321 303 304 344 NFC West W 10 10 7 5 L 4 5 7 10 T 1 0 1 0 Pct .700 .667 .500 .333 PF 370 392 286 237 PA 260 232 328 330 W 9 8 8 4 L 6 7 7 11 T 0 0 0 0 Pct .600 .533 .533 .267 PF 408 358 387 273 PA 370 372 337 402 W 13 7 6 6 L 2 8 9 9 T 0 0 0 0 Pct .867 .467 .400 .400 PF 402 423 367 313 PA 277 410 377 325 W y-Green Bay 11 Minnesota 9 Chicago 9 Detroit 4 L 4 6 6 11 T 0 0 0 0 Pct .733 .600 .600 .267 PF 399 342 349 348 PA 299 314 253 411 x-49ERS x-Seattle St. Louis Arizona East Washington Dallas N.Y. Giants Philadelphia South z-Atlanta N. Orleans Tampa Bay Carolina North x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division z-clinched home field ������������������������������������������������������ Sunday���s games Arizona at San Francisco, 1:25 p.m. Oakland at San Diego, 1:25 p.m. Baltimore at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. Carolina at New Orleans, 10 a.m. Chicago at Detroit, 10 a.m. Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. Houston at Indianapolis, 10 a.m. Jacksonville at Tennessee, 10 a.m. N.Y. Jets at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m. Tampa Bay at Atlanta, 10 a.m. Green Bay at Minnesota, 1:25 p.m. Kansas City at Denver, 1:25 p.m. Miami at New England, 1:25 p.m. St. Louis at Seattle, 1:25 p.m. Dallas at Washington, 5:20 p.m. Playoff Scenarios AFC CLINCHED: Houston, AFC South; Denver, AFC West; New England, AFC East; Baltimore, AFC North; Indianapolis, No. 5 playoff spot; Cincinnati, No. 6 playoff spot. HOUSTON (at Indianapolis) Clinches first-round bye with: ��� Win or tie, or ��� New England loss or tie, or ��� Denver loss Clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with: ��� Win, or ��� Tie AND Denver loss or tie, or ��� New England loss or tie AND Denver loss DENVER (vs. Kansas City) Clinches first-round bye with: ��� Win or tie, or ��� New England loss or tie Clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with: ��� Win AND Houston loss or tie, or ��� Tie AND Houston loss NEW ENGLAND (vs. Miami) Clinches first-round bye with: ��� Win AND Denver or Houston loss Clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with: ��� Win AND Denver and Houston loss NFC CLINCHED: Atlanta, NFC South and home-field advantage; Green Bay, NFC North; San Francisco, playoff spot; Seattle, playoff spot GREEN BAY (at Minnesota) Clinches first-round bye with: ��� Win, or ��� Tie AND San Francisco loss or tie, or ��� San Francisco loss AND Seattle loss or tie SAN FRANCISCO (vs. Arizona) Clinches NFC West with: ��� Win or tie, or ��� Seattle loss or tie Clinches first-round bye with: ��� Win AND Green Bay loss or tie, or ��� Tie AND Green Bay loss SEATTLE (vs. St. Louis) Clinches NFC West with: ��� Win AND San Francisco loss Clinches first-round bye with: ��� Win AND San Francisco loss AND Green Bay loss WASHINGTON (vs. Dallas) Clinches NFC East with: ��� Win or tie Clinches playoff spot with: ��� Chicago loss AND Minnesota loss DALLAS (at Washington) Clinches NFC East with: ��� Win NEW YORK GIANTS (vs. Philadelphia) Clinches playoff spot with: ��� Win AND Dallas loss or tie AND Chicago loss AND Minnesota loss MINNESOTA (vs. Green Bay) Clinches playoff spot with: ��� Win, or ��� Tie AND Chicago loss or tie, or ��� Dallas loss or tie AND N.Y. Giants loss or tie AND Chicago loss CHICAGO (at Detroit) Clinches playoff spot with: ��� Win AND Minnesota loss or tie, or ��� Tie AND Minnesota loss