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11/30/2009 3:31 AM

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Winless Nets fire head coach

Associated Press

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Associated Press

The winless New Jersey Nets fired coach Lawrence Frank on Sunday, a few hours before they attempted to avoid matching the worst start in NBA history.

Assistant Tom Barrise temporarily replaced his friend, coaching the 0-16 Nets against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Though Frank's departure had been widely rumored while New Jersey lost every game in the season's first 41/2 weeks, Frank's players claimed they were shocked when their energetic coach showed up at their morning team meeting in Los Angeles not wearing his Nets gear.

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"It's tough, because he was the hardest worker on the team," center Brook Lopez said. "He's so passionate about what he does. It was a rough situation, and he did a great job of not using our injuries as an excuse. He came in every night and had us prepared."

The Nets won't choose a permanent replacement for Frank until they return from their four-game road trip today. Their next game is Wednesday at home against Dallas.

Frank's 225 victories are the most in franchise history, and he had a career .500 record before this disastrous, injury-plagued season.

"He wasn't dealt a royal flush," said Rafer Alston, who joined New Jersey in the June trade sending star scorer Vince Carter to Orlando and gutting the Nets' payroll. "It's almost like he had a pair of 2's, and he tried to fight."

Phoenix 113, Toronto 94: Steve Nash had 20 points and 16 assists, Jason Richardson scored 22 points and the Phoenix Suns won their fourth straight game, 113-94 over the Toronto Raptors.

Amare Stoudemire had 18 points and Leandro Barbosa added 17 before leaving with a sore left ankle. Channing Frye scored 15 as Phoenix won its 12th straight over Toronto.

Detroit 94, Atlanta 88: Ben Wallace had 18 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards, to help the undermanned Detroit Pistons end a seven-game losing streak with a 94-88 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Rodney Stuckey had 23 points and eight assists for Detroit, which was again without starters Richard Hamilton (ankle), Tayshaun Prince (back) and Ben Gordon (ankle). Will Bynum added 19 points off the bench.

L.A. Clippers 98, Memphis 88: Eric Gordon scored 29 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 98-88 on Sunday, giving coach Mike Dunleavy his 600th regular-season victory.

Boston 92, Miami 85: Kevin Garnett scored 24 points on 11 of 12 shooting, Ray Allen delivered the big blow with a 3-pointer with 1:38 left and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Miami Heat 92-85.

San Antonio 97, Philadelphia 89: Tim Duncan scored 22 points and the San Antonio Spurs won their fifth straight with a 97-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

©2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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