Knicks C Curry practices for first time (AP) New York Knicks center Eddy Curry practiced for the first time this season Monday after he was sidelined last week because of a bacterial infection. Curry missed the Knicks' entire training camp in Saratoga Springs, leaving his hotel room only for visits to Saratoga Hospital. That cost him valuable time as he tries to grasp new coach Mike D'Antoni's system. Mavericks hire Westphal as executive VP (AP) Former NBA head coach Paul Westphal was hired as the Mavericks' executive vice president of basketball operations on Monday. Westphal, who was a Dallas assistant coach last season, will assist general manager Donnie Nelson and work in scouting. When Westphal was hired before last season to be on former coach Avery Johnson's staff he had been out of the NBA since being fired as Seattle's coach 15... Evans, Law lift Hawks over Magic (AP) Reserve guards Maurice Evans and Acie Law scored 17 and 20 points respectively, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 118-101 Monday night in the preseason opener for both teams. Rashard Lewis led Orlando with 22 points. Olympian Dwight Howard had 17 points, five rebounds and eight blocks. The block total matches Howard's regular-season best. Heat's Beasley scores 16 in debut (AP) Michael Beasley only wanted to see a movie. So on Saturday night, he left his new house in the Coconut Grove section of Miami, headed to a nearby theater and tried to get tickets for "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist." Small problem: Word of the Heat first-rounder's presence leaked, and the 19-year-old was quickly mobbed by dozens of people. Hornets' Chandler OK after ankle sprain (AP) Hornets center Tyson Chandler sprained his right ankle in the first quarter of New Orleans' preseason opener against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night. Chandler sat out the rest of the game, but returned to the bench in his warmups to watch the second half and stood without apparent pain to chat with teammates during timeouts. Rivers happy with Celtics training camp (AP) Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers canceled training camp practice scheduled for Monday, saying he wants to give the defending NBA champions a day off before they prepare for their first preseason game. Boston takes on the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday at the University of Massachusetts' flagship campus in Amherst. Heat sign PG Shaun Livingston (AP) Shaun Livingston has never seen the gruesome video of himself grabbing a loose ball near midcourt, dribbling three times, going in for a layup attempt and having his left knee shred on the landing. He doesn't intend to watch it anytime soon, either. "I'm not focusing on the past. I'm just really looking forward," Livingston said. add RSS feeds to any website