INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Shaquille O’Neal will have surgery today to repair his injured right thumb. Dr. Thomas Graham of the National Hand Center in Baltimore will perform the surgery.
The Cavaliers said they will update a timeline for his return after the procedure, but a typical recovery period is six to eight weeks. There are seven weeks left in the regular season.
The Cavaliers acquired O’Neal last summer with an eye toward the postseason, and more specifically Dwight Howard and Orlando after the Magic eliminated Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals.
O’Neal injured the thumb Thursday at Boston when his shot was blocked by Glen “Big Baby” Davis.
Anderson Varejao will continue to start at center for the Cavs. Cleveland also recalled rookie Danny Green from Erie of the NBA Development League.
• The Minnesota Timberwolves suspended center Al Jefferson for the next two games without pay after his arrest on suspicion of DWI.
• All-star forward Chris Bosh did not travel with the Toronto Raptors and missed his fifth straight game because of a sprained left ankle. He is day to day.
• Shooting guard Courtney Lee missed the New Jersey Nets’ game with the Washington Wizards because of a sprained left ankle.
Gulbis wins in an upset
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Ernests Gulbis upset second-seeded Ivo Karlovic 6-2, 6-3 to win his first career title at the Delray Beach International Championships.
• Defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan moved into second place on the Open Era doubles titles list, winning their 58th career title at Delray Beach. The Bryans beat Philipp Marx and Igor Zelenay 6-3, 7-6 (3) to snap a tie with Peter Fleming and John McEnroe, and Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan. Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde hold the record of 61 titles.
• Novak Djokovic defended his Dubai Championships title, beating Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in a rain-delayed final.
• Alisa Kleybanova won her first WTA title at the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, beating top-seeded Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-2 in an all-Russian final.
Footnotes.
Two-time Olympic silver medalist Terrence Trammell won the 60-meter hurdles at the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Albuquerque in 7.41 seconds for his fifth U.S. indoor title.
• Wayne Rooney scored his 28th goal of the club season as Manchester United defended the League Cup with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa in Wembley, England.
• Ivory Coast soccer coach Vahid Halilhodzic was fired because of the team’s disappointing performance at the African Cup of Nations in which it failed to reach the semifinals.
• Miguel Starks, a quarterback for The Citadel, has been charged with three others in connection with an armed robbery of a man at his home, Charleston (S.C.) police said. The school did not comment.
• Muscle Hill is harness racing’s horse of the year for a perfect season in which the 3-year-old trotter won all 12 of his races.
The Associated Press
