Bulls’ Longley Might Not Be Back Before Playoffs

Chicago Bull center Luc Longley could be out the rest of the regular season because of a bone bruise on his left knee, an injury that has forced him to sit out 13 games.

“I think it could be a few weeks but I’d like to think I’d be ready for the playoffs,” Longley said before Friday night’s game against Minnesota.

Longley went to Cleveland this week for a second opinion. He’s able to ride a bike and swim but has trouble landing and moving laterally on the floor.

“We’ll have to see how it goes,” he said. “ It could be a question of how painful it is.”

Longley is having his best season with the Bulls, averaging 11.5 points and six rebounds. Chicago was 12-1 in the first 13 games Longley missed.

*

Oliver Miller was suspended for one game without pay by the Toronto Raptors for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

“It was a whole bunch of things,” Coach Butch Carter said.

Sitting out Friday night’s game against the Wizards in Washington will cost Miller about $20,000 in lost salary.

Miller cavorted with the Atlanta mascot during a blowout loss to the Hawks on Wednesday night. He also criticized his teammates on the floor.

In an earlier game against Cleveland, Miller was ejected after an incident under the basket that involved Danny Ferry. After being thrown out, Miller headed for the Cavaliers’ locker room in search of Ferry and had to be turned away by security guards.

Miller saw the suspension as a sign that his stay with the Raptors was coming to an end. His contract expires this summer.

“Another team will pick me up and you can bet I’ll always try extra hard against Toronto,” he said.

*

Philadelphia 76er guard Brian Shaw was put on the injured list because of heel injuries and is expected to be out the rest of the season. Replacing Shaw on the roster is rookie forward Kebu Stewart. . . . Bobby Phills of the Charlotte Hornets, Allan Houston of the New York Knicks, Avery Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs and the Seattle SuperSonics’ Hersey Hawkins were designated divisional winners for the NBA Sportsmanship Award. From that group will come a national winner to be selected by a vote of a national media panel after the season. The award goes each year to the player “who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.”