Hornets’ Davis Not Ready

New Orleans Hornet guard Baron Davis will sit out two more games because of a sprained left ankle, the team said Thursday.

Davis already sat out Wednesday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

He was injured during the fourth quarter of Monday’s game at Minnesota. He will sit out tonight’s game at Denver and Saturday’s home game against San Antonio.

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During a conference call about expansion, Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban and Sacramento King co-owner Gavin Maloof said Las Vegas was their top choice for a 31st NBA franchise, whenever the league is ready to expand again. A 30th team will start next season in Charlotte, N.C.

Las Vegas came up in response to a question about whether Baltimore could be the NBA’s next market.

“Baltimore possibly, but my first bet would be Las Vegas,” Cuban said. “I would second that,” Maloof said. The Maloof family owns a hotel in Las Vegas.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank later said the league had no expansion plans, noting that the addition of Charlotte came about because of the unusual circumstances surrounding the departure of the Hornets for New Orleans.

Because sports betting is legal in Las Vegas, the NBA has stayed away. The league’s board of governors last discussed Las Vegas’ viability in 1999. Commissioner David Stern said then that sports books would have to stop taking wagers on pro basketball if the NBA put a franchise there.

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Two-time defending champion Peja Stojakovic of the Sacramento Kings tops a field of six for the three-point-shooting contest Feb. 14 during NBA All-Star weekend at Staples Center.

A victory will enable Stojakovic to join Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only players to win three years in a row.

Brent Barry and Rashard Lewis of the Seattle SuperSonics, Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons, Voshon Lenard of the Denver Nuggets and Cuttino Mobley of the Houston Rockets will complete the field.