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 Los Angeles Clippers point guard Paul on Thursday drew his 79th
career technical foul and he was later critical of official Lauren
Holtkamp after the 105-94 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The technical came with 10:17 left in the third quarter when Paul
tried to get an inbounds pass quickly.
"I think we have to show better composure, but at the same time some
of (the technical fouls) were ridiculous," Paul, who is president of
the NBA Players Association, said after the game.
"The tech that I get right there was ridiculous. I don't care what
nobody says, I don't care what she says; that's terrible. There's no
way that can be a tech. We try to get the ball out fast every time
down the court, and when we did that, she said, 'Uh-uh.'
“I said, 'why, uh-uh?' And she gave me a tech. That's ridiculous. If
that's the case, this might not be for her."
Paul said he did not swear at her.
 Holtkamp, 34, in her first full season as an NBA referee, is one of
two full-time female officials in the NBA, along with Violet Palmer.
The National Basketball Referees Association said Friday that it
reviewed the calls made by Holtkamp and "deems them fully
justified".
General counsel Lee Seham said the union "deplores the personal and
unprofessional comments made by Chris Paul. She belongs."
Sources told ESPN.com that Paul's comments are under league review.
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The Dallas Mavericks will be without point guard Rajon Rondo for at
least three more games while he recovers from orbital and nasal
fractures.
The Mavericks announced Friday that Rondo will not return for
upcoming games against the Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles
Clippers and Utah Jazz. He was injured during the first quarter of a
game against the Orlando Magic on Jan. 31.
In 20 games since being acquired by Dallas from the Boston Celtics
on Dec. 18, Rondo is averaging 9.7 points and 6.9 assists.
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New York Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire will use the All-Star
break to reflect on his future.
He plans to weigh whether he'll ask the Knicks for a contract
buyout. According to ESPN.com, the Knicks have discussed
Stoudemire's future internally.
"It's not an easy decision to make," Stoudemire told Yahoo Sports.
"Over time, we will see how things pan out. You give yourself a
break during the All-Star break. You think about it with your
family... That will give me a good solid week on how to weigh out
the rest of the season."
The 32-year-old is in the final season of a five-year, $99 million
contract and is being paid $23.4 million this season. He is
averaging 12.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in 32 games, well
below his career averages of 20.1 points and 8.2 rebounds.
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The Minnesota Timberwolves signed guard Lorenzo Brown to a second
10-day contract.
Since signing his first 10-day contract on Jan. 28, Brown has played
in four games and started one.
The 24-year-old is averaging 4.0 points, 3.8 assists and 2.3
rebounds per game.
(Editing by Andrew Both)
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