NBA Report

Nate Robinson, filling in for the injured Rajon Rondo, scored a game-high 21 points in the Celtics' 100-75 rout of the Nets in Boston.

Elsewhere: Steve Nash was 8 of 8 from the field, made all four of his foul shots, and had a season-high 17 assists to help the Suns beat the visiting Wizards, 125-108. . . . In Denver, coach George Karl earned his 999th NBA win as the Nuggets overcame a third-quarter meltdown and held off the scrappy Grizzlies, 108-107. . . . The Spurs beat the Hornets at home, 109-84, to improve their NBA-best record to 17-3. . . . Kevin Durant scored 28 points in his first game back from a knee injury, and the Thunder put away the Warriors, 114-109, in Oklahoma City.

New Orleans Hornets owner George Shinn has agreed to sell the club to the NBA, a source told the Associated Press. The league has lined up New Orleans-born sports attorney Jac Sperling, vice chairman of the NHL's Minnesota Wild, to be the administrator of the first team to be owned by the league and oversee its sale to a permanent owner.

The huffing and puffing over the Louisiana purchase by the NBA has overshadowed another brewing sale.

It seemed like a slam-dunk that pizza magnate Mike Ilitch, the owner of the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings, would be buying the Pistons, but he and team owner Karen Davidson couldn't agree on terms, and now she may be selling the team to an investment group in the Middle East, the National reported last week.

"Interest and discussions have taken place in reference to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar," NBA commissioner David Stern said.

He said talks were ongoing, adding: "We are mindful that of the 20 teams in [English Premier League soccer], 10 are owned by investors outside the UK."

Subsequently, the NBA released a statement refuting the National's report - despite the fact that it was based on comments made by Stern.

But if the deal pans out, the Pistons would be the second foreign-owned NBA team, joining the Nets, owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.

- Wire reports