Cavs place Diop on injured list

Cleveland  Rookie center DeSagana Diop, coming off his first start of the season, was placed on the injured list by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.

Diop, the eighth overall selection in last year’s NBA draft, strained his right foot during Tuesday night’s game against the Seattle SuperSonics. The 7-footer finished with 5 points in nine minutes.

Cavs coach John Lucas said Diop could be out anywhere from “1-to-4 weeks.”

To take Diop’s spot, the Cavs activated rookie guard Jeff Trepagnier from the injured list. Trepagnier was arrested Sunday night outside a Cleveland nightclub for disorderly conduct and pleaded innocent on Thursday.

Spurs activate Bowen; Jackson sits down

Cleveland  San Antonio forward Bruce Bowen, who missed the past 23 games with a broken finger, was activated from the injured list by the Spurs on Thursday in time for their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Bowen broke his right middle finger on Jan. 9 against Boston. He had started 33 games before getting hurt, and averaged 6.6 points and 1.2 assists in 26 minutes per game.

The Spurs placed Stephen Jackson on the injured list with a strained right thumb.

Miami’s Ellis sidelined

Miami  The Miami Heat placed forward LaPhonso Ellis on the injured list Thursday and activated rookie forward Malik Allen. Ellis, sidelined by a strained right groin, missed a game for the first time this season Thursday night when Miami played New York.

NBC drops two games; Tolbert filling in

New York  NBC dropped two Washington Wizards games from its schedule after Michael Jordan was put on the injured list.

Washington’s game against visiting Orlando on Sunday and its game against Boston on March 10 won’t be aired nationally by the network, which is in the last year of its NBA contract.

Instead, NBC will show Indiana at Sacramento this Sunday, and Toronto at Orlando on March 10. Those were the games originally slated to air on NBC when the season schedule was announced, but the network added Wizards games when Jordan came out of retirement.

Also, Sullivan said Thursday that Tom Tolbert will appear on its NBA studio show “until further notice.”

Tolbert, who has appeared occasionally as an analyst on game broadcasts, fills in for Jayson Williams, who was charged Monday with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of a man at his estate.