NBA Notes: Raja will answer bell

PHOENIX — Though understandably sore Wednesday, Raja Bell was confident he would be ready to play when the Phoenix Suns meet the Dallas Mavericks tonight in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.

Bell made a surprise start Tuesday night after missing two games with a slight tear in his left calf muscle. His presence injected the Suns with an emotional intensity that led to a 106-86 romp that evened the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.

"It's pretty sore, and it's a little stiff," Bell said. "But it still feels better than it did the first couple of days when it was injured, so that's a positive sign for me that it should feel a lot better tomorrow."

As intent as he was on playing, Bell thought he would only spell Leandro Barbosa for a few minutes. Instead, coach Mike D'Antoni put Bell in the starting lineup, and he played 31 minutes.

"I'm not surprised of his heart and his desire to do it," D'Antoni said. "I'm a little surprised that he could play as well, a little surprised that he could even start yesterday and say he was ready to go. It was a pleasant surprise, obviously."

Karl and son

George Karl's son, Coby, worked out for the Denver Nuggets just three weeks after undergoing a second round of chemotherapy for thyroid cancer.

George Karl, the Nuggets' coach, acknowledged he watched the 6-foot-4 guard from Boise State more as a proud papa than as a critical coach: "My opinion of him as a player is tainted. I think he's pretty good, as all fathers think their kid's probably better than he really is, always wants the best for him, wants the best situation, wants the coach to run every play for him."

Still, George Karl said he was impressed enough by the workout to recommend the Nuggets select his son with the 49th pick in the draft June 28 should Coby Karl decide not to go back to school for his senior season.

"I would take him," the coach said, "but I'm not pulling the trigger."

Notes

• A Suns fan has accused the wife of Dallas coach Avery Johnson of assaulting her in the stands Tuesday night. Phoenix police said the matter would be turned over to the city prosecutor to determine whether any misdemeanor charge should be filed.

• Steve Patterson, president of the Portland Trail Blazers, set no timeline for naming John Nash's successor as general manager and said he didn't expect to do it before the draft. The team announced late Tuesday that Nash's contract would not be renewed. Patterson will act as the GM, and director of player personnel Kevin Pritchard will handle the draft June 28.

Patterson refused to label Nash as the scapegoat for the team's performance. "I think we all accept responsibility for a ballclub that won only 21 games last year," he said.

• The Nuggets will play the Golden State Warriors in an exhibition game in Monterrey, Mexico, on Oct. 14 — the 17th meeting of NBA teams in Mexico.

• The NBA won't adopt rules designed to dissuade the intentional fouling of woeful free-throw shooters like Miami's Shaquille O'Neal and Detroit's Ben Wallace, commissioner David Stern said. The NBA has a rule that prevents players from being intentionally fouled away from the ball in the final two minutes of the game. In such cases, the player gets a free throw and his team possession.

• Indiana forward Peja Stojakovic, who led Yugoslavia to the 2002 world title, will not play for Serbia and Montenegro in the championships Aug. 19-Sept. 3 in Japan.