Ewing resigns from Houston

HOUSTON -- Patrick Ewing resigned as an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets.

Ewing, who worked for the Rockets the past three seasons, said he quit to spend more time with his three children.

"It was a difficult decision to resign because I enjoy coaching," Ewing said in a release. "I love working with Jeff (Van Gundy) and the rest of the staff and our players are really good guys. But my children are getting older, and I want to spend more time with them."

But Ewing left open the possibility of a return to coaching.

"I'm sure at some point I will get back into coaching, but right now I need to focus completely on my kids," he said.

Ewing played 17 seasons in the NBA, 15 with the New York Knicks and one each with Seattle and Orlando. He served as an assistant with the Washington Wizards for one season before joining the Rockets.

He is one of 13 players in NBA history to have 20,000 career points and 10,000 rebounds.

Van Gundy said Ewing spoke to him after the season about the possibility of resigning.

"I asked him to take a few months to think about his decision," Van Gundy said. "After a great deal of thought, he was convinced that this was the right decision for him and his children.

"Patrick was a great player and was developing into a fine coach, but his family has always been his top priority and we all support him in his decision."

PACERS ADD ASSISTANT COACHES: The Indiana Pacers have signed guard Jimmie "Snap" Hunter and assistant coaches Johnny Davis and Leonard Perry, the former Utah State assistant under Larry Eustachy, who recommended him for this position.

Hunter, a 6-foot-4 guard, played last season with the Gary Steelheads of the CBA and led the league with 27.6 points a game.

Davis played for Indiana during 1978-82 and averaged 12.9 points and 4.5 assists during a 10-year NBA career. He has been a head coach twice, going 42-111 in stints with Philadelphia and Orlando, and was an assistant with the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. Perry had been in college coaching since 1994 and is taking his first NBA job. He went 48-97 in five years as head coach at Idaho before being fired in March following a 4-25 season.

IVERSON SUED: Philadelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson is being sued for $2.4 million amid claims he helped hire a security team accused of attacking four people at a nightclub last year.

The four plaintiffs say they were assaulted by members of "The Horsemen," a security team they say was hired by Iverson and Gary Moore, Iverson's business manager and president of CrossOver Promotions Inc., to control the crowd during a July 9, 2005, event at Crabbers Restaurant and Sports Lounge, according to papers filed Monday in Hampton Circuit Court.

According to the lawsuit, Iverson, Moore and Crossover Promotions were negligent by hiring "dangerous individuals" who had shown a propensity toward unprovoked violence. Iverson, Moore and security team members all are named in the four lawsuits -- one on behalf of each plaintiff. Each has requested a jury trial and $600,000 in damages, plus legal fees.

Iverson's attorney and agent did not immediately return calls seeking comment Wednesday. A message left for Moore at CrossOver Promotions also was not returned.

WRIGHT RETURNS TO HAWKS: Lorenzen Wright signed a two-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, giving the team more depth at center.

Wright, who signed for about $3 million per year, averaged 5.8 points and 6.9 rebounds with the Memphis Grizzlies last season. The 10-year veteran returns to the Hawks, having played for the team from 1999-2001.

A free agent, Wright agreed to sign with Atlanta about a month ago, but the deal could not be completed until forward Al Harrington went to the Indiana Pacers for a first-round draft pick last week.

Wright averaged a career-best 12.4 points for the Hawks in the 2000-01 season. He returns as a backup to young starting center Zaza Pachulia.

POLICE QUESTION SPREWELL: At Milwaukee, police questioned former NBA player Latrell Sprewell Wednesday in connection with a sexual assault allegation.

A 21-year-old Milwaukee woman reported a sexual assault on a boat at the McKinley Marina Tuesday, but Milwaukee police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz would not discuss specifics.

Schwartz said Sprewell voluntarily appeared at downtown police offices with his attorneys and gave permission to search his boat. Schwartz declined to say if Sprewell, scheduled to meet with the district attorney's office today, was a suspect in the assault.

Messages were left seeking comment from Sprewell's attorneys, Steven Kohn and Jonathan Smith.

Sprewell, 35, played 13 NBA seasons, most recently with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2004-05 season.

He was a four-time All-Star, but remains most known for several off-court incidents -- including a 68-game suspension after choking Golden State Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo at a practice in 1997.

The NBA suspended him for one game in 2004 after he yelled a sexual vulgarity at a female fan who was heckling him during a game.

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