Enquirer news services

CLEVELAND - Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas was suspended by the NBA for one game Monday after being arrested last month for drunken driving.

Ilgauskas will be suspended without pay and will miss Cleveland's regular-season opener Oct. 29 in Sacramento.

Last week, the 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas pleaded no contest to drunken driving and was sentenced to one year's probation. A 30-day jail sentence was suspended and Ilgauskas was fined $1,000.

Cavaliers coach John Lucas also will miss the game against the Kings. In May, the league suspended Lucas for two games for including Akron's LeBron James, the nation's top high school player, in a voluntary Cavs workout.

SONICS: Magic Johnson is "65 or 70 percent down the road'' toward becoming a part owner and administrator of the Seattle SuperSonics.

In an interview with the Tacoma News Tribune, Johnson said he and Sonics principal owner Howard Schultz this summer have discussed how much money it would cost Johnson to join the Sonics ownership group and what role he would play with the organization.

Johnson owns a 5 percent stake in the Lakers - the team he led to five NBA championships - and said all that is left is discussing with Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss a financial buyout.

CLIPPERS: Center Michael Olowokandi and power forward Elton Brand are questionable for the season opener Oct. 30 against Cleveland. Olowokandi has been resting his sore left knee, which has bruised cartilage. Brand had surgery on his right knee Sept. 26.

Quentin Richardson has a sprained right knee, guard Keyon Dooling and forward Lamar Odom have sprained ankles, rookie Melvin Ely has tendinitis in his left big toe and rookie Chris Wilcox has a strained right quadriceps.

HEAT: Miami released point guard Khalid El-Amin, who was held scoreless with one turnover in five minutes Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves in his only preseason action.

El-Amin, a second-round pick in 2000 by Chicago, averaged 6.3 points and 2.9 assists in 50 games for the Bulls during the 2000-01 season. He split time last season between the Gary Steelheads and the Dakota Wizards of the CBA, and with Strasbourg IG in France.

MAVERICKS: Coach Don Nelson will not travel with the team for its preseason game tonight at Detroit because of back spasms.

SIXERS: Philadelpha signed 7-foot center Olden Polynice after he sat out last season. Polynice, 37, who has played for five other teams during his 14-year career, didn't re-sign with the Utah Jazz before last season.

ETC: Yao Ming and China were upset by South Korea 102-100 in overtime of the gold medal basketball game at the Asian Games.

Yao, taken first overall in the 2002 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets, had 23 points and 22 rebounds for China, which led 84-71 with slightly more than three minutes left.