The judge issued a temporary, six-month order of protection that prevents Felton from coming in contact with his wife, Ariane Raymondo-Felton, who had an attorney turn in a loaded weapon to the Manhattan police precinct after stating that she did not want the gun in her home.

"Prosecutors request $25,000 bail got Felton, and ask for order of protection against his wife" — Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ)

Felton turned himself in at 12:50 a.m. Tuesday, not long after the Knicks lost to the Dallas Mavericks in a buzzer-beater at home, police said. Felton arrived to the precinct with a lawyer and did not make a statement. He also did not speak at the Tuesday court arraignment. Attorneys for the Knicks guard also refrained from comment.

On Monday, a Knicks spokesman told The Associated Press the team had no immediate comment.

Raymondo-Felton is a student at the Fordham University School of Law, a spokeswoman confirmed. Court records show she filed for divorce from Felton last week.

Felton is not the first pro athlete to run afoul of New York's strict gun laws. Plaxico Burress was a New York Giants wide receiver when he was arrested in 2008 after accidentally shooting himself in a Manhattan nightclub. He served two years in prison.


LeBRON'S RETURN


LeBron James is taking part in non-contact drills and says he should be able to play Thursday for the Miami Heat against the New York Knicks.

James missed Sunday's victory over Chicago after breaking his nose in the previous game. He said he plans to try out a new protective mask in practice Wednesday and will wear it in games while his nose heals.

James did a lot of running and other conditioning Tuesday, and worked with his teammates on offensive sets. He said he's still in a little pain, but feels better every day.

The Heat star doesn't expect the mask to obstruct his vision or have a negative effect on the way he plays.

"I won’t change my game because of the mask," James said, according to Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald. "I will be a little tentative at first going out there, but I’ll get used to it.”


COLLINS SUPPORT


Jason Collins of the Brooklyn Nets says he has received a text message from Billie Jean King and other messages of support since becoming the first openly gay athlete to play in one of the United States' four major professional leagues.

Collins says the text from the former tennis great was "very meaningful and very much appreciated."

Collins spoke before the Nets practiced at UCLA on Tuesday. They resume their road trip with a game at Portland on Wednesday night.

Collins signed a 10-day contract on Sunday and played 10 scoreless minutes in a victory against the Los Angeles Lakers.

He revealed at the end of last season that he is gay, but was a free agent and had remained unsigned until the Nets needed another big man.


KNICKS' SEARCH


In the wake of their decision to buyout Metta World Peace and Beno Udrih, the New York Knicks have open roster slots.

The Knicks are in the market to get two players who can help their struggling defense ahead of a Thursday meeting with the Miami Heat. Whatever player they sign will be tested immediately, as LeBron James is expected to return from a broken nose for Thursday's game in Miami.

One longtime NBA player without a team is Dahntay Jones, who last played with the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks in the 2012-13 season. Jones was released from the Bulls training camp and has had trouble latching with an NBA team since.

He could be coming back to the league, as the Knicks have expressed interested in the defensive-minded forward, according ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The Knicks brought the 33-year-old guard in for a workout to get a firsthand look at him before taking any further steps, according to the report.

The Knicks also expressed interest in waived small forward Earl Clark, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Clark impressed NBA people in a brief stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, as he averaged 7.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in the 2012-13 season.

That performance earned Clark a two-year, $9 million deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He underperformed in Cleveland, however, and was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. Clark cleared waivers and now is a free agent.


PERKINS SURGERY


Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins will miss six weeks following surgery to a strained left groin he suffered in a Thursday game against the Miami Heat, the team announced.

Perkins was hurt as he attempted to set a screen and became tangled with Heat forward Shane Battier. He left the incident with a limp, and an initial MRI showed the left groin strain, The Oklahoman reported.

Playing through such a long stretch without Perkins will test rookie big man Steven Adams, a player many believe should receive minutes above Perkins. At the moment, neither player logs more than 20 minutes of five points per game.

Because Adams has shown flashes and Perkins has a bloated contract, the belief among many has been that the Thunder should amnesty Perkins and move forward with Adams.

Adams will get a shot to show whether those flashes can extend to solid play over an extended period, as his minutes and opportunities are sure to increase with news of Perkins' injury.


RONDO'S TRIP


Rajon Rondo has sat out the second night of back-to-back games as he continues to recover from an ACL tear.

With that in mind, he didn't join the team on their trip to play the Sacramento Kings, instead deciding to remain in Los Angeles on Saturday to celebrate his 28th birthday, the Boston Herald reports.

The only problem is that he didn't receive permission from the team to skip out on the trip, which came one day after the Celtics' Friday loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Rondo was not in the mood to discuss his absence from Saturday's 105-98 loss to the Kings when approached by reporters on Monday. He did return to the lineup that night to post 18 points and 10 assists in a loss to the Utah Jazz.

“We already talked about it,” Rondo said, according to the Herald. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

When reached by the Boston Herald, however, it appeared that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge had not yet looked into the incident.

“I plan on talking to Rondo when he gets back into town,” he told the Herald. “I’ll find out more about what went into it, and then we’ll handle it internally. We handle all of those kind of issues internally.”

Rondo had previously left from a Milwaukee on the second half of back-to-back games, which likely factored into his thinking. In this instance, because Rondo had family who planned a birthday celebration for him, the Celtics point guard might have felt obligated to stay, the paper reported through a source.

If Rondo is not fined, at least a more defined plan for back-to-backs will emerge from this, as the Herald noted.


SORRY, NO 4-POINTERS


No, the NBA says, the league isn't about to add a 4-point line to an expanded court.

Both ideas have been discussed informally, but there has been zero movement to make them real things, league senior vice president Tim Frank said Tuesday. Frank was responding to questions by ESPN.com of league executives Rod Thorn and Kiki Vandeweghe about the possibilities.

"No one at the NBA, nor the competition committee, has had any serious conversations about increasing the size of the floor or adding a 4-point line," Frank said from the league's Twitter account. "Rod Thorn and Kiki VanDeWeghe were entertaining a line of questioning about out of the box ideas and ESPN.com chose to make a story that doesn’t exist.”

Vandeweghe told ESPN.com's Henry Abbott that "we've actually looked at" how to make the court larger, although Vandeweghe and Thorn noted that arena configurations and teams' desire for premium courtside seating pose challenges.

As to the 4-point idea, Thorn said that many players have suitable range (he mentioned Vince Carter specifically), but wasn't sure coaches would support a change.

Bottom line: Thorn and Vandeweghe aren't lightweights. They're respected, longtime basketball men. If they're saying the ideas have been "looked at," there has to have been more than idle talk about them.

Contributors: DeAntae Prince, Tom Gatto, The Associated Press