Cleveland Cavaliers star Shaquille O'Neal paid for the funeral of a 5-year-old North Carolina girl after being moved by national news coverage of the case of Shaniya Davis, who police say was kidnapped and killed.

O'Neal was touched by the stories he saw and got in touch with the family to see what he could do to help, a spokeswoman for O'Neal said yesterday.

More than 2,000 people attended the girl's funeral Sunday. Her body was found Nov. 16 beside a rural road.

Her mother, Antoinette Davis, who had reported the child missing six days earlier, is charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution.

"I was sitting at home watching it on the news, and the story brought a tear to my eye," O'Neal told The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.

O'Neal is recovering from a shoulder injury that has sidelined him for six consecutive games since getting hurt Nov. 12 against Miami.

Sacramento said it was informed by the NBA that former employee Jack Mai gambled while on its staff. Mai, the team's former assistant director of scouting, was fired in January. Last season was his eighth with the franchise and third as assistant director of scouting. Kings owner Joe Maloof said the team fired Mai as soon as it found out through general manager Geoff Petrie that Mai had been wagering. "I wasn't aware that he was betting. But, the minute we found out he was doing something wrong, we had to let him go," Maloof said Wednesday. "People should know that you are not allowed to bet on NBA games. It's against the bylaws, it's against the rules."

Philadelphia guard Lou Williams will miss eight weeks after having surgery on his jaw yesterday morning. Williams broke his jaw in Philadelphia's loss to Washington Tuesday night.

Oklahoma City has signed veteran guard Mike Wilks after a spate of injuries to the team's other guards. Backup point guards Shaun Livingston and Kevin Ollie are sidelined by knee injuries, and guard Kyle Weaver suffered a shoulder injury Wednesday during a practice.

Hawks guard Joe Johnson drives against Magic guard J.J. Redick in the first quarter last night at Philips Arena in Atlanta.

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