A leaky roof stopped LeBron James and Kobe Bryant on Sunday — at least for a while.

The Cavaliers-Lakers game was delayed 12 minutes because of a small leak in the Staples Center roof. The steady flow of raindrops fell under the north basket, dropping out of bounds but less than a foot from the baseline.

“Because of all the rain and some leaks we had last month, we had a roofing company called out and they were inspecting the roof this morning,” Staples Center spokesman Michael Roth said. “When they came off the roof, they took off their rain gear and left it on a catwalk, which was over the north basket, and their equipment as well.

“Because everything was so soaking wet, it started to leak on the court. When we went up there to inspect, we realized it was coming from the gear that was on the catwalk that has slats in it. We removed the equipment and the gear, and we’re good.”

The Cavaliers had just taken a 19-18 lead on Daniel Gibson’s 3-pointer when the game was halted, with 3:36 left in the first quarter.

After a 10-minute delay, the teams took to the court to shoot, just as they do before a game. Play soon resumed with the leak under control.

The Memphis Grizzlies and point guard Damon Stoudamire have reached a tentative agreement to put him on waivers Monday, and if the veteran is not claimed within 48 hours he will be given his release.

A team spokesman confirmed the planned timetable for Stoudamire’s release Saturday night.

Stoudamire was on the inactive list for the Grizzlies’ game against the Los Angeles Clippers, and was not available for comment.

Stoudamire was signed by the Grizzlies as a free agent in 2005. He has started all 29 games he played this season and is averaging 7.3 points and 3.9 assists, but has not played since scoring four points against San Antonio on Dec. 30.

Asked Saturday night about Stoudamire’s status with the team, coach Marc Iavaroni said, “I have nothing new to report.”

Sacramento’s Ron Artest was ejected after getting two technical fouls in the fourth quarter of the Kings’ game at Utah Friday night.

Artest was called for a technical with 8:49 left for getting in Jazz forward Matt Harpring’s face after Harpring tied him up with an elbow lock for the second time in less than a minute.

He came close to his second on a couple of plays that could have been called delay of game and finally got tossed after a harmless swipe at Utah forward Carlos Boozer after a free throw.

With a late rally, Allen Iverson is an All-Star starter again.

Iverson surged from behind in the fan voting to earn a starting spot in next month’s game when the vote totals were released Thursday night. Denver Nuggets teammate Carmelo Anthony will join him in New Orleans after earning his first starting nod.

Lakers star Kobe Bryant will team with Iverson in the Western Conference backcourt for his 10th All-Star appearance. Houston center Yao Ming was voted in by the fans for the sixth straight season at center, while San Antonio’s Tim Duncan was chosen as the other forward. He has been selected to every All-Star game since entering the league in 1997.

Boston’s Kevin Garnett, the MVP of the 2003 game, was the leading vote-getter with 2,399,148 votes. He will be joined in the East frontcourt by Cleveland forward LeBron James and Orlando center Dwight Howard, a first-time starter. Miami’s Dwyane Wade and New Jersey guard Jason Kidd round out the starting lineup.

With his team down nine points at halftime, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went with an intellectual, rather than emotional, appeal on Wednesday night.

“‘You have to participate in your recovery,”‘ recounted guard Brent Barry. “I think that stuck with us. When things aren’t going well, and you’re not playing well, you can’t sulk.”

Something in Popovich’s address must have clicked for the Spurs, because their second half against the Los Angeles Lakers looked a lot better than their first in a 103-91 win.

Tim Duncan had 28 points and 17 rebounds, and Ime Udoka scored a season-high 18 points in the Spurs’ second straight victory.

“Pop didn’t say much at halftime. He didn’t want to come in here screaming and yelling, but he did mention getting the ball into people’s hands,” Udoka said.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Ronny Turiaf scored 14 points. Sasha Vujacic and Lamar Odom added 11 points apiece.