NEW YORK – The following statement has been issued by Mike Bass, Executive Vice President, Communications:

“At the request of the Indiana Pacers, the NBA opened an investigation into alleged tampering by the Los Angeles Lakers.  The independent investigation is being conducted by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.  The Lakers have been cooperative and, at this point, no findings have been made.  We have asked both teams to refrain from commenting while the investigation is ongoing.”