SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Citing a pattern of behaviour and off-field issues, San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke informed defensive lineman Ray McDonald that he was released Wednesday amid a sexual assault investigation by San Jose police.Baalke spoke with McDonald and his agent by phone around 11:30 a.m. PST to let them know the defender is terminatedAfter the recent allegations concerning Ray McDonald, we as an organization notified him and his agent that he will be terminated, released immediately, effective immediately, Baalke said. While this organization has a strong belief in due process and has demonstrated that over time, Rays demonstrated a pattern of poor decision-making that has led to multiple distractions to this organization and this football team that really can no longer be tolerated.Baalke said CEO Jed York and coach Jim Harbaugh also were involved in the decision.We expect a lot from our players, hold them accountable for their actions, Baalke said. This is a situation that we can all learn from.Baalke said the 49ers notified the NFL of the allegations against McDonald, saying: This is a team decision. This is not a league decision.San Jose police Sgt. Heather Randol said Wednesday that the department is investigating McDonald on suspicion of sexual assault and had searched his San Jose home.Randol said an area hospital notified police late Tuesday night that a woman was seeking treatment.The victim alleged she was possibly sexually assaulted a day prior, Randol said. Based on preliminary investigation, detectives secured a search warrant and served it at the alleged suspects residence in San Jose.Randol didnt immediately respond to follow up questions seeking to clarify the reference to the alleged victim saying she was possibly sexually assaulted.No arrests have been made nor charges filed. McDonalds agent, Tom Condon, didnt immediately return a call seeking comment.McDonalds mother, Labrina McDonald, told the San Jose Mercury News the allegation was laughable and not true.She said her son warned her not to talk to the media, but she told the paper that theres no truth to that stuff.NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league is looking into the case.York spoke to the 49ers players about two weeks ago about conduct before NFL owners unanimously approved changes last week to the leagues personal-conduct policy — and it was clear what the expectations are with the 49ers, linebacker Dan Skuta said.You just really dont know what to believe, so Im not getting mad at Ray, Skuta said. Obviously you want him here with you and youre a little upset hes not here. I have no business getting upset with him for something that he may or may not have done.This is the second time in recent months that McDonald has been the subject of a police investigation.Last month, the Santa Clara County district attorneys office announced that it declined to file charges against the defensive lineman in a domestic violence investigation. He was arrested Aug. 31 while celebrating his then-upcoming 30th birthday at his home.Following the arrest, York, Baalke and Harbaugh repeatedly said they have zero tolerance for domestic violence. The 49ers stuck by McDonald throughout the investigation, with Harbaugh regularly saying that due process would play out. He played despite outside pressure on Harbaugh and the organization to bench him.Prosecutors cited conflicting versions of what happened, a lack of verifiable eyewitnesses and a lack of co-operation by the alleged victim, McDonalds fiancee, in explaining their decision not to pursue charges in the domestic violence investigation.McDonald received a five-year contract in July 2011 and he was one of the top players Baalke had wanted to bring back long term.Like you would expect, extremely disappointed, Baalke said. We drafted Ray in the third round. Hes been an awful good football player and for the most part, has been a tremendous asset to this organization and this community. He has made some poor decisions. Hes aware of that. This is a case of being accountable for those decisions.McDonald was signed through the 2015 season. He had 26 tackles and three sacks in 14 games this season.Harbaugh notified the players Wednesday of McDonalds dismissal. An eight-year NFL veteran, McDonald has been a key member of one of the NFLs fiercest front seven units.Not a situation you want to hear about, very unfortunate, quarterback Colin Kaepernick said. He just brought us together and let us know what the situation was and why he was released. Its tough. He was a good friend to a lot of people on this team. No one around him ever thought bad of him. He was always a good person to everyone around here. Hopefully its just a misunderstanding.___Elias reported from San Francisco.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Malik Monk Jersey . Its the games against the leagues struggling franchises that have proved to be an issue. Alonzo Mourning Hornets Jersey . The Blueshirts hope to stay alive once again when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sundays Game 6 battle at Madison Square Garden. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/Cheap-Dell-Curry-Hornets-Jersey/ . Yet now its time for the most important pick of them all; the Grey Cup. The thought of going 5-0 with the correct choice is quite intoxicating, I dont think I have ever gone perfect in my CFL futuristic playoff speculations and would take great pride in guessing - I mean analyzing - correctly. Nicolas Batum Jersey . Hazard lasted just 18 minutes in Tuesdays contest before being substituted with the calf problem, and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes he will be without his star winger for at least the next two weeks. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Hornets Jersey . Pinch-hitter Tommy Medica singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in their first home game since Gwynn died of cancer Monday.OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Thunder showed Wednesday night that they dont always need to have Kevin Durant score in the fourth quarter to win a close game. Durant scored just two of his 26 points in the final 12 minutes and his teammates -- including Derek Fisher, Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson -- stood in the gap, helping Oklahoma City pull away for a 106-97 win over a Minnesota Timberwolves team without Kevin Love and two other starters. Jackson added 20 points (seven in the fourth quarter) and nine assists for the Thunder, who won for the 12th time in their last 13 games and became the NBAs first team this season to 40 wins. The Thunder won for the ninth straight time at home against Minnesota, which entered the game 3 1/2 games behind Dallas in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot from the Western Conference. The Thunder have won eight straight home games and are 15-1 this season against Western Conference foes at Chesapeake Energy Arena. "We just focus on doing our job every night and living with the results and theyve been pretty good for a while now," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "We have expectations to a standard that we want to play at and I think weve done a good job with that going into the All-Star break. "This is funky time for a lot of teams because a lot of players are probably thinking about the break and what theyre doing, getting their plans together. Weve never been a team that has done that and I dont anticipate that happening this year." Love, an All-Star forward, sat out with a stiff neck after taking a hard fall Tuesday in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Center Nikola Pecovic (ankle injury) and forward Corey Brewer (family leave) also didnt play for the Timberwolves. Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said he was proud of the way his undermanned team fought. "I think it shows that these guys compete," Adelman said. "They werent afraid to go play them with three starters out. It gave the other guys an opportunity to play. I couldnt be prouder of the way they competed. We just ran a little bit out of gas at the end." With Minnesota devoting its defensive energies to stopping Durant, other Thunder players made the key plays in the final minutes. The score was tied in the closing seconds of the third quarter when Fisher attempted a 3-pointer from the corner that appeared to be long, but Minnesotas Gorgui Dieng accidentally tapped it into the basket to give the Thunder an 80-77 lead. Fisher finished with 13 points, his second-best offensive outing of the season. "Ive never seen that before," Durant said of the goaltending call on Dieng. "That guy is a rookie . so Im sure hes going to learn from that one. BBut that gave us a boost and at the start of the fourth those guys came out and played extremely hard and thats what we needed.dddddddddddd" Lamb opened the fourth quarter with another 3-pointer to push Oklahoma Citys lead to six points. The Thunder finished off the 16-4 run with a dunk by Lamb with 7:17 left that made it 93-81, but Oklahoma City suddenly went cold from the field. Durant was called for a technical foul with 4:39 left after protesting a no-call, but Ricky Rubio missed the ensuing free throw, leaving the score at 93-86. Minnesota pulled within 95-89 after a 3-pointer by Robbie Hummel with 3:45 left, but the Timberwolves came no closer. "We came into the game aggressive and we fought all the way through, but in the last five minutes, I think we missed too many free throws and easy shots while they made shots at the end," said Rubio, who had 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Thabo Sefolosha, who missed his first seven 3-point attempts, made one from the corner with 1:43 left to extend the Thunders lead to 100-90 and Minnesota came no closer than nine points the rest of the way. "Theyre NBA players, too," Durant said of his teammates. "Its not like Ive been scoring every point in the fourth. We play off each other. Guys hit big shots and we got stops. . We play a team game here." Durant, who also had nine rebounds and seven assists, continued his strong play against the Timberwolves. He had a triple-double in a home win over the Timberwolves on Dec. 1 and scored 48 points in a win at Minnesota on Jan. 4 before his outburst Wednesday. The Timberwolves led by as many as six points in the second quarter, but Oklahoma City took a 56-54 lead after Durant swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Durant had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists by halftime. Dante Cunningham added 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting for Minnesota. Serge Ibaka had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Thunder. NOTES: Brewer didnt travel with the team following the birth of his son on Tuesday. The Timberwolves say hes expected to return for Fridays game at New Orleans. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute replaced Brewer in the starting lineup. ... Durant was the Western Conference player of the month for January. He averaged 35.9 points per game while shooting 54.9 per cent during the month, leading Oklahoma City to a 10-game winning streak. He scored 30 or more points in 12 straight games. ... Olympic gold-medal winning gymnasts Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci, who live in nearby Norman, attended the game. ... Hummel saw his first action since Jan. 6 at Philadelphia. He played 17 minutes and scored five points. .. Oklahoma City C Kendrick Perkins matched his season high with 12 rebounds. ' ' '