News from December 26.

Atlanta fired head coach Lon Kruger and assistant Gar Heard.  Assistant
Terry Stotts was named as interim coach and Alex English was moved from
director of player development to assistant coach.

Bobby Jackson (Sac) underwent surgery on his broken left hand and is
expected to be out 6 weeks.

Golden State activated Bob Sura and released Oscar Torres.

The LA Clippers activated Corey Maggette and placed Eric Piatkowski on IR
with a lower abdominal strain.

Washington placed Jared Jeffries on IR with a torn right ACL.  Jeffries is
out for the rest of the season.

Older news: Atlanta released Amal McCaskill on December 10.  [thanks to 
H. Feld]


Dal 83, NO 81  at NO
Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
Steve Nash (Dal) had 15 points including 4-16 FG, 7 assists, and 5
turnovers.
Nick Van Exel (Dal) had 13 points including 5-16 FG and 11 rebounds.
Jamaal Magloire (NO) had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
David Wesley (NO) had 24 points including 9-15 FG and 4-6 3-pointers and 5
rebounds.

Sea 97, Tor 88  at Sea
Rashard Lewis (Sea) had 20 points and 6 rebounds.
Predrag Drobnjak (Sea) had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Gary Payton (Sea) had 35 points including 15-25 FG, 7 rebounds, and 7
assists.
Morris Peterson (Tor) had 22 points and 7 rebounds.
Voshon Lenard (Tor) had 27 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 6 rebounds.
Antonio Davis (Tor, swollen right knee), Vince Carter (Tor, strained right
knee), and Mamadou N'diaye (Tor, right heel injury) did not play.

Det 87, Was 82  at Was
Ben Wallace (Det) had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Clifford Robinson (Det) had 16 points on 7-11 FG.
Richard Hamilton (Det) had 22 points including 10-13 FT and 7 rebounds.
Jerry Stackhouse (Was) had 24 points including 11-12 FT.
Michael Jordan (Was) had 17 points.
Zeljko Rebraca (Det, irregular heartbeat) did not play.