News from January 2. The NBA named Kobe Bryant (LAL) and Gilbert Arenas (Was) as Players of the Month for December. Bryant averaged 30.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists as the Lakers went 10-6. Arenas averaged 34.1 points and 6.2 assists as Washington went 12-4. The NBA named Mike D'Antoni (Pho) and Eddie Jordan (Was) as Coaches of the Month for December. Phoenix went 13-2 and Washington went 12-4. The NBA named Randy Foye (Min) and Jorge Garbajosa (Tor) as Rookies of the Month for December. Foye averaged 9.6 points as Minnesota went 7-7. Garbajosa averaged 10.7 points and 6.5 rebounds Toronto went 8-8. The NBA named Josh Howard (Dal) and Michael Redd (Mil) as Players of the Week. Howard averaged 21.5 points and 10.8 rebounds as Dallas went 4-0. Redd averaged 27 points and 5.3 rebounds and Milwaukee went 3-1. Portland released Stephen Graham. Golden State signed Kelenna Azubuike and placed Anthony Roberson on IL with a sprained left big toe. Denver activated Julius Hodge and placed Nene on IL with a right knee injury. Hodge was recalled from the NBADL. Dallas activated Maurice Ager and placed J.J. Barea on IL. Cleveland activated Scot Pollard and placed Ira Newble on IL. Orlando activated James Augustine and placed Pat Garrity on IL. Sacramento activated Kenny Thomas and placed Jason Hart on IL. Dal 112, Sea 88 at Dal Josh Howard (Dal) had 21 points and 9 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 31 points including 10-11 FT and 15 rebounds including 6 offensive. Jason Terry (Dal) had 18 points including 4-7 3-pointers, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Ray Allen (Sea) had 27 points including 5-8 3-pointers. Earl Watson (Sea) had 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Dal out-rebounded Sea 58-30 including 21-8 offensive. Cle 82, SA 78 at Cle LeBron James (Cle) had 19 points including 5-11 FT, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cle) had 8 points on 4-13 FG, 13 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 3 blocks. Larry Hughes (Cle) had 18 points including 4-6 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Tim Duncan (SA) had 18 points and 15 rebounds. Tony Parker (SA) had 26 points including 11-18 FG. Orl 91, LAC 86 at Orl Dwight Howard (Orl) had 14 points, 14 rebounds including 7 offensive, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers. Jameer Nelson (Orl) had 29 points including 11-16 FG. Trevor Ariza (Orl) had 14 points and 5 rebounds. Elton Brand (LAC) had 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 6 turnovers. Corey Maggette (LAC) had 20 points including 8-13 FT. Pho 97, Chi 96 at Chi Shawn Marion (Pho) had 22 points, 9 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 4 steals. Amare Stoudemire (Pho) had 24 points, 18 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 3 steals. Leandro Barbosa (Pho) had 20 points including the game winning 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left. Luol Deng (Chi) had 19 points and 8 rebounds. Ben Gordon (Chi) had 41 points including 13-14 FT. GS 97, NO 89 at Oklahoma City Mickael Pietrus (GS) had 13 points including 4-13 FG and 5 rebounds. Matt Barnes (GS) had 29 points including 5-9 3-pointers, 11 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 5 steals. Baron Davis (GS) had 29 points including 1-8 3-pointers and 8-13 FT, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Rasual Butler (NO) had 30 points including 12-20 FG and 6 rebounds. Jannero Pargo (NO) had 24 points including 9-16 FG and 8 assists. GS shot 20-31 FT and NO shot 11-15 FT. Monta Ellis (GS, right shoulder contusion), Jason Richardson (GS, fractured right hand), and Chris Paul (NO, sprained right ankle) did not play. Phi 108, Den 97 at Den Andre Miller (Phi) had 17 points, 10 assists, and 4 steals. Kyle Korver (Phi) had 26 points. Steven Hunter (Phi) had 13 points including 5-6 FG and 7 rebounds including 5 offensive. Marcus Camby (Den) had 8 points, 16 rebounds, 7 blocks, and 5 turnovers. Yakhouba Diawara (Den) had 23 points including 5-10 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Allen Iverson (Den) had 30 points including 8-10 FT, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, and 7 turnovers. Carmelo Anthony (Den, suspended) and J.R. Smith (Den, suspended) did not play. Sac 112, NY 100 at Sac Ron Artest (Sac) had 39 points including 15-22 FG, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals. Kenny Thomas (Sac) had 10 points and 9 rebounds. Mike Bibby (Sac) had 19 points and 9 assists. Eddy Curry (NY) had 19 points on 7-9 FG and 5-10 FT, 6 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Jamal Crawford (NY) had 28 points including 4-8 3-pointers and 3 steals. David Lee (NY) had 16 points including 7-11 FG and 15 rebounds including 6 offensive. Nate Robinson (NY, suspended) did not play. Schedule for Wednesday January 3 [All times Central] Phoenix @ Toronto 6:00 pm Milwaukee @ Washington 6:00 pm Cleveland @ Boston 6:30 pm LA Clippers @ Miami 6:30 pm Golden State @ Memphis 7:00 pm San Antonio @ Minnesota 7:00 pm Seattle @ Houston 7:30 pm Philadelphia @ Utah 8:00 pm NBATV New York @ Portland 9:00 pm