News from December 25. The NBA announced that Dwight Howard (Orl), Rudy Gay (Mem), and Nate Robinson (NY) will compete in the Slam Dunk contest. One of Rudy Fernandez (Por), Russell Westbrook (OKC), and Joe Alexander (Mil) will also compete in the competition, with the fans voting for which one of the three will compete. TRADE: Houston traded Steve Francis and a 2009 2nd round draft pick (that originally belong to Memphis), and cash to Memphis for a conditional 2011 2nd round draft pick. Phoenix signed Dee Brown and assigned Alando Tucker to the NBADL. Jordan Farmar (LAL) underwent surgery on his knee to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee and is expected to be out 8 weeks. Cleveland activated Darnell Jackson and placed Lorenzen Wright on IL. Boston activated Glen Davis and placed Sam Cassell on IL. Orlando activated Brian Cook and placed Adonal Foyle on IL. Dal 102, Por 94 at Por Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 30 points including 12-18 FG and 5 rebounds. Josh Howard (Dal) had 15 points. Jason Terry (Dal) had 19 points. Brandon Roy (Por) had 22 points and 5 rebounds. Steve Blake (Por) had 14 points and 7 assists. Dal out-scored Por 25-14 in the 4th quarter. LAL 92, Bos 83 at LAL Pau Gasol (LAL) had 20 points, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 27 points on 13-23 FG, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. Lamar Odom (LAL) had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Paul Pierce (Bos) had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Kevin Garnett (Bos) had 22 points on 11-14 FG and 9 rebounds. LAL shot 12-15 FT and Bos shot 6-8 FT. The win was Phil Jackson's 1000th coaching win - making him the 6th NBA coach to reach 1000 wins. The loss ended Boston's winning streak at 19 games, tied for 4th longest in NBA history. SA 91, Pho 90 at Pho Tim Duncan (SA) had 25 points and 17 rebounds. Tony Parker (SA) had 27 points, 8 assists, and 4 steals. Roger Mason (SA) had 7 points including the game winning 3-pointer at the buzzer. Amare Stoudemire (Pho) had 25 points and 13 rebounds. Shaquille O'Neal (Pho) had 23 points including 9-16 FT, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks. SA shot 9-14 FT and Pho shot 19-27 FT. Cle 93, Was 89 at Cle LeBron James (Cle) had 18 points including 6-10 FT, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Maurice Williams (Cle) had 24 points including 4-7 3-pointers and 6 assists. Delonte West (Cle) had 18 points including 5-11 3-pointers, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Antawn Jamison (Was) had 28 points and 6 rebounds. Mike James (Was) had 26 points including 10-14 FG and 5-8 3-pointers and 5 turnovers. Cle shot 19-26 FT and Was shot 4-7 FT. Orl 88, NO 68 at Orl Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) had 20 points including 4-6 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers. Rashard Lewis (Orl) had 18 points and 6 rebounds. Dwight Howard (Orl) had 12 points including 4-15 FG, 15 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 3 blocks. David West (NO) had 13 points and 7 rebounds. Chris Paul (NO) had 12 points including 5-14 FG. Orl shot 15-22 FT and NO shot 8-10 FT. Schedule for Friday, December 26 (All times Central) Chicago @ Miami 4:00 pm ESPN Charlotte @ New Jersey 6:30 pm Minnesota @ New York 6:30 pm Oklahoma City @ Detroit 7:00 pm Indiana @ Memphis 7:00 pm Houston @ New Orleans 7:00 pm Philadelphia @ Denver 8:00 pm Dallas @ Utah 8:00 pm Toronto @ Sacramento 9:00 pm Boston @ Golden State 9:30 pm NBATV ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html