News from December 8. The NBA named Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) and Dwyane Wade (Mia) as Players of the Week. Nowitzki averaged 30.7 points and 10 rebounds as Dallas went 3-0. Wade averaged 32.7 points as Miami went 3-0. Minnesota fired head coach Randy Wittman and named Kevin McHale as coach. The team also removed McHale from his job of vice president of basketball operations. Orlando activated Marcin Gortat. Golden State activated Marcus Williams and placed Anthony Randolph on IL. Charlotte activated Nazr Mohammed and placed Gerald Wallace (death of grandmother) on IL. Mem 109, Hou 97 at Mem O.J. Mayo (Mem) had 18 points. Hakim Warrick (Mem) had 18 points including 6-11 FT and 8 rebounds. Rudy Gay (Mem) had 20 points. Luis Scola (Hou) had 16 points and 15 rebounds including 6 offensive. Rafer Alston (Hou) had 16 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 8 assists. Ron Artest (Hou, sore right foot) did not play. Orl 95, LAC 88 at LAC Rashard Lewis (Orl) had 18 points including 4-8 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Dwight Howard (Orl) had 23 points including 9-18 FT, 22 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Jameer Nelson (Orl) had 15 points on 7-10 FG and 5 assists. Zach Randolph (LAC) had 21 points, 12 rebounds including 8 offensive, and 3 steals. Baron Davis (LAC) had 27 points and 7 assists. Orl shot 19-30 FT and LAC shot 9-13 FT. GS 112, OKC 102 at OKC Brandan Wright (GS) had 15 points including 5-6 FG and 5 rebounds. Andris Biedrins (GS) had 17 points, 21 rebounds including 6 offensive, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 6 turnovers. Jamal Crawford (GS) had 19 points, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Kevin Durant (OKC) had 41 points including 15-27 FG and 6-10 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Nick Collison (OKC) had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Stephen Jackson (GS, sprained left hand) and Corey Maggette (LAC, strained left hamstring) did not play. Mia 100, Cha 96 at Mia Shawn Marion (Mia) had 13 points and 6 rebounds. Dwyane Wade (Mia) had 41 points on 12-22 FG and 15-19 FT, 8 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Mario Chalmers (Mia) had 15 points and 3 steals. Emeka Okafor (Cha) had 19 points including 9-11 FG and 12 rebounds. Jason Richardson (Cha) had 24 points including 4-5 3-pointers. Schedule for Tuesday, December 9 (All times Central) Toronto @ Cleveland 6:00 pm Detroit @ Washington 6:00 pm Utah @ Minnesota 7:00 pm New York @ Chicago 7:30 pm San Antonio @ Dallas 7:30 pm Atlanta @ Houston 7:30 pm Milwaukee @ Phoenix 8:00 pm Orlando @ Portland 9:00 pm LA Lakers @ Sacramento 9:00 pm ---- 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