News from April 3. The NBA named Chris Paul (NO) and LeBron James (Cle) as Players of the Month for March. Paul averaged 24.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 10.8 assists, and 3.2 steals as New Orleans went 11-5. James averaged 28.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 8.4 assists as Cleveland went 16-1. The NBA named Rick Adelman (Hou) and Mike Brown (Cle) as Coaches of the Month for March. Houston went 11-4 and Cleveland went 16-1. The NBA named Kevin Love (Min) and Derrick Rose (Chi) as Rookies of the Month for March. Love averaged 15.8 points and 9.6 rebounds as Minnesota went 3-14. Rose averaged 16.9 points and 5.9 assists as Chicago went 9-7. Allen Iverson (Det) is expected to miss the rest of the season with a sore back. Toronto signed Quincy Douby to a 2nd 10-day contract. Toronto assigned Nathan Jawai to the NBADL. Danilo Gallinari (NY) is scheduled to undergo surgery on his back on Tuesday. He is out 6 to 8 weeks. Luther Head (Mia) is expected to be out 4 to 6 weeks with a broken left hand. New Orleans activated Peja Stojakovic and placed James Posey on IL. Sacramento activated Bobby Jackson and placed Kevin Martin (sprained left ankle) on IL. Orlando activated Adonal Foyle and placed Jeremy Richardson on IL. Portland activated Rudy Fernandez and placed Shavlik Randolph on IL. Boston activated Tony Allen and placed Leon Powe (sprained right knee) on IL. Mem 107, Dal 102 at Mem Rudy Gay (Mem) had 27 points including 8-10 FT and 10 rebounds. Mike Conley (Mem) had 25 points including 10-16 FG and 4-5 3-pointers and 5 assists. O.J. Mayo (Mem) had 19 points and 9 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 35 points including 7-10 FT and 9 rebounds. Jason Terry (Dal) had 16 points. Josh Howard (Dal, sore left ankle) did not play. Bos 104, Atl 92 at Bos Paul Pierce (Bos) had 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Glen Davis (Bos) had 19 points including 7-10 FG. Rajon Rondo (Bos) had 20 points including 7-10 FG and 6 assists. Mike Bibby (Atl) had 20 points and 6 assists. Flip Murray (Atl) had 21 points including 4-7 3-pointers. Bos shot 53.3% (40-75) FG and Atl shot 35.6% (31-87) FG. Kevin Garnett (Bos, sore right knee) did not play. Mia 97, Cha 92 at Cha Jermaine O'Neal (Mia) had 13 points and 6 rebounds. Dwyane Wade (Mia) had 27 points including 7-11 FT, 10 assists, and 3 steals. Daequan Cook (Mia) had 16 points including 4-5 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Gerald Wallace (Cha) had 21 points and 8 rebounds. Raymond Felton (Cha) had 16 points and 10 assists. Mia shot 15-24 FT and Cha shot 8-12 FT. Orl 116, Cle 87 at Orl Rashard Lewis (Orl) had 22 points including 5-7 3-pointers. Dwight Howard (Orl) had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Rafer Alston (Orl) had 11 points, 10 assists, and 4 steals. LeBron James (Cle) had 26 points on 7-20 FG and 10-10 FT, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cle) had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Orl shot 53.7% (44-82) FG and Cle shot 36.9% (31-84) FG. Por 107, OKC 72 at OKC LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) had 35 points and 18 rebounds including 7 offensive. Brandon Roy (Por) had 15 points and 6 rebounds. Steve Blake (Por) had 14 points and 10 assists. Kevin Durant (OKC) had 13 points including 4-13 FG and 5 rebounds. Jeff Green (OKC) had 12 points. Por shot 47.3% (43-91) FG and OKC shot 36.5% (27-74) FG. Por out-rebounded OKC 57-32 including 21-9 offensive. Min 103, Uta 102 at Uta Rodney Carney (Min) had 25 points including 5-8 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. Ryan Gomes (Min) had 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Sebastian Telfair (Min) had 18 points, 7 assists, and 6 turnovers. Deron Williams (Uta) had 34 points including 12-20 FG and 11 assists. Kyle Korver (Uta) had 19 points and 5 rebounds. Min shot 12-15 FT and Uta shot 25-29 FT. Randy Foye (Min) did not play. SA 126, Ind 121 at Ind Michael Finley (SA) had 18 points including 7-11 FG. Tim Duncan (SA) had 22 points and 11 rebounds. Manu Ginobili (SA) had 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Tony Parker (SA) had 31 points including 12-19 FG, 5 rebounds, and 10 assists. Danny Granger (Ind) had 35 points including 15-24 FG and 3-4 3-pointers. Troy Murphy (Ind) had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Jarrett Jack (Ind) had 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. LAL 93, Hou 81 at LAL Pau Gasol (LAL) had 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 steals. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 20 points including 7-11 FG and 4-6 3-pointers and 7 assists. Derek Fisher (LAL) had 15 points and 5 steals. Yao Ming (Hou) had 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Ron Artest (Hou) had 21 points including 1-6 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. GS 111, NO 103 at GS Anthony Randolph (GS) had 20 points and 15 rebounds. Anthony Morrow (GS) had 24 points including 5-9 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. Jamal Crawford (GS) had 39 points including 4-10 3-pointers and 13-14 FT and 5 assists. David West (NO) had 31 points and 14 rebounds including 5 offensive. Chris Paul (NO) had 43 points including 4-9 3-pointers, 9 assists, and 3 steals. Monta Ellis (GS, jammed left ankle), Stephen Jackson (GS, left foot surgery), Corey Maggette (GS, head contusion), and Brandan Wright (GS, left shoulder) did not play. Pho 139, Sac 111 at Pho Jason Richardson (Pho) had 19 points and 5 rebounds. Steve Nash (Pho) had 29 points including 12-19 FG and 3-4 3-pointers and 9 assists. Matt Barnes (Pho) had 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists. Jason Thompson (Sac) had 23 points on 7-11 FG and 9-10 FT and 6 rebounds. Spencer Hawes (Sac) had 22 points on 11-18 FG and 10 rebounds including 5 offensive. Francisco Garcia (Sac) had 29 points including 4-7 3-pointers and 5 assists. Schedule for Saturday, April 4 (All times Central) Toronto @ New York 12:00 pm New Jersey @ Chicago 1:00 pm Detroit @ Philadelphia 2:00 pm ESPN Orlando @ Atlanta 6:00 pm Miami @ Washington 6:00 pm NBATV Memphis @ Milwaukee 7:30 pm LA Clippers @ Denver 8:00 pm On the lighter side: Back in 1999, Steve Beebe (a member of Dallas' stats crew) brought his 1 1/2 year old daughter to a game. He took her to the team/media cafeteria, which was across the hall from Don Nelson's office. Something frightened her and she started crying. Nelson came out of his office, looked up and down the hall, and said, "Oh good! I thought it was one of my players." ---- 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