News from March 8. The NBA named Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) and LeBron James (Cle) as Players of the Week. Nowitzki averaged 26.8 points and 8.8 rebounds as Dallas went 4-0. Wade averaged 33.3 points and 12 assists as Miami went 3-0. Andris Biedrins (GS) is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair a small tear of an abdominal muscle. Minnesota activated Al Jefferson and placed Wayne Ellington on IL. New Jersey activated Tony Battie and placed Yi Jianlian (sprained ankle) on IL. Memphis activated Hasheem Thabeet and placed Steven Hunter on IL. Thabeet was recalled from the NBADL. Cleveland activated Daniel Gibson and placed LeBron James (rest) on IL. Dal 125, Min 112 at Min Caron Butler (Dal) had 23 points. Shawn Marion (Dal) had 29 points, 14 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 3 steals. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 24 points including 8-10 FT and 6 rebounds. Al Jefferson (Min) had 36 points including 15-21 FG and 13 rebounds. Ryan Hollins (Min) had 13 points and 9 rebounds. Erick Dampier (Dal, right middle finger surgery), Brendan Haywood (Dal, lower back tightness), and Jason Terry (Dal, facial surgery) did not play. Cle 97, SA 95 at Cle Antawn Jamison (Cle) had 17 points including 3-4 3-pointers. Maurice Williams (Cle) had 17 points including the game winning free throws with .9 seconds left, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Delonte West (Cle) had 16 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Manu Ginobili (SA) had 38 points including 7-11 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. George Hill (SA) had 23 points. Tony Parker (SA, broken bone right hand) did not play. NY 99, Atl 98 at NY Danilo Gallinari (NY) had 27 points including 9-14 FG and 4-5 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. David Lee (NY) had 19 points including 9-15 FG and 13 rebounds. Al Harrington (NY) had 14 points. Josh Smith (Atl) had 25 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. Al Horford (Atl) had 18 points, 12 rebounds including 6 offensive, and 3 steals. Joe Johnson (Atl) had 22 points and 5 assists. NY shot 11-13 FT and Atl shot 21-27 FT. J.R. Giddens (NY, left knee surgery) did not play. Mem 107, NJ 101 at Mem Rudy Gay (Mem) had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Pau Gasol (Mem) had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Mike Conley (Mem) had 21 points. Devin Harris (NJ) had 28 points including 8-10 FT and 5 assists. Courtney Lee (NJ) had 30 points including 13-20 FG and 5 rebounds. Zach Randolph (Mem, lower back tightness) did not play. NO 135, GS 131 at NO David West (NO) had 28 points including 11-16 FG and 13 rebounds including 6 offensive. Emeka Okafor (NO) had 22 points including 10-12 FG and 11 rebounds including 5 offensive. Darren Collison (NO) had 16 points, 20 assists, 3 steals, and 7 turnovers. Marcus Thornton (NO) had 28 points including 11-19 FG and 6 rebounds. Anthony Morrow (GS) had 28 points including 6-6 3-pointers. Devean George (GS) had 18 points on 7-11 FG and 4-7 3-pointers. Reggie Williams (GS) had 28 points and 6 assists. NO out-rebounded GS 44-23 including 15-4 offensive. Sean Mark (NO, strained right shoulder), Andris Biedrins (GS, sports hernia), Monta Ellis (GS, lower back strain), Vladimir Radmanovic (GS, sore right Achilles), and Ronny Turiaf (GS, sore left knee) did not play. Schedule for Tuesday, March 9 (All times Central) Miami @ Charlotte 6:00 pm Philadelphia @ Indiana 6:00 pm LA Clippers @ Orlando 6:00 pm Houston @ Washington 6:00 pm Utah @ Chicago 7:00 pm Boston @ Milwaukee 7:00 pm Sacramento @ Portland 9:00 pm Toronto @ LA Lakers 9:30 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