News from February 16.

The NBA announced the contestants for the Slam Dunk contest to take place
February 25 in Orlando.  The contestants are:
  Chase Budinger (Hou)         Iman Shumpert (NY)
  Paul George (Ind)            Derrick Williams (Min)

Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal held their "draft" to select the
players for their teams in the Rookie-Sophomore game (in a change from the
past, the teams will be a mix of rookies and sophomores instead of a pure
rookie team vs a pure sophomore team).  Jeremy Lin (NY) and Norris Cole
(Mia) were also added to list of participants for the game.  The game will
take placed February 24 in Orlando on TNT at 8 pm Central Time.

  Team Chuck                   Team Shaq
  MarShon Brooks (NJ)          Norris Cole (Mia)
  DeMarcus Cousins (Sac)       Landry Fields (NY)
  Paul George (Ind)            Blake Griffin (LAC)
  Gordon Hayward (Uta)         Brandon Knight (Det)
  Kyrie Irving (Cle)           Jeremy Lin (NY)
  Kawhi Leonard (SA)           Greg Monroe (Det)
  Tiago Splitter (SA)          Markieff Morris (Pho)
  Evan Turner (Phi)            Ricky Rubio (Min)
  John Wall (Was)              Tristan Thompson (Cle)
  Derrick Williams (Min)       Kemba Walker (Cha)
  Coach: Maurice Cheeks (OKC)  Coach: Ron Adams (Chi)
  Assistant: Mike Fratello     Assistant: Steve Kerr

Anderson Varejao (Cle) is expected to be out 4 to 6 weeks with a fractured
right wrist.


Chi 89, Bos 80  at Chi
Luol Deng (Chi) had 23 points including 6-9 3-pointers and 10 assists.
Carlos Boozer (Chi) had 23 points including 11-15 FG, 15 rebounds, and 5
assists.
Joakim Noah (Chi) had 15 points including 5-15 FG and 16 rebounds
including 8 offensive.
Kevin Garnett (Bos) had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Rajon Rondo (Bos) had 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Derrick Rose (Chi, lower back strain) did not play.

LAC 74, Por 71  at Por
Blake Griffin (LAC) had 21 points including 9-15 FG and 14 rebounds.
Chris Paul (LAC) had 13 points including 5-15 FG, 6 rebounds, and 4
steals.
Maurice Williams (LAC) had 17 points including 5-15 FG and 1-7 3-pointers
and 6 rebounds.
Nicolas Batum (Por) had 19 points and 6 rebounds.
Jamal Crawford (Por) had 19 points.

Ind 93, NJ 88  at Ind
Danny Granger (Ind) had 32 points including 4-7 3-pointers and 5 rebounds.
David West (Ind) had 16 points and 6 rebounds.
Roy Hibbert (Ind) had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Kris Humphries (NJ) had 24 points including 11-14 FG, 10 rebounds, and 3
blocks.
Deron Williams (NJ) had 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 turnovers.


Schedule for Friday, February 17  (All times Central)
  Charlotte at Toronto           6:00 pm
  Milwaukee at Orlando           6:00 pm
  Sacramento at Detroit          6:30 pm
  Miami at Cleveland             6:30 pm
  Dallas at Philadelphia         7:00 pm  ESPN
  New Orleans at New York        7:00 pm
  Denver at Memphis              7:00 pm
  Minnesota at Houston           7:00 pm
  Golden State at Oklahoma City  7:00 pm
  Washington at Utah             8:00 pm
  Phoenix at LA Lakers           9:30 pm  ESPN

Schedule for Saturday, February 18  (All times Central)
  San Antonio at LA Clippers     2:30 pm
  New Jersey at Chicago          3:00 pm
  Golden State at Memphis        7:00 pm
  Atlanta at Portland            9:00 pm  NBATV


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  Patricia Bender                       pbender@eskimo.com
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