News from December 20. Minnesota released Josh Howard. Howard was diagnosed with a torn right ACL. Glen Davis (Orl) is expected to be out 4 to 6 weeks with a strained left shoulder. Cleveland recalled Jon Leuer from the NBADL. Denver activated Anthony Randolph and placed Julyan Stone on IL. Portland activated Joel Freeland and placed Nolan Smith on IL. Mia 110, Dal 95 at Dal LeBron James (Mia) had 24 points including 9-13 FG, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers. Chris Bosh (Mia) had 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. Dwyane Wade (Mia) had 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Bernard James (Dal) had 12 points, 9 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 3 blocks. Jae Crowder (Dal) had 15 points. Mia shot 53.8% (42-78) FG and Dal shot 38.5% (42-78) FG. Elton Brand (Dal, strained right groin), Derek Fisher (Dal, strained right knee), and Brandan Wright (Dal, sprained right ankle) did not play. Min 99, OKC 93 at Min Kevin Love (Min) had 28 points including 4-9 3-pointers, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. Nikola Pekovic (Min) had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Alexey Shved (Min) had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 12 assists. J.J. Barea (Min) had 18 points including 3-4 3-pointers. Kevin Durant (OKC) had 33 points including 12-21 FG, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 30 points on 9-28 FG and 11-13 FT, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 8 turnovers. Kevin Martin (OKC, right quad contusion) and Malcolm Lee (Min, hyperextended right knee) did not play. Por 101, Den 93 at Por Nicolas Batum (Por) had 22 points including 5-9 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. J.J. Hickson (Por) had 18 points, 18 rebounds including 6 offensive, and 3 blocks. Wesley Matthews (Por) had 20 points. Andre Miller (Den) had 12 points including 5-14 FG, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. Corey Brewer (Den) had 13 points and 9 rebounds. Por shot 14-36 3-pointers and Den shot 0-22 3-pointers - setting the NBA record for most attempts without a make. LaMarcus Aldridge (Por, sore left ankle) did not play. Schedule for Friday, December 21 (All times Central) Orlando at Toronto 6:00 pm Atlanta at Philadelphia 6:00 pm Milwaukee at Boston 6:30 pm Chicago at New York 6:30 pm NBATV Washington at Detroit 6:30 pm Indiana at Cleveland 6:30 pm Dallas at Memphis 7:00 pm New Orleans at San Antonio 7:30 pm Sacramento at LA Clippers 9:30 pm Charlotte at Golden State 9:30 pm Schedule for Saturday, December 22 (All times Central) Detroit at Washington 6:00 pm Chicago at Atlanta 6:00 pm Utah at Miami 6:30 pm Indiana at New Orleans 7:00 pm Memphis at Houston 7:00 pm Cleveland at Milwaukee 7:30 pm Charlotte at Denver 8:00 pm Phoenix at Portland 9:00 pm LA Lakers at Golden State 9:30 pm ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html