News from December 8. Houston head coach Kevin McHale returned to the bench after being out since November 10 (missing 13 games, during which Houston went 7-6). McHale's 26 year old daughter Sasha died November 24 at age 23 due to complications due to Lupus. Dallas activated Rodrigue Beaubois and placed Shawn Marion (strained right groin) on IL. Stats Leaders Points Kobe Bryant (LAL) 28.4 Kevin Durant (OKC) 27.0 Carmelo Anthony (NY) 26.4 Rebounds Anderson Varejao (Cle) 15.3 Zach Randolph (Mem) 12.9 Omer Asik (Hou) 11.7 Assists Rajon Rondo (Bos) 12.9 Chris Paul (LAC) 9.5 Jrue Holiday (Phi) 9.0 Dal 116, Hou 109 at Hou O.J. Mayo (Dal) had 40 points including 15-26 FG and 6-9 3-pointers and 8 rebounds. Chris Kaman (Dal) had 20 points including 9-13 FG and 7 rebounds. Darren Collison (Dal) had 12 points including 3-9 FG and 5 assists. James Harden (Hou) had 39 points on 10-17 FG, 4-9 3-pointers, and 15-16 FT, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 6 turnovers. Chandler Parsons (Hou) had 18 points including 6-17 FG and 1-6 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. LAC 117, Pho 99 at LAC Blake Griffin (LAC) had 24 points on 10-17 FG and 4-10 FT, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals. Chris Paul (LAC) had 16 points and 11 assists. Jamal Crawford (LAC) had 21 points including 1-7 3-pointers. Shannon Brown (Pho) had 19 points. Luis Scola (Pho) had 18 points including 8-11 FG and 10 rebounds. Michael Beasley (Pho) had 21 points including 7-11 FG and 4-7 3-pointers and 5 assists. GS 101, Was 97 at Was David Lee (GS) had 24 points and 17 rebounds. Klay Thompson (GS) had 23 points including 5-9 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Stephen Curry (GS) had 22 points and 5 assists. Bradley Beal (Was) had 17 points including 6-17 FG and 1-6 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Jordan Crawford (Was) had 22 points including 4-9 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. GS out-rebounded Was 57-37 including 13-7 offensive. Trevor Ariza (Was, left calf injury) did not play. SA 132, Cha 102 at Cha Danny Green (SA) had 23 points on 8-10 FG and 7-9 3-pointers. Tony Parker (SA) had 22 points including 10-12 FG and 9 assists. Nando De Colo (SA) had 10 points including 3-10 FG, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Kemba Walker (Cha) had 23 points including 3-4 3-pointers. Gerald Henderson (Cha) had 13 points. SA shot 13-15 FT and Cha shot 22-31 FT. DeJuan Blair (SA, sprained left ankle) did not play. Bos 92, Phi 79 at Bos Kevin Garnett (Bos) had 19 points including 9-11 FG. Paul Pierce (Bos) had 13 points and 9 assists. Rajon Rondo (Bos) had 7 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 steals. Thaddeus Young (Phi) had 22 points including 9-15 FG. Jrue Holiday (Phi) had 11 points including 4-13 FG, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists. Nick Young (Phi, hyperextended left big toe) and Royal Ivey (Phi, strained right groin) did not play. Mia 106, NO 90 at Mia LeBron James (Mia) had 24 points including 11-16 FG, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. Dwyane Wade (Mia) had 26 points including 9-12 FG. Chris Bosh (Mia) had 13 points including 4-11 FG, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Ryan Anderson (NO) had 24 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. Robin Lopez (NO) had 20 points including 7-10 FG and 8 rebounds. Mia shot 58% (40-69) FG and NO shot 44.9% (35-78) FG. Anthony Davis (NO, stress reaction left ankle) did not play. Det 104, Cle 97 at Cle Brandon Knight (Det) had 30 points including 5-6 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Tayshaun Prince (Det) had 14 points and 8 rebounds. Rodney Stuckey (Det) had 10 points and 6 assists. Jeremy Pargo (Cle) had 24 points. Anderson Varejao (Cle) had 16 points, 13 rebounds including 7 offensive, and 5 assists. Det shot 25-33 FT and Cle shot 13-17 FT. Chi 93, NY 85 at Chi Luol Deng (Chi) had 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Marco Belinelli (Chi) had 22 points including 4-6 3-pointers. Nate Robinson (Chi) had 14 points including 4-15 FG, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. Raymond Felton (NY) had 27 points including 9-30 FG, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Tyson Chandler (NY) had 14 points and 18 rebounds including 9 offensive. Chi shot 43.6% (34-78) FG and NY shot 32.1% (27-84) FG. Carmelo Anthony (NY, lacerated left third finger) did not play. Atl 93, Mem 83 at Mem Josh Smith (Atl) had 24 points including 10-17 FG, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals. Al Horford (Atl) had 19 points and 14 rebounds including 6 offensive. Louis Williams (Atl) had 21 points including 4-6 3-pointers. Rudy Gay (Mem) had 17 points including 7-25 FG, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals. Zach Randolph (Mem) had 18 points and 13 rebounds. Marc Gasol (Mem) had 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. DeShawn Stevenson (Atl) did not play. Sac 99, Por 80 at Por John Salmons (Sac) had 19 points including 3-4 3-pointers and 11 assists. DeMarcus Cousins (Sac) had 19 points including 6-17 FG and 12 rebounds. Jason Thompson (Sac) had 12 points and 8 rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) had 17 points including 5-14 FG and 10 rebounds. J.J. Hickson (Por) had 14 points and 15 rebounds. Tyreke Evans (Sac, left knee injury) did not play. Schedule for Sunday, December 9 (All times Central) Toronto at LA Clippers 2:30 pm Milwaukee at Brooklyn 5:00 pm Indiana at Oklahoma City 6:00 pm Denver at New York 6:30 pm NBATV Orlando at Phoenix 7:00 pm Utah at LA Lakers 8:30 pm Schedule for Monday, December 10 (All times Central) Detroit at Philadelphia 6:00 pm NBATV Golden State at Charlotte 6:00 pm Atlanta at Miami 6:30 pm San Antonio at Houston 7:00 pm Sacramento at Dallas 7:30 pm Toronto at Portland 9:00 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