News from January 3. The NBA named Kevin Durant (OKC) and LeBron James (Mia) as Players of the Month for December. Durant averaged 29.4 points and 9 rebounds as Oklahoma City went 14-3. James averaged 24.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 6.9 assists as Miami went 11-4. The NBA named Trey Burke (Uta) and Victor Oladipo (Orl) as Rookies of the Month for December. Burke averaged 14.8 points and 5.9 assists as Utah went 7-9. Oladipo averaged 12.7 points as Orlando went 4-11. Denver rescinded the 2 game suspension for Andre Miller. Orlando released Hedo Turkoglu. Minnesota assigned Shabazz Muhammad to the NBADL. Chris Paul (LAC) suffered a separated right shoulder during Friday's Dal-LAC game and is expected to be out 3 to 5 weeks. Atlanta placed Jared Cunningham on IL. Boston placed MarShon Brooks on IL. Toronto activated Austin Daye and Julyan Stone and placed Dwight Bucks and Tyler Hansbrough on IL. LAC 119, Dal 112 at Dal Blake Griffin (LAC) had 25 points including 11-13 FT, 15 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 5 assists. DeAndre Jordan (LAC) had 25 points including 11-14 FG, 18 rebounds including 6 offensive, and 3 blocks. Chris Paul (LAC) had 19 points including 5-6 FG and 5-6 3-pointers and 6 assists. Darren Collison (LAC) had 20 points. Shawn Marion (Dal) had 20 points and 6 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 24 points on 10-17 FG and 4-5 3-pointers. LAC shot 30-38 FT and Dal shot 10-14 FT. LAL 110, Uta 99 at LAL Pau Gasol (LAL) had 23 points including 10-17 FG, 17 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 blocks. Kendall Marshall (LAL) had 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 15 assists. Jodie Meeks (LAL) had 18 points and 6 assists. Gordon Hayward (Uta) had 22 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 6 assists. Enes Kanter (Uta) had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Steve Blake (LAL, torn ligament), Jordan Farmar (LAL, left hamstring tear), and Xavier Henry (LAL, right knee bone bruise) did not play. Den 111, Mem 108 at Den Ty Lawson (Den) had 18 points, 12 assists, 3 steals, and 5 turnovers. Kenneth Faried (Den) had 16 points including 7-8 FG and 6 rebounds. Timofey Mozgov (Den) had 16 points including 7-9 FG and 7 rebounds. Zach Randolph (Mem) had 25 points and 13 rebounds including 5 offensive. Mike Conley (Mem) had 23 points, 8 assists, and 4 steals. Andre Miller (Den, personal reasons) did not play. Hou 102, NY 100 at Hou Chandler Parsons (Hou) had 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals. James Harden (Hou) had 37 points including 5-10 3-pointers and 12-12 FT, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Dwight Howard (Hou) had 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Carmelo Anthony (NY) had 25 points and 8 rebounds. Iman Shumpert (NY) had 26 points including 9-14 FG and 6-6 3-pointers and 5 assists. Omer Asik (Hou, right thigh contusion), Kenyon Martin (NY, sore left ankle), and Metta World Peace (NY, sore left knee) did not play. NO 95, Bos 92 at Bos Anthony Davis (NO) had 23 points including 9-12 FG, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Tyreke Evans (NO) had 16 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Ryan Anderson (NO) had 13 points and 7 rebounds. Brandon Bass (Bos) had 16 points on 8-10 FG and 11 rebounds including 6 offensive. Avery Bradley (Bos) had 22 points including 4-6 3-pointers. NO shot 49.4% (38-77) FG and Bos shot 34.8% (31-89) FG. GS 101, Atl 100 at Atl David Lee (GS) had 23 points and 8 rebounds. Klay Thompson (GS) had 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Stephen Curry (GS) had 22 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals, and 9 turnovers. Pero Antic (Atl) had 16 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 11 rebounds. Jeff Teague (Atl) had 14 points, 7 assists, and 5 turnovers. Tor 101, Was 88 at Was Amir Johnson (Tor) had 17 points and 7 rebounds. Kyle Lowry (Tor) had 19 points including 4-4 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 steals. DeMar DeRozan (Tor) had 20 points and 5 assists. Bradley Beal (Was) had 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Nene (Was) had 15 points. Schedule for Saturday, January 4 (All times Central) New Orleans @ Indiana 6:00 pm Miami @ Orlando 6:00 pm Cleveland @ Brooklyn 6:30 pm Atlanta @ Chicago 7:00 pm Oklahoma City @ Minnesota 7:00 pm LA Clippers @ San Antonio 7:30 pm Milwaukee @ Phoenix 8:00 pm Philadelphia @ Portland 9:00 pm Charlotte @ Sacramento 9:00 pm Schedule for Sunday, January 5 (All times Central) Memphis @ Detroit 12:00 pm Indiana @ Cleveland 5:00 pm Toronto @ Miami 5:00 pm Golden State @ Washington 5:00 pm Boston @ Oklahoma City 6:00 pm New York @ Dallas 6:30 pm NBATV Denver @ LA Lakers 8:30 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