News from December 22. The NBA named LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) and Al Horford (Atl) as Players of the Week. Aldridge averaged 26.3 points and 14.3 rebounds as Portland went 4-0. Horford averaged 18.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5 assists as Atlanta went 3-0. The NBA fined Samuel Dalembert (NY) $15,000 for elbowing Jonas Valanciunas (Tor) in the face during Sunday's NY-Tor game. Detroit released Josh Smith. Chicago activated Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose. Denver placed Danilo Gallinari (torn meniscus right knee) on IL. Golden State activated David Lee. Portland activated Victor Claver and placed LaMarcus Aldridge (upper respiratory illness) on IL. Sacramento activated Omri Casspi. San Antonio activated Tony Parker and placed Kawhi Leonard (injured right hand) on IL. Utah activated Patrick Christopher and placed Trevor Booker on IL. Atl 105, Dal 102 at Dal Dennis Schroder (Atl) had 22 points including 9-15 FG, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Kyle Korver (Atl) had 18 points. Al Horford (Atl) had 17 points and 7 rebounds. Paul Millsap (Atl) had 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists. Tyson Chandler (Dal) had 8 points including 3-4 FG and 19 rebounds. Monta Ellis (Dal) had 18 points including 8-22 FG and 1-6 3-pointers, 4 steals, and 5 turnovers. Cha 110, Den 82 at Cha Al Jefferson (Cha) had 22 points including 10-13 FG and 7 rebounds. Kemba Walker (Cha) had 18 points and 9 assists. P.J. Hairston (Cha) had 10 points on 4-11 FG, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Ty Lawson (Den) had 18 points. Alonzo Gee (Den) had 15 points. Cha shot 53.8% (43-80) FG and Den shot 37.8% (31-82) FG. Darrell Arthur (Den, strained left peroneals muscle) did not play. Chi 129, Tor 120 at Chi Jimmy Butler (Chi) had 27 points including 11-11 FT, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Derrick Rose (Chi) had 29 points including 12-19 FG. Aaron Brooks (Chi) had 17 points. Kyle Lowry (Tor) had 34 points including 4-8 3-pointers and 6-10 FT and 6 rebounds. Jonas Valanciunas (Tor) had 20 points and 9 rebounds. Chi shot 54.1% (40-74) FG and Tor shot 44% (44-100) FG. Hou 110, Por 95 at Hou James Harden (Hou) had 44 points including 4-9 3-pointers and 12-13 FT, 7 assists, and 5 steals. Dwight Howard (Hou) had 16 points including 7-11 FG and 13 rebounds. Corey Brewer (Hou) had 12 points and 5 steals. Damian Lillard (Por) had 18 points and 6 turnovers. C.J. McCollum (Por) had 17 points. Uta 97, Mem 91 at Mem Gordon Hayward (Uta) had 21 points. Derrick Favors (Uta) had 15 points and 7 rebounds. Alec Burks (Uta) had 23 points. Marc Gasol (Mem) had 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. Mike Conley (Mem) had 28 points including 4-6 3-pointers. Uta shot 20-27 FT and Mem shot 8-9 FT. SA 125, LAC 118 at SA Tim Duncan (SA) had 21 points and 12 rebounds. Tony Parker (SA) had 26 points including 11-18 FG. Manu Ginobili (SA) had 19 points including 7-11 FG and 10 assists. Boris Diaw (SA) had 23 points including 9-11 FG and 6 rebounds. Blake Griffin (LAC) had 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. J.J. Redick (LAC) had 21 points including 5-8 3-pointers. Chris Paul (LAC) had 25 points and 9 assists. Jamal Crawford (LAC) had 18 points. SA shot 63.6% (49-77) FG and LAC shot 50% (43-86) FG. GS 128, Sac 108 at GS Klay Thompson (GS) had 25 points including 10-16 FG. Festus Ezeli (GS) had 15 points including 7-11 FG and 6 rebounds. Justin Holiday (GS) had 18 points. DeMarcus Cousins (Sac) had 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Darren Collison (Sac) had 17 points and 5 assists. Schedule for Tuesday, December 23 (All times Central) Minnesota @ Cleveland 6:00 pm New Orleans @ Indiana 6:00 pm Boston @ Orlando 6:00 pm Chicago @ Washington 6:00 pm LA Clippers @ Atlanta 6:30 pm Denver @ Brooklyn 6:30 pm Philadelphia @ Miami 6:30 pm Charlotte @ Milwaukee 7:00 pm Portland @ Oklahoma City 7:00 pm Dallas @ Phoenix 8:00 pm Golden State @ LA Lakers 9:30 pm Schedule for Wednesday, December 24 (All times Central) No games scheduled Schedule for Thursday, December 25 (All times Central) Washington @ New York 11:00 am ESPN Oklahoma City @ San Antonio 1:30 pm ABC Cleveland @ Miami 4:00 pm ABC LA Lakers @ Chicago 7:00 pm NBATV Golden State @ LA Clippers 9:30 pm NBATV ---- 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