News from December 25. TRADE: Phoenix traded to Anthony Tolliver to Detroit for Tony Mitchell. Houston signed head coach Kevin McHale to a 3 year contract extension. Cleveland activated Alex Kirk and Louis Amundson and placed Anderson Varejao and A.J. Price on IL. Varejao has a torn left Achilles tendon and is out for the season. Golden State placed Festus Ezeli on IL. LAC 100, GS 86 at LAC Blake Griffin (LAC) had 18 points on 5-16 FG and 8-13 FT, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Chris Paul (LAC) had 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. Jamal Crawford (LAC) had 24 points including 4-10 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Klay Thompson (GS) had 15 points including 6-18 FG and 2-10 3-pointers. Stephen Curry (GS) had 14 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 turnovers. Chi 113, LAL 93 at Chi Pau Gasol (Chi) had 23 points including 9-14 FG and 13 rebounds including 5 offensive. Jimmy Butler (Chi) had 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Derrick Rose (Chi) had 20 points and 6 assists. Wesley Johnson (LAL) had 19 points including 6-18 FG and 9 rebounds. Ed Davis (LAL) had 13 points, 14 rebounds including 7 offensive, and 3 blocks. Kobe Bryant (LAL, rest), Xavier Henry (LAL, torn left Achilles), and Ryan Kelly (LAL, torn right hamstring) did not play. Mia 101, Cle 91 at Mia Luol Deng (Mia) had 25 points including 11-16 FG, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Dwyane Wade (Mia) had 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Chris Andersen (Mia) had 12 points including 4-5 FG and 8 rebounds. LeBron James (Cle) had 30 points on 9-16 FG and 10-18 FT and 8 assists. Kyrie Irving (Cle) had 25 points. Justin Hamilton (Mia, concussion) did not play. OKC 114, SA 106 at SA Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 34 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, and 5 steals. Serge Ibaka (OKC) had 21 points and 9 rebounds. Steven Adams (OKC) had 16 points, 15 rebounds including 7 offensive, and 3 blocks. Manu Ginobili (SA) had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists, and 5 turnovers. Matt Bonner (SA) had 17 points. Tim Duncan (SA) had 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Was 102, NY 91 at NY John Wall (Was) had 24 points including 10-17 FG, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists. Bradley Beal (Was) had 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Kris Humphries (Was) had 14 points on 7-9 FG and 6 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony (NY) had 34 points including 8-10 FT. Jose Calderon (NY) had 16 points including 5-14 FG. J.R. Smith (NY, torn left plantar fascia) did not play. Schedule for Friday, December 26 (All times Central) Brooklyn @ Boston 12:00 pm Cleveland @ Orlando 6:00 pm Milwaukee @ Atlanta 6:30 pm Indiana @ Detroit 6:30 pm Houston @ Memphis 7:00 pm San Antonio @ New Orleans 7:00 pm Charlotte @ Oklahoma City 7:00 pm NBATV LA Lakers @ Dallas 7:30 pm Minnesota @ Denver 8:00 pm Philadelphia @ Portland 9:00 pm Phoenix @ Sacramento 9:00 pm Schedule for Saturday, December 27 (All times Central) Toronto @ LA Clippers 2:30 pm Orlando @ Charlotte 6:00 pm Boston @ Washington 6:00 pm Memphis @ Miami 6:30 pm NBATV New Orleans @ Chicago 7:00 pm Indiana @ Brooklyn 7:00 pm Atlanta @ Milwaukee 7:30 pm Philadelphia @ Utah 8:00 pm New York @ Sacramento 9:00 pm NBATV Minnesota @ 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