News from April 3. The NBA named Russell Westbrook (OKC) and LeBron James (Cle) as Players of the Month for March. Westbrook averaged 30.9 points, 10.2 assists, and 8.5 rebounds as Oklahoma City went 10-5. James averaged 24.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 7.3 assists as Cleveland went 11-4. The NBA named Jordan Clarkson (LAL) and Nikola Mirotic (Chi) as Rookies of the Month for March. Clarkson averaged 15.8 points and 5.2 assists as the Lakers went 4-12. Mirotic averaged 20.8 points and 7.6 rebounds as Chicago went 8-7. The LA Lakers signed Dwight Buycks to a 10-day contract. Boston activated Jared Sullinger and placed Shavlik Randolph on IL. Chicago activated Doug McDermott and placed Kirk Hinrich (hyperextended knee) on IL. The LA Lakers placed Kobe Bryant (right rotator cuff surgery) on IL. Portland placed Dorell Wright on IL. Wright is expected to be out 4 to 6 weeks with a fractured bone in his left hand. Sacramento placed Rudy Gay (concussion) on IL. Por 107, LAL 77 at LAL Damian Lillard (Por) had 20 points including 4-8 3-pointers and 5 assists. Arron Afflalo (Por) had 17 points including 5-15 FG. C.J. McCollum (Por) had 27 points including 10-16 FG and 6 rebounds. Jordan Clarkson (LAL) had 27 points including 12-20 FG, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Wesley Johnson (LAL) had 11 points including 5-14 FG and 15 rebounds. Por shot 48.9% (43-88) FG and LAL shot 37.8% (31-82) FG. Nick Young (LAL, fractured left kneecap) and Wayne Ellington (LAL, separated right shoulder) did not play. NO 101, Sac 95 at Sac Anthony Davis (NO) had 20 points on 6-17 FG and 8-10 FT and 10 rebounds. Eric Gordon (NO) had 21 points including 4-8 3-pointers. Tyreke Evans (NO) had 19 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, and 5 turnovers. DeMarcus Cousins (Sac) had 24 points including 6-10 FT, 20 rebounds, 13 assists, 4 blocks, and 5 turnovers. Ben McLemore (Sac) had 17 points. SA 123, Den 93 at SA Kawhi Leonard (SA) had 20 points on 9-13 FG. Danny Green (SA) had 21 points including 7-9 FG and 6-6 3-pointers. Aron Baynes (SA) had 18 points. Danilo Gallinari (Den) had 20 points. Jameer Nelson (Den) had 14 points. SA out-scored Den 45-25 in the 1st quarter. Orl 97, Min 84 at Min Tobias Harris (Orl) had 25 points including 4-8 3-pointers and 12 rebounds. Nikola Vucevic (Orl) had 37 points including 18-25 FG and 17 rebounds including 7 offensive. Elfrid Payton (Orl) had 10 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, and 4 steals. Andrew Wiggins (Min) had 22 points including 10-13 FT and 5 turnovers. Justin Hamilton (Min) had 14 points and 9 rebounds. Luke Ridnour (Orl, personal reasons), Anthony Bennett (sprained right ankle), Gorgui Dieng (Min, concussion), Kevin Martin (Min), and Ricky Rubio (Min, sore right ankle) did not play. Mem 100, OKC 92 at Mem Jeff Green (Mem) had 22 points and 5 rebounds. Marc Gasol (Mem) had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Mike Conley (Mem) had 13 points including 3-11 FG, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. Enes Kanter (OKC) had 24 points including 11-19 FG and 17 rebounds including 5 offensive. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 18 points on 5-20 FG and 8-13 FT, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 turnovers. Andre Roberson (Mem, sprained left ankle) did not play. Chi 88, Det 82 at Chi Pau Gasol (Chi) had 26 points including 11-19 FG and 10 rebounds including 6 offensive. Jimmy Butler (Chi) had 18 points. Joakim Noah (Chi) had 6 points, 9 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 10 assists. Andre Drummond (Det) had 14 points, 22 rebounds including 7 offensive, and 6 blocks. Reggie Jackson (Det) had 22 points including 9-15 FG, 9 assists, and 8 turnovers. Bro 114, Tor 109 at Bro Thaddeus Young (Bro) had 29 points including 12-15 FG, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals. Brook Lopez (Bro) had 30 points and 17 rebounds including 10 offensive. Deron Williams (Bro) had 31 points including 11-18 FG and 5-7 3-pointers and 11 assists. Jonas Valanciunas (Tor) had 21 points including 9-13 FG and 9 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan (Tor) had 27 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 turnovers. Louis Williams (Tor) had 23 points including 5-8 3-pointers. Mil 110, Bos 101 at Bos Ersan Ilyasova (Mil) had 17 points. Khris Middleton (Mil) had 13 points including 5-16 FG and 1-6 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. O.J. Mayo (Mil) had 24 points including 9-13 FG and 4-6 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Isaiah Thomas (Bos) had 23 points, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Jonas Jerebko (Bos) had 17 points including 7-10 FG and 5 rebounds. Was 101, NY 87 at Was Marcin Gortat (Was) had 19 points including 9-13 FG and 6 rebounds. Bradley Beal (Was) had 18 points and 5 assists. Otto Porter (Was) had 17 points including 7-9 FG and 8 rebounds. John Wall (Was) had 6 points on 3-13 FG and 18 assists. Shane Larkin (NY) had 14 points and 5 rebounds. Ricky Ledo (NY) had 21 points and 9 rebounds. Travis Wear (NY, sore lower back) did not play. Ind 93, Cha 74 at Ind C.J. Miles (Ind) had 12 points including 4-12 FG and 6 rebounds. Rodney Stuckey (Ind) had 15 points and 5 turnovers. C.J. Watson (Ind) had 13 points and 4 steals. Gerald Henderson (Cha) had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Marvin Williams (Cha) had 10 points including 3-9 FG and 8 rebounds. Ind out-scored Cha 48-22 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Schedule for Saturday, April 4 (All times Central) Philadelphia @ Charlotte 6:00 pm Brooklyn @ Atlanta 6:30 pm Miami @ Detroit 6:30 pm Boston @ Toronto 6:30 pm Washington @ Memphis 7:00 pm Golden State @ Dallas 7:30 pm Orlando @ Milwaukee 7:30 pm LA Clippers @ Denver 8:00 pm Utah @ Phoenix 9:00 pm New Orleans @ Portland 9:00 pm Schedule for Sunday, April 5 (All times Central) Houston @ Oklahoma City 12:00 pm ABC Chicago @ Cleveland 2:30 pm ABC Miami @ Indiana 5:00 pm Golden State @ San Antonio 6:00 pm NBATV Philadelphia @ New York 6:30 pm Utah @ Sacramento 8:00 pm LA Clippers @ LA Lakers 8:30 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