News from January 3. The NBA named James Harden (Hou) and John Wall (Was) as Players of the Month for December. Harden averaged 28.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 12 assists as Houston went 15-2. Wall averaged 24.3 points and 10.7 assists as Washington went 10-5. The NBA named Buddy Hield (NO) and Joel Embiid (Phi) as Rookies of the Month for December. Hield averaged 10.6 points as New Orleans went 7-9. Embiid averaged 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds as Philadelphia went 4-10. New Orleans signed Donatas Motiejunas to a 1 year, minimum contract. Charlotte released Aaron Harrison. Quincy Pondexter (NO) underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and remains out indefinitely. Boston activated Demetrius Jackson and Jordan Mickey and placed James Young and Tyler Zeller on IL. Dallas activated Andrew Bogut and placed A.J. Hammons on IL. Denver activated Darrell Arthur and placed Alonzo Gee on IL. Sacramento activated Arron Afflalo and Rudy Gay and placed Skal Labissiere and Georgios Papagiannis on IL. Dal 113, Was 105 at Dal Harrison Barnes (Dal) had 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Deron Williams (Dal) had 21 points including 4-7 3-pointers, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Devin Harris (Dal) had 17 points including 4-7 3-pointers. Bradley Beal (Was) had 25 points including 3-11 3-pointers and 6 assists. John Wall (Was) had 27 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals. Phi 93, Min 91 at Phi Robert Covington (Phi) had 13 points including 4-14 FG and 1-9 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals. Ersan Ilyasova (Phi) had 19 points and 5 rebounds. Joel Embiid (Phi) had 25 points including 8-11 FT and 8 rebounds including 5 offensive. Karl-Anthony Towns (Min) had 23 points including 1-6 3-pointers, 15 rebounds including 6 offensive, and 5 assists. Zach LaVine (Min) had 28 points including 11-20 FG. Gerald Henderson (Phi, sore left hip), Richaun Holmes (Phi, concussion), and Sergio Rodriguez (Phi, sprained left ankle) did not play. Bos 115, Uta 104 at Bos Jae Crowder (Bos) had 21 points including 6-8 FG and 5-6 3-pointers. Al Horford (Bos) had 21 points and 5 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas (Bos) had 29 points including 5-8 3-pointers and 15 assists. Gordon Hayward (Uta) had 23 points. Joe Johnson (Uta) had 17 points on 7-11 FG and 3-4 3-pointers. George Hill (Uta, concussion) did not play. Ind 121, Det 116 at Det Paul George (Ind) had 32 points on 10-17 FG and 10-10 FT and 6 rebounds. Myles Turner (Ind) had 17 points and 7 rebounds. Jeff Teague (Ind) had 17 points, 8 assists, and 5 turnovers. Andre Drummond (Det) had 20 points and 14 rebounds including 7 offensive. Reggie Jackson (Det) had 20 points including 3-4 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 12 assists. Tobias Harris (Det) had 22 points including 9-14 FG and 5 rebounds. Ind shot 58.1% (43-74) FG and Det shot 49.5% (48-97) FG. Ind shot 26-30 FT and Det shot 10-12 FT. SA 110, Tor 82 at SA Kawhi Leonard (SA) had 25 points including 5-7 3-pointers and 3 blocks. LaMarcus Aldridge (SA) had 23 points on 11-16 FG, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Tony Parker (SA) had 15 points and 8 assists. DeMar DeRozan (Tor) had 26 points including 12-21 FG. Terrence Ross (Tor) had 17 points including 7-11 FG and 5 rebounds. SA shot 55.1% (43-78) FG and Tor shot 37.3% (31-83) FG. Patrick Patterson (Tor, strained left knee) did not play. Sac 120, Den 113 at Den DeMarcus Cousins (Sac) had 31 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Darren Collison (Sac) had 26 points including 10-16 FG and 7 assists. Arron Afflalo (Sac) had 19 points including 8-11 FG. Danilo Gallinari (Den) had 24 points including 4-6 3-pointers. Nikola Jokic (Den) had 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Rudy Gay (Sac, strained right hip flexor) and Ty Lawson (Sac, sinus fracture) did not play. Pho 99, Mia 90 at Pho Marquese Chriss (Pho) had 18 points including 7-11 FG and 6 rebounds. Tyson Chandler (Pho) had 5 points and 20 rebounds including 6 offensive. Devin Booker (Pho) had 27 points and 6 turnovers. Willie Reed (Mia) had 22 points on 11-16 FG and 18 rebounds including 8 offensive. Goran Dragic (Mia) had 24 points, 9 assists, and 5 turnovers. Brandon Knight (Pho, migraine), Hassan Whiteside (Mia, right retinal contusion), Justise Winslow (Mia, right shoulder injury), and Josh McRoberts (Mia, stress fracture left foot) did not play. LAL 116, Mem 102 at LAL Julius Randle (LAL) had 19 points including 9-15 FG, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. Nick Young (LAL) had 20 points including 6-11 3-pointers. D'Angelo Russell (LAL) had 18 points including 6-9 3-pointers and 6 assists. Marc Gasol (Mem) had 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Mike Conley (Mem) had 21 points. LAL shot 51.2% (42-82) FG and Mem shot 39% (30-77) FG. LAL shot 11-33 3-pointers and Mem shot 10-31 3-pointers. Schedule for Wednesday, January 4 (All times Central) Oklahoma City @ Charlotte 6:00 pm Atlanta @ Orlando 6:00 pm Milwaukee @ New York 6:30 pm Chicago @ Cleveland 7:00 pm ESPN Memphis @ LA Clippers 9:30 pm Portland @ Golden State 9:30 pm ESPN Miami @ Sacramento 9:30 pm Schedule for Thursday, January 5 (All times Central) Brooklyn @ Indiana 6:00 pm Utah @ Toronto 6:30 pm Charlotte @ Detroit 6:30 pm Atlanta @ New Orleans 7:00 pm Oklahoma City @ Houston 7:00 pm TNT Phoenix @ Dallas 7:30 pm LA Lakers @ Portland 9:00 pm San Antonio @ Denver 9:30 pm TNT ---- 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