News from December 18. The NBA named Chris Paul (Hou) and LeBron James (Cle) as Players of the Week. Paul averaged 26 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 3.3 steals and Houston went 4-0. James averaged 24.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 13.5 assists as Cleveland went 4-0. Atlanta converted Tyler Cavanaugh's 2-way contract to a regular contract. Brooklyn signed Milton Doyle to a 2-way contract. Milwaukee signed Sean Kilpatrick to a 2-way contract and released Gary Patyon. The LA Lakers retired Kobe Bryant's #8 and #24. Dallas announced that they will retire Derek Harper's #12 on January 7. Charlotte activated Mangok Mathiang and placed Treveon Graham (back spasms) on IL. Chicago activated Lauri Markkanen. Dallas activated Dennis Smith. Denver activated Juan Hernangomez and placed Emmanuel Mudiay (right ankle injury) on IL. Golden State activated Damian Jones and placed Shaun Livingston (sore right knee) on IL. The LA Clippers activated Austin Rivers and Milos Tedosic. The LA Lakers activated Thomas Bryant and placed Ivica Zubac on IL. Miami activated Derrick Walton. Philadelphia activated Jacob Pullen and placed Trevor Booker (sprained left ankle) and Joel Embiid (rest) on IL. San Antonio activated Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker and placed Darrun Hillard and Derrick White on IL. Pho 97, Dal 91 at Dal T.J. Warren (Pho) had 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Isaiah Canaan (Pho) had 17 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Alex Len (Pho) had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Harrison Barnes (Dal) had 26 points. Yogi Ferrell (Dal) had 13 points including 4-14 FG, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. SA 109, LAC 91 at SA LaMarcus Aldridge (SA) had 19 points and 8 rebounds. Tony Parker (SA) had 16 points including 7-9 FG and 7 assists. Manu Ginobili (SA) had 13 points and 5 assists. Jamal Wilson (LAC) had 13 points including 3-10 3-pointers and 3 steals. DeAndre Jordan (LAC) had 13 points and 14 rebounds. Danny Green (SA, left groin tightness), Wesley Johnson (LAC, sore left foot), and Lou Williams (LAC, sprained left foot) did not play. GS 116, LAL 114 OT at LAL Kevin Durant (GS) had 36 points on 10-29 FG, 4-13 3-pointers, 12-13 FT, and the game winning jumper with 7.3 seconds left. Klay Thompson (GS) had 17 points including 6-24 FG and 4-13 3-pointers and 10 rebounds. Omri Casspi (GS) had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Ingram (LAL) had 19 points including 7-12 FT, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Kyle Kuzma (LAL) had 25 points including 10-16 FG and 4-6 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. OKC 95, Den 94 at OKC Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 38 points including 16-28 FG and the game winning free throws with 2.3 seconds left, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Alex Abrines (OKC) had 11 points on a perfect 3-3 3-pointers and 2-2 FT and 5 rebounds. Paul George (OKC) had 8 points including 3-13 FG and 1-6 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Gary Harris (Den) had 17 points and 6 assists. Trey Lyles (Den) had 15 points and 9 rebounds. Min 108, Por 107 at Min Karl-Anthony Towns (Min) had 16 points including 5-15 FG and 8 rebounds. Jimmy Butler (Min) had 37 points on 12-21 FG and 11-12 FT and the game winning free throws with 2.5 seconds left and 6 rebounds. Jamal Crawford (Min) had 23 points including 10-16 FG. Jusuf Nurkic (Por) had 20 points including 9-12 FG and 7 rebounds. C.J. McCollum (Por) had 20 points. Damian Lillard (Por) had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 13 assists, and 6 turnovers. Hou 120, Uta 99 at Hou Clint Capela (Hou) had 24 points including 10-12 FG and 20 rebounds including 6 offensive. James Harden (Hou) had 26 points on 6-17 FG, 4-12 3-pointers, and 10-10 FT, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Chris Paul (Hou) had 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists. Eric Gordon (Hou) had 33 points including 12-18 FG and 7-12 FT. Joe Ingles (Uta) had 17 points. Rodney Hood (Uta) had 26 points including 5-10 3-pointers. Hou out-scored Uta 41-15 in the 4th quarter. Hou shot 23-27 FT and Uta shot 7-8 FT. Rudy Gobert (Uta, sprained left knee) did not play. Chi 117, Phi 115 at Chi Justin Holiday (Chi) had 20 points including 5-7 3-pointers. Kris Dunn (Chi) had 22 points including 9-14 FG, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Dario Saric (Phi) had 27 points and 8 rebounds. Ben Simmons (Phi) had 19 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 blocks. Atl 110, Mia 104 at Atl Taurean Prince (Atl) had 24 points including 4-7 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Dennis Schroder (Atl) had 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Kent Bazemore (Atl) had 16 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals. Josh Richardson (Mia) had 26 points and 3 steals. Dion Waiters (Mia) had 23 points and 5 assists. Tyler Johnson (Mia) had 19 points. James Johnson (Mia, right ankle burstis) and Hassan Whiteside (Mia, bone bruise left knee) did not play. Bos 112, Ind 111 at Ind Kyrie Irving (Bos) had 30 points including 5-8 3-pointers. Al Horford (Bos) had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. Jayson Tatum (Bos) had 16 points including 6-8 FG and 5 rebounds. Victor Oladipo (Ind) had 38 points on 13-23 FG and 10-13 FT, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Domantas Sabonis (Ind) had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Bos shot 8-14 FT and Ind shot 30-38 FT. Cha 109, NY 91 at Cha Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Cha) had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Dwight Howard (Cha) had 11 points including 3-10 FG and 10 rebounds including 5 offensive. Frank Kaminsky (Cha) had 24 points on 10-13 FG and 4-6 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. Michael Beasley (NY) had 23 points and 9 rebounds. Jarrett Jack (NY) had 12 points and 7 assists. Schedule for Tuesday, December 19 (All times Central) Sacramento at Philadelphia 6:00 pm New Orleans at Washington 6:00 pm Cleveland at Milwaukee 7:00 pm NBATV Schedule for Wednesday, December 20 (All times Central) Toronto at Charlotte 6:00 pm Indiana at Atlanta 6:30 pm Miami at Boston 6:30 pm Sacramento at Brooklyn 6:30 pm Orlando at Chicago 7:00 pm LA Lakers at Houston 7:00 pm NBATV Utah at Oklahoma City 7:00 pm Detroit at Dallas 7:30 pm Minnesota at Denver 8:00 pm San Antonio at Portland 9:00 pm Memphis at Golden State 9:30 pm NBATV Phoenix at LA Clippers 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