News from December 27. The NBA named Kevin Garnett (Min) as Player of the Week. Garnett averaged 23 points and 15 rebounds as Minnesota went 3-0. The NBA fined Kurt Thomas (NY) $10,000 and suspended him for 2 games for throwing a punch at Jalen Rose (Ind) during Saturday's Ind-NY game. Golden State fired head coach P.J. Carlesimo and named GM Garry St. Jean as coach. Golden State also fired assistant coach Bob Staak and re-assigned assistant Paul Westhead to the front office. Brian Winters was named as an assistant coach. Rod Higgins kept his job as an assistant coach. Cleveland signed Mark Hendrickson. Vancouver activated Grant Long and placed Doug West on IR with a stress fracture in his left hand. Washington activated Richard Hamilton and placed Laron Profit on IR with tendinitis in his left knee. LAL 108, Dal 106 - at LAL Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) had 35 points including 7-10 FT, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 7 turnovers. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals. Ron Harper (LAL) had 17 points on 8-9 FG and 6 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 30 points including 10-16 FG and 5-7 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Michael Finley (Dal) had 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. Steve Nash (Dal, sprained right ankle) did not play. Phi 100, Van 93 - at Van George Lynch (Phi) had 10 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists. Matt Geiger (Phi) had 20 points including 9-15 FG and 6 rebounds. Allen Iverson (Phi) had 29 points on 9-27 FG and 11-12 FT, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Van) had 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. Bryant Reeves (Van) had 18 points and 8 rebounds. Mike Bibby (Van) had 18 points, 13 assists, and 3 steals. Phi shot 23-29 FT and Van shot 12-15 FT. SA 105, GS 83 - at GS Tim Duncan (SA) had 16 points and 11 rebounds. David Robinson (SA) had 28 points on 14-19 FG, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Terry Porter (SA) had 14 points. John Starks (GS) had 27 points and 5 assists. Antawn Jamison (GS) had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. SA shot 52.3% (46-88) FG and GS shot 42.4% (36-85) FG. Chris Mills (GS, bone spurs) did not play. Uta 92, Pho 91 - at Uta Bryon Russell (Uta) had 14 points including 5-15 FG, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. Karl Malone (Uta) had 28 points including 8-11 FT and 8 rebounds. Howard Eisley (Uta) had 10 points and 6 assists. Jason Kidd (Pho) had 16 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists, and 9 turnovers. Rex Chapman (Pho) had 29 points including 10-14 FG and 3-4 3-pointers. Uta shot 42.9% (33-77) FG and Pho shot 53.8% (35-65) FG. Uta shot 23-32 FT and Pho shot 13-15 FT. Tom Gugliotta (Pho, medical tests) did not play. Ind 103, Chi 91 - at Chi Jalen Rose (Ind) had 20 points and 6 rebounds. Dale Davis (Ind) had 21 points and 8 rebounds. Rik Smits (Ind) had 15 points including 7-9 FG. Ron Artest (Chi) had 22 points including 4-6 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Elton Brand (Chi) had 22 points and 13 rebounds including 8 offensive. B.J. Armstrong (Chi) had 21 points on 9-15 FG and 3-4 3-pointers and 7 assists. Fred Hoiberg (Chi, strained left quad) and Dedric Willoughby (Chi, left groin strain) did not play. Cha 108, Atl 104 - at Cha Derrick Coleman (Cha) had 25 points including 9-11 FT and 16 rebounds. David Wesley (Cha) had 23 points including 11-12 FT, 12 assists, and 3 steals. Bobby Phills (Cha) had 14 points. Jim Jackson (Atl) had 20 points including 4-4 3-pointers. Alan Henderson (Atl) had 19 points including 11-15 FT and 7 rebounds. Isaiah Rider (Atl) had 25 points, 5 assists, and 7 turnovers. Cha shot 36-45 FT and Atl shot 26-31 FT. Min 107, Orl 105 - at Orl Kevin Garnett (Min) had 26 points, 7 rebounds, 23 rebounds including 9 offensive, and 4 blocks. Terrell Brandon (Min) had 18 points and 15 assists. Joe Smith (Min) had 14 points and 6 rebounds. Tariq Abdul-Wahad (Orl) had 16 points and 8 rebounds. Darrell Armstrong (Orl) had 16 points and 3 steals. Bobby Jackson (Min, right knee strain) did not play. [Subliminal note: vote for Michael Finley as an All-Star starter at http://allstar.nba.com/Ballot]