News from December 28. Boston activated Mark Blount and placed Jerome Moiso on IR with a sprained right ankle. Detroit activated Jerome Williams and placed Brian Cardinal on IR with left knee tendinitis. Houston activated Carlos Rogers and released Anthony Miller. Utah suspended John Starks for 1 game for violating team policies. Washington suspended Rod Strickland for 1 game for skipping practice. Dal 105, LAC 96 - at Dal Michael Finley (Dal) had 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 turnovers. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 17 points including 4-16 FG and 15 rebounds. Shawn Bradley (Dal) had 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Steve Nash (Dal) had 20 points including 8-11 FG, 8 assists, and 3 steals. Lamar Odom (LAC) had 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Corey Maggette (LAC) had 17 points. Darius Miles (LAC) had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Loy Vaught (Dal, bruised right knee) did not play. Mil 107, Cle 89 - at Cle Glenn Robinson (Mil) had 22 points and 6 rebounds. Sam Cassell (Mil) had 23 points including 7-9 FG, 6 assists, and 4 steals. Ray Allen (Mil) had 23 points. Lamond Murray (Cle) had 22 points. Clarence Weatherspoon (Cle) had 15 points and 15 rebounds. Chris Gatling (Cle, sprained right ankle) an Matt Harpring (Cle, sprained left Achilles) did not play. Bos 112, NJ 111 - at NJ Paul Pierce (Bos) had 25 points including 9-12 FG and 6 turnovers. Antoine Walker (Bos) had 23 points including 5-8 3-pointers, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 blocks. Bryant Stith (Bos) had 18 points and 5 assists. Kenny Anderson (Bos) had 20 points including 6-9 FG and 6 assists. Aaron Williams (NJ) had 20 points including 6-9 FG and 6 assists. Stephon Marbury (NJ) had 27 points including 3-4 3-pointers and 8 assists. Milt Palacio (Bos) stole NJ's inbounds pass with 1.8 seconds left and nailed the game winning fall away 3-pointer at the buzzer. Randy Brown (Bos, sprained right ankle), Kendall Gill (NJ, right knee tendinitis), and Jim McIlvaine (NJ, strained lower back) did not play. Orl 102, Det 96 - at Orl Tracy McGrady (Orl) had 26 points and 5 rebounds. Darrell Armstrong (Orl) had 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 14 assists. Monty Williams (Orl) had 15 points including 7-11 FG. Ben Wallace (Det) had 6 points including 2-10 FT, 19 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Jerry Stackhouse (Det) had 34 points including 7-11 FT and 5 turnovers. Chucky Atkins (Det) had 16 points including 5-14 FG and 6 rebounds. Por 103, Uta 102 OT - at Uta Rasheed Wallace (Por) had 21 points and 5 rebounds. Scottie Pippen (Por) had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 6 turnovers. Damon Stoudamire (Por) had 32 points including 12-18 FG and the game winning jumper with 0.4 seconds left. Bryon Russell (Uta) had 20 points and 7 rebounds. Karl Malone (Uta) had 18 points on 5-16 FG and 8-11 FT and 8 rebounds. Donyell Marshall (Uta) had 19 points and 10 rebounds. John Starks (Uta, suspended) did not play. Min 88, Atl 81 - at Min Kevin Garnett (Min) had 21 points on 5-15 FG and 11-15 FT, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. Terrell Brandon (Min) had 14 points including 5-14 FG and 8 assists. Anthony Peeler (Min) had 22 points. Dikembe Mutombo (Atl) had 8 points and 20 rebounds. Jason Terry (Atl) had 31 points including 11-19 FG and 6 rebounds. Tor 94, Den 93 - at Den Corliss Williams (Tor) had 16 points. Mark Jackson (Tor) had 11 points including 4-11 FG and 17 assists. Vince Carter (Tor) had 25 points including the game winning 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left and 5 assists. Antonio McDyess (Den) had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists. Raef LaFrentz (Den) had 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Robert Pack (Den, abdominal cramping) did not play. LAL 115, Pho 78 - at Pho Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) had 18 points including 4-9 FG, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Ron Harper (LAL) had 11 points. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 38 points on 12-19 FG, 3-3 3-pointers, and 11-11 FT, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Shawn Marion (Pho) had 10 points on 5-14 FG and 13 rebounds. Jason Kidd (Pho) had 15 points and 8 rebounds. LAL shot 49.4% (41-83) FG and Pho shot 30.5% (29-95) FG. Horace Grant (LAL, back spasms) did not play. Sac 91, Cha 87 - at Sac Predrag Stojakovic (Sac) had 18 points and 8 rebounds. Chris Webber (Sac) had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Vlade Divac (Sac) had 13 points including 4-11 FG and 9 rebounds. David Wesley (Cha) had 24 points. Baron Davis (Cha) had 21 points, 11 assists, and 6 steals. Darrick Martin (Sac, personal reasons), Scot Pollard (Sac, sprained right ankle), Hidayet Turkoglu (Sac, sprained left ankle), Elden Campbell (Cha, inflammed right bursa sac), and Jamaal Magloire (Cha, sore left foot) did not play. Chi 105, SA 104 - at Chi Elton Brand (Chi) had 22 points including 10-15 FG and 6 rebounds. Bryce Drew (Chi) had 12 points on 5-7 FG and 11 assists. Ron Mercer (Chi) had 33 points including 13-22 FG. Tim Duncan (SA) had 25 points including 9-13 FT, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. David Robinson (SA) had 28 points on 9-15 FG and 10-13 FT and 8 rebounds.