News from December 28. The NBA suspended Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) for 1 game for hitting Matt Harpring (Uta) in the face during Friday's Dal-Uta game. The LA Clippers signed Fred Jones and placed Mike Taylor (broken right thumb) on IL. Cleveland activated Jawad Williams and placed Wally Szczerbiak on IL. Szczerbiak is expected to be out at least a week with a bruised right knee. New Orleans activated Peja Stojakovic and Hilton Armstrong and placed Julian Wright and Ryan Bowen on IL. Boston activated Kendrick Perkins and placed Sam Cassell on IL. Golden State activated Jamal Crawford and placed Marcus Williams on IL. Dal 98, LAC 76 at LAC Josh Howard (Dal) had 29 points including 5-8 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. J.J. Barea (Dal) had 17 points. Brandon Bass (Dal) had 14 points including 3-13 FG and 9 rebounds. Al Thornton (LAC) had 16 points. Marcus Camby (LAC) had 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal, suspended) and Zach Randolph (LAC, sore left knee) did not play. Bos 108, Sac 63 at Sac Paul Pierce (Bos) had 13 points including 3-11 FG and 6 rebounds. Kevin Garnett (Bos) had 21 points including 10-11 FG and 11 rebounds. Ray Allen (Bos) had 19 points including 7-8 FG. John Salmons (Sac) had 11 points including 2-9 FG. Jason Thompson (Sac) had 9 points including 2-6 FG and 6 rebounds. Bos shot 51.9% (41-79) FG and Sac shot 27.9% (19-68) FG. Bos out-rebounded Sac 53-31 including 31-6 offensive. LAL 130, GS 113 at LAL Derek Fisher (LAL) had 19 points on 9-12 FG and 5 assists. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 31 points on 9-15 FG and 10-10 FT and 4 steals. Sasha Vujacic (LAL) had 17 points including 4-7 3-pointers and 6 assists. Andris Biedrins (GS) had 8 points, 17 rebounds including 6 offensive, and 3 steals. Jamal Crawford (GS) had 22 points and 5 assists. NO 105, Ind 103 at Ind David West (NO) had 18 points including the game winning jumper with 2.5 seconds left and 10 rebounds. Chris Paul (NO) had 19 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, and 3 steals. James Posey (NO) had 19 points. Danny Granger (Ind) had 34 points including 4-4 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Troy Murphy (Ind) had 16 points and 16 rebounds. Roy Hibbert (Ind) had 19 points and 6 rebounds including 5 offensive. Cle 93, Mia 86 at Cle LeBron James (Cle) had 33 points on 12-19 FG and 7-12 FT, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists. Maurice Williams (Cle) had 20 points. Anderson Varejao (Cle) had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Udonis Haslem (Mia) had 15 points including 7-11 FG and 9 rebounds. Dwyane Wade (Mia) had 29 points and 8 assists. Den 117, NY 110 at NY Carmelo Anthony (Den) had 32 points including 13-19 FG and 9 rebounds. Nene (Den) had 13 points and 9 rebounds. J.R. Smith (Den) had 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. David Lee (NY) had 19 points including 7-9 FG and 12 rebounds including 5 offensive. Nate Robinson (NY) had 20 points. Den shot 57% (45-79) FG and NY shot 44.7% (38-85) FG. Danilo Gallinari (NY, sore lower back) did not play. Schedule for Monday, December 29 (All times Central) Denver @ Atlanta 6:00 pm Orlando @ Detroit 6:30 pm NBATV Chicago @ New Jersey 6:30 pm Memphis @ Minnesota 7:00 pm Phoenix @ Oklahoma City 7:00 pm Washington @ Houston 7:30 pm Philadelphia @ Utah 8:00 pm Toronto @ Golden State 9:30 pm NBATV ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html