News from February 2. The NBA named Kobe Bryant (LAL) and LeBron James (Cle) as Players of the Month for January. Bryant averaged 27.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 7.1 assists as the Lakers went 12-4. James averaged 27.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists as Cleveland went 10-4. The NBA named Kevin McHale (Min) and Stan Van Gundy (Orl) as Coaches of the Month for January. Minnesota went 10-4 and Orlando went 10-3. The NBA named Eric Gordon (LAC) and Brook Lopez (NJ) as Rookies of the Month for January. Gordon averaged 21.9 points and 4.1 assists as the Clippers went 2-14. Lopez averaged 14.9 points and 7.9 rebounds New Jersey went 6-10. The NBA named Tony Parker (SA) and David Lee (NY) as Players of the Week. Parker averaged 25 points and 6 assists as San Antonio went 3-0. Lee averaged 19 points and 15.3 rebounds as New York went 3-0. The NBA announced the contestants for the Skills Challenge to take place on All-Star Saturday on February 14 in Phoenix. The contestants for the dribbling, passing, and shooting contest are: Devin Harris (NJ), Jameer Nelson (Orl), Tony Parker (SA), and Derrick Rose (Chi). Cleveland elected not to sign Jawad Williams for the rest of the season. Jameer Nelson (Orl) suffered a dislocated right shoulder during Monday's Dal-Orl game. Utah activated Morris Almond and placed Deron Williams (right thigh contusion) on IL. Sacramento activated Beno Udrih and placed Bobby Jackson on IL. The LA Lakers activated Sun Yue and placed Andrew Bynum on IL. Bynum is expected to be out 8 to 12 weeks with a torn right MCL. The LA Clippers activated Zach Randolph and placed Mardy Collins on IL. Miami activated Shawn Marion and placed Brian Cook on IL. Dal 105, Orl 95 at Orl Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 29 points and 6 rebounds. Jason Kidd (Dal) had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, and 5 turnovers. Jason Terry (Dal) had 23 points. Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) had 18 points on 4-12 FG and 9-13 FT and 6 rebounds. Dwight Howard (Orl) had 35 points on 13-19 FG and 9-12 FT and 11 rebounds including 6 offensive. Dal shot 53.4% (39-73) FG and Orl shot 42.7% (35-82) FG. SA 110, GS 105 OT at GS Tim Duncan (SA) had 32 points including 13-20 FG, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers. Tony Parker (SA) had 23 points including 7-12 FG, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 6 turnovers. Manu Ginobili (SA) had 32 points including 1-6 3-pointers and 11-12 FT. Stephen Jackson (GS) had 33 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, and 4 steals. Monta Ellis (GS) had 17 points and 8 rebounds. SA shot 25-34 FT and GS shot 12-18 FT. Uta 105, Cha 86 at Uta Paul Millsap (Uta) had 14 points. Mehmet Okur (Uta) had 22 points and 5 rebounds. Ronnie Brewer (Uta) had 21 points including 8-14 FT and 5 rebounds. Emeka Okafor (Cha) had 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Raymond Felton (Cha) had 16 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals, and 5 turnovers. Pho 129, Sac 81 at Pho Amare Stoudemire (Pho) had 25 points including 13-13 FT and 8 rebounds. Jason Richardson (Pho) had 24 points including 10-12 FG and 3-4 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. Grant Hill (Pho) had 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. John Salmons (Sac) had 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Jason Thompson (Sac) had 12 points and 8 rebounds. Pho shot 51.1% (45-88) FG and Sac shot 36.9% (31-84) FG. Por 97, NO 89 at NO LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) had 22 points and 11 rebounds including 5 offensive. Joel Przybilla (Por) had 19 points including 7-9 FG and 6 assists. Rudy Fernandez (Por) had 15 points and 8 rebounds. David West (NO) had 25 points and 8 rebounds. Peja Stojakovic (NO) had 18 points including 6-17 FG and 4 steals. Por out-scored NO 38-15 in the 4th quarter. LAL 126, NY 117 at NY Pau Gasol (LAL) had 31 points including 12-17 FG, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 61 points on 19-31 FG and 20-20 FT. Trevor Ariza (LAL) had 13 points and 8 rebounds. Al Harrington (NY) had 24 points including 8-10 FT and 6 rebounds. David Lee (NY) had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Wilson Chandler (NY) had 20 points including 7-11 FG. Jerome James (NY, torn right Achilles) did not play. Mia 119, LAC 95 at Mia Dwyane Wade (Mia) had 32 points on 10-17 FG and 10-12 FT and 9 assists. Udonis Haslem (Mia) had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Michael Beasley (Mia) had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Zach Randolph (LAC) had 21 points and 5 rebounds. Marcus Camby (LAC) had 12 points including 5-6 FG and 7 rebounds. Mia shot 55.6% (45-81) FG and LAC shot 43.2% (35-81) FG. Mem 113, Was 97 at Was Rudy Gay (Mem) had 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals. Marc Gasol (Mem) had 22 points on 7-11 FG and 8-11 FT and 11 rebounds. O.J. Mayo (Mem) had 33 points. Antawn Jamison (Was) had 29 points including 7-11 FT and 13 rebounds. Caron Butler (Was) had 21 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers. Andray Blatche (Was, strained left knee) and DeShawn Stevenson (Was, lower back pain) did not play. Schedule for Tuesday, February 3 (All times Central) Toronto @ Cleveland 6:00 pm Minnesota @ Indiana 6:00 pm Boston @ Philadelphia 6:00 pm Milwaukee @ New Jersey 6:30 pm Chicago @ Houston 7:30 pm San Antonio @ Denver 8:00 pm ---- 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