News from January 6. The NBA named Kobe Bryant (LAL) and LeBron James (Cle) as Players of the Month for December. Bryant averaged 31.3 points and 5 assists as the Lakers went 12-3. James averaged 28.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.6 assists as Cleveland went 14-3. The NBA suspended Gilbert Arenas (Was) indefinitely. The league is investigating Arenas having guns in the locker room. Washington activated Mike Miller and placed Arenas on IL. Cleveland released Coby Karl. Portland released Shavlik Randolph. Utah placed Deron Williams (sprained right wrist) on IL. Boston activated Paul Pierce and placed Eddie House on IL. Toronto activated Hedo Turkoglu and placed Patrick O'Bryant on IL. Cleveland activated Danny Green and placed Jamerio Moon (abdominal strain) on IL. New Jersey activated Sean Williams and Jarvis Hayes and placed Eduardo Najera and Bobby Simmons on IL. LAC 102, LAL 91 at LAC Chris Kaman (LAC) had 21 points and 14 rebounds. Baron Davis (LAC) had 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 10 assists. Eric Gordon (LAC) had 18 points. Andrew Bynum (LAL) had 15 points and 14 rebounds including 5 offensive. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 33 points on 10-30 FG and 11-15 FT, 8 assists, and 3 steals. Pau Gasol (LAL, strained left hamstring) did not play. Tor 108, Orl 103 at Orl Hedo Turkoglu (Tor) had 17 points including 3-4 3-pointers. Chris Bosh (Tor) had 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 turnovers. Andrea Bargnani (tor) had 18 points and 8 rebounds. Rashard Lewis (Orl) had 24 points including 5-10 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals. Dwight Howard (Orl) had 20 points on 7-10 FG and 6-11 FT, 12 rebounds, and 9 turnovers. Anthony Johnson (Orl, strained groin) did not play. Atl 119, NJ 89 at Atl Josh Smith (Atl) had 11 points including 5-7 FG, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. Joe Johnson (Atl) had 20 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 5 assists. Jamal Crawford (Atl) had 29 points including 10-14 FG and 4-7 3-pointers and 6 turnovers. Yi Jianlian (NJ) had 19 points and 11 rebounds including 5 offensive. Devin Harris (NJ) had 15 points including 9-11 FT, 8 assists, and 4 steals. Atl shot 57.3% (43-75) FG and NJ shot 41.8% (33-79) FG. Cle 121, Was 98 OT at Cle LeBron James (Cle) had 23 points including 8-11 FT, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Shaquille O'Neal (Cle) had 17 points and 6 rebounds. Delonte West (Cle) had 14 points including 5-7 FG and 6 assists. Antawn Jamison (Was) had 26 points including 3-4 3-pointers. Randy Foye (Was) had 18 points. Cle shot 57.3% (43-75) FG and Was shot 44% (37-84) FG. Mike Miller (Was) did not play. NO 97, OKC 92 at OKC David West (NO) had 19 points and 8 rebounds. Emeka Okafor (NO) had 15 points including 7-10 FG, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Chris Paul (NO) had 14 points including 5-15 FG, 13 assists, and 3 steals. Kevin Durant (OKC) had 27 points including 12-12 FT and 5 rebounds. Willie Green (OKC) had 20 points and 5 rebounds. Bos 112, Mia 106 OT at Mia Kendrick Perkins (Bos) had 20 points including 7-10 FG and 10 rebounds. Rajon Rondo (Bos) had 25 points including 9-12 FG, 8 assists, and 6 turnovers. Ray Allen (Bos) had 22 points including 3-4 3-pointers and 4 steals. Dwyane Wade (Mia) had 44 points on 15-34 FG and 11-16 FT, 5 rebounds (all offensive), and 7 assists. Udonis Haslem (Mia) had 19 points and 9 rebounds. Bos shot 53.7% (36-67) FG and Mia shot 40.8% (40-98) FG. SA 112, Det 92 at SA Richard Jefferson (SA) had 17 points including 7-10 FG. Tony Parker (SA) had 23 points, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Manu Ginobili (SA) had 16 points and 5 assists. Richard Hamilton (Det) had 29 points including 12-22 FG. Charlie Villanueva (Det) had 14 points and 8 rebounds including 6 offensive. SA shot 58.1% (43-74) FG and Det shot 44.7% (38-85) FG. Pho 118, Hou 110 at Pho Amare Stoudemire (Pho) had 25 points and 11 rebounds. Channing Frye (Pho) had 22 points including 6-12 3-pointers and 9 rebounds. Steve Nash (Pho) had 26 points including 11-16 FG, 12 assists, 3 steals, and 6 turnovers. Jason Richardson (Pho) had 20 points and 6 rebounds. Aaron Brooks (Hou) had 34 points including 6-12 3-pointers and 5 assists. Carl Landry (Hou) had 31 points including 14-23 FG and 10 rebounds including 5 offensive. Uta 117, Mem 94 at Uta C.J. Miles (Uta) had 24 points including 10-16 FG. Carlos Boozer (Uta) had 20 points including 8-10 FG and 6 rebounds. Ronnie Price (Uta) had 14 points and 6 assists. Zach Randolph (Mem) had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Sam Young (Mem) had 22 points on 7-11 FG and 8-10 FT. Jamaal Tinsley (Mem, personal reasons) did not play. Uta shot 56.8% (46-81) FG and Mem shot 40.5% (32-79) FG. GS 107, Min 101 at Min Corey Maggette (GS) had 28 points including 12-14 FT and 9 rebounds. Stephen Curry (GS) had 16 points including 7-11 FG. Monta Ellis (GS) had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals. Kevin Love (Min) had 23 points including 11-12 FT, 16 rebounds including 7 offensive, and 6 assists. Al Jefferson (Min) had 26 points including 12-18 FG and 14 rebounds. Ryan Hollins (Min, upper respiratory infection) did not play. Schedule for Thursday, January 7 (All times Central) Charlotte @ New York 6:30 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