News from December 21. Phoenix released Earl Barron. Charlotte recalled Sherron Collins from the NBADL. Dallas activated Alexis Ajinca and placed Steve Novak on IL. Charlotte activated Sherron Collins and placed DeSagana Diop on IL. Chicago activated John Lucas and placed Taj Gibson (concussion) on IL. Dal 105, Orl 99 at Orl Caron Butler (Dal) had 20 points. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 17 points including 4-13 FG, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Jason Kidd (Dal) had 13 points including 4-12 FG, 6 rebounds, and 12 assists. Dwight Howard (Orl) had 26 points including 11-19 FG and 23 rebounds including 8 offensive. Jameer Nelson (Orl) had 19 points including 4-7 3-pointers and 6 assists. J.J. Redick (Orl) had 21 points including 4-9 3-pointers. Malik Allen (Orl, sprained left ankle) did not play. OKC 99, Cha 81 at Cha Kevin Durant (OKC) had 32 points including 14-16 FT and 7 rebounds. Jeff Green (OKC) had 12 points including 4-13 FG and 5 assists. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 15 points, 3 steals, and 7 turnovers. Boris Diaw (Cha) had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Stephen Jackson (Cha) had 20 points. OKC out-scored Cha 31-12 in the 4th quarter. Mil 98, LAL 79 at LAL Ersan Ilyasova (Mil) had 17 points and 11 rebounds including 6 offensive. John Salmons (Mil) had 20 points and 6 assists. Earl Boykins (Mil) had 22 points including 4-5 3-pointers. Pau Gasol (LAL) had 5 points and 11 rebounds including 7 offensive. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 21 points including 9-16 FG. Carlos Delfino (Mil, concussion) and Drew Gooden (Mil, sore left foot) did not play. Chi 121, Phi 76 at Chi Luol Deng (Chi) had 22 points including 10-14 FG. Carlos Boozer (Chi) had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Derrick Rose (Chi) had 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 12 assists. Andre Iguodala (Phi) had 17 points. Thaddeus Young (Phi) had 12 points and 7 rebounds including 5 offensive. Chi shot 64.5% (49-76) FG and Phi shot 35% (28-80) FG. NJ 101, Mem 94 at Mem Kris Humphries (NJ) had 12 points and 15 rebounds. Brook Lopez (NJ) had 26 points including 10-11 FT and 6 rebounds. Sasha Vujacic (NJ) had 16 points. Zach Randolph (Mem) had 11 points including 4-13 FG, 14 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 5 assists. Marc Gasol (Mem) had 19 points including 7-10 FT. NJ shot 52.6% (40-76) FG and Mem shot 39.8% (35-88) FG. Quinton Ross (NJ, bruised lower back) did not play. GS 117, Sac 109 OT at Sac Monta Ellis (GS) had 36 points including 10-12 FT, 7 assists, and 4 steals. Reggie Williams (GS) had 24 points and 7 rebounds. Dorell Wright (GS) had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Beno Udrih (Sac) had 34 points including 11-18 FG and 4-7 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Tyreke Evans (Sac) had 15 points including 4-18 FG, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 5 turnovers. Carl Landry (Sac) had 22 points including 8-11 FG, 10 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 3 steals. Dan Gadzuric (GS, strained left groin) did not play. Schedule for Wednesday, December 22 (All times Central) Cleveland @ Atlanta 6:00 pm Detroit @ Toronto 6:00 pm Chicago @ Washington 6:00 pm NBATV Philadelphia @ Boston 6:30 pm Oklahoma City @ New York 6:30 pm Utah @ Minnesota 7:00 pm New Jersey @ New Orleans 7:00 pm Denver @ San Antonio 7:30 pm Houston @ LA Clippers 9:30 pm Schedule for Thursday, December 23 (All times Central) San Antonio @ Orlando 7:00 pm TNT Milwaukee @ Sacramento 9:00 pm Miami @ Phoenix 9:30 pm TNT ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html