News from December 22. Charlotte fired Larry Brown as head coach. Paul Silas was named as interim coach. The LA Clippers signed Ike Diogu. Jerry Sloan (Uta) surpassed Pat Riley (1,211) for 3rd place on the NBA's All-Time Coaching Wins list. Sloan trails Lenny Wilkens (1,332) and Don Nelson (1,335). The LA Clippers placed Craig Smith on IL. Smith is expected to be out at least 2 weeks with a herniated disc in his lower back. Denver activated Chris Andersen and Kenyon Martin and placed Carmelo Anthony (death in family) and Melvin Ely on IL. Minnesota activated Sundiata Gaines and placed Sebastian Telfair (plantar fasciitis right foot) on IL. Philadelphia activated Craig Brackins and placed Darius Songaila on IL. Chicago activated Taj Gibson and placed John Lucas on IL. Washington placed Hamady N'Diaye on IL. Detroit activated Austin Daye and placed DaJuan Summers on IL. Cleveland activated Leon Powe and placed Samardo Samuels on IL. Atlanta activated Jordan Crawford and placed Etan Thomas on IL. Bos 84, Phi 80 at Bos Kevin Garnett (Bos) had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Shaquille O'Neal (Bos) had 13 points and 9 rebounds. Ray Allen (Bos) had 22 points and 6 assists. Elton Brand (Phi) had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Jrue Holiday (Phi) had 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Rajon Rondo (Bos, sprained left ankle) did not play. Atl 98, Cle 84 at Atl Al Horford (Atl) had 18 points and 8 rebounds. Josh Smith (Atl) had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. Joe Johnson (Atl) had 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. Antawn Jamison (Cle) had 23 points including 10-16 FG and 7 rebounds. Maurice Williams (Cle) had 18 points and 11 assists. NY 112, OKC 98 at NY Wilson Chandler (NY) had 21 points on 9-15 FG and 3-4 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. Amare Stoudemire (NY) had 23 points including 9-10 FT, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 5 turnovers. Raymond Felton (NY) had 12 points including 5-14 FG, 6 rebounds, and 10 assists. Kevin Durant (OKC) had 26 points and 7 rebounds. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. NO 105, NJ 91 at NO David West (NO) had 18 points and 9 rebounds. Emeka Okafor (NO) had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Chris Paul (NO) had 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 14 assists. Marcus Thornton (NO) had 18 points on 7-10 FG and 4-5 3-pointers. Brook Lopez (NJ) had 16 points. Devin Harris (NJ) had 21 points including 9-14 FG and 8 assists. Quinton Ross (NJ, bruised lower back) did not play. SA 109, Den 103 at SA Richard Jefferson (SA) had 16 points. Manu Ginobili (SA) had 22 points including 4-9 3-pointers and 6 assists. Gary Neal (SA) had 22 points including 5-7 3-pointers. J.R. Smith (Den) had 22 points including 4-10 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Chauncey Billups (Den) had 20 points on 4-11 FG and 12-12 FT and 7 assists. Ty Lawson (Den) had 22 points. George Hill (SA, sprained right big toe) did not play. Chi 87, Was 80 at Was Luol Deng (Chi) had 14 points and 5 rebounds. Carlos Boozer (Chi) had 30 points on 11-18 FG and 8-11 FT, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 turnovers. Derrick Rose (Chi) had 25 points including 7-10 FT, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. Kirk Hinrich (Was) had 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists. Nick Young (Was) had 22 points. Uta 112, Min 107 at Min Paul Millsap (Uta) had 23 points including 10-16 FG, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals. Al Jefferson (Uta) had 23 points including 10-17 FG, 9 rebounds, and 7 blocks. Deron Williams (Uta) had 25 points on 6-19 FG and 13-14 FT, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Michael Beasley (Min) had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Love (Min) had 25 points on 7-20 FG and 9-10 FT and 19 rebounds including 9 offensive. Det 115, Tor 93 at Tor Charlie Villanueva (Det) had 18 points. Rodney Stuckey (Det) had 21 points and 3 steals. Tracy McGrady (Det) had 17 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Richard Hamilton (Det) had 35 points including 13-20 FG and 6-10 3-pointers. Linas Kleiza (Tor) had 19 points including 7-11 FG and 5 rebounds. Leandro Barbosa (Tor) had 21 points. Jerryd Bayless (Tor, food poisoning) and Sonny Weems (Tor, back spasms) did not play. Hou 97, LAC 92 at LAC Luis Scola (Hou) had 22 points. Kevin Martin (Hou) had 28 points including 9-11 FT. Shane Battier (Hou) had 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. Blake Griffin (LAC) had 24 points including 7-10 FT and 18 rebounds including 5 offensive. Eric Gordon (LAC) had 18 points and 6 assists. 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 Schedule for Friday, December 24 (All times Central) No games scheduled ---- 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