News from December 27. The NBA named Monta Ellis (GS) and LeBron James (Mia) as Players of the Week. Ellis averaged 39.7 points and 7 assists as Golden State went 2-1. James averaged 27.3 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists as Miami went 2-1. The NBA fined Shaquille O'Neal (Bos) $35,000 for his comments about the officiating following Saturday's Bos-Orl game. Cleveland released Jawad Williams Atlanta assigned Pape Sy to the NBADL. Cleveland assigned Samardo Samuels to the NBADL. The LA Lakers assigned Devin Ebanks to the NBADL. Dallas activated Steve Novak and placed Brian Cardinal (stomach flu) on IL. Charlotte activated Eduardo Najera and DeSagana Diop and placed Dominic McGuire and Sherron Collins on IL. Toronto placed Andrea Bargnani (strained left calf) on IL. Milwaukee activated Corey Maggette and placed Carlos Delfino (concussion) on IL. Minnesota activated Nikola Pekovic and placed Lazar Hayward on IL. Washington activated Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee and placed Hilton Armstrong and Hamady N'Diaye on IL. Utah activated Mehmet Okur and placed Jeremy Evans on IL. Sacramento activated Jason Thompson and placed Luther Head on IL. Dal 103, OKC 93 at OKC Caron Butler (Dal) had 21 points. Jason Kidd (Dal) had 10 points on 4-11 FG, 9 rebounds, 10 assists, and 4 steals. Shawn Marion (Dal) had 20 points on 10-15 FG and 9 rebounds. Kevin Durant (OKC) had 28 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 15 points including 5-15 FG, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Dal shot 10-11 FT and OKC shot 19-23 FT. Orl 104, NJ 88 at NJ Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) had 20 points including 4-7 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Dwight Howard (Orl) had 19 points including 9-13 FT, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Ryan Anderson (Orl) had 10 points and 12 rebounds including 5 offensive. Brook Lopez (NJ) had 20 points and 7 rebounds. Devin Harris (NJ) had 24 points including 9-15 FG and 6 assists. Jason Williams (Orl, sore left foot) did not play. Cha 105, Det 100 at Cha Stephen Jackson (Cha) had 23 points including 4-7 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, and 9 turnovers. D.J. Augustin (Cha) had 27 points including 10-15 FG and 4-6 3-pointers. Tyrus Thomas (Cha) had 14 points, 5 blocks, and 6 turnovers. Charlie Villaneuva (Det) had 25 points on 10-14 FG and 5-5 3-pointers. Ben Gordon (Det) had 17 points including 4-8 3-pointers and 3 steals. Atl 95, Mil 80 at Mil Al Horford (Atl) had 18 points on 9-15 FG and 12 rebounds. Joe Johnson (Atl) had 15 points including 6-17 FG, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Marvin Williams (Atl) had 14 points and 5 rebounds. Andrew Bogut (Mil) had 14 points and 11 rebounds. John Salmons (Mil) had 18 points including 3-3 3-pointers. Atl shot 50.7% (38-75) FG and Mil shot 37.3% (28-75) FG. Drew Gooden (Mil, sore left foot) did not play. Mem 96, Tor 85 at Mem Rudy Gay (Mem) had 18 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, and 5 turnovers. Zach Randolph (Mem) had 21 points and 8 rebounds. Tony Allen (Mem) had 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 steals. Linas Kleiza (Tor) had 22 points on 10-16 FG and 5 turnovers. DeMar DeRozan (Tor) had 18 points. Mem shot 23-28 FT and Tor shot 5-14 FT. Sonny Weems (Tor, back spasms) did not play. Por 96, Uta 91 at Uta LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) had 26 points and 7 rebounds. Andre Miller (Por) had 17 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Wesley Matthews (Por) had 14 points including 4-14 FG, 8 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Al Jefferson (Uta) had 11 points and 9 rebounds. Deron Williams (Uta) had 31 points including 11-16 FG and 6-8 3-pointers, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Brandon Roy (Por, sore left knee) did not play. Hou 100, Was 93 at Hou Shane Battier (Hou) had 15 points including 6-7 FG and 6 rebounds. Kevin Martin (Hou) had 20 points and 7 rebounds. Aaron Brooks (Hou) had 15 points including 5-15 FG and 5 assists. Andray Blatche (Was) had 17 points, 14 rebounds including 5 offensive, 3 steals, and 6 turnovers. Kirk Hinrich (Was) had 19 points and 5 rebounds. LAC 100, Sac 99 at Sac Blake Griffin (LAC) had 24 points including 9-15 FG, 14 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Eric Gordon (LAC) had 31 points including 12-19 FG and 6-7 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Baron Davis (LAC) had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, and 5 turnovers. Tyreke Evans (Sac) had 32 points including 7-10 FT and 3 steals. Beno Udrih (Sac) had 14 points and 6 assists. GS 110, Phi 95 at GS Dorell Wright (GS) had 28 points including 8-11 FG and 5-7 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. David Lee (GS) had 21 points and 16 rebounds including 5 offensive. Monta Ellis (GS) had 22 points, 12 assists, and 5 turnovers. Jodie Meeks (Phi) had 19 points. Jrue Holiday (Phi) had 23 points, 11 assists, and 7 turnovers. Andre Iguodala (Phi, tendinitis right Achilles) did not play. Min 113, NO 98 at Min Michael Beasley (Min) had 30 points including 12-20 FG and 3-4 3-pointers, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Kevin Love (Min) had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Wesley Johnson (Min) had 24 points including 6-8 FG. David West (NO) had 23 points. Chris Paul (NO) had 22 points, 6 rebounds, 13 assists, and 5 steals. Min shot 53.2% (41-77) FG and NO shot 42.4% (36-85) FG. Schedule for Tuesday, December 28 (All times Central) Orlando @ Cleveland 6:00 pm Boston @ Indiana 6:00 pm New York @ Miami 6:30 pm Milwaukee @ Chicago 7:00 pm Toronto @ Dallas 7:30 pm LA Lakers @ San Antonio 7:30 pm Portland @ Denver 8:00 pm Schedule for Wednesday, December 29 (All times Central) Golden State @ Atlanta 6:00 pm Cleveland @ Charlotte 6:00 pm Indiana @ Washington 6:00 pm Boston @ Detroit 6:30 pm Denver @ Minnesota 7:00 pm LA Lakers @ New Orleans 7:00 pm New Jersey @ Oklahoma City 7:00 pm Miami @ Houston 7:30 pm Philadelphia @ Phoenix 8:00 pm Memphis @ Sacramento 9:00 pm Utah @ LA Clippers 9:30 pm NBATV ---- 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