News from December 31. Anderson Varejao (Cle) is expected to be out at least 2 games with a fractured cheek bone. Boston activated Rajon Rondo and placed Kevin Garnett (strained right calf) on IL. Washington activated Lester Hudson and Yi Jianlian and placed Kirk Hinrich and Kevin Seraphin on IL. Houston activated Jared Jeffries and placed Chuck Hayes (sprained right ankle) on IL. Phoenix activated Gani Lawal and placed Garret Siler on IL. LAL 102, Phi 98 at LAL Pau Gasol (LAL) had 20 points including 9-12 FG and 8 rebounds. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 33 points. Lamar Odom (LAL) had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Jrue Holiday (Phi) had 19 points and 11 assists. Louis Williams (Phi) had 18 points. NO 83, Bos 81 at Bos David West (NO) had 19 points and 5 rebounds. Emeka Okafor (NO) had 18 points on 9-13 FG and 0-5 FT, 13 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 3 blocks. Chris Paul (NO) had 20 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, and 6 steals. Paul Pierce (Bos) had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 turnovers. Ray Allen (Bos) had 18 points and 6 rebounds. Rajon Rondo (Bos, sprained left ankle) did not play. Chi 90, NJ 81 at Chi Luol Deng (Chi) had 19 points and 8 rebounds. Carlos Boozer (Chi) had 20 points and 15 rebounds. Derrick Rose (Chi) had 19 points including 5-16 FG and 9 assists. Brook Lopez (NJ) had 19 points on 4-11 FG and 11-11 FT, 8 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Stephen Graham (NJ) had 16 points and 7 rebounds. Jordan Farmar (NJ, bone bruise right knee) and Troy Murphy (NJ, viral infection) on IL. Pho 92, Det 75 at Pho Grant Hill (Pho) had 12 points including 5-6 FG and 3 steals. Vince Carter (Pho) had 19 points and 8 rebounds. Jared Dudley (Pho) had 19 points and 5 rebounds. Tayshaun Prince (Det) had 12 points. Ben Gordon (Det) had 19 points and 6 rebounds. OKC 103, Atl 94 at OKC Kevin Durant (OKC) had 33 points including 5-9 3-pointers. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. James Harden (OKC) had 15 points including 5-6 FG and 3-4 3-pointers. Josh Smith (Atl) had 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 turnovers. Jamal Crawford (Atl) had 26 points and 5 steals. Hou 114, Tor 105 at Hou Kevin Martin (Hou) had 20 points. Patrick Patterson (Hou) had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Chase Budinger (Hou) had 22 points including 8-10 FG and 5 rebounds. Linas Kleiza (Tor) had 17 points including 7-21 FG and 1-8 3-pointers and 12 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan (Tor) had 37 points on 17-21 FG and 13-14 FT. Sonny Weems (Tor, back spasms) did not play. GS 96, Cha 95 at Cha Dorell Wright (GS) had 17 points and 5 rebounds. Stephen Curry (GS) had 24 points on 10-17 FG and 4-5 3-pointers. Monta Ellis (GS) had 25 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 5 turnovers. Gerald Wallace (Cha) had 20 points on 5-15 FG, 3-3 3-pointers, and 7-10 FT and 8 rebounds. Stephen Jackson (Cha) had 22 points including 7-22 FG, 6 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Ind 95, Was 86 at Ind Danny Granger (Ind) had 18 points. Roy Hibbert (Ind) had 17 points, 8 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 7 turnovers. Darren Collison (Ind) had 18 points and 6 assists. Rashad Lewis (Was) had 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. John Wall (Was) had 25 points including 10-15 FG and 7 turnovers. Schedule for Saturday, January 1 (All times Central) New Orleans @ Washington 6:00 pm Cleveland @ Chicago 6:00 pm Golden State @ Miami 6:30 pm New Jersey @ Minnesota 7:00 pm Oklahoma City @ San Antonio 7:30 pm Dallas @ Milwaukee 8:00 pm Sacramento @ Denver 8:00 pm Memphis @ Utah 8:00 pm Schedule for Sunday, January 2 (All times Central) Indiana @ New York 12:00 pm Atlanta @ LA Clippers 2:30 pm Boston @ Toronto 5:00 pm Dallas @ Cleveland 6:00 pm Houston @ Portland 8:00 pm NBATV Phoenix @ Sacramento 8:00 pm Memphis @ LA Lakers 8:30 pm Happy New Year! ---- 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