News from January 18. Phoenix fired head coach Alvin Gentry. The interim coach is expected to be announced in the next day or two. New Orleans elected not to sign Donald Sloan to a 2nd 10-day contract. Nikola Pekovic (Min) is expected to be out 7 to 10 days with a bruised right thigh. Miami assigned Dexter Pittman to the NBADL. Brooklyn activated Damion James and placed Jerry Stackhouse on IL. Denver activated Wilson Chandler and placed Julyan Stone on IL. OKC 117, Dal 114 OT at Dal Kevin Durant (OKC) had 52 points on 13-31 FG, 5-9 3-pointers, and 21-21 FT and 9 rebounds. Serge Ibaka (OKC) had 11 points and 14 rebounds including 7 offensive. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 31 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 18 points including 5-19 FG and 9 rebounds. O.J. Mayo (Dal) had 18 points and 7 assists. Vince Carter (Dal) had 29 points including 10-17 FG and 4-8 3-pointers. SA 95, GS 88 at SA Tim Duncan (SA) had 24 points including 9-16 FG, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Tiago Splitter (SA) had 19 points including 8-10 FG and 9 rebounds. Tony Parker (SA) had 25 points and 8 assists. David Lee (GS) had 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Jarrett Jack (GS) had 20 points and 10 assists. Klay Thompson (GS) had 21 points including 7-20 FG and 4-11 3-pointers. Stephen Curry (GS, sprained right ankle) did not play. Bro 94, Atl 89 at Bro Reggie Evans (Bro) had 2 points and 20 rebounds including 5 offensive. Brook Lopez (Bro) had 20 points and 6 rebounds. Deron Williams (Bro) had 24 points and 7 assists. Joe Johnson (Bro) had 18 points. Jeff Teague (Atl) had 21 points and 10 assists. Devin Harris (Atl) had 17 points. Al Horford (Atl, hamstring injury) and DeShawn Stevenson (Atl, sore right knee) did not play. Chi 100, Bos 99 at Bos Carlos Boozer (Chi) had 19 points and 20 rebounds including 6 offensive. Joakim Noah (Chi) had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Richard Hamilton (Chi) had 20 points and 7 turnovers. Kevin Garnett (Bos) had 16 points on 5-16 FG and 6-10 FT and 7 rebounds. Rajon Rondo (Bos) had 30 points including 12-21 FG and 7 assists. Cha 106, Orl 100 at Orl Kemba Walker (Cha) had 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Gerald Henderson (Cha) had 17 points including 8-11 FG. Ramon Sessions (Cha) had 15 points including 4-13 FG and 7 assists. Jameer Nelson (Orl) had 22 points including 4-10 3-pointers and 7 assists. Arron Afflalo (Orl) had 23 points. Ind 105, Hou 95 at Ind Paul George (Ind) had 31 points including 11-19 FG and 7-10 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, and 5 turnovers. David West (Ind) had 20 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks. Roy Hibbert (Ind) had 12 points, 9 rebounds including 6 offensive, and 4 blocks. Omer Asik (Hou) had 22 points, 12 rebounds including 7 offensive, 3 blocks, and 5 turnovers. James Harden (Hou) had 17 points including 5-19 FG, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 blocks, and 5 turnovers. Gerald Green (Ind, food poisoning) did not play. Mem 85, Sac 69 at Mem Marc Gasol (Mem) had 18 points and 10 rebounds including 5 offensive. Mike Conley (Mem) had 19 points and 5 rebounds. Tony Allen (Mem) had 14 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. DeMarcus Cousins (Sac) had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas (Sac) had 9 points including 4-12 FG and 5 assists. Zach Randolph (Mem, back strain) did not play. Was 112, Den 108 at Den Bradley Beal (Was) had 23 points including 4-7 3-pointers. Kevin Seraphin (Was) had 18 points and 7 rebounds. John Wall (Was) had 14 points, 12 assists, and 6 turnovers. Ty Lawson (Den) had 29 points including 11-16 FG and 4-5 3-pointers, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Andre Miller (Den) had 17 points including 8-10 FG and 5 rebounds. Phi 108, Tor 101 OT at Phi Thaddeus Young (Phi) had 27 points including 13-19 FG and 14 rebounds. Lavoy Allen (Phi) had 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Jrue Holiday (Phi) had 33 points including 13-23 FG, 5 rebounds, 14 assists, and 3 steals. Ed Davis (Tor) had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Alan Anderson (Tor) had 18 points including 6-17 FG and 5 rebounds. Terrence Ross (Tor) had 18 points including 4-5 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Kwame Brown (Phi, sinus infection) did not play. Schedule for Saturday, January 19 (All times Central) Sacramento @ Charlotte 6:00 pm San Antonio @ Atlanta 6:00 pm Memphis @ Chicago 7:00 pm NBATV Golden State @ New Orleans 7:00 pm Houston @ Minnesota 7:00 pm Cleveland @ Utah 8:00 pm Milwaukee @ Portland 9:00 pm Washington @ LA Clippers 9:30 pm Schedule for Sunday, January 20 (All times Central) LA Lakers @ Toronto 12:00 pm Dallas @ Orlando 5:00 pm Boston @ Detroit 6:30 pm Oklahoma City @ Denver 7:00 pm ---- 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