News from December 23. The NBA named Blake Griffin (LAC) and Dwyane Wade (Mia) as Players of the Week for the week ending December 22. Griffin averaged 26 points and 11.3 rebounds as the Clippers went 4-0. Wade averaged 26.3 points as Miami went 3-0. The NBA fined Matt Barnes (LAC) $25,000 for failing to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection during Sunday's LAC-Min game. Atlanta activated Gustavo Ayon and placed Cartier Martin on IL. Brooklyn activated Jason Terry and placed Brook Lopez (broken right foot) on IL. Cleveland activated Anthony Bennett and placed Henry Sims on IL. Detroit activated Chauncey Billups and placed Tony Mitchell on IL. Houston activated Isaiah Canaan and placed Patrick Beverly (broken right hand) on IL. Miami activated Michael Beasley and placed Dwyane Wade (sore knee) on IL. San Antonio activated Nando de Colo and placed Cory Joseph on IL. Dal 111, Hou 104 at Hou Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 31 points including 11-18 FG and 6 rebounds. Monta Ellis (Dal) had 18 points on 4-16 FG and 8-10 FT, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Vince Carter (Dal) had 16 points including 6-8 FG. Chandler Parsons (Hou) had 21 points and 5 rebounds. Dwight Howard (Hou) had 29 points on 10-16 FG and 9-13 FT and 15 rebounds including 5 offensive. Jeremy Lin (Hou) had 20 points including 7-10 FT and 5 turnovers. Omer Asik (Hou, right thigh contusion), James Harden (Hou, sprained left ankle), and Greg Smith (Hou, right knee) did not play. NO 113, Sac 100 at Sac Anthony Davis (NO) had 21 points including 9-10 FT and 11 rebounds. Jrue Holiday (NO) had 17 points including 3-4 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, and 10 assists. Tyreke Evans (NO) had 25 points including 11-12 FT, 6 rebounds, 12 assists, and 3 steals. DeMarcus Cousins (Sac) had 24 points including 10-17 FT and 14 rebounds including 5 offensive. Isaiah Thomas (Sac) had 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Marcus Thronton (Sac) had 15 points and 5 rebounds. Pho 117, LAL 90 at Pho Miles Plumlee (Pho) had 17 points and 20 rebounds including 6 offensive. Eric Bledsoe (Pho) had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. Gerald Green (Pho) had 22 points including 6-11 3-pointers. Marcus Morris (Pho) had 19 points including 5-6 3-pointers. Jodie Meeks (LAL) had 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Nick Young (LAL) had 19 points including 6-17 FG. Pho out-rebounded LAL 62-39 including 13-8 offensive. Steve Blake (LAL, torn ligament) and Jordan Farmar (LAL, left hamstring tear) did not play. GS 89, Den 81 at Den David Lee (GS) had 28 points and 10 rebounds. Stephen Curry (GS) had 14 points including 5-14 FG and 7 assists. Klay Thompson (GS) had 13 points and 6 rebounds. Timofey Mozgov (Den) had 14 points and 11 rebounds including 5 offensive. Ty Lawson (Den) had 16 points including 5-14 FG and 5 turnovers. Kenneth Faried (Den, sprained left ankle) did not play. SA 112, Tor 99 at SA Tony Parker (SA) had 26 points and 8 assists. Kawhi Leonard (SA) had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Manu Ginobili (SA) had 18 points and 5 rebounds. Terrence Ross (Tor) had 23 points including 10-16 FG. Kyle Lowry (Tor) had 23 points and 9 assists. Mem 104, Uta 94 at Mem Zach Randolph (Mem) had 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. Jerryd Bayless (Mem) had 17 points including 4-5 3-pointers. Mike Miller (Mem) had 15 points including 5-7 FG and 3-3 3-pointers. Richard Jefferson (Uta) had 18 points including 3-4 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Gordon Hayward (Uta) had 11 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 blocks. Mia 121, Atl 119 OT at Mia LeBron James (Mia) had 38 points including 10-28 FG and 4-9 3-pointers, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Ray Allen (Mia) had 19 points including 7-10 FG and 6 rebounds. Chris Andersen (Mia) had 12 points including 3-3 FG and 9 rebounds. Paul Millsap (Atl) had 25 points including 7-10 3-pointers and 10 rebounds. Al Horford (Atl) had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Teague (Atl) had 26 points including 6-10 FT, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 turnovers. Ind 103, Bro 86 at Bro Paul George (Ind) had 26 points including 4-11 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Lance Stephenson (Ind) had 26 points including 10-16 FG and 4-7 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. David West (Ind) had 13 points including 6-8 FG. Joe Johnson (Bro) had 17 points. Kevin Garnett (Bro) had 12 points including 3-10 FG and 5 rebounds. NY 103, Orl 98 at Orl Carmelo Anthony (NY) had 19 points including 3-4 3-pointers. Tyson Chandler (NY) had 10 points and 13 rebounds. J.R. Smith (NY) had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Glen Davis (Orl) had 20 points and 7 rebounds. Arron Afflalo (Orl) had 26 points including 5-7 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Jameer Nelson (Orl) had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists. Metta World Peace (NY, sore left knee) did not play. Det 115, Cle 92 at Cle Josh Smith (Det) had 25 points and 8 rebounds. Brandan Jennings (Det) had 21 points and 13 assists. Andre Drummond (Det) had 14 points on 7-10 FG and 10 rebounds including 5 offensive. Kyrie Irving (Cle) had 21 points and 7 assists. Tristan Thompson (Cle) had 17 points and 6 rebounds. Cha 111, Mil 110 at Cha Al Jefferson (Cha) had 21 points and 9 rebounds. Kemba Walker (Cha) had 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists. Cody Zeller (Cha) had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Khris Middleton (Mil) had 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Brandon Knight (Mil) had 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 14 assists. Schedule for Tuesday, December 24 (All times Central) No games scheduled Schedule for Wednesday, December 25 (All times Central) Chicago at Brooklyn 11:00 am ESPN Oklahoma City at New York 1:30 pm ABC Miami at LA Lakers 4:00 pm ABC Houston at San Antonio 7:00 pm ESPN LA Clippers at Golden State 9:30 pm ESPN Schedule for Thursday, December 26 (All times Central) Atlanta at Cleveland 6:00 pm Memphis at Houston 7:00 pm TNT San Antonio at Dallas 7:30 pm LA Clippers at Portland 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