News from February 2. The NBA named Stephen Curry (GS), Kevin Durant (GS), and Isaiah Thomas (Bos) as Players of the Month for January. Curry averaged 27.8 points and 6.9 assists and Durant averaged 27.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2 blocks as Golden State went 12-2. Thomas averaged 32.9 points and 6.9 assists as Boston went 10-4. The NBA named Marquese Chriss (Pho) and Joel Embiid (Phi) as Rookies of the Month for January. Chriss averaged 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds as Phoenix went 5-9. Embiid averaged 23.4 points, 9 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks as Philadelphia went 6-9. The NBA announced the contestants for the Slam Dunk contest to take place February 18 in New Orleans. The contestants are: Aaron Gordon (Orl) DeAndre Jordan (LAC) Derrick Jones (Pho) Glen Robinson (Ind) The NBA announced the contestants for the 3-Point Shooting contest to take place February 18 in New Orleans. The contestants are: Eric Gordon (Hou) C.J. McCollum (Por) Kyrie Irving (Cle) Klay Thompson (GS) Kyle Lowry (Tor) Kemba Walker (Cha) Wesley Matthews (Dal) Nick Young (LAL) The NBA announced the contestants for the Skills Challenge contest to take place February 18 in New Orleans. The contestants are: Devin Booker (Pho) Gordon Hayward (Uta) DeMarcus Cousins (Sac) Kristaps Porzingis (NY) Anthony Davis (NO) Isaiah Thomas (Bos) Joel Embiid (Phi) John Wall (Was) TRADE: Milwaukee traded Miles Plumlee and cash to Charlotte for Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes. Milwaukee released Steve Novak. San Antonio signed Joel Anthony to a 2nd 10-day contract. Golden State activated Stephen Curry and placed Zaza Pachulia (strained right rotator cuff) and Shaun Livingston (back strain) on IL. The LA Lakers activated Julius Randle and placed Thomas Robinson on IL. San Antonio activated Bryn Forbes and placed LaMarcus Aldridge (sore knee) on IL. GS 133, LAC 120 at LAC Kevin Durant (GS) had 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists. Klay Thompson (GS) had 21 points and 7 rebounds. Stephen Curry (GS) had 29 points including 3-10 3-pointers, 11 assists, and 3 steals. Blake Griffin (LAC) had 31 points including 11-13 FT, 8 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 3 steals. Jamal Crawford (LAC) had 21 points including 7-11 FG and 5-8 3-pointers. GS shot 15-18 FT and LAC shot 30-39 FT. Draymond Green (GS, left shoulder bruise) did not play. SA 102, Phi 86 at SA Kawhi Leonard (SA) had 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Dewayne Dedmon (SA) had 13 points including 5-7 FG and 10 rebounds. David Lee (SA) had 12 points and 9 rebounds. Dario Saric (Phi) had 14 points including 5-17 FG, 9 rebounds, and 7 turnovers. Ersan Ilyasova (Phi) had 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals. Robert Covington (Phi, right wrist contusion), Joel Embiid (Phi, rest), and Nerlens Noel (Phi, upper respiratory infection) did not play. Atl 113, Hou 108 at Hou Tim Hardaway (Atl) had 33 points including 12-18 FG and 4-9 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Paul Millsap (Atl) had 16 points. Dwight Howard (Atl) had 24 points including 11-13 FG, 23 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 5 turnovers. Clint Capela (Hou) had 22 points including 9-11 FG and 9 rebounds including 5 offensive. James Harden (Hou) had 41 points including 5-12 3-pointers and 16-21 FT, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals. Atl out-scored Hou 40-22 in the 4th quarter. Atl shot 51.8% (44-85) FG and Hou shot 37.6% (35-93) FG. Was 116, LAL 108 at Was Marcin Gortat (Was) had 21 points including 10-13 FG and 14 rebounds including 6 offensive. Bradley Beal (Was) had 23 points including 5-9 3-pointers. John Wall (Was) had 33 points including 8-10 FT, 11 assists, and 3 steals. Jordan Clarkson (LAL) had 20 points on 9-13 FG. D'Angelo Russell (LAL) had 17 points including 5-15 FG and 4-10 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 11 assists, and 7 turnovers. Schedule for Friday, February 3 (All times Central) Toronto @ Orlando 6:00 pm Indiana @ Brooklyn 6:30 pm Minnesota @ Detroit 6:30 pm Chicago @ Houston 7:00 pm Memphis @ Oklahoma City 7:00 pm LA Lakers @ Boston 7:00 pm ESPN Milwaukee @ Denver 8:00 pm Phoenix @ Sacramento 9:30 pm Dallas @ Portland 9:30 pm ESPN Schedule for Saturday, February 4 (All times Central) New Orleans @ Washington 6:00 pm Orlando @ Atlanta 6:00 pm Detroit @ Indiana 6:00 pm Philadelphia @ Miami 6:30 pm Cleveland @ New York 7:30 pm ABC Charlotte @ Utah 8:00 pm Milwaukee @ Phoenix 8:00 pm Denver @ San Antonio 8:00 pm Memphis @ Minnesota 8:00 pm Golden State @ Sacramento 9:30 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