News from February 3. Brad Stevens (Bos) will coach the Eastern Conference in the All-Star game on February 19 in New Orleans. Boston clinched having the best record through Feb 5 (the point where the All-Star coaches are determined) excluding Cleveland (as Tyronn Lue is ineligible for All-Star coach having coached last year). The NBA fined James Johnson (Mia) $25,000 and Taurean Prince (Atl) $25,000 for their confrontation during Wednesday's Mia-Atl game. Houston retired Yao Ming's #11. Charlotte signed Ray McCallum and Mike Tobey to 10-day contracts. Denver signed Johnny O'Bryant to a 2nd 10-day contract. Golden State released Anderson Varejao. Orlando elected not to sign Anthony Brown to a 2nd 10-day contract after he completed his 1st 10-day contract. Dallas activated Deron Williams and placed Andrew Bogut (strained right hamstring) on IL. Denver activated Nikola Jokic and Will Barton and placed Danilo Gallinari and Johnny O'Bryant on IL. Indiana activated Georges Niang and placed Rodney Stuckey (sprained right ankle) on IL. Phoenix activated Ronnie Price and placed Dragan Bender on IL. Dal 108, Por 104 at Por Wesley Matthews (Dal) had 27 points and 6 rebounds. Seth Curry (Dal) had 19 points. Yogi Ferrell (Dal) had 32 points including 11-17 FG and 9-11 FT and 5 assists. Evan Turner (Por) had 24 points including 10-17 FG. C.J. McCollum (Por) had 28 points including 11-20 FG, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Devin Harris (Dal, ill) and Deron Williams (Dal, sprained right big toe) did not play. Pho 105, Sac 103 at Sac T.J. Warren (Pho) had 21 points and 5 rebounds. Devin Booker (Pho) had 33 points including 4-8 3-pointers and 7-10 FT and the game winning jumper at the buzzer. Eric Bledsoe (Pho) had 20 points on 4-12 FG and 9-12 FT and 6 rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins (Sac) had 22 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists, and 5 turnovers. Darren Collison (Sac) had 19 points including 3-4 3-pointers. Arron Afflalo (Sac, ill) and Garrett Temple (Sac, partial tear left hamstring) did not play. Den 121, Mil 117 at Den Wilson Chandler (Den) had 23 points on 5-14 FG and 13-17 FT, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Kenneth Faried (Den) had 19 points on 6-8 FG and 7-12 FT and 11 rebounds including 6 offensive. Nikola Jokic (Den) had 20 points, 13 rebounds including 6 offensive, and 11 assists. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Mil) had 23 points including 9-13 FG, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers. Jabari Parker (Mil) had 27 points and 11 rebounds. Bos 113, LAL 107 at Bos Jae Crowder (Bos) had 18 points and 6 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas (Bos) had 38 points including 5-11 3-pointers and 6 turnovers. Al Horford (Bos) had 11 points including 4-11 FG, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. D'Angelo Russell (LAL) had 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Larry Nance (LAL) had 18 points, 11 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 3 steals. Louis Williams (LAL) had 21 points on 5-14 FG and 8-10 FT. OKC 114, Mem 102 at OKC Steven Adams (OKC) had 16 points and 13 rebounds including 11 offensive. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 38 points on 8-20 FG, 5-7 3-pointers, and 17-17 FT, 13 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals, and 5 turnovers. Joffrey Lauvergne (OKC) had 16 points including 6-7 FG and 3-4 3-pointers and 8 rebounds. Marc Gasol (Mem) had 31 points including 14-24 FG and 8 assists. Zach Randolph (Mem) had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Hou 121, Chi 117 OT at Hou James Harden (Hou) had 42 points on 13-33 FG, 5-13 3-pointers, and 11-14 FT, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists. Eric Gordon (Hou) had 21 points including 5-10 3-pointers. Clint Capela (Hou) had 14 points on 7-8 FG and 9 rebounds. Michael Carter-Williams (Chi) had 23 points including 11-18 FG, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Taj Gibson (Chi) had 20 points including 9-13 FG and 6 rebounds. Dwyane Wade (Chi) had 19 points including 8-22 FG, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Nene (Hou, sore groin) and Jimmy Butler (Chi) did not play. Det 116, Min 108 at Det Marcus Morris (Det) had 36 points on 12-19 FG, 5-9 3-pointers, and 7-11 FT and 6 rebounds. Jon Leuer (Det) had 24 points including 4-7 3-pointers. Andre Drummond (Det) had 12 points, 18 rebounds including 6 offensive, and 3 blocks. Andrew Wiggins (Min) had 21 points. Karl-Anthony Towns (Min) had 24 points including 11-19 FG and 11 rebounds including 7 offensive. Zach LaVine (Min) had 20 points including 9-13 FG. Ind 106, Bro 97 at Bro Paul George (Ind) had 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Jeff Teague (Ind) had 24 points including 10-13 FT, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Thaddeus Young (Ind) had 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals. Brook Lopez (Bro) had 23 points and 6 rebounds. Sean Kilpatrick (Bro) had 18 points and 5 rebounds. Orl 102, Tor 94 at Orl Serge Ibaka (Orl) had 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Nikola Vucevic (Orl) had 18 points and 5 rebounds. Evan Fournier (Orl) had 20 points including 8-10 FT and 10 rebounds. Jonas Valanciunas (Tor) had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Lowry (Tor) had 18 points including 5-20 FG and 2-11 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. C.J. Wilcox (Orl, left Achilles tendinitis) did not play. 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 Schedule for Sunday, February 5 (All times Central) Toronto @ Brooklyn 11:00 am LA Clippers @ Boston 1:00 pm ABC Portland @ Oklahoma City 2:00 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