News from February 1. The NBA named Stephen Curry (GS) and DeMar DeRozan (Tor) as Players of the Month for January. Curry averaged 29.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.7 assists as Golden State went 11-3. DeRozan averaged 25.3 points and 5.9 assists as Toronto went 10-5. The NBA named Donovan Mitchell (Uta) and Ben Simmons (Phi) as Rookies of the Month for January. Mitchell averaged 22.2 points as Utah went 6-7. Simmons averaged 17.1 points 5.3 rebounds, and 6.7 assists as Philadelphia went 7-5. The NBA named Terry Stotts (Por) and Erik Spoelstra (Mia) as Coaches of the Month for January. Portland went 10-5 and Portland went 11-5. The NBA announced the contestants for the Slam Dunk contest to take place February 18 in Los Angeles. The contestants are: Aaron Gordon (Orl) Victor Oladipo (Ind) Larry Nance (LAL) Dennis Smith (Dal) The NBA announced the contestants for the 3-Point Shooting contest to take place February 18 in Los Angeles. The contestants are: Bradley Beal (Was) Eric Gordon (Hou) Devin Booker (Pho) Tobias Harris (LAC) Wayne Ellington (Mia) Kyle Lowry (Tor) Paul George (OKC) Klay Thomspon (LAC) The NBA announced the contestants for the Skills Challenge contest to take place February 18 in Los Angeles. The contestants are: Spencer Dinwiddie (Bro) Donovan Mitchell (Uta) Joel Embiid (Phi) Jamal Murray (Den) Al Horford (Bos) Kristaps Porzingis (NY) Lauri Markkanen (Chi) Lou Williams (LAC) TRADE: Chicago traded Nikola Mirotic and the rights to swap 2021 2nd round draft pick to New Orleans for Omer Asik, Jameer Nelson, Tony Allen, and a 1st round draft pick. The 1st round draft pick is top 5 protected. Phoenix bought-out Greg Monroe and released him. Houston activated Troy Williams and placed Eric Gordon (sore lower back) on IL. Memphis activated JaMychal Green and James Ennis and placed Mario Chalmers (left hamstring) on IL. Milwaukee activated Xavier Munford and placed Eric Bledsoe (sore left ankle) on IL. Oklahoma City activated Wilson Chandler. Toronto activated Lorenzo Brown and placed Fred VanVleet (personal reasons) on IL. Den 127, OKC 124 at Den Nikola Jokic (Den) had 29 points including 11-18 FG, 13 rebounds, and 14 assists. Gary Harris (Den) had 25 points including 5-9 3-pointers and the game winning 3-pointer at the buzzer. Jamal Murray (Den) had 33 points including 14-23 FG and 5 assists. Paul George (OKC) had 43 points on 19-26 FG and 5-8 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 21 assists. Hou 102, SA 91 at SA James Harden (Hou) had 28 points including 5-12 3-pointers and 11 assists. Clint Capela (Hou) had 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists. Gerald Green (Hou) had 15 points including 4-13 FG and 3-11 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge (SA) had 16 points and 8 rebounds. Danny Green (SA) had 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Min 108, Mil 89 at Min Karl-Anthony Towns (Min) had 24 points including 10-13 FG and 11 rebounds. Jimmy Butler (Min) had 28 points including 10-11 FT and 6 assists. Khris Middlrton (Mil) had 21 points including 7-20 FG, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and 5 turnovers. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Mil) had 17 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Min shot 53.8% (42-78) FG and Mil shot 31.6% (32-85) FG. Was 122, Tor 119 at Was Otto Porter (Was) had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. Markieff Morris (Was) had 15 points and 7 rebounds. Bradley Beal (Was) had 27 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. DeMar DeRozan (Tor) had 23 points including 9-10 FT, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Kyle Lowry (Tor) had 29 points including 4-11 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Det 104, Mem 102 at Det Blake Griffin (Det) had 24 points including 11-13 FT, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Andre Drummond (Det) had 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 steals. Stanley Johnson (Det) had 14 points. Marc Gasol (Mem) had 19 points including 6-21 FG and 1-8 3-pointers and 14 rebounds. Andrew Harrison (Mem) had 18 points and 8 assists. Det shot 27-37 FT and Mem shot 14-14 FT. Tyreke Evans (Mem, ill) did not play. Schedule for Friday, February 2 (All times Central) Indiana at Charlotte 6:00 pm Atlanta at Boston 6:30 pm LA Lakers at Brooklyn 7:30 pm Portland at Toronto 6:30 pm Miami at Philadelphia 7:00 pm ESPN New York at Milwaukee 7:00 pm New Orleans at Oklahoma City 8:00 pm Utah at Phoenix 8:00 pm Golden State at Sacramento 9:30 pm ESPN Schedule for Saturday, February 3 (All times Central) Chicago at LA Clippers 2:30 pm Miami at Detroit 6:00 pm Philadelphia at Indiana 6:00 pm Washington at Orlando 6:00 pm Houston at Cleveland 7:30 pm ABC New Orleans at Minnesota 8:00 pm Utah at San Antonio 8:00 pm Golden State at Denver 8:00 pm Dallas at Sacramento 9:00 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