News from April 3. The NBA suspended Nerlens Noel (Dal) for 5 games for violating the NBA's anti-drug program. [The league does not announce the specific reasons for the suspension, but based on the number of games it was most likely marijuana usage.] The NBA suspended Thabo Sefolosha (Uta) for 5 games for violating the NBA's anti-drug program. [The league does not announce the specific reasons for the suspension, but based on the number of games it was most likely marijuana usage.] Sefolosha, who is out with an injury, will start serving his suspension the first regular season game he is eligible to play. The NBA fined Quincy Acy (Bro) $25,000 and fined Andre Drummond (Det) $15,000 for their altercation during Sunday's Bro-Det game. Drummond shoved Acy and then Acy "aggressively" pursued Drummond. Boston placed Terry Rozier (sprained left knee) on IL. Brooklyn activated Milton Doyle and placed Allen Crabbe (ill) on IL. Chicago placed Denzel Valentine (left knee) on IL. Cleveland activated Kyle Korver and placed London Perrentes on IL. Dallas activated J.J. Barea and placed Dorian Finney-Smith (rest) on IL. Denver activated Wilson Chandler and placed Kenneth Faried on IL. Golden State placed Kevon Looney (flu) on IL. Houston activated Luc Mbah a Moute and Nene. The LA Clippers placed Jawun Evans (athletic publagia) on IL. New York activated Courtney Lee and placed Michael Beasley (ill) and Troy Williams (fractured jaw) on IL. Philadelphia activated Amir Johnson. Phoenix activated Alex Len. Dal 115, Por 109 at Dal Dennis Smith (Dal) had 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. J.J. Barea (Dal) had 15 points including 3-4 3-pointers and 5 assists. Yogi Ferrell (Dal) had 15 points. Damian Lillard (Por) had 29 points on 6-20 FG, 2-10 3-pointers, and 15-15 FT, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists. Jusuf Nurkic (Por) had 15 points including 7-8 FG, 13 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Nerlens Noel (Dal, suspended) did not play. GS 111, OKC 107 at OKC Kevin Durant (GS) had 34 points on 9-25 FG and 14-14 FT and 10 rebounds Klay Thompson (GS) had 20 points and 3 steals. Quinn Cook (GS) had 12 points and 6 assists. Paul George (OKC) had 20 points including 5-19 FG and 8 rebounds. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 44 points on 15-26 FG and 11-12 FT, 16 rebounds including 5 offensive, 6 assists, and 6 turnovers. GS shot 49.4% (41-83) FG and OKC shot 37.6% (35-93) FG. Shaun Livingston (GS, personal reasons) did not play. Hou 120, Was 104 at Hou James Harden (Hou) had 38 points on 12-18 FG, 5-8 3-pointers, and 9-10 FT, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. Clint Capela (Hou) had 21 points including 9-10 FG and 10 rebounds. Gerald Green (Hou) had 16 points including 4-8 3-pointers. Bradley Beal (Was) had 27 points including 10-15 FG. Markieff Morris (Was) had 14 points and 6 rebounds. Trevor Ariza (Hou, rest) did not play. Mil 106, Bos 102 at Mil Khris Middleton (Mil) had 20 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Mil) had 29 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Eric Bledsoe (Mil) had 18 points including 8-9 FG. Jayson Tatum (Bos) had 20 points and 3 steals. Jaylen Brown (Bos) had 24 points including 9-15 FG. Chi 120, Cha 114 at Chi Justin Holiday (Chi) had 19 points including 4-9 3-pointers and 3 steals. Lauri Markkanen (Chi) had 24 points including 5-6 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Sean Kilpatrick (Chi) had 21 points. Marvin Williams (Cha) had 18 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 8 rebounds. Dwight Howard (Cha) had 23 points on 7-11 FG and 9-13 FT and 17 rebounds including 5 offensive. Malik Monk (Cha) had 21 points including 5-10 3-pointers. Dwayne Bacon (Cha, sprained right ankle) did not play. Orl 97, NY 73 at NY Mario Hezonja (Orl) had 19 points including 5-8 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Jamel Artis (Orl) had 16 points and 6 rebounds. Shelvin Mack (Orl) had 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Tim Hardaway (NY) had 16 points including 1-7 3-pointers and 8 rebounds. Kyle O'Quinn (NY) had 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Orl out-scored NY 51-28 in the 2nd half. Jonathan Isaac (Orl, sprained left ankle) did not play. Mia 101, Atl 98 at Mia Goran Dragic (Mia) had 22 points including 9-14 FG and 3-4 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, and 3 steals. Hassan Whiteside (Mia) had 18 points, 12 rebounds including 6 offensive and 3 blocks. Dwyane Wade (Mia) had 11 points and 6 assists. John Collins (Atl) had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Tyler Dorsey (Atl) had 18 points including 4-7 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Dewayne Dedmon (Atl, sore rib) did not play. Phi 121, Bro 95 at Phi J.J. Redick (Phi) had 19 points. Ben Simmons (Phi) had 15 points including 7-10 FG, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. Ersan Ilyasova (Phi) had 11 points and 13 rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie (Bro) had 16 points including 4-11 FG, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Jahlil Okafor (Bro) had 15 points on 7-9 FG and 5 rebounds. Phi shot 54.9% (50-91) FG and Bro shot 42% (34-81) FG. Cle 112, Tor 106 at Cle LeBron James (Cle) had 27 points including 8-11 FT, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Kevin Love (Cle) had 18 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 15 rebounds. Jose Calderon (Cle) had 19 points including 7-11 FG. Jonas Valanciunas (Tor) had 17 points and 10 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan (Tor) had 19 points and 7 assists. Den 107, Ind 104 at Den Nikola Jolic (Den) had 30 points including 11-17 FG and 4-6 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals. Will Barton (Den) had 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Paul Millsap (Den) had 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Victor Oladipo (Ind) had 25 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals. Thaddeus Young (Ind) had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Uta 117, LAL 110 at Uta Donovan Mitchell (Uta) had 26 points including 4-8 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Rudy Gobert (Uta) had 12 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 5 turnovers. Ricky Rubio (Uta) had 31 points including 10-16 FG and 4-7 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. Kyle Kuzma (LAL) had 26 points including 7-12 FT and 6 rebounds. Julius Randle (LAL) had 12 points on 3-9 FG and 6-10 FT, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, and 5 turnovers. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (LAL) had 28 points including 5-9 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. Lonzo Ball (LAL, left knee contusion) did not play. Pho 97, Sac 94 at Pho Josh Jackson (Pho) had 28 points and 6 rebounds. Alex Len (Pho) had 17 points and 15 rebounds. Danuel House (Pho) had 17 points and 15 rebounds. Justin Jackson (Sac) had 19 points including 7-11 FG and 8 rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic (Sac) had 22 points including 4-9 3-pointers. Skal Labissiere (Sac, sprained left ankle) did not play. LAC 113, SA 110 at LAC Tobias Harris (LAC) had 31 points including 11-19 FG and 9 rebounds. DeAndre Jordan (LAC) had 10 points and 17 rebounds including 5 offensive. Lou Williams (LAC) had 22 points. Austin Rivers (LAC) had 18 points including 5-15 FG and 5 assists. LaMarcus Aldridge (SA) had 36 points including 13-21 FG, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Patty Mills (SA) had 17 points and 5 assists. Danilo Gallinari (LAC, sore right hand) did not play. Schedule for Wednesday, April 4 (All times Central) Philadelphia at Detroit 6:00 pm Dallas at Orlando 6:00 pm Boston at Toronto 6:00 pm ESPN Miami at Atlanta 6:30 pm Memphis at New Orleans 8:30 pm ESPN San Antonio at LA Lakers 9:30 pm Schedule for Thursday, April 5 (All times Central) Golden State at Indiana 6:00 pm Washington at Cleveland 7:00 pm TNT Portland at Houston 7:00 pm Brooklyn at Milwaukee 7:00 pm LA Clippers at Utah 8:00 pm Minnesota at Denver 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