News from December 1. The NBA named Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) as Player of the Month. O'Neal averaged 28.7 including 59.5% FG, 13.6 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks as the Lakers went 11-4 in November. The NBA named Lamar Odom (LAC) and Adrian Griffin (Bos) as co-Rookies of the Month. Odom averaged 18.6 points and 7.8 rebounds and Griffin averaged 11.4 points including 54.1% FG and 7.9 rebounds in November. The NBA named Mike Dunleavy (Por) as Coach of the Month. Portland went 13-3 in November. Dallas activated Gary Trent and placed Erick Strickland on IR with a sprained left shoulder. [Note: Trent still isn't ready to play and will be out at least another week.] Golden State signed Chris Carr. Houston activated Thomas Hamilton. The LA Lakers activated Kobe Bryant and placed Devean George on IR with a right knee contusion. Miami activated Harold Jamison and placed Tim Hardaway on IR with a jammed right knee. Portland activated Joe Kleine and placed Jermaine O'Neal on IR with a sore left ankle. Vancouver activated Dennis Scott. Mia 90, Phi 83 - at Mia P.J. Brown (Mia) had 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 steals. Alonzo Mourning (Mia) had 28 points including 8-11 FT, 15 rebounds including 8 offensive, and 7 blocks. Dan Majerle (Mia) had 10 points and 6 assists. Tyrone Hill (Phi) had 20 points and 8 rebounds. Aaron McKie (Phi) had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals. Theo Ratliff (Phi, sore left ankle) did not play. Cle 111, Was 108 - at Was Shawn Kemp (Cle) had 27 points on 6-18 FG and 15-17 FT, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Bob Sura (Cle) had 18 points and 5 rebounds. Mark Bryant (Cle) had 15 points including 7-9 FG and 6 rebounds including 5 offensive. Mitch Richmond (Was) had 30 points including 12-14 FT. Rod Strickland (Was) had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Cle shot 40-53 FT and Was shot 27-41 FT. Den 100, Det 96 - at Den Antonio McDyess (Den) had 24 points and 11 rebounds. Raef LaFrentz (Den) had 19 points and 7 rebounds. Ron Mercer (Den) had 23 points. Christian Laettner (Det) had 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Grant Hill (Det) had 39 points on 13-21 FG and 13-17 FT and 7 rebounds. Pho 128, Hou 122 2OT - at Pho Tom Gugliotta (Pho) had 19 points and 8 rebounds. Jason Kidd (Pho) had 17 points including 5-19 FG, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, and 4 steals in 53 minutes. Anfernee Hardaway (Pho) had 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Clifford Robinson (Pho) had 25 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. Charles Barkley (Hou) had 22 points including 7-11 FT and 13 rebounds in 48 minutes. Kelvin Cato (Hou) had 23 points including 9-14 FG and 6 rebounds. Steve Francis (Hou) had 24 points including 3-4 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, and 6 turnovers. Tony Massenburg (Hou, groin strain) did not play. Por 94, Cha 90 - at Por Arvydas Sabonis (Por) had 16 points including 7-10 FG and 7 rebounds. Steve Smith (Por) had 13 points and 9 rebounds. Detlef Schrempf (Por) had 18 points and 9 rebounds. Derrick Coleman (Cha) had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Elden Campbell (Cha) had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Bobby Phills (Cha, pulled left hamstring) did not play. Ind 96, Van 89 - at Van Dale Davis (Ind) had 17 points and 8 rebounds. Reggie Miller (Ind) had 26 points including 10-10 FT and 5 rebounds. Austin Croshere (Ind) had 13 points including 4-12 FG and 9 rebounds. Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Van) had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Othella Harrington (Van) had 15 points and 8 rebounds. Bryant Reeves (Van, sore right knee) did not play. LAL 93, GS 75 - at LAL Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) had 28 points, 23 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 19 points and 6 rebounds. Rick Fox (LAL) had 10 points and 6 rebounds. Mookie Blaylock (GS) had 13 points including 4-13 FG, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Tony Farmer (GS) had 9 points including 2-8 FG and 15 rebounds. Chris Mills (GS, sore left ankle) and John Starks (GS, tendinitis right knee) did not play.