The AP reports: Facing triple-double master Jason Kidd, Chris Paul nearly did him one better. With 33 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and seven steals, Paul narrowly missed a rare quadruple double, but it was still enough to pull the New Orleans Hornets to a 104-97 victory over the slumping Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night… Paul also guarded Jason Terry in the second half. Terry had 18 points before Paul took over, 10 after… Peja Stojakovic and David West each scored 16 points for New Orleans, and Devin Brown had 12. It was the Hornets’ first regular-season victory in Dallas since Jan. 24, 1998. The skid was 13 straight, although they won a playoff game here last spring. “We really didn’t want to double-team (Paul) that much and leave all the shooters open and he used that freedom and killed us,” said Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Thunder beat Jazz for 7th win
The AP reports: The presence of big man Nenad Krstic is beginning to pay off in a big way for the Oklahoma City Thunder. In just his fifth game since being signed away from a Russian league, Krstic had 14 points and 11 rebounds Wednesday night in helping the Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 114-93. Nine of his rebounds came at the defensive end as Oklahoma City outrebounded the Jazz 48-26… Jeff Green scored 23 points, Russell Westbrook added 22 and Kevin Durant had 21 for the Thunder, which won for just the seventh time this season but the fourth time in the past eight games… Deron Williams scored 25 points for the Jazz, which had a four-game winning streak ended. All of those came at home; this was the team’s fifth straight loss on the road. Kyle Korver had 14 points, but just two in the second half.
Cook helps struggling Wade as Heat beat Bucks
The AP reports: Reserve Daequan Cook wasted no time redeeming himself. A night after teammates questioned if he’d even played in Miami’s win at Minnesota following an 0-for-3 performance, Cook hit his first six 3-pointers en route to a career-high 24 points in the Heat’s 102-99 victory over Milwaukee on Wednesday night… Wade finished 5-for-20 and had 17 points, contributing by distributing 13 assists to help the Heat improve to 3-2 on a seven-game trip… The Heat went on a 9-0 run to start the second half and had an 84-74 lead with 10:57 to play, but the Bucks, who overcame a 12-point second-half deficit in Washington on Monday night, nearly came back in this one thanks to 25 points by Luke Ridnour and 16 by Michael Redd.
Lee helps Knicks roll past Wizards
The AP reports: David Lee had 30 points and 10 rebounds, reserve Al Harrington scored 27 points, and the Knicks handed the Wizards their sixth straight loss with a 128-122 victory Wednesday night… Quentin Richardson added 26 points for the Knicks, who have piled up the points in the first three meetings with the Wizards this season and can complete a season sweep for the first time since 2003-04 by grabbing the back end of a home-and-home series Friday in Washington… Chris Duhon finished with 17 points and nine assists for the Knicks, who scored 114 and 122 points in their two earlier victories over Washington—which fired Eddie Jordan two days after the second one… Washington’s Nick Young scored 33 points, establishing a career high for the third time in four games, and Caron Butler added 25. Mike James had 20 points, but the Wizards stumbled when he had to leave with five fouls.
Pierce leads Celtics past Nets
The AP reports: Paul Pierce brought the Boston Celtics to the midpoint of the season with their third straight win and with hope that they’ve regained the rhythm that produced a 27-2 start. Pierce shook off a cold first half and scored 18 points in the third quarter by going 5-for-5 on 3-pointers to lead the Celtics a 118-86 win over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night… Pierce led Boston with 22 points two nights after getting a season-high 39 in an overtime win over Toronto. The Nets also won in overtime that night, beating Oklahoma City… Kevin Garnett scored 20 points for the Celtics. The Nets were led by Devin Harris with 17 points, while Keyon Dooling and rookies Ryan Anderson and Brook Lopez had 13 each. Anderson made his second consecutive start in place of injured Yi Jianlian after sitting out the previous four games.
Granger leads Pacers past Pistons
The AP reports: For once, overtime was a good time for the Indiana Pacers. Danny Granger scored 24 points and made the tying shot late in regulation in the Indiana Pacers’ 110-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. It was Indiana’s first overtime win in five tries this season… T.J. Ford scored 23 points, and Troy Murphy added 18 points and 13 rebounds to help the Pacers snap a three-game losing streak. Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 30 points, Allen Iverson had 23 points, and Rasheed Wallace added 17 points and 15 rebounds. The Pistons have lost three in a row, including a two-point loss at home against Charlotte on Tuesday night.
Rose scores 25 points, Bulls beat Raptors
The AP reports: Derrick Rose’s big fourth quarter and Joakim Noah’s block gave the Chicago Bulls a rare road victory. Rose scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth, and Luol Deng had 16 points and 14 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup in the Bulls’ 102-98 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night… Andres Nocioni added 16 points, Kirk Hinrich had 12 and Ben Gordon 10 for Chicago, which had lost eight of 11 coming in… Andrea Bargnani had a career-high 31 points and finished with 10 rebounds for Toronto, which has lost three straight. Bosh scored 25 points, and Anthony Parker had 15.
76ers beat Blazers, win season-high fifth straight
The AP reports: Andre Iguodala scored a season-high 29 points, and Lou Williams had 14 to lead Philadelphia to its fifth straight victory, 100-79 over Portland on Wednesday night. Iguodala made four of Philadelphia’s season-high 11 3-pointers and just missed becoming the first Sixers player to score 30 points in a game this season… Thaddeus Young made three 3s and finished with 11 points, and Andre Miller scored 12 points. Brandon Roy led Portland with 27 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points and nine rebounds. Portland was without Rudy Fernandez (foot), and coach Nate McMillan said the rookie will likely miss Thursday night’s game in New Jersey. Steve Blake left in the first half because of a separated right shoulder.
Von Wafer making name for himself
The Los Angeles Times (Broderick Turner) reports: Von Wafer signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Houston Rockets last September for $797,581 and appears to have found a home. He has been starting while Tracy McGrady heals from a sore left knee, and Ron Artest gets well from a sore right ankle. “I told him during the game how I was proud of the way he’s been playing,” Kobe Bryant said. “He’s doing a fine job.” Wafer was 10 for 14 from the field (three for four from three-point range) in 39 minutes in Houston’s 105-100 loss to the Lakers at the Toyota Center. The athletic Wafer did much of his work against Bryant. “He told me he was proud of me,” Wafer said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Kobe. He told me he was proud of me, that I’ve come a long way and just keep it going.”
Knicks-Wizards team connections
Wizards head coach Ed Tapscott served in the Knicks front office for nine seasons (1991-2000). He was named Vice President of Player Personnel in 1997 after stints as Director of Administration and Vice President of Administration.
Jared Jeffries played the first four years of his career in Washington, playing 256 games for the Wizards with averages of 6.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game after the club selected him 11th overall in 2002.
Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld played with the Knicks from 1982-83 to 1985-86 and served as the Knicks General Manager from April 23, 1991 through April 21, 1999. His son Dan Grunfeld went to training camp with the Knicks this past summer before being waived on October 23.
Jared Jeffries’ Indiana Hoosiers lost to Juan Dixon’s Maryland Terrapins in the 2002 NCAA National Championship Game in Atlanta, Georgia. Dixon scored 18 points and had five rebounds and three assists and Jeffries posted eight points and seven rebounds.
Chris Duhon and Wizards forward Darius Songaila were teammates in Chicago during the 2005-06 season.
Tim Thomas played in Philadelphia for parts of two seasons (1997-99) when Wizards assistant coach Randy Ayers was an assistant under Larry Brown.