The AP reports: Chris Paul and his Hornets teammates had a lousy Christmas, so they took it out on the Houston Rockets. Paul had 26 points and 10 assists, and New Orleans snapped a two-game skid with an 88-79 victory over Houston on Friday night. David West added 23 points and Rasual Butler 13 for the Hornets, who took an early lead and never trailed, mindful of their dreadful, 88-68 loss in Orlando on Christmas Day… Yao Ming had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Houston, which dropped its second straight game. Tracy McGrady was held to 11 points, missing nine of his 11 shots from the field… Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 12 rebounds, including a crucial tip-in with 2:32 left and a late offensive rebound on a tip-out to Paul that helped seal the victory.
Dec 26: Pistons 90, Thunder 88
The AP reports: A week after passing up a chance at a winning shot against the Utah Jazz, Allen Iverson hit an off-balance runner with 0.2 seconds left to give the Detroit Pistons a 90-88 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night… Iverson led the Pistons with 22 points, and Tayshaun Prince added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Durant had 26 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder. The Pistons looked sluggish for most of the first three quarters. Oklahoma City shot 39 percent through three periods, but trailed only 66-63 heading into the fourth.
Dec 26: Wolves 120, Knicks 107
The AP reports: Kevin McHale turned to prayer, though it wasn’t really needed. The combination of Al Jefferson inside and some sizzling 3-point shooting was more than enough. The Timberwolves snapped a 13-game losing streak and won for the first time this season under McHale, getting a season-best 23 points from Rashad McCants in a 120-107 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night… Jefferson added 21 points and 15 rebounds in the Timberwolves’ first victory since beating Oklahoma City on Nov. 28. They had dropped their first eight games under McHale, who took over when Randy Wittman was fired Dec. 8… Sebastian Telfair finished with a season-high 20 points in his hometown and Randy Foye had 19 for the Wolves, who overran New York by using the Knicks’ primary weapon, the 3-pointer… Nate Robinson and Al Harrington each scored 26 points for the Knicks, who lost their fifth straight. Wilson Chandler scored 19, but New York allowed its highest point total ever against Minnesota.
Dec 26: Bobcats 95, Nets 87
The AP reports: A little more than two weeks after acquiring Boris Diaw and Raja Bell from the Phoenix Suns, the Charlotte Bobcats are showing signs that they can be a good team. Raymond Felton scored 22 points, Emeka Okafor added 21 and the new-look Bobcats won for the fourth time in five games with a 95-87 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Friday night… Boris Diaw, who finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, drove the lane for a basket with 3:01 to play after the Nets’ Devin Harris hit a layup to cut the Charlotte lead to 83-81… Vince Carter had 19 points to lead the Nets, while Lopez and Harris added 14 apiece… New Jersey is now 5-11 at the Izod Center this season.
Dec 26: Heat 90, Bulls 77
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 28 points, Daequan Cook hit three big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as Miami pulled away, and the Heat eclipsed last season’s win total by dominating the second half and beating the Bulls 90-77 on Friday. Mario Chalmers had 16 points and six assists while Beasley—the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, after the Bulls chose Derrick Rose—scored eight of his 14 in the fourth for Miami (16-12), which won its fourth straight and surpassed the dismal 15-67 mark of a season ago… Ben Gordon had 15 points for the Bulls, who shot just 37 percent. Larry Hughes scored 13 for Chicago and Derrick Rose finished with only 10 on 3-for-14 shooting… Udonis Haslem tied a season-high with 14 rebounds, while Cook scored 12 points for the Heat. Aaron Gray had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls. Chicago lost forward Luol Deng to a sprained left ankle with 7:52 left in the third quarter.
Paul Millsap out 7-10 days
The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz forward Paul Millsap, who injured his left knee in the first half of the game at Milwaukee on December 23.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests conducted on Millsap’s left knee on Wednesday showed that Millsap suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).
Millsap will not play in Friday’s game vs. Dallas, marking the first game he has missed in his NBA career. His streak will end at 194 straight games played, which was the seventh-longest active streak in the NBA. Millsap will not travel with the team to Houston for tomorrow night’s game at the Rockets and is expected to miss seven to 10 days of action.
Damon Jones to join Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks and Damon Jones have mutually decided that he will join the team effective immediately. Jones is scheduled to be with the Bucks Saturday night when they take on the Detroit Pistons at 7:30 p.m. at the Bradley Center.
Jones, 32, has been inactive for all 30 games of the Bucks season to date.
Jones (6-3, 195) was acquired from Cleveland on August 13, 2008, in a three-team deal that also included Oklahoma City. Milwaukee also received Adrian Griffin and Luke Ridnour from the Thunder, the Cavaliers added Mo Williams, while Oklahoma City acquired Joe Smith and Desmond Mason.
Rockets assign Joey Dorsey to D-League
Houston Rockets forward Joey Dorsey was assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ NBA Development League affiliate, it was announced Friday. Dorsey is the 14th player to be assigned from an NBA team to the NBA D-League this season.
Originally selected in the second round, 33rd overall, of the 2008 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, Dorsey was traded to Houston on Draft night and appeared in three regular season games for the Rockets, scoring two points and grabbing one rebound. In four preseason games, Dorsey averaged 3.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists.
Dorsey, 6-8, was a four-year contributor at Memphis, where he averaged 6.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks during his NCAA career. For his efforts, he earned First Team All-Conference USA honors as a junior and Second Team honors during his senior season. He was also named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and earned league All-Defensive Team honors during his final two years at Memphis. Dorsey finished his collegiate career as Conference USA’s all-time leader in rebounding (1,209), which also ranks second all-time in Memphis history. Additionally, Dorsey ranks as the school’s all-time leader in field goal percentage (.614, 400-of-641), and is second all-time in school history in blocked shots (265).
Spurs assign Malik Hairston to D-League
San Antonio Spurs forward Malik Hairston on Friday was assigned to the Austin Toros, the Spurs NBA D-League affiliate, it was announced today. Hairston is the 13th player to be assigned from an NBA team to the NBA D-League this season.
Originally selected in the second round (48th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns, Hairston was traded to San Antonio where he spent 2008 training camp. In six preseason games with the Spurs, Hairston averaged 5.3 points and 4.5 assists. Hairston was waived by the Spurs on Oct. 26 before spending 11 games with the Toros and earning a Call-Up to San Antonio on Dec. 22, and has not seen regular season action with Spurs this season.
Hairston started in 11 Toros games this season and where he averaged 19.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals. He twice scored a career-high 33 points, originally on Nov. 29 and again on Dec. 18 and was named NBA D-League Performer of the Week for games played during the week of Dec. 15.
A four year starter at Oregon, Hairston finished his NCAA career averaging 14.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists, while earning Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 during his sophomore and senior seasons.
Suns assign Alando Tucker to D-League
The Phoenix Suns Friday assigned second year forward Alando Tucker to the team’s NBA Development League affiliate Iowa Energy. Tucker is the 12th player assigned from an NBA team to an NBA D-League affiliate this season.
The 6-6, 205-pound Tucker was originally selected by the Suns with the 29th overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft and played in six games for Phoenix during his rookie season, averaging 3.7 points and 1.3 rebounds. Tucker has yet to make an appearance with the Suns this season after missing the first 22 games due to injury, including 19 following arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in November.
No stranger to the NBA D-League, Tucker was assigned to the Albuquerque Thunderbirds from Phoenix last season, when he appeared in 21 games and averaged 27.7 points and 6.0 rebounds.