Hughes growing tired of D'Antoni's 'mind games'

Veteran guard Larry Hughes, back in coach Mike D'Antoni's doghouse, questioned the coach's methods, his poor communication skills and taking him out of the rotation for the third time this season, saying it's "getting old" and calling it "mind games."

Nate Robinson's gain was Hughes' loss and he was a DNP for the second straight game and perhaps for a while.

"It's not a good way to play the season going back and forth," Hughes said after the Knicks destroyed the Pacers, 132-89, last night at the Garden. "This is my third time now. It's getting old.

"I'm really over it, the mind games," said Hughes, the Knicks' highest-paid player at $13.9 million. "I'm getting up there in years. I'm over it."

Ticking off Hughes is not the best idea since he has LeBron James' ear as their families are close.

Hughes was out of the rotation after a terrible preseason, but got back in during the first week. When Robinson got demoted, Hughes became an integral part. But since Hughes returned from a groin injury he struggled in a more limited role and D'Antoni moved back to Robinson. In the past four games before the yanking, Hughes shot 1 of 16, but played a reduced 13½ minutes per game.

"Since I got injured, now I'm not," Hughes said. "There's an unwritten rule in this league, you don't lose your spot coming back from injury.

"I wasn't playing much when I did come back. It's on paper. You can look at it."

Hughes' remarks appear ill-timed because they've won twice, but his biggest beef is D'Antoni not sitting down with him to explain the new direction with Robinson.

"That's ideal, that's really ideal," Hughes said. "That's an ideal situation. It's easy to communicate. It's a long season, you always want to have dialogue and talk things out. Every night's not going to be your night. I understand that. Those are things you need to talk about.

"I definitely want the dialogue," Hughes added. "It helps to let guys know where you stand. You can voice opinions on both sides. He doesn't have to run with your opinion [but] just to have communication. That goes a long way in this league. You're dealing with grown men and a lot of different personalities."

* With D'Antoni under scrutiny for his 14-game banishment of Robinson looking too severe, team president Donnie Walsh said: "It proved Mike right in his actions all the way through. When he changed the rotation, we won. And then when he got back to Nate, we won the game." . . . Walsh seemed disturbed when asked about D'Antoni's remarks on their interest in Tracy McGrady. "Go to Mike, I'm not talking about it," he said.

Saunders backs Arenas

Flip disputes a report calling Gil 'disruptive'

Washington Wizards head coach Flip Saunders disputed a report from Yahoo! Sports on Sunday that attempted to add another layer to the multi-dimensional controversy facing Gilbert Arenas.

The report asserted that the star point guard has been at odds with Saunders since training camp. Arenas is under investigation by local and federal authorities, as well as the NBA, over an alleged dispute with teammate Javaris Crittenton and a recent admission of gun possession on team property.

"Arenas barely talked to coach Flip Saunders in training camp" the story said, and "Arenas became increasingly belligerent and defiant" after the team broke camp, including that "he began to purposely disrupt practices."

"Where they got that information is totally untrue," said Saunders. "He has not been in any kind of a situation along those lines. The situation that's happened, people try to lump a lot of things together. It's really not fair to him."

Arenas, in response to the report, fired back via Twitter on Sunday night, saying, "me and coach Flip talk every other day on the phone or by text..i dont know who ur fake Ratatouille..i havent even talked bac to coach."

It is yet another distraction for the Wizards and Arenas, who said Saturday that he was set to speak with authorities on Monday about the weapons investigation and told reporters that it was a bad idea to bring his guns to Verizon Center. He has claimed to have done that to get them out of his house after the birth of his daughter in early December. It is not known whether the guns were properly licensed or registered.

"That's bad judgment on my part, storing them here, and I take responsibility for that," said Arenas. He did not confirm details that his reported dispute with Crittenton began over a card game during a team flight on Dec. 21 and led him to place three unloaded guns on a chair next to Crittenton's locker two days later.

"We were friends before. We're friends now. We don't have no problem," said Arenas of his relationship with Crittenton.

Crittenton's agent, Mark Bartelstein, has said that he expects his client to ultimately be cleared of any wrongdoing.

The controversy led the family of late Wizards owner Abe Pollin -- who changed the name of the team from Bullets to Wizards because of his concern over gun violence -- to issue a statement at halftime of Saturday's game.

"We will take further steps to ensure this never happens again," said the statement. "We want our fans to know that we will not rest until this situation is resolved and has come to a satisfactory conclusion."

Ted Leonsis, who is expected to take over ownership the Wizards, said after watching the team play from courtside seats on Saturday that he was just back from vacation and didn't know anything about the situation.

Bosh sets Raptors scoring record in win over Spurs

Chris Bosh scored 22 points to become the leading scorer in Raptors history and lead Toronto to a 91-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.

Bosh, who also had 15 rebounds, made a jumper from the top of the key with 1:39 left in the third quarter to eclipse Vince Carter's mark of 9,420 points. Bosh, who now has 9,428 points, was honoured with a video tribute and standing ovation at the end of the quarter.

Jarrett Jack scored 16 points, Andrea Bargnani had 15 and DeMar DeRozan 11 for Toronto, which has won six of seven and ended the Spurs' winning streak at five games.

Tony Parker scored 23 points, and Tim Duncan had 21 points and 12 rebounds in a rare reserve appearance. Richard Jefferson scored 12 for the Spurs, who had won 11 of 13.

San Antonio finished 16 for 27 at the free throw line, with Parker missing five and Duncan four.

Toronto led 67-55 heading into the fourth quarter, but Duncan cut the lead to 81-78 on a three-point play with 2:32 left. Jack and Parker each scored before Bosh's driving layup made it 85-80 with 56 seconds remaining.

Duncan missed a pair from the line but San Antonio got the ball back after a Jack miss and Keith Bogans hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, cutting it to 85-83. Bosh, Marco Belinelli and Antoine Wright sealed it at the line, each making two free throws in the final 11 seconds.

Toronto avenged a 131-124 loss to the Spurs on Nov. 9, San Antonio's highest scoring game of the season. Parker and Duncan missed that one with injuries but Manu Ginobili scored 36 points. Ginobili was held in check in this one, scoring just five points and making only one of eight attempts.

Duncan, San Antonio's leading scorer, came off the bench for just the second time in his career and the first time since 2004. He scored 23 points in 36 minutes in Saturday's win at Washington.

Toronto's Hedo Turkoglu missed the game with flulike symptoms and was replaced by Wright.

Parker shot 6 for 7 and scored 12 points in the first quarter, but the rest of the Spurs went 3 for 17 as Toronto led 27-19 after one.

San Antonio's shooting woes continued in the second. Duncan made two free throws to snap a 6:37 scoreless streak, and the Spurs went more than nine minutes between field goals, missing their first seven attempts before a Duncan turnaround hook shot with 4:53 left.

Toronto led 48-34 at the half.

NOTES: Raptors coach Jay Triano said he expects point guard Jose Calderon will return to the lineup Wednesday at Orlando. Calderon (sore left hip) has missed 12 of the past 13 games. ... DeRozan converted a second quarter alley-oop after Jack's pass bounced off the backboard. ... Nursing a sore left knee, Duncan had 22 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in a March 18, 2004, victory over Minnesota, the only other time in his career he didn't start.

Rookie Matthews awaits guaranteed money

For all the furor presently surrounding the Jazz, a milestone is expected to pass quietly this week with undrafted rookie Wesley Matthews soon to have his contract guaranteed for the rest of the season barring major roster upheaval.

Matthews, who made the roster out of training camp after injuries to C.J. Miles and Kyle Korver , has averaged 8.1 points, started 19 times and is one of three rookies ( James Harden and Ty Lawson are the others) to play 20 minutes a game for a winning team.

The deadline for contracts to be guaranteed is Sunday, but a nonguaranteed player would have to be released by Wednesday in order to clear waivers by the weekend. Matthews is making the rookie minimum $457,588.

"The Jazz have taken great care of me in giving me this opportunity," Matthews said, "and to make it guaranteed, hopefully, it's just icing on the cake."

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan , meanwhile, said he considered returning Matthews to the starting lineup after Saturday's loss to Denver but will stick with Miles and the same group for now.

"Experience again is a factor sometimes when you're running an offense," Sloan said. "Knowing where to be, what to do and that sort of thing."

Matthews, however, has played ahead of Miles in the fourth quarter of the last two games.

Deron Williams said of Matthews' time starting: "We were playing our best basketball and then we just changed everything up, which is kind of frustrating."

For his part, Matthews has continued to take advantage of his opportunities off the bench.

"You can't dwell on being on the bench, being a starter," Matthews said. "As soon as you do that, your production goes down, and once your production goes down, then you're not seeing the court regardless."

He said of Saturday's loss to Denver, "I don't think anybody in here has pushed the panic button," noting that the Jazz still have to play the Nuggets and Oklahoma City another two times each this season.

No surprise

Sloan tried to offer some perspective Sunday about losing to a Denver team missing its two stars in Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups .

"You see it happen if you follow the game a little bit," Sloan said. "It's not unusual to see that. The other guys get themselves ready to go and maybe you have a little bit of a letdown. And our energy level was kind of a letdown."

Thunder notebook: OKC looks to start new streak

Oklahoma City’s 103-97 road loss to Milwaukee on Saturday night ended a season-long five-game winning streak, the most consecutive games the Thunder franchise has won since the 2004-05 season. But the mood of the locker room remained positive following the surprising setback against a Bucks team that entered the game having lost four straight games and 15 of their past 19.

The Thunder visits Chicago tonight, the first of four straight games OKC plays against teams with losing records. Oklahoma City won a 109-108 overtime decision in Chicago last season, and players sounded confident they would bounce back against the Bulls.

"That’s one good thing about this team is we’ve only been outworked maybe a couple of times this year,” said Oklahoma City’s Nick Collison.

SEFOLOSHA BATTLING FOOT INJURY

Thabo Sefolosha has been slowed over the past week with a case of plantar fasciitis of his right foot. The Thunder’s starting shooting guard has played at least 30 minutes in each of the past four games, but the injury flared up during Saturday’s game at Milwaukee. Sefolosha nursed his foot on the bench for a long stretch in the second-half.

"It’s just painful at the bottom of the foot,” Sefolosha said. "It’s not too bad. It’s just after a little while, running on it, you get cold on the bench and have to warm it up again. I’m going to be fine.”

WESTBROOK SORE AFTER TUMBLE

Russell Westbrook iced his ribs immediately following the Milwaukee game after landing hard on his right side after going up for an offensive rebound in the first half against the Bucks. Westbrook tried to brace his fall with his arm but landed hard on his shoulder and midsection area.

"We’ll see how it feels (Sunday) morning, but I’ll be fine,” Westbrook said after the game.

Despite his early crash, Westbrook remained in the game and finished with 17 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds. It was the most recent strong performance for the second-year point guard, who enters tonight’s game at Chicago with 83 assists and just 18 turnovers over his past 10 games.

SCOUTING THE BULLS

Chicago has won four straight games and is currently the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls (14-17) are 11-6 inside the United Center and average nearly six more rebounds (47.6) at home than on the road.

Chicago is coming off a 101-93 home win over Orlando. The 2008 No. 1 overall pick, Derrick Rose, scored 30 points with seven assists and six rebounds.

"He’s a great player,” Westbrook said of Rose. "In my eyes, he’s probably one of the East All-Star point guards.”

Saunders disputes published report, Arenas tweets like mad

If you haven't started following Gilbert Arenas on Twitter (@gilbertarenas), you're missing out. Sure, he was late to the Twitter party, and he desperately wanted a million followers before he posted his first tweet. But for the guy who took athlete blogging to a new level, there should've been no doubt that his fearless, unique style would go gangbusters on Twitter. It's actually too bad it took the current controversy to get it going, and one can only wonder how long it lasts, given how much trouble he's in and given he'll eventually have to face NBA commissioner David Stern — Adrian Wojnarowski ominously reminds us at the end of this piece for Yahoo! Sports - once the legal side of this thing is completed.

Of course, so it happens that Arenas, who wasn't even speaking to the media at the beginning of the season, now has his own mouthpiece to refute that very Yahoo! story as well as to take on Peter Vescey and the New York Post for this story. Go see for yourself.

Meanwhile, Wizards head coach Flip Saunders doesn't tweet, but he also disputed claims made in the Yahoo! story. Here's how the conversation went with reporters after practice today. First, Saunders on his relationship with Arenas: "We still talk a lot. To me, Gil has been, on the floor and those things, what I’ve asked him to do, he’s never backed away from any challenge, where I’ve jumped him maybe for taking a bad shot or for maybe not doing something defensively. He’s never shied away from the criticism, and so I think our communication from that standpoint has been good. That has not wavered at all."

On whether Arenas has been a disruptive presence since training camps: "That's not true ...

Where they got information is totally untrue. He has not been in any kind of a situation along those lines. We’ve had meetings. We’ve had film sessions. He’s been on time, he’s been very productive.We chart our timeouts, we keep track of what guys are saying. He's been as much of a vocal leader as anybody on our team. That's one of the things, the situation that’s happened, people try to lump a lot of things together. It’s really not fair to him."

Disappointment, distractions leave Wizards' season in disarray

The primary concern when Gilbert Arenas came back to the NBA after a nearly two-year hiatus was whether his surgically repaired left knee had recovered well enough for him to regain his all-star form.

That now ranks among the least of the concerns for Arenas and the Washington Wizards as he and teammate Javaris Crittenton prepare to speak with the U.S. attorney's office on Monday to answer questions about a clash involving firearms.

It also serves as the latest distraction for a disastrous season that has been filled with disappointment. Arenas has been unable to propel the Wizards (10-21) back to relevance in the Eastern Conference and he admitted Sunday that his return has been challenging.

"It has its bumps and bruises, it has its good times. If I had an angry team, it would be even harder. But since our team is lighthearted, it's easy to come to work every day," said Arenas, who is averaging a team-best 22.7 points and has played all 31 games this season. "I'm playing better than I expected to play. If we was winning games, everybody would be saying I'm having a great year, I'm most improved player.

"But we're not clicking as a team. And because I make the most money on the team, the outside world looks at me, like, 'Oh, I must be the problem,' " Arenas said.

The failures of the team have the front office considering dramatic roster changes. A league source said on Sunday that the Wizards have been in communication with every team in the league about possibly making a trade. While the same source added that the Wizards are not looking to have a "fire sale," the organization is considering any deal that could improve the fortunes of a hobbled franchise.

Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison have been targeted, according to multiple league sources, but the Wizards are also considering moving Arenas, whose off-court antics -- including recently storing guns in the locker room -- have begun to wear on some within the organization.

Arenas has no desire to go elsewhere but said he understands that every struggling team looks to make changes. "I'm just happy to play basketball again. You put me in a city, basketball, hoop, it's the same old thing," Arenas said in a telephone interview. "Whatever city I land in, it's the same thing. It's basketball and you can hang out where you want in the summer. That's up to the fans and the organization. If after all is said and done and they accept me, then it's up to them. If they don't, they don't and I have to move on."

Dealing Arenas is unlikely with four years and $80 million remaining on his contract after this season -- plus the NBA and federal and local authorities investigating the circumstances of him bringing guns to Verizon Center. The family of late owner Abe Pollin released a statement on Saturday that was highly critical of the presence of guns in the locker room. Arenas acknowledged Saturday having "bad judgment" in storing the guns in his locker room stall.

Arenas's current situation hasn't prohibited team President Ernie Grunfeld from making any trades, but it has created considerable confusion. Firearms possession on team property is a violation of the collective bargaining agreement and calls for a fine of up to $50,000 and a suspension that is at the discretion of NBA Commissioner David Stern. Stern has taken a hard stance against guns and could hand out a stiff penalty.

The Wizards are weighing their options with Arenas, but one scenario that has not been ruled out is voiding the rest of his deal, according to multiple league sources.

The Uniform Player Contract includes a provision for terminating a player's contract if he commits an act of "moral turpitude," which is a serious transgression, such as violent crime. But the NBA players' union would fight any attempt to have a guaranteed contract voided, under any circumstances, a league source said recently. And there is also the risk of alienating Arenas, who could end up remaining with the Wizards. His contract appears difficult to move in tough economic times and teams are reluctant to take back long-term deals.

On Sunday, Arenas found himself involved in another controversy after a report in Yahoo Sports claimed that he had a rift with Coach Flip Saunders, adding that he "barely spoke to Saunders" during training camp, has become "increasingly belligerent and defiant" with Saunders in the past few months and became a disruptive force in practice. Saunders vehemently denied the validity of the report. "That's not true," Saunders said. "He's never backed away from any challenge when I've jumped him for taking a bad shot. He's never shied away from criticism. I think our communication has been good. . . . The situation that's happening, people try to lump a lot of things together. That's not fair to him."

Arenas also disputed the story, saying he and Saunders have a great relationship. He said that he has never complained about sitting in the fourth quarter of games or being substituted. "I've never said not one thing about anything. Me and him have a great understanding," Arenas said, adding that the two often share Mountain Dews after practice.

When asked how this gun investigation has affected his play, Arenas said: "It's not a distraction for the team. It should be a distraction to me and Javaris. I'm not distracted. Now we got to strap on our boots. We got 51 games left and we have to make up some ground and show what we can do, so everyone can talk about the comeback instead of how we started. No matter how you start, it's how you finish."

Lakers feel it against Mavericks, but Pau Gasol feels only pain

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant makes a pass from among a group of Dallas defenders during the first half Sunday night. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / January 3, 2010)

So this is the best the Western Conference has to offer, which could cause problems from now until June.

As in, when will the excitement actually begin for the Lakers?

They blew out the Dallas Mavericks, 131-96, Sunday night at Staples Center, reaffirming the fact they are the West's dominant team while brushing away a slew of not-so-stellar efforts in recent weeks.

Andrew Bynum had his most complete game in a month, collecting 19 points, five rebounds and four assists, but it wasn't entirely a clean victory.

Pau Gasol left the game after suffering a strained left hamstring with 7:12 left in the first quarter. He sat out the Lakers' first 11 games because of a strained right hamstring and will undergo further medical testing today, including an ultrasound exam, at which time the Lakers will issue a timetable on his return.

Gasol went to the locker room after feeling a twinge in his hamstring and left without talking to reporters after the game.

"Any time Pau has an injury, we're very concerned," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "We thought that the initial one in the preseason was very slight because . . . there was no significant impression that he'd have a pull. So obviously it's something that we have to take seriously."

Gasol was averaging 17.3 points and 12 rebounds a game before Sunday. If he's sidelined Tuesday against Houston, the Lakers will presumably pay more attention down low to Bynum, who made all eight of his shots against Dallas, the best shooting night for a Lakers player with at least eight attempts since Nick Van Exel was nine for nine in November 1997 against the Vancouver Grizzlies.

"I'm just going to keep trying to build on it," Bynum said. "I was getting lower position and then once that happens and I'm close to the rim, I feel more comfortable out there."

Bynum didn't get a gauge for how Gasol felt after the game.

"I didn't even get to see him. He left out of here real quick," Bynum said. "I'm comfortable with or without him [in a game]. It's just I'm more needed without him, so my focus goes up a little bit, you know what I mean?"

The actual game, if it can be called that, produced the Lakers' largest margin of victory in the regular season against Dallas, topping a 124-91 decision in December 1993.

And what of the West? The Lakers (27-6) now lead the Mavericks by 4 1/2 games and No. 3 Portland by six.

Dallas beat the Lakers in the second game of the season, 94-80, but there were no signs of that team Sunday. The Mavericks, who played in Sacramento the night before, made four of their first 27 shots (14.8%), were down 28 in the second quarter and were a wreck throughout the night.

On one play, Dirk Nowitzki thought he was fouled, stayed down on the court in a silent protest and inadvertently tripped teammate Tim Thomas as the Lakers moved the ball in the other direction, DJ Mbenga completing the sequence with a layup.

Jordan Farmar tied his career high with 24 points and Lamar Odom had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 63.4%, their best shooting night since a 66.2% effort in January 2008 against Philadelphia.

Bryant had 15 points and eight assists and is now tied with former New York Knicks center Patrick Ewing for 15th on the NBA's career scoring list (24,815 points).

Before the game, there were questions about what had been plaguing the Lakers, who hadn't had an impressive victory since . . . since . . . since a 24-point victory Dec. 9 against Utah?

"Perhaps without Ron [Artest] we're not quite as energetic or as active as we should be or as effective as we have been in the past," Jackson said.

Artest sat out a fifth consecutive game because of a concussion, but the Lakers were energetic, active and effective against Dallas. A few days into January, it looks as if the West is the least of their worries.

Lakers' Artest is cleared to practice after fall

Lakers forward Ron Artest, who has been cleared for full-contact practices after sustaining a concussion after the Chistmas Day game, shares a laugh with guard Kobe Bryant during the fourth quarter Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / January 3, 2010)

Lakers forward Ron Artest sat out his fifth consecutive game since sustaining a concussion Christmas night, but he has been cleared to practice today.

It's unclear if he will be back Tuesday against Houston.

Said Artest: "No, I don't think that's realistic."

Said Lakers Coach Phil Jackson: "We're hopeful."

Whether he plays, Artest is done discussing the details of the Dec. 25 incident, which he said happened when he fell down a flight of stairs while carrying a box at his home.

"It was scary," he said. "I don't even like talking about it anymore."

Artest said he wasn't bothered by headaches or nausea but felt dizzy for several days after sustaining the concussion.

"The first day I shot, I was shooting free throws and I almost fell off the free-throw line," he said. "I was wobbling and the room started spinning, so I just stopped. I just did a real simple layup and it felt like the floor was not even underneath me. That was . . . five, six days ago. And then I started to get better every day."

Artest understood the precautions that came with a head injury.

"Once that computer's not rebooting no more, it's going to be over," he said, presumably talking about his brain.

Kobe Bryant's minutes had increased dramatically in Artest's absence, though Bryant finally got a break with a relatively modest 32 minutes in the Lakers' 131-96 victory Sunday against Dallas.

"Me being out is a challenge for him," Artest said. "He's not going to say, 'I can't wait 'til you get back Ron.' He's going to say, 'We don't really need you right now. We're going to win anyway.' That's why I love him."

Technically speaking

Bryant leads the league in scoring but is third in a less desirable category.

He has nine technical fouls, trailing Boston center-forward Rasheed Wallace, who has 11, and Boston center Kendrick Perkins, who has 10.

If a player gets 16 technical fouls in the regular season, he is suspended for a game. He is then suspended one game for every two technical fouls after that. Bryant has come close in recent seasons, collecting 15 technical fouls in 2007-08, 14 in 2006-07 and 15 in 2005-06. He had 11 such last season.

Gun talk

After news reports of Washington Wizards guards Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton brandishing guns in the locker room, Jackson was asked about guns in the NBA.

The Lakers coach said he thought some players had past experiences that made them "feel that [guns] are warranted."

"My message is that it attracts violence, there's no doubt about it. The violence that happens around guns is death usually."

On the other hand, Jackson said he didn't completely abhor guns.

"I believe in the Constitution," he said. "I believe that a citizen has a right to carry a gun, there's no doubt about it. I don't have any quarter for pistols. I don't think there's any reason to carry a small firearm like that."

Jackson said he reminded players they needed a license if they owned any firearms.

Sixers Notes: 76ers must soon decide about Iverson

DENVER - By Wednesday, the 76ers must decide to either retain or waive Allen Iverson.

Last night, Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said he expected the 34-year-old point guard to remain with the team for the rest of the season.

In the NBA, partially guaranteed contracts such as Iverson's become guaranteed Jan. 10, with a 48-hour waiver period preceding it. Because Jan. 10 falls on a Sunday, the date has been moved to Jan. 8, with teams needing to waive a player by the start of the 48-hour period - this Wednesday.

"Nothing is etched in stone," Jordan said of retaining Iverson. "But I think it's going to happen."

Including last night's game against the Denver Nuggets, Iverson has played nine games with the Sixers this season. He signed a prorated contract for just over $1 million in early December. Entering last night's contest, Iverson was averaging 15.5 points per game and had started every game in which he played.

Iverson missed four games with arthritis in his left knee, a condition that is limiting him to 28 to 30 minutes per game.

Depleted Nuggets

Denver was without two starters: forward Carmelo Anthony and point guard Chauncey Billups. Anthony and Billups are the team's top two scorers, combining to average 47.1 points per game.

Anthony sat out for the second straight game. He suffered a bruised right knee against the Sacramento Kings last Monday. Billups, battling a strained groin, has missed six of the Denver's last seven games.

On Saturday night against the Utah Jazz - the Nuggets' first game without both Anthony and Billups - Denver defeated Utah, 105-95.

"Having your two top players out, you never know how you're going to win," Denver coach George Karl said. "You just have to go out there and figure it out."

Green back

Sixers guard Willie Green, who missed the last three games with a sprained left ankle, was activated last night.

End of the road

The Sixers have not played at home since Dec. 19. Since then, they have played six games in four states and the District of Columbia.

Their next game is tomorrow vs. the Washington Wizards at the Wachovia Center.

Lakers rout Mavericks but lose Pau Gasol

LOS ANGELES — So this is the best the Western Conference has to offer, which could cause problems from now until June.

As in, when will the excitement actually begin for the Los Angeles Lakers?

They blew out the Dallas Mavericks, 131-96, Sunday night at Staples Center, reaffirming the fact they are the West’s dominant team while brushing away a slew of not-so-stellar efforts in recent weeks.

Andrew Bynum had his most complete game in a month, collecting 19 points, five rebounds and four assists, but it wasn’t entirely a clean victory.

Pau Gasol left the game after suffering a strained left hamstring with 7:12 left in the first quarter. He sat out the Lakers’ first 11 games because of a strained right hamstring and will undergo further medical testing Monday, including an ultrasound exam, at which time the Lakers will issue a timetable on his return.

Gasol went to the locker room after feeling a twinge in his hamstring and left without talking to reporters after the game.

"Any time Pau has an injury, we’re very concerned," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "We thought that the initial one in the preseason was very slight because ... there was no significant impression that he’d have a pull. So obviously it’s something that we have to take seriously."

Gasol was averaging 17.3 points and 12 rebounds a game before Sunday. If he’s sidelined Tuesday against Houston, the Lakers will presumably pay more attention down low to Bynum, who made all eight of his shots against Dallas, the best shooting night for a Lakers player with at least eight attempts since Nick Van Exel was nine for nine in November 1997 against the Vancouver Grizzlies.

"I’m just going to keep trying to build on it," Bynum said. "I was getting lower position and then once that happens and I’m close to the rim, I feel more comfortable out there."

The actual game, if it can be called that, produced the Lakers’ largest margin of victory in the regular season against Dallas, topping a 124-91 decision in December 1993.

And what of the West? The Lakers (27-6) now lead the Mavericks by 4 ½ games and No. 3 Portland by six.

Dallas beat the Lakers in the second game of the season, 94-80, but there were no signs of that team Sunday. The Mavericks, who played in Sacramento the night before, made four of their first 27 shots (14.8 percent), were down 28 in the second quarter and were a wreck throughout the night.

On one play, Dirk Nowitzki thought he was fouled, stayed down on the court in a silent protest and inadvertently tripped teammate Tim Thomas [stats] as the Lakers moved the ball in the other direction, DJ Mbenga completing the sequence with a layup.

Jordan Farmar tied his career high with 24 points and Lamar Odom had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 63.4 percent, their best shooting night since a 66.2 percent effort in January 2008 against Philadelphia.

Bryant had 15 points and eight assists and is now tied with former New York Knicks center Patrick Ewing for 15th on the NBA’s career scoring list (24,815 points).

Ronald Murray, Bobcats stun Cavaliers

Ronald Murray hit a 3-pointer with 56 seconds left to put Charlotte up for good, and the Bobcats surprised the Cavaliers with only their third road victory this season, 91-88, last night in Cleveland.

The loss snapped the Cavaliers’ seven-game win streak and an 11-game winning run at home.

Murray’s basket from the top of the key broke an 83-all tie, sparking the Bobcats to their second impressive road win in as many days after a 107-97 win over Miami on Saturday night. Charlotte has dropped 11 of 14 road games this season.

Stephen Jackson scored 22 points, Gerald Wallace added 19 and Raymond Felton had 17 for Charlotte, which won for the first time at Quicken Loans Arena after 10 straight losses.

LeBron James, who missed a potential tying 3-pointer from the left corner as time expired, scored 29 points for the Cavs and Mo Williams added 27.

76ers 108, Nuggets 105 - Allen Iverson [stats] scored 17 points, Elton Brand added 16 and visiting Philadelphia held off a furious rally to beat injury-riddled Denver.

Nene had 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Ty Lawson scored 23 points for the Nuggets, who have lost 6-of-8 but were missing their top two scorers - Carmelo Anthony (right knee contusion) and Chauncey Billups (left groin strain).

Andre Iguodala hit a free throw with 15.6 seconds left to make it 106-103, and Lawson’s driving layup with 11 seconds left again made it a one-point game. Willie Green and Iguodala hit a foul shot each to make it 108-105 with 4.9 seconds left, and Arron Afflalo’s 3-pointer rimmed out as the 76ers escaped with their third win in four games.

Raptors 91, Spurs 86 - Chris Bosh scored 22 points to become the leading scorer in team history, helping host Toronto to its sixth win in seven games by beating San Antonio.

Bosh, who also had 15 rebounds, made a jumper from the top of the key with 1:39 left in the third quarter to eclipse Vince Carter’s mark of 9,420 points. Bosh now has 9,428 points.

Tony Parker scored 23 points and Tim Duncan had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, whose win streak was snapped at five games.

Knicks 132, Pacers 89 - Wilson Chandler scored 23 points, David Lee added 22 points and 16 rebounds, and New York flirted with the biggest victory in franchise history by blowing visiting Indiana out of Madison Square Garden.

Danilo Gallinari finished with 20 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks, who led by 48 points - the largest lead in the NBA this season - and won for the 10th time in 15 games.

Elsewhere in the NBA - A day after acknowledging “bad judgment” for bringing guns to the locker room, embattled Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas was not talking after practice. He and teammate Javaris Crittenton are expected to meet with law enforcement today over their alledged locker room dispute that involved firearms.

Arenas meets with authorities on guns in locker

WASHINGTON— Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas has met with law enforcement officials regarding the guns he was storing at the Verizon Center.

Arenas’ lawyer says Arenas met with police and prosecutors at his own initiative Monday. Lawyer Kenneth L. Wainstein says Arenas answered every question asked during the two-hour interview.

In a statement, Arenas said he brought four unloaded handguns to his locker to keep them away from his children. He says he mistakenly thought recent changes in D.C. gun laws made that legal.

Arenas said he took the unloaded guns out of his locker on Dec. 21 "in a misguided effort to play a joke on a teammate." He denied threatening or assaulting anyone.

An agent for the other player involved, Javaris Crittenton, said earlier Monday that his client did nothing wrong.

Gilbert Arenas’ practical joke backfiring on him and NBA

What apparently began as a practical joke would have turned out a lot funnier if only Gilbert Arenas brought a squirt gun to work instead of the real thing.

Now there’s no laughing it off.

The Wizards star is scheduled to meet Monday with law-enforcement authorities to present his side of the story about a locker-room dispute with teammate Javaris Crittenton nearly two weeks ago. Not only does Washington, D.C., have some of the strictest handgun laws in the nation, but federal authorities are investigating as well.

Yet even if Arenas’ legal headaches end there, he still could face a lengthy suspension from NBA commissioner David Stern and tempt the Wizards to invoke a morals clause in the standard NBA player contract and seek to void the remainder of a six-year, $111 million deal signed in 2008.

"I know Gilbert is a good guy," Pacers guard T.J. Ford said. "I don’t think, like he said in his statement, that he was trying to hurt anybody."

Probably not.

But Arenas has already tarnished his image as one of pro basketball’s more entertaining and eccentric personalities, and put the league on the spot. The NBA’s gun culture is no more prevalent than that of other leagues, nor the population in general, yet every time an athlete gets caught with a weapon, the publicity feeds the public notion that officials are incapable of policing their players.

That perception, in part, led to the NBA’s toughened antigun stance in the collective bargaining agreement, which bars league personnel from bringing weapons to league property, sites or charitable events.

Arenas has already admitted bringing three unloaded firearms to the Verizon Center — to get them out of the house and away from his kids — and storing them in a locked container. According to Yahoo! [YHOO] Sports, he took them out of the container before a Dec. 21 practice and laid the guns on a chair, then told Crittenton to choose one and make good on a threat that stemmed from a card game on a late-night flight from Phoenix back to Washington two days earlier.

As the game got more expensive, Crittenton joked about what could happen to people who didn’t honor their debts. Arenas has a well-deserved reputation as a prankster and laying out the guns apparently was his way of trying to diffuse any lingering tension between the two.

Instead, the gesture enraged Crittenton. According to a New York Post report, Arenas and Crittenton wound up drawing guns on each other.

"I can’t speak on that," Arenas said Saturday. "But if you know me, you’ve been here, I’ve never did anything (involving) violence. Anything I do is funny — well, it’s funny to me."

Asked if the accounts of what happened have been blown out of proportion, Arenas laughed and said: "A little."

His standing with the Wizards was already shaky. Arenas missed almost two seasons because of knee surgery, and his problems with former coach Eddie Jordan have only exacerbated under new coach Flip Saunders. Arenas’ production barely justified his selfishness in seasons past, but he hardly resembles the scorer he was then.

Teammates who tolerated Arenas once now find him frustrating.

His defenders say the needling, as well as the need to laugh everything off, is Arenas’ way of coping — with insecurity, a tough childhood and being overlooked at the start of both his college and pro careers.

"I’m a goof ball and that’s what I am, so even doing something like this, I’m going to make fun of it and that’s how I am," Arenas said. "Some people say I’m not taking it serious, but why be depressed at home when I can just make myself laugh?"

The problem with gunplay, though, is that it’s never funny and that a casual attitude toward violence only encourages more of the same. Arenas has already been suspended once, after pleading no contest to misdemeanor weapons and vehicle charges following a traffic stop in California 2003; he sat out Washington’s season opener in 2004.

No matter how this latest incident is handled by authorities, Arenas should know better than to expect leniency this time around.

Another former NBA player got off easy the first time he, too, was charged with a weapons violation, lecturing schoolkids and taking out ads in the local newspaper touting gun safety.

His name is Jayson Williams. As you read this, he is scheduled to be retried on a reckless manslaughter charge in the shooting death of a limousine driver during a party at his home.

City itself figures to be Bulls' biggest free-agent draw

The free-agent chase is looming for the Bulls next summer, but there is no reason for fans to get too worked up about whether a chaotic coaching situation will scare away their top targets. Or if the Bulls need to win more games than Miami or New York.

When it comes down to it, the city itself figures to be the decisive factor if any of the premier free agents consider joining the Bulls.

A few years ago, whenever the Atlanta Hawks tipped off at Philips Arena, visitors could count the small clusters of fans in the seats and wonder how the team managed to stay in business.

I asked Hawks star Joe Johnson, one of the 2010 free agents, if Atlanta's homecourt advantage has gotten any better as the team improved. He didn't try very hard to sugarcoat the answer.

"Don't get me wrong, it's the home team and I enjoy playing there and I enjoy when the fans do come out," Johnson said. "But by no stretch of the imagination have we got one of the best home crowds. We don't. I can't really even say it's getting there.

"In the playoffs, yeah, they're there. Throughout the regular season, it's not much of a big difference from what it was. It's different, but it's not that big of a difference than what is was when I first got there."

That comment alone doesn't mean anything, but it shows that players do appreciate fan support. The Bulls have a remarkably loyal following, having led the NBA in attendance the last decade despite making the playoffs just four out of 10 years.

These players will make millions no matter what city they call home, but the sports climate in Chicago is duplicated in few places.

American Airlines Arena in Miami was rocking when the Heat contended for championships a few years back. Now it's back to a lower bowl that's barely a quarter full at tipoff and dark curtains blocking off portions of the upper deck.

Johnson and Dwyane Wade, who figure to be the Bulls' leading targets, will head into free-agency with different perspectives. Wade is already a national star with high-profile endorsements. Moving to Chicago won't do much for his star power and he'd give up several million by leaving Florida, with its lack of state income tax.

His decision will most likely depend on whether he has a burning inner desire to play for his hometown team or if he wants to live closer to his children. The only players Miami has under contract next season are Michael Beasley and Daequan Cook, so the Heat will have enough cap room to completely rebuild its roster.

Johnson is still relatively anonymous among NBA stars. Moving to Chicago could do wonders for his national profile and off-the-court earnings potential.

His dilemma will be deciding if it makes sense to leave a winning situation in Atlanta and break up a successful alliance with power forward Al Horford.

The Bulls are thinking big next summer. The plan is to sign one of the two guards, then use remaining assets to trade for Chris Bosh or Carlos Boozer. If a trade doesn't work, they'll try to find a way to re-sign Tyrus Thomas.

Of course, if LeBron James decides he'd like to play in Chicago, everything changes. That's probably a long shot, and the Bulls figure to know by July 1 if there is any reason to contact James' people.

Whether or not the Bulls make the playoffs this season, free agents should appreciate the potential of the roster. The Bulls have three pretty good pieces locked in for the near future with Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng.

New York improved in December, but some of its better pieces will be in limbo next summer. David Lee, Al Harrington, Chris Duhon and Nate Robinson all have expiring contracts.

It's silly, though, for people to suggest James won't go to the Knicks because they can't win. Take James off Cleveland's roster and where would the Cavaliers be now?

Team owner says Griz even have playoff shot

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Grizzlies are earning more respect around the NBA with a collection of improbable yet impressive victories.

Their biggest fan admitted Sunday he's even taken aback by the Grizzlies' recent play.

"They have surprised me a bit," Griz owner Michael Heisley said. "It's still early. But if we don't get hit with injuries, we have an outside chance of making the playoffs."

Memphis (16-16) owns a .500 record this late in the regular-season for the first time since 2005-06, when former coach Mike Fratello patrolled the sidelines. Under Lionel Hollins, who was Fratello's assistant back then, these Grizzlies are coming on strong.

Winners in 15 of the past 23 games, the Griz entered Sunday just 11/2 games out of the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.

Earning a postseason berth still remains a tall order. The Griz's pushing their record above .500 anytime soon seems daunting, too, given their immediate schedule. They'll face Portland in the Rose Garden on Tuesday night, and then play a home-and-home series with Utah to round out a difficult week.

That's on paper.

On the court, the Griz have made their stunning turnaround look easy at times.

Memphis is riding its fourth three-game winning streak this season following a dominating performance that resulted in a 128-103 victory last Saturday at Phoenix.

"That was a proud moment as a coach to see the whole group focus on our game plan, even guys who come off the bench," said Hollins, whose team led by as many as 36 points at Phoenix. "I don't know if we could prepare any better for a team and have it come to fruition the way it did."

Becoming respectable and relevant didn't seem possible when the Griz began the season with a 1-8 record and embroiled in controversy with guard Allen Iverson.

"The thing I like the most is they all like each other and they play well together," Heisley said. "If the city doesn't find this team exciting, I don't know what to do. This is a team you can build for the future on. Add a couple of pieces and you have really got something here. It's a little like where Portland was a couple of years ago. Between us, the (Oklahoma City) Thunder and Portland ... I think that's the future of the West."

The Chicago-based billionaire said he's encouraged by the team's player development and chemistry. He stopped short of saying "I told you so" with regard to Zach Randolph, whose offseason arrival via a trade at Heisley's behest was met with a great deal of cynicism.

The veteran power forward has become the heart and soul of the team with his leadership and eye-popping statistics.

"Everybody told me he was a black hole," Heisley said. "I think we understand he's not a black hole at all. He ought to be an All-Star. ... I'm very happy with all of my guys. Quite honestly, if we play .500 ball for the whole season I'll be very, very happy."

Tough matchups after win slipped away

One that got away

After blowing a seven-point lead in the final three minutes, the Rockets will have a tough time making up for letting one slip Saturday.

They move from that excellent chance at a road win to facing the Lakers and Suns on consecutive nights this week on the road.

But the Rockets said the loss hurt on many levels, from wasting a chance to beat a Hornets team that has been strong at home to, long-term, failing to win against a competitor for a playoff spot.

“It was a great chance for us to go to L.A. and to Phoenix with a little bit of a cushion,” Luis Scola said. “This was a tough game itself. We were looking at three tough games. Once you get to the point to be seven up with three minutes to go, that's when it hurts. Before the game, we knew this would be a tough schedule; let's do the best we can with these three games.

“It's going to be tough on us, but it's going to give us a break later on. The more games we can win like this, the better it will be for us.”

The Hornets are two games behind eighth-place Oklahoma City, 3½ games behind the Rockets.

“You have to look long-term,” Shane Battier said. “You are trying to jockey for playoff position, and you're trying to make the playoffs. You look back at the end of the year, and there are a handful of losses that, ‘Man, I wish we could have the fourth quarter back.' That's what this feels like.”

Budinger improves

Rockets guard Chase Budinger began traveling with the team and went through a shooting drill before the game in New Orleans, but he is expected to be out for the rest of the week with a sprained left ankle suffered Dec. 19.

“I told him we would wait and get it 100 percent, try to get some practices in,” trainer Keith Jones said . “I don't want to put him back for a game. Coach (Rick Adelman) would want him to practice first.”

Dwyane Wade seeking turnaround with his turnovers

MIAMI - Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade had drawn recent praise for limiting his turnovers, but his problems have returned.

Wade has committed 20 turnovers during the last three games. The Heat recognizes the problem is because Wade has received the ball in the post more in recent games.

"I've had a chance to see what I'm doing wrong and my turnovers will go back down," he said.

Wade, who is averaging 3.44 turnovers as the Heat looks ahead to Monday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks at AmericanAirlines Arena, has regularly ranked among the league leaders in the stat. In two of the past three seasons, he's averaged more than four turnovers a game. At one point this season, he lowered that number to three, before his recent struggles.

After watching film, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the issue is teams are constantly doubling Wade in the post.

"It's a little bit of everything," Spoelstra said. "Teams are doubling him there. We just need to work on, one, making fundamental plays in the post, but also recognizing it and getting into our spacing earlier. We just need to recognize these situations as we're getting (the ball) down there more often."

The biggest adjustment for Wade will be making safer passes out of the double-teams. He said he had a tendency of trying to make the big play instead of being patient.

"Now I'm starting to see the double team coming," Wade said. "A lot of times you get into that whole mentality where you're trying to make the pass for the scores, but sometimes you just have to make easy play."

Along with Wade's turnovers, the Heat's other current issue is the playing time of forward Michael Beasley. He is a productive scorer, but continues to struggle defensively. It's why there are certain situations where is not on the court during crucial fourth-quarter moments.

"Sometimes coach has to make adjustments on the fly," Wade said. "Michael has not had enough NBA experience where he understands (defense). He's still growing and learning."

Beasley refuses to let the situation frustrate him, saying he's comfortable in the role at the moment.

"I just take my minutes in stride, whether I play the fourth quarter or not," he said. "I think the lineup coach (uses) is a reliable lineup . . . I'm not upset. Of course I want to be out there, but I'm learning and waiting for my opportunity."

Dallas Mavericks' Josh Howard's ankle responds to workload

LOS ANGELES – The best news the Mavericks got on their four-game trip didn't come from any of the victories.

It came from Josh Howard.

Slowly but surely, Howard is regaining his form, to the point where he's found himself pleasantly surprised with the progress his surgically repaired left ankle has made.

When he played the entire fourth quarter against Sacramento on Saturday, producing eight points and two rebounds, then came back and was good to go against the Lakers on Sunday on the second half of a back-to-back, it was a terrific sign.

"It's picking up," he said of his ankle. "I'm doing my rehab. And actually, it's been a whole lot better. I'm surprised the way it's feeling now. I'm almost back to my old self."

It's showing on the court. Howard's abilities are blooming a little brighter with each game. He's making the mid-range shot. He's mixing it up in the paint. And he's still got the three-ball in his arsenal.

It's got to be a comforting notion for coach Rick Carlisle, knowing that he can use Howard any way he wants to now. Carlisle called Howard's skill set "another dimension that we don't have without him."

Part of that is Howard's ability to run and finish on the fast break. With Jason Kidd running the show, Howard figures to get plenty of point-blank scoring opportunities.

Howard remains a key piece to the Mavericks' puzzle. He is being counted on to take some of the burden off Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry.

"That's what we're here for," Howard said. "I think everybody else is in it to win it for [Nowitzki]."

And where Howard and the Mavericks are concerned, it really doesn't matter whether he continues to come off the bench or if he starts. Either way, it's good for Dallas to have the old Josh back.

Little-used Collins gives Hawks options

There was little chance that Jason Collins would play last Friday night. As it turned out, for the 23rd time in the Hawks' 32 games, he didn't.

But about an hour before the Hawks tipped off against New York, Collins was alone in the Philips Arena practice gym, loosening up from a weight-lifting session with the famed Mikan Drill, tossing up layups under the basket first with his right hand, then with his left.

"It's part of being a professional and being on a great team," said Collins, a backup center. "Always be ready."

When the Hawks play at Miami Monday night, Collins may well earn another DNP-Coach's Decision. However, his efforts last Wednesday gave a glimpse of the value that Collins, an eight-year veteran who signed as a free agent in September, offers the Hawks.

"Jason's the kind of a guy that we need if we want to make any kind of serious playoff run or win a division or something like that," center Al Horford said. "He's a big player, big body, knows how to play and is an experienced player. He's a very important part to our team."

In the Hawks' second game against Cleveland last week, coach Mike Woodson sent him in the game primarily to defend Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal. Collins didn't even take a shot in his 11 minutes of play, but he blocked O'Neal on one trip down the floor in the second quarter and forced a miss on the next. On a Shaq-led fast break on the next possession, Collins even dared to take a charge on O'Neal, standing in the lane and taking the brunt of O'Neal's 325 pounds. (Collins was called for a block.)

Said Collins, "I figured that he didn't have a crossover or anything."

Collins' plus-minus rating (the points the Hawks scored compared to the Cavaliers' points while he was on the floor) was a team-best plus-12 for the game.

"That's the reason for bringing Jason in," Woodson said. "That's how you can utilize him against guys like [Orlando's Dwight] Howard, guys like [the Los Angeles Lakers' Pau] Gasol and [Andrew] Bynum. I don't have to double [team] at all because I do know one thing: he's a pretty good one-on-one defender on the blocks and if he's in trouble, he's going to take a hard foul."

Collins (7 feet, 265 pounds) has tangled with O'Neal ever since Collins' rookie season with New Jersey in 2001-02, when the Nets fell to O'Neal's Lakers in the NBA finals. He has scrapped plenty with Howard, as well. Effective one-man defense of O'Neal or Howard would help the Hawks in their bid to overcome the Cavaliers and Magic. Both teams are stocked with 3-point shooters who can penalize teams for double-teaming the post.

Collins describes his job as "play solid defense and rebound the ball, set screens, be physical out there. I have six fouls. I go out there and use them."

Collins stays in game shape with strength and conditioning coach Chattin Hill and by doing extra sprints before games with fellow backups Jeff Teague, Randolph Morris and Othello Hunter.

While Heat center Jermaine O'Neal might not be a likely matchup for Collins on Monday, New Jersey's Brook Lopez (7-0, 265), Boston's Kendrick Perkins (6-10, 280) and Howard (6-11, 265) are all on the schedule Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Behind Horford and backup Zaza Pachulia, Collins has a different job than he's had in the past. He has 429 career starts to his credit and has has averaged double-digit minutes every season he has played.

But the Cleveland game was only the second appearance in the nine games he's played that wasn't a blowout. His 39 minutes are 12th on the team.

"I know what my role is on this team," Collins said. "Just go out there and when your name is called, be prepared."

Iverson likely to stay for season

When the Sixers signed Allen Iverson on Dec. 2, team officials called it a basketball decision.

Sixers president Ed Stefanski and others said the Sixers brought Iverson out of his brief retirement because starting guard Lou Williams had fractured his jaw and was expected to miss eight weeks. Iverson was the best free agent available.

Williams returned after just 3 1/2 weeks, during which time Iverson played in only five games before he was sidelined with left knee arthritis.

Given Williams' quick recovery, could the Sixers opt to waive Iverson by next Sunday, when his veterans-minimum contract becomes guaranteed for the rest of the season?

Yes. But it probably won't happen.

"We don't need to make a decision yet, but Allen has done everything we've asked of him," Stefanski said last week.

The 34-year-old Iverson has provided the Sixers with some scoring, toughness and stability. They beat the Trail Blazers and Kings in succession on their current road trip right after Iverson came back from the knee injury.

At 34, Iverson doesn't dominate games the way he used to. But the Sixers are 3-5 with him, counting Thursday's disappointing loss to the Clippers, and 6-18 without him going into tonight's trip finale in Denver.

"Allen has given us a different dimension," Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said.

From a business standpoint, you could make a case for releasing Iverson. In addition to Williams returning early, the Sixers only experienced a one-game home attendance boost with Iverson.

There were 7,500 fewer fans at his second game at the Wachovia Center following his sold-out season debut against the Nuggets. The Sixers continue to be last in the league in percentage of home seats filled (66.3 percent) and 28th in home attendance (13,469).

Also, it'd be better for the long-term development of 19-year-old rookie Jrue Holiday to play a bigger role during the remainder of the season. If Iverson (who probably won't be back next year) stays, Holiday figures to remain a part-time contributor.

Getting a higher draft pick by finishing with a worse record, which would be more likely without Iverson, would also be more beneficial for the Sixers down the road.

But if the 9-23 Sixers still hold out hope of making the playoffs for the third straight season, they'd be better off holding onto Iverson.

Trivia question

Can you name the two Sixers to earn NBA Coach of the Year honors? (Hint: One was from before the Julius Erving era.)

Not your average spat

Perhaps Washington's NBA team shouldn't have changed its name from the Bullets to the Wizards nearly 13 years ago.

The New York Post and other media outlets have reported that Washington guards Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton pulled guns on each other in the team's locker room. A disputed gambling debt on the team's charter flight home from Phoenix apparently was the cause.

Federal and local authorities are said to be investigating. Should Arenas, who is owed more than $80 million over the next four seasons, be convicted of a felony, the Wizards could choose to void the remainder of Arenas' contract.

Trivia answer

Larry Brown (2000-01 season) and Dolph Schayes (1965-66).

With Billups injured, Nuggets relying on rookie Lawson

DENVER - When the 76ers had the 17th pick in the draft this past June, there were many opinions as to whom they should have chosen. Of course they finally decided on UCLA's Jrue Holiday, who coach Eddie Jordan insists is going to be a very good pro player.

Many Sixer followers pined for North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson, who was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the pick after the Sixers and eventually moved to the Nuggets.

With normal starter Chauncey Billups sidelined with a groin strain, Lawson has had to assume a starter's role for coach George Karl. In Saturday's win at Utah, Lawson had perhaps his best game as a pro, posting a career-high tying 23 points, a career-high nine assists and a career-high three steals in 38 minutes.

For the season, Lawson is averaging 8.8 points and 3.6 assists in 22 minutes per game. Last night was his fourth straight start, and he again was good for 23 points and nine assists in the Nuggets' 108-105 loss to the Sixers. Lawson has shown nice progression for the Nuggets, though Karl wasn't ready to sing his praises just yet.

"I'm happy, but I'm not ready to jump totally on the bandwagon," said Karl. "He's still a young player."

Like his mentor Larry Brown, Karl isn't exactly a young player's dream coach, as he has been hesitant in the past to give a lot of minutes to rookies. "I'm playing the guy an awful lot of minutes for hating young players," Karl quipped. "I think he's important to us. And how I manage him and how we manage each other is very important to how well we're going to do this year."

In his three straight starts without Billups before last night's game, Lawson had averaged 17 points and totaled 19 assists to just six turnovers.

The Nuggets were also without star forward Carmelo Anthony, who missed his second straight game with a right knee contusion. With Anthony and Billups out, the Nuggets were missing more than 47 points of the 106.8 they average a game.

Green back

Willie Green was activated before last night's game for the first time since missing three games after twisting his left ankle against the Utah Jazz on Dec. 26.

"It's feeling a lot better, it's not feeling 100 percent but it good enough for me to go out and play competitive, play hard and try to give the team a lift," said Green, who played 21 minutes and scored nine points to go with six assists. "When I did it I didn't know the extent of the injury. But it's at that point now where I can go out and play on it."

On Iverson

When asked for his thoughts on guard Allen Iverson being the second-highest vote-getter in the Eastern Conference for the Feb. 14 All-Star game in Dallas, coach Eddie Jordan said: "I don't pay attention to it."

Jordan did offer a comment when asked if he thought the team would keep Iverson for the rest of the season, thus guaranteeing him a contract: "I expect him to [stay]. Nothing's been etched in stone, but I think it's gonna happen.

"His performance has been very good for us, on the floor and off the floor, in the locker rooms, in the huddles. He's been great for us, he really has been."

The Sixers have until Wednesday to decide whether they are going to keep Iverson around. It would be surprising if they didn't. The diminutive guard gives the team a presence that seems to be much needed. *

NJ Nets trying to establish offensive identity

The Nets' Brook Lopez, getting fouled by the Cavaliers' Anderson Varejao during a game Saturday, is supposed be the focus of the team's offense, but he has averaged fewer shots (11.6) than any other Nets starter over the last seven games.

It is a facile observation that the Nets are a team with a good talent level and little clue as to how to use it. That’s not an indictment of the coaching staff or the players’ collective basketball IQ. That’s simply the elephant in the room when a team of kids happens to be 3-30.

But one of the emerging problems is their lack of an identity at the offensive end, particularly since point guard Devin Harris has returned from injury and Kiki Vandeweghe has taken over as head coach.

It’s one thing to have balanced shot distribution, which the Nets have had of late. Since this pairing of coach and point guard (15 games), a Nets player has taken 20-plus shots only six times, and four times, he has justified it by being the team’s top scorer that night.

But it is hard to know from game to game what the Nets are trying to accomplish – especially in the last six fourth quarters, when they have averaged 21 points on .373 shooting. And with yet another offensive player (Jarvis Hayes) coming out of the trainer’s room Tuesday to play against Milwaukee, it could get more confusing yet.

“We’re still trying to establish roles with Yi (Jianlian) being back and everyone pretty much being healthy,” Chris Douglas-Roberts said Saturday, when the Nets took a big step back offensively (86 points on .387) against the Cavaliers. “We have to recognize the guys who are capable of scoring. We have to realize that, and get the ball to those guys.”

That is undoubtedly the toughest part of Harris’ job, because he and his coach and his suddenly-healthy teammates are essentially trying to conduct another training camp on the fly, he admitted last week.

On a morning when his coaches spent an entire shootaround putting in new options off three different sets (thumb, fist, and zipper, if you must know), Harris said, “I’m trying to utilize everything we have. I could come out and shoot 26 or 27 times a night, but that’s not in the best interests of us winning. I’m still trying to feel it out, and find a consistent (formula) that works for everybody.”

So on some nights, they are a high volume pick-and-roll team. On others — when they defend well and aren’t taking the ball out of their own net — they are a running team.

And no matter what they are running, they claim the offense is predicated on finding Brook Lopez in the paint, even though he has averaged fewer shots (11.6) than any other Nets starter over the last seven games.

But there are other games in which they don’t seem to know when and where to use their most talented scorers.

The best example came Saturday, when Douglas-Roberts had a terrific start against LeBron James, who was defending CDR when the latter hit five of his first seven shots to stake the Nets to a nine-point lead.

Over his last 28 minutes on the floor, on a day when the paint was a no-fly zone, Douglas-Roberts got only seven shots. Two of them were transition drives blocked by James himself.

After he finished 8-for-14 in 41 minutes, CDR was asked whether a player can tell his point guard or coach that he wants the ball more.

“I never say that,” Douglas-Roberts replied. “Because you have to approach some guys differently. Maybe he’d understand, but it’s a tough position Devin’s in. And we all agree we should go inside first.

“If you ask for (more shots), they’d look at me like, ‘Is he being selfish?’ I don’t know how they’d take that. But if you watch the game, you could see” how the shots probably should be distributed.

Douglas-Roberts is a confident player, but he was trying to get his point across without sounding like he had a sense of entitlement. Still, the mere fact that he considered the Nets’ approach to offense was telling.

“I’m only in my second year, but this is my first opportunity. I’m very humble, but I understand I can get better — a lot better,” he said. “On this team, I’m like the third option, and fourth option on some nights. And I still find different ways to get it done.”

He paused, reconsidering the initial question.

“Things will be, you know, interesting,” he said.

Bumps in the road for the Big Four

Whether it's injuries, complacency or back-to-backs, the best teams in the league have hit some bumps in the road lately.

The Lakers lost big to the Cavs and Suns, and then needed another Kobe Bryant buzzer-beater to beat the shorthanded Kings. The Cavs looked like the best team in the league until they faltered at home on Sunday. Missing Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, the Celtics lost three straight before beating the Raptors on Saturday. And the Magic have been inconsistent all season.

The struggles don't stop there. Each of last week's top 14 teams lost at least once this week, and the top 13 went a combined 21-21.

There are some signs of life in the middle of the pack. The Grizzlies continue to play well. Since Nov. 14, they're 15-8, fourth best in the West and a game and a half better than the Nuggets. The Thunder and Raptors are also putting together some wins for the first time this season, and teams like the Bobcats, Bulls and Knicks are starting to creep up.

It all presents a cloudy picture in the Power Rankings. The top two still stand out, but the lines are pretty blurred after that.

• Last Week: Statement wins have Cavs on the move

Hero Team of the Week: Chicago (3-0)
Zero Team of the Week: Miami (0-3)

High jumps of the week: Philadelphia (+5), 4 Teams (+3)
Free falls of the week: Sacramento (-4), 5 Teams (-3)

East vs. West: The West leads 109-76 (0.589) in inter-conference games and was 10-7 this week.

Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
Off: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
Def: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
The league averages through Sunday are 95.4 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 103.8 points scored per 100 possessions.

NBA.com's Power Rankings are just one man's opinion and are released every Monday during the season. If you have an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, send him an e-mail. You can also follow him on twitter.

	TEAM (LAST WEEK)	REC.	BREAKDOWN
1	L.A. Lakers (1)	27-6	Pace: 97.5 (6), Off: 106.1 (11), Def: 98.2 (2) A team that spanked them in October was exactly what the Lakers needed on Saturday. And they exacted quite a revenge on the Mavs. But they lost Pau Gasol to another hamstring injury, more concerning than their recent offensive struggles.
2	Cleveland (3)	27-9	Pace: 93.0 (28), Off: 107.3 (7), Def: 99.4 (4) The Cavs were rolling (seven straight wins, 11 straight at home) until Sunday's loss, when they got to the line a season-low 13 times and allowed Charlotte to shoot 49 percent. After a grudge match with the Wizards, they're heading west again.
3	Boston (2)	24-8	Pace: 94.4 (22), Off: 106.8 (8), Def: 97.3 (1) The playoffs are more than three months away, but the injuries keep piling up and Kevin Garnett will be out longer than originally expected. The Celtics were still able to get an win over Toronto on Saturday without KG, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo.
4	Orlando (4)	24-9	Pace: 95.0 (14), Off: 107.4 (6), Def: 100.4 (5) Saturday's loss in Chicago ended a string of six straight games in which the Magic held their opponents to less than a point per possession. Chalk it up to playing the second night of a back-to-back? They've got three more in the next 10 days.
5	Portland (7)	22-13	Pace: 90.2 (30), Off: 106.5 (10), Def: 101.9 (11) Juwan Howard for Most Improved! The 36-year-old has two double-doubles, two more than he had in the last two seasons combined, and he's shooting 59 percent in five games as a starter. Despite their injuries, the Blazers have won eight of their last 10.
6	Dallas (5)	23-11	Pace: 94.8 (17), Off: 105.4 (12), Def: 100.4 (6) The Mavs may have established themselves as the second-best team in the West, but Sunday's game was evidence of a big gap between No. 1 and everyone else. They get another crack at the Lakers next week, but visit San Antonio for a test on Friday.
7	San Antonio (9)	20-12	Pace: 93.9 (24), Off: 108.2 (5), Def: 101.2 (7) The Spurs keep moving up the defensive rankings, but their offense took Sunday off in Toronto. After they host the Pistons on Wednesday, the schedule starts to get tougher, with the Mavs, Lakers and a four-game trip on the way.
8	Phoenix (11)	21-13	Pace: 98.4 (4), Off: 112.0 (1), Def: 107.8 (26) The Suns are the Jekyll and Hyde team of the week. They ended 2009 with big wins over the Lakers and Celtics, shooting 50 percent against the two best defensive teams in the league. Then they began 2010 by getting crushed by the Grizzlies on Saturday.
9	Atlanta (6)	21-11	Pace: 94.4 (23), Off: 109.9 (2), Def: 103.2 (13) On Tuesday at home, it was the Hawks' offense that couldn't get going. The next night in Cleveland, their defense couldn't get stops. The defense has been the greater problem as they've dropped five of seven. That's what separates them from the East's big three.
10	Denver (8)	21-13	Pace: 98.1 (5), Off: 108.6 (3), Def: 103.8 (17) A 'W' in Utah without Carmelo Anthony or Chauncey Billups is impressive, but the injuries have exposed a lack of depth and a defense that needs improvement if this team is to contend. The Nuggets' opponents have shot 49 percent since Billups got hurt.
	TEAM (LAST WEEK)	REC.	BREAKDOWN
11	Houston (10)	20-14	Pace: 95.7 (11), Off: 103.8 (17), Def: 103.7 (15) The Rockets closed out 2009 with a great win over the Mavs. They defended and they executed down the stretch. But then they began 2010 with just the opposite in New Orleans on Saturday, a reminder that this team is not very good on the road.
12	Oklahoma City (14)	18-15	Pace: 94.7 (19), Off: 103.0 (19), Def: 101.3 (8) With Saturday's OT loss in Milwaukee, the Thunder lost a chance to take sole possession of eighth, but their defense continues to be strong. Russell Westbrook has cut his turnovers down from 3.8 per game in October-November to 2.4 in December-January.
13	Memphis (15)	16-16	Pace: 96.3 (10), Off: 106.7 (9), Def: 108.1 (27) The Grizzlies were the most improved team from November to December, and they started January off with a blowout of the Suns. This week, they play the Blazers and the Jazz twice. If they can win two out of three, they must be considered a playoff contender.
14	Utah (12)	18-15	Pace: 94.9 (16), Off: 104.0 (16), Def: 103.2 (14) Tied with OKC and having lost both head-to-head matchups, the Jazz are now ninth in the West, with a home-and-home this week against 10th-place Memphis. Their offense has struggled (94.0 rating, 19.6 TO/G) as they've dropped five of their last eight.
15	Miami (13)	16-15	Pace: 93.5 (26), Off: 104.4 (14), Def: 102.6 (12) On another downswing, Saturday's loss to the Bobcats was definitely a low point for the Heat. They blew a 19-point lead to a team that had won one of its 15 previous road games. Now they've got the Hawks and Celtics, followed by a six-game trip west.
16	Toronto (16)	17-18	Pace: 95.1 (13), Off: 108.3 (4), Def: 110.0 (30) Jarrett Jack is filling in fine for Jose Calderon, averaging 12.7 points with a Calderon-esque 3.5 assist-turnover ratio as the Raps have won six of their last seven. If they continue to play the way they have, they'll shed that "Worst Defense in the League" tag soon.
17	New Orleans (18)	15-16	Pace: 94.5 (20), Off: 102.9 (20), Def: 105.9 (21) The Hornets lost, but David West broke out with 44 points in Houston on Tuesday to help the offense get going. Then they went and beat the Heat and Rockets at home. They're just 2-13 on the road though, and that's where they play 11 of their next 16.
18	New York (21)	14-20	Pace: 96.3 (9), Off: 104.0 (15), Def: 105.1 (19) Was Mike D'Antoni's decision to sit Nate Robinson for 14 games dumb or brilliant? Robinson's 41-point, eight-assists explosion in Atlanta on Friday is an argument for both sides. Now, Larry Hughes complains about playing time after a 43-point win.
19	Chicago (22)	14-17	Pace: 94.7 (18), Off: 96.6 (29), Def: 101.8 (10) The Bulls have won four straight, including Saturday's big one over the Magic. The D has been strong, and with Derrick Rose averaging 26.7 points in the last three, the offense is improved. They've also outrebounded 10 of their last 11 opponents.
20	Charlotte (23)	14-18	Pace: 93.1 (27), Off: 97.7 (27), Def: 98.7 (3) The Bobcats won more road games in the last two days (two) than they won in the first two months of the season (one). Now, they hold the eighth spot and play seven of their next eight at home, where they're 11-4 with a 92.9 defensive rating (vs. 104.1 on the road).
	TEAM (LAST WEEK)	REC.	BREAKDOWN
21	Sacramento (17)	14-19	Pace: 97.1 (7), Off: 105.1 (13), Def: 107.6 (25) The Kings have lost five of their last six, with Friday's loss to the Lakers ranking as easily the most heartbreaking game for any team in the league this season. Without their two best players, they were a Kobe buzzer-beating three from upsetting the champs.
22	L.A. Clippers (19)	14-18	Pace: 94.4 (21), Off: 101.6 (22), Def: 103.8 (16) The Clippers have won three straight and seven of their last 10 at home with a 99.2 defensive rating. They play seven of their next nine at Staples Center, but four of those seven are against the Blazers, Lakers (twice) and Cavs. They're 2-10 against our top 11.
23	Milwaukee (20)	13-18	Pace: 95.7 (12), Off: 99.3 (25), Def: 101.8 (9) The overtime period against OKC on Saturday was a nice time for Michael Redd to get hot, helping his team end an ugly 1-7 stretch during which the only win was over the Pacers by three points. Before that game, Redd had been shooting 33 percent from the field.
24	Philadelphia (29)	10-23	Pace: 93.6 (25), Off: 103.7 (18), Def: 108.2 (28) The Sixers finished their trip west by winning three out of four. They did it with offense, shooting 53 percent and moving the ball well in the three wins, though they shot blanks on Thursday in L.A. The defense still hasn't shown any improvement over 33 games.
25	Golden State (27)	9-23	Pace: 103.5 (1), Off: 102.4 (21), Def: 108.3 (29) When you play the Suns, Celtics and Lakers in four days, two out of three ain't bad. Anthony Randolph actually started four straight games before being put back on the bench for Saturday's loss in Portland. He's scored 10-plus in eight of his last nine.
26	Detroit (24)	11-21	Pace: 90.6 (29), Off: 100.0 (24), Def: 106.0 (22) The Pistons ended 2009 with a nine-game losing streak. They began 2010 with four days off to lick their wounds, but they've got a back-to-back in Dallas and San Antonio starting Tuesday. Charlie Villanueva is 16-for-66 (24 percent) over the last seven games.
27	Indiana (28)	10-23	Pace: 99.6 (2), Off: 98.2 (26), Def: 104.0 (18) The Pacers ended their eight-game losing streak with a win over the Timberwolves on Saturday, but Sunday's 43-point loss in New York has got to be the low point of the season, even if they were playing without Danny Granger and Troy Murphy.
28	Minnesota (25)	7-28	Pace: 98.5 (3), Off: 96.7 (28), Def: 107.3 (24) When you average 102 points over four games and lose them all by an average of 11 points, you had better take a good look at your defense. Losing to the Spurs, Jazz and Magic is acceptable. Giving up 122 points to the very shorthanded Pacers is certainly not.
29	Washington (26)	10-21	Pace: 96.8 (8), Off: 101.4 (23), Def: 105.5 (20) Off the court, the Wizards are in a whole mess of trouble. On it, they're not much better, having dropped four straight. Flip Saunders blasted his team's D after Tuesday's loss to the Thunder, but it didn't help much. The Spurs shot 51 percent on Saturday.
30	New Jersey (30)	3-30	Pace: 94.9 (15), Off: 94.6 (30), Def: 106.5 (23) Wednesday's win over the Knicks was probably the Nets' best W of the season (though they played better in a couple of early losses). All but Trenton Hassell's 17 minutes were played by guys under contract next season, so they have that going for them.