Monta Ellis stays home resting because of sprained ankle

PHOENIX — No one really knows when Warriors guard Monta Ellis is coming back. No one really knows when or how he even sprained his right ankle, which kept him out of Saturday's game at the Phoenix Suns.

The only update regarding Ellis' condition was that he's at home resting. He will be evaluated today, after which his status for Tuesday's game at Sacramento and thereafter will be determined. X-rays taken Friday were negative after Ellis asked out of the game against the New Jersey Nets early in the third quarter. He apparently sustained the injury midway through the first quarter, but it might've been the second quarter depending on whom you ask.

Up until tipoff, it looked as if Ellis' absence would leave rookie Stephen Curry as the only guard available. But C.J. Watson, who had missed the previous four games with a laceration on his right hand, decided he would play.

Watson had the five stitches removed from his hand Friday but didn't expect to play until Tuesday. But after warm-ups, and some encouragement from his teammates, Watson played.

"It still hurts a lot," Watson said. "It's probably going to take a while to heal, like another week or two. ... The plan was to wait until Tuesday, get a couple practices in. But this is even better than practice."

He totaled 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting in 25 minutes. Most important, he allowed coach Don Nelson to rest Curry for nearly five minutes in the first half.

Curry, who played all 48 minute of Friday's win vs. New Jersey, was staring at another 48 before Watson stepped up.

"He was huge," Curry said. "It was nice to get those eight minutes (of rest). It felt like he hadn't missed any time. He came in shooting the ball and getting to the basket."

Warriors forward Corey Maggette has made 107 of 117 free throws his last 11 games. He's the first player in NBA history to take at least 10 free throws in at least 10 straight games and make 80 percent of those free throws.

"He's always done that in his career," Nelson said of Maggette's ability to get to the free-throw line. "Being a guy that gets touches almost every time down the floor, because he's one of our main guys, that helps."

The last Warrior to get to attempt double-digit free throws for as many consecutive games was Wilt Chamberlain. In 1964, between December 11 and December 30, Chamberlain attempts at least 10 free throws in 12 straight games. Chamberlain shot 46.4 percent from the free-throw line that season.

Forward Kelenna Azubuike was with the team in Phoenix. He came to get his surgically repaired left knee looked at by Phoenix Suns team doctor Tom Carter, who repaired Azubuike's patellar tendon in November. Azubuike has been feeling stiffness in his knee, which is to be expected.

Foot injury sidelines Bulls' Joakim Noah

Tyrus Thomas tries to get between Houston's David Andersen and Carl Landry.

HOUSTON -- Joakim Noah tried it all -- stretching, a massage, a painkilling shot.

And still he succumbed to the plantar fasciitis in his left foot, missing his first game this season after getting scratched about nine minutes before tipoff Saturday night.

"I've had it a little throughout the year, but it's getting worse and worse," Noah said. "This morning I could hardly walk. I couldn't stop or jump or cut or push on it. I tried everything I could to play. I went through warmup lines. Before the game, I was doing spot shooting. I just couldn't get going. The pain is too much."

The Bulls first disclosed Noah's injury following Friday's victory in Phoenix. As he iced his foot in the postgame locker room late Friday, Noah said the situation flared up to "very painful" conditions Wednesday night after the Clippers' loss.

Taj Gibson also is battling the condition in his right foot.

"I think Jo's is more serious because Taj hasn't missed a game and Jo did," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "And I know Jo would've if he could've. It's a tough injury to get rid of during the season. We'll be aggressive with it and see how he reacts."

Noah said he planned rest and treatment on the Bulls' day off Sunday. He said he hopes to play Monday in San Antonio.

"There was no point in playing (Saturday)," Noah said. "Depth is one of our strengths."

Sweet dreams

The Bulls arrived from Phoenix and at their local hotels around 4:30 AM and most players said they didn't fall asleep until 5 AM or later. Del Negro pushed the team meeting to noon, and several players said they woke up to attend and then went back to sleep after.

"You just have to hydrate, sleep and try to get good calories in you," guard Kirk Hinrich said.

The Rockets won in San Antonio Friday night but landed from their short flight before the Bulls-Suns game even ended.

"I was up like they were," Rockets coach Rick Adelman deadpanned. "I was home though."

T-Mac talk

The Bulls are one of countless teams to have contacted the Rockets and explored ways to acquire the $22.5 expiring contact of Tracy McGrady, who was cleared to leave the team and is training in Chicago.

The Rockets are seeking expiring contracts and a young star. There is no chance the Bulls trade Noah or Derrick Rose for McGrady. A deal of Miller, Jerome James and John Salmons would work.

Suns' Leandro Barbosa to have surgery on wrist, miss a month

Suns guard Leandro Barbosa will undergo surgery to remove a cyst from his right wrist on Tuesday and miss a month of play.

The Suns basketball and medical staffs met before Saturday night's game against Golden State and brought Barbosa into Coach Alvin Gentry's office to involve him in the final decision.

Barbosa, inactive for Saturday's game, considered having fluid drained from the wrist after the swelling and pain in his right hand worsened during Friday's loss to Chicago. Barbosa has struggled with the wrist problem since the summer, when it apparently originated from spraining the right wrist on a fall during play for the Brazilian national team.

Barbosa is averaging 10.6 points this season but has shot career-worst percentages from the field (42.2) and 3-point range (33.0). The Suns tried starting Barbosa the previous three games to ignite his game but he continued to struggle with how the cyst and swelling limits how much he can cock his right wrist. He was 12 for 32 from the field in the recent three starts, going 4 for 17 on 3-point tries.

Barbosa had the wrist's swelling drained in November, sat out three games and took anti-inflammatory drugs, but the problems also returned.

"L.B. feels strongly that the surgery will give him more peace of mind, that it won't return," General Manager Steve Kerr said.

Barbosa can resume running and conditioning work a week after surgery. He also missed 12 games this season with an ankle sprain and the team went 4-8. The Suns will adjust the same way, returning Jason Richardson to his starting job and playing Goran Dragic and Jared Dudley more at shooting guard off the bench.

When Barbosa returned, he had more problems with the cyst limiting his shooting wrist's flexibility than the ankle.

"The wrist was affecting his shooting because of the pain, so I think he'll be really relieved with the pain gone when he does come back," Kerr said. "Obviously, it'll take a little while to get his rhythm. The biggest thing is he's been trying to shoot through it, and you can see it's really swollen. He hasn't had the flexibility in his wrist to be able to get the ball into the right position, and that's one of the reasons he's struggling. It's important for us to get this right for his peace of mind. I'm confident that once he's back to normal, you'll see the same L.B. that we've always seen."

Kerr is not looking at adding a guard yet.

Afflalo gets back on target

In an empty Pepsi Center, hours before he brought a sellout crowd to its feet, the Nuggets' Arron Afflalo could only smile at his coach, who reminded his (sometimes) sharpshooter of the previous game against New Orleans.

"We joked about it," George Karl said of Afflalo's 0-for-6 3-point shooting on Dec. 18. "I told him — maybe you should have someone cover you."

Afflalo missed a bevy of open looks that night, and in Saturday's 116-110 overtime win, Afflalo was again open due to double-teams on Carmelo Anthony. But this time Double-A shot with confidence, hitting a career-high five 3s, two in overtime.

"Two huge 3s," said Karl, whose team has won six straight.

Anthony missed a 9-foot putback at the regulation buzzer, and in overtime the Hornets swarmed him, notably on a jumper when he landed awkwardly on his left ankle and left the game after making two free throws. He's day-to- day, with Denver's next game Monday night against Charlotte.

Though New Orleans (23-20) entered Saturday ninth in the Western Conference, the Hornets were 9-3 in January, one of the hottest teams in basketball, along with the Nuggets and (sure enough) the Bobcats.

But the Hornets were on the second game of a back-to-back, playing at the Pepsi Center and without injured forward David West (17.7 points per game). A Denver loss would have looked bad, yes sir. But the Nuggets (29-14) ultimately won their second overtime game in four outings.

Asked of the win's importance, Afflalo said: "It's just the way we won it. Even in Golden State (on Wednesday), how we continued to fight when it didn't look good, that shows signs that we're improving from within as a team. And that's all you can ask for — for your competitive spirit to last an entire game and to keep pushing. We'll continue to get wins if we play that way."

Anthony scored 30 points but on 9-for-28 shooting — maybe a typical Melo shooting line from 2005, but not 2010.

As for the ankle injury, it occurred with 1:13 left in overtime and Denver up 113-106, following Anthony's two free throws.

"The ankle feels better than I thought," Anthony said. "It looked pretty bad at first. We'll see how it is tomorrow."

Saturday's win was weird because at the end of regulation, Denver was just 8-for-24 from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 21-for-30 from the foul line (70 percent).

But Denver dominated the glass against the weary Hornets, and by the final buzzer, Denver had 61 boards to the Hornets' 37, and 20 offensive rebounds, tying a season high.

An observer didn't need to look at a stat sheet to know this, but rather at the carnivorous rebounding of Kenyon Martin (game-high 14) or Chris Andersen (13 in 24 minutes), who soared in the air to grab the ball with the ease of Brandon Marshall against the Colts. Birdman finished with seven defensive rebounds and six offensive; Melo had six offensive boards as well.

"I think rebounding is a stat that can sometimes be a bit tilted," Karl said, "but tonight it was pretty important to us."

Lakers' Ron Artest to play with foot injuries

The Lakers had just completed their shoot-around for tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre when Ron Artest sat down in a courtside seat and had both of his feet wrapped in ice.

Artest had announced on his Twitter page Saturday that he had plantar fasciiitis in his left and right foot, and now he was getting treatment so he could continue to play.

His history with the Lakers and other teams he has played on is not to complain about injuries and he was doing the same thing Sunday, even after tweeting about it the day before.

“I didn’t know what was wrong with me,” Artest said. “I’ve probably had it a lot of times in my career, but I never, ever sat out with it. I know guys who have actually sat out with sore feet, but there’s no need for me to complain about it.

“I just don’t like excuses. That’s it. No excuses. I don’t want nobody saying, ‘Oh, Ron Artest has got plantar fasciitis, so that’s why he didn’t play a good game.’ No, I didn’t play good or I didn’t do what I did because that’s just what happened. No excuses.”

Artest said as the season progresses, as long as he is diligent in getting treatment on both feet, he expects to make improvements.

“It’s gotten a lot better,” Artest said. “So that’s a good thing. I know I haven’t been about to get the [defensive] stops I want to get this year, but I feel it getting better so it’ll come back around. You just got to take care of it. Ain’t no clock.”

NJ Nets' Devin Harris to have MRI on wrist

The Nets' Devin Harris, left, drives to the basket as the Warriors' Anthony Tolliver falls to the ground during the game Friday.

SALT LAKE CITY – It’s hard to find a legitimate reason to sound the alarm for a 3-40 team, but the Nets aren’t ready to make any definitive statement about Devin Harris’s status for the week.

And perhaps there’s good reason for that: The Nets point guard, who injured his wrist during a tumble at Golden State Friday night – he calls it a sprain, the team just calls it “sore” – said that treatments didn’t help him much.

Hence, he’ll be given an MRI Sunday, which should give him an idea whether a Wednesday return is realistic.

“There’s a lot of little ligaments we’ve got to take a look at,” said Harris, who wore a brace on his wrist in the pregame locker room Saturday. “Hopefully it’s encouraging.”

Harris, whose X-rays were negative, said his range of motion was fine, but that flexing it caused pain.

And if the term “MRI” still sets off alarm bells, Kiki Vandeweghe made it sound merely precautionary.

“You do it for a variety of reasons, just to make sure ligament, bone, everything is OK,” the coach said.

Vandeweghe started Keyon Dooling at the point against Utah, and used Chris Quinn and Terrence Williams in reserve.

Forty-three games does not a season make, but the Nets are already part-owners of the worst 43-game record in history.

And they are now one loss away from standing alone: The 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks also were 3-40 before winning their 44th game (the infamous 1972-73 Sixers were also 4-40), so if the Nets lose to the Clippers Wednesday, they will be the first team in NBA history to start 3-41.

The oligarch is just days away from getting the keys to the crumbling kingdom, and Andrei Kirilenko has been monitoring the Nets’ ownership transfer fairly closely.

The Jazz forward, who played for Mikhail Prokhorov’s team in Moscow when he was a teenager, suggests a mutually beneficial relationship could develop when he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2011.

“I’m pretty sure if I was a Russian owner,” Kirilenko told the Salt Lake Tribune, “I would be interested to get a Russian player.”

Though Kirilenko added that his first preference would be to stay in Utah, the only team he has played for in his nine seasons.

Of all the awful aspects to the Nets’ 32-point loss at Golden State, this probably bugged management most:

The Nets had their usual lineup healthy and ready to go, and were still blown out by a Warriors team that was propelled in large part by two guys on 10-day contracts – specifically, Anthony Tolliver and Cartier Martin, who had career nights.

“They had guys who are trying to stay in this league, without guaranteed contracts who were out competing for their lives,” Vandeweghe said. “And that is the way you have to play this game.”

He didn’t mention whether this gave him any ideas.

Rockets notes:Experimenting with guard-heavy lineup

Personnel strategy

The Rockets went with Carl Landry surrounded by four perimeter players to finish Friday's game, an option they could use late in games when Rick Adelman wants guards Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry on the court and to still keep Shane Battier and Trevor Ariza on the floor.

“We didn't really work on it that much, but we were trying to run some things that work with that lineup,” Adelman said. “Shane's pretty easy to put out there because he's familiar with playing the big guy in those spots. Carl has to look to post up, and they've got to look to play pick-and-roll and roll hard.

“It's a pretty good lineup to have as long as we can defend and rebound with it. We have some of our best offensive players on the floor, and we're pretty active.”

Landry said his job does not change but his defensive responsibilities become more vital.

“I'm still going to be aggressive on offense,” Landry said. “I'm still going to be aggressive on defense, blocking shots and going after rebounds. It's not the size or position of the players; it's the heart. But you know you have to protect the paint more because you're the only big. And you have to talk more because you're the only big and can see everything because you're in the back.”

Loosen up

Rockets center Chuck Hayes, battling tendinitis in his right knee, started Saturday but expected to have to play with pain. He rode a stationary bicycle when he was not in the game.

“As I get going, sometimes it loosens up, sometimes it tightens on me,” Hayes said. “We're going to try to keep it loose as much as possible.”

Crocodile tears

Though both teams Saturday were playing the second half of back-to-backs, the Rockets were in Houston before the Bulls had finished Friday in Phoenix.

Rockets coach Rick Adelman could empathize but offered no sympathy.

“We've been there,” Adelman said. “I'm not going to complain for another team. That wouldn't be right, would it?”

Trail Blazers' Nicolas Batum has doctor's permission to return but has to convince coach Nate McMillan

Nicolas Batum remains on pace to make his season debut Monday night when the Trail Blazers host the New Orleans Hornets.

“I will play Monday,” Batum said, smiling, before the Blazers defeated the Detroit Pistons Saturday in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Batum said he has received the OK to play from two key figures: the Los Angeles-based doctor who surgically repaired his right shoulder in October and Blazers trainer Jay Jensen. Now, it seems, Batum needs clearance from just one more person:

Coach Nate McMillan.

McMillan, who last week watched All-Star Brandon Roy return too soon from a strained right hamstring and has seen his players rack up 205 missed games because of injuries, is understandably gun shy. Before Saturday night’s game, McMillan called Batum’s return “doubtful," but said he planned to meet with Batum, Jensen and general manager Kevin Pritchard sometime Sunday to make a decision.

Batum has participated in just one full practice — Thursday in Boston — and he halted a two-on-two workout because his right shoulder became too sore after repeated contact. But Batum went through a rigorous full-contact workout with assistant coach Monty Williams during pregame shootaround in Auburn Hills and said he experienced no pain.

“He posted me up pretty hard, (banging) with my right shoulder,” Batum said. “And I don’t feel sore. I feel great.”

Batum, who started 76 games for the Blazers last season, finished the last month of the 2008-09 season and played all summer on the French National Team with shoulder pain. After aggravating the injury in training camp, he had surgery on Oct. 30 to repair a torn labrum. He has missed the entire season.

After seeing the doctor who performed his surgery in Los Angeles on Jan. 4, Batum targeted Monday as a return date and traveled with the team last week on its four-game trip in preparation. Now he just has to convince McMillan he’s ready.

“If he wants to let me to play, I’m ready to go,” Batum said, smirking. “If he doesn’t, he wants the best for me so I won’t be angry. But I’m ready.”

Nuggets ponder suspension of J.R. Smith

J.R. Smith's season of poor play and a poor attitude has reached a new low. The Nuggets are considering suspending Smith for behavior detrimental to the team during Saturday's game, a source said.

Smith was seen pouting during the win against the Hornets, and coach George Karl didn't play Smith at all in the third quarter. For the night, Smith played just 12 minutes but had a minus-10 plus/minus rating. The next-lowest plus/minus rating on Denver was Ty Lawson at minus-one.

The plus-minus rating keeps track of the net changes in score when a given player is either on or off the court.

Karl is expected to speak with the media today and will likely address Smith as well as the status of Carmelo Anthony's sprained left ankle. Denver's next game is Monday against Charlotte.

Jazz notes: Gaines expected to stay

The Jazz are expected to make official today what has been anticipated ever since Sundiata Gaines hit the shot of the season to beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 14.

With Gaines' second 10-day contract set to expire today, the Jazz are expected to sign the rookie point guard for the rest of the season. Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor telegraphed those intentions, saying of Gaines, "I think the body of work has been good."

It would complete a meteoric rise for Gaines, who went undrafted out of Georgia and was making $19,000 with the NBA Development League's Idaho Stampede before he was called up by the Jazz earlier this month.

The Jazz have gone 7-2 since his arrival, with Gaines saying, "My main thing was to bring energy, and I definitely saw a little jump of energy with the team, so that's a plus." Gaines has played in seven games and averaged 2.9 points and 1.1 assists.

O'Connor said the Jazz preferred maintaining continuity with the team rather than auditioning No. 3 point guards the remainder of the season: "I think our DNA is that that's what we'd rather do and that's what coach would rather do."

Gaines has been embraced by his teammates since his buzzer-beating three-pointer delivered the Jazz a 97-96 victory over Cleveland and touched off a wild celebration at EnergySolutions Arena.

"I think he's done a great job," Deron Williams said. "He's coach's type of guy. He doesn't say much, works hard."

O'Connor said Gaines made an impression beyond his endlessly replayed shot, citing the defense he played against Mo Williams in the fourth quarter of the Cleveland game as well as some of the baskets he set up off the pick-and-roll down the stretch.

For his part, Gaines was confident heading into the final game of his second 10-day.

"Right now, I'm still learning," he said. "I'm feeling my way out in the offense. As the season goes on, if I'm still here, the more comfortable I get, then my game will open up even more."

Gaines will make $215,336 from the prorated rookie minimum for the rest of the season, on top of the $53,834 he already has made.

Tough to take

Yes, Carlos Boozer played on a 17-65 team his first season in Cleveland in 2002-03, which did position the Cavaliers to draft James. But Boozer admitted it would take a major leap to sign with a three-win team such as the Nets as a free agent this summer.

"I think anybody that wants to win, it would be tough to walk into a situation like that," Boozer said.

Briefly

The Nets have lost by an average of 19.6 points during their current 11-game losing streak. Their 33-point loss Saturday, though, was their worst of the season. ... Kosta Koufos had four turnovers in nine minutes of action in the fourth quarter. ... Asked if he could fathom playing on a 3-40 team, Williams said: "I've never been in that situation, but I hate to lose, so I can imagine what those guys are going through. You know you're not going to make the playoffs, so it's kind of hard to not think about that."

T.J. Ford just wants to play

T.J. Ford is approaching the possibility he could be traded by the Indiana Pacers in the next month as part of the business of the NBA.

The starting point guard earlier in the season, Ford has been benched and hasn't played since Dec. 30 as Pacers coach Jim O'Brien has elected to go with Earl Watson as the starter and rookie A.J. Price as the backup.

"The ball's in their court," Ford said when asked what he thought about a trade possibly coming before the end of the season. "Definitely, I want to play. If I'm not going to play here, if I can go somewhere else and play, then of course."

Before Friday's game in Detroit, O'Brien was asked if there is a possibility the Pacers could move Ford before the Feb. 18 trading deadline.

"I don't think there's any doubt," O'Brien said. "He's a quality point guard. He could really help another franchise."

Ford said he has not discussed a trade with Pacers management -- "I'm not looking to trade T.J.,'' Pacers president Larry Bird said Saturday night -- and hasn't been told his benching is for the rest of the season.

"It's a business," Ford said. "It is what it is. I'm doing all the things I'm supposed to do since I'm still on the roster. I'm healthy. I still get my workouts in, my conditioning in. I stay ready.

"If they trade me, they'll trade me on their own will and power. I haven't said anything. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to be doing."

Ford makes $8.5 million this season and has a player option for $8.5 million next year.

The 6-foot point guard is averaging 9.9 points and 3.6 assists this year. He has career averages of 12.1 points and 6.3 assists in six seasons with Milwaukee, Toronto and the Pacers.

The Naismith and Wooden national college Player of the Year after leading Texas to a Final Four appearance, Ford has been the starting point guard on three playoff teams, once with Milwaukee and twice with Toronto, the last in 2008 before he was traded to the Pacers.

"I want to compete. I want to play. I don't want to sit out," he said. "I know I have a lot of game left. There's no doubt in my mind about that. It's just circumstances."

Etc.

Northwest High School product Rodney Carney is a backup guard for the 76ers. He's averaging 3.6 points in 11 minutes per game. . . . Former Pacer Primoz Brezec was inactive Saturday.

Newest addition to Cavs ready to work

CLEVELAND: Familiarity worked to Cedric Jackson's advantage.

It was speculated that the Cavs might sign a veteran point guard to fill in while Mo Williams and Delonte West are out with injuries, but the Cavs signed Jackson, who played for coach Gary Waters at Cleveland State and was with the Erie BayHawks, the Cavs' NBA D-League affiliate.

The Cavs believe Jackson has the talent — he is averaging 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game — but it doesn't hurt that the BayHawks run an offense similar to the Cavs'.

The BayHawks' coaching staff spent the training camp in Cleveland and coach Mike Brown said there's a lot of common ground. For Jackson, it represents a foot in the door.

''I'm ready to do whatever I need to do, and I'm truly blessed for this opportunity,'' he said.

That might be the case, but Jackson's play in the past five games indicates that he has some skill that might get him to the next level professionally. During that span, he's averaged 27 points, five rebounds and nine assists.

''I've just been trying to be aggressive and that opportunity widened it up for me to get to the hole, and then when they closed it up, I made nice passes to get other guys wide-open shots,'' Jackson said.

Brown confessed he hasn't seen a lot of Jackson, even on tape. But Brown liked what he did see, calling Jackson athletic, tough and fearless.

Jackson doesn't expect to get a lot of playing time, but he plans to make the most of the chances he gets. For him, it's just a matter of looking to what Sundiata Gaines of the Utah Jazz accomplished during his first 10-day stint. Gaines made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that beat the Cavs during their recent road trip.

According to a report out of Utah, the Jazz are now expected to sign Gaines for the rest of the season.

But it's advice that he got from Waters on Friday night that might be the most valuable. ''The first thing he said was 'Work hard because it's not over yet.' And I'm ready to do that,'' Jackson said.

Moon update

Forward Jamario Moon is close to returning. He has been out since Jan. 6 with an abdominal strain.

Recently, Moon said that he expected to be back Monday, but it doesn't look like that will happen.

Thunderstruck

In his past two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, LeBron James has scored 75 points. . . .Going into Saturday's game, the Cavs had beaten the Thunder four consecutive games at Quicken Loans Arena.

Tony Allen passes test

For a player whose career has always trudged uphill, Tony Allen enjoyed one of those rare moments on Friday when he could look down on the valley.

He had defended a pick-and-pop switch between Portland’s Andre Miller and LaMarcus Aldridge to perfection - leaving the Celtics [team stats] guard to pick up the big jump shooter. Allen not only disrupted the shot, but poked the loose rebound back to midcourt. He pressured Aldridge just enough during the ensuing footrace that the Blazers forward deflected the ball away and into the hands of Ray Allen, who then fed Tony Allen for the game-ending fast-break layup.

A game earlier, during a loss to Dallas on Monday night, he had defended that play - this time with Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki scoring off the pick-and-pop - exactly wrong.

After five-plus injury-laden seasons with the Celtics, Allen admits he’s still wrestling with the learning curve. But his progress from Monday’s mistakes to Friday’s game-sealing play showed that for a player sometimes known for repeating mistakes, Allen can also get it.

“I stayed with LaMarcus,” he said. “We call that a veer back. In the Dallas game I didn’t do that. It just clicked in my head, ‘OK, I’m beat off the dribble, Perk steps up (to cover Miller).’ I stayed with LaMarcus, I contested the shot, loose ball tapped into the backcourt, I went for it.

“I thought the big fella wasn’t even going to run for it,” said Allen. “I thought he was going to let me get it on the break, take it to the hoop. But he had his competitive spirit going. I chased the ball down, he chased it down, he got a hand on it and it just so happened that Ray got the ball and threw it to me for the outlet and that was basically the game, but it’s just about getting it done.”

It’s also about not settling for one great play.

“I wanted to windmill that thing, but I didn’t have no legs for it,” Allen said of his decision do lay the ball in instead of punctuating the night with a dunk.

In past seasons, Allen would have gone for the flashier moment. But with Marquis Daniels recovering from thumb surgery, this is the swingman’s time to show his growth - to show Doc Rivers he deserves a longer look.

“I look at it like he’s just testing me,” Allen said of the Celtics coach. “Each test I pass is another game to get confidence. I’m just trying to get my body back in strength.

“It’s an honor and a pleasure to just be out there playing,” he said. “All I ever wanted to do was to just play. I’m trying to make the best of it, trying to help this ballclub win games. It just feels good being out there.

“Still early,” he said of whether this has been his most prolonged healthy stretch in several seasons. “I’m just sticking with Bryan Doo and all our strength and conditioning guys - (massage therapist Vladimir) Schulman, (trainer) Ed Lacerte. That’s what’s been key to this point, being consistent with those guys.”

That, and discovering new ways to improve.

“I pay more attention to the scouting report,” he said. “I get on our video-scouting guy and ask him about the guards’ tendencies, because there’s a chance that I might be guarding all of them, depending on how the game goes. It is something different (this year), watching a lot more film.

“I can do a lot of things - I just don’t pinpoint,” he said. “I’m a basketball player. As long as I’m playing and not turning the ball over, I’m helping my ballclub. Rebounding, steals, assists, taking a charge, passing out Gatorade, whatever.

“Whatever the team has needed me to do, that’s my call. Whatever I’m called upon to do I have to be ready. There’s no thing about consistency - it’s get the job done when your number is called. That’s how I look at everything.”

Kendrick Perkins affirms John Lucas’ faith

Kendrick Perkins may have no bigger fan in the NBA than Clippers assistant coach John Lucas, who runs a gym in Houston in the offseason and has worked with Perk since the center came into the league.

“I love that kid,” Lucas said. “I knew about him right away just by his commitment. He’d drive 75 miles each way, every day to work out in Houston. He did that for the first month, and then he got a place for the next two months. Then he’d drive in for the week and go home on weekends. That’s commitment.

“He worked hard from the start, and as soon as he got his body straight and got some of the hangers-on off of him, he really took off. And you know what? He may be the best defensive center in the league. He’s just improved so much.”

Lucas has continued to provide advice and support to Perkins. He was on the other end of the telephone line when Perkins was mulling a four-year, $20 million extension from the Celtics [team stats] in 2006.

“I said, ‘What are you waiting on? Just sign and play,’ ” Lucas said. “That’s when it started to fall into place for him. Where I thought he got really good is when he understood what his role was. He came in thinking he was going to be a star - and he is in the things he does for them defensively. But he’s not (Shaquille O’Neal) and them. He’s a star in the team concept because he knows his role. He may have an outside chance at the All-Star Game.

“And he’s just a great kid.”

On the other end or the work-to-succeed spectrum is former Celtic Gerald Green, who was last seen headed for Russia.

“I really wish Gerald had worked more on his fundamentals,” Lucas said of the former No. 18 overall draft pick. “He’s a great talent, but he doesn’t have the basketball IQ yet. He’s an NBA player. Hopefully he’ll get back.

“He can score, but he’s got to guard people, too.”

Green seemed to get swept up in the NBA sideshows.

“One thing that’s a problem is that guys come in the league and they’re not about winning,” Lucas said. “They think they just deserve to play. I call them Internet-famous. They think they’re big, but they’re not famous. Famous is Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.”

Cuban gun control

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was disappointed with Gilbert Arenas and the firearms-in-the-locker room issue. But it’s unlikely he’ll have to deal with anything similar around his own club.

Not surprisingly, Cuban and the Mavs were ahead of the curve on this one, having seen the potential dangers.

“I live in a red state, so there’s a whole different perspective there than in the blue states,” Cuban said. “But as for us, we’ve been very, very proactive in terms of our positioning with our players on guns. We’ve taken inventory and communicated with our players on exactly how many have them.

“I can tell you out of our roster only three of them own guns and only one has their guns in Dallas. So what Devin (Harris, the Nets guard) said about 75 percent of players owning guns, we don’t have that.”

The Mavericks are big on making sure any player who wants to own a gun understands the responsibilities and has gone through the proper channels to keep things above board.

“We make sure they’re all legally registered, and we have a document of understanding with the players that made them understand exactly where we stood and what’s permissible and what’s not,” Cuban said. “I think the league will follow more of what we’ve been doing for years.”

Cuban hasn’t always agreed with David Stern, but on the Arenas matter, he said, “I think the commissioner handled it right. It’s a hot topic obviously, but the commissioner handled it well. He gave Gilbert a chance, and then he was decisive. The legal system will do it’s role.

“Gilbert’s a good guy. I think he just was stupid, and I think he recognizes he was stupid.”

Cuttin’ down the Nets

Mention the New Jersey Nets around an NBA person these days and you’ll get a frightened look in reply. The Nets are well on pace to break the mark for worst record in league history, outdoing the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers [team stats]’ 9-73.

And they’re doing it in absentia. They’re not really showing up for many of these games.

The Nets dealt away Vince Carter, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson in a 16-month span and they’ve made two trades during this season. More moves are expected.

And Harris, who has largely disappointed his team this season, could be among the next to go.

“Nobody’s safe,” he told reporters before the Nets took off on a road trip. “But that’s the way the business goes.

“It’s not something I worry about. I think the toughest trade to go through is midseason. I did that. I heard the rumors for a month, worried for a month. I’m past that. If it happens, it happens.

“It is a business at the end of the day and they’re going to do what they see is best. You’re sort of a commodity at that point. But you just roll with it.”

The Nets will have a chance to make some big moves in the offseason (including a move from the Meadowlands), but until then it won’t be a pretty rebuilding process at all.

A media watchdog

There was a funny moment at a Lakers game not too long ago: Lamar Odom got called for a foul and was heading back to his bench. He asked the Lakers beat writers if the call was correct.

Elliott Teaford of the Daily News nodded, and Odom smiled and said, “Get the (heck) out of here.”

Referee Gary Zielinski saw what happened. He grinned and said, “Thank you.” . . .

Sad to see Blake Griffin lose the rest of the season to knee surgery because the Clippers have a real chance to take some giant steps away from their hideous history.

But Phil Jackson still kicked some sand at the Clippers revival.

“I’m of that generation that believed in karma,” he said. “If you do a good mitzvah, maybe you can eliminate some of those things. Do you think that (Clippers owner Donald) Sterling’s done enough mitzvahs to eliminate some of those? How about all those other incidents that we have on file?”

The last reference is to a housing discrimination suit Sterling settled recently. . . .

Nobody wins unless everybody wins.

Kevin Garnett’s return without restrictions

The feeling is strange but incredibly satisfying for coach Doc Rivers.

He ran the Celtics [team stats] hard through a practice yesterday, and Kevin Garnett was on the floor for every second of it - all of this after playing 30 minutes in his return the previous night after missing 10 games due to a hyperextended right knee.

“It’s good to have Kevin back - more important it’s good to see him playing better after the game and playing a lot of minutes,” Rivers said. “That’s a good sign for us.”

Another sign of these new times? Garnett is not being subjected to minutes monitoring.

“We felt pretty good about it before,” Rivers said of Garnett’s appearance in Friday night’s overtime win against Portland. “There wasn’t a minutes restriction - this is totally different from last season’s injury, and that’s why we were really not concerned about the minutes. Our only concern with him minute-wise is conditioning. It had nothing to do with the knee.

“We always put an extra guy on (the first) team (in practice) to give him rest and to give (Kendrick Perkins [stats]) rest as well, but he’s free to play.”

And the Celtics, a team with fractured chemistry during the last month, can start to re-form.

“We’re playing with a lot more energy and a lot of that has to do with our emotional leader coming back,” Paul Pierce [stats] said. “Now our goal is to finish strong going into the All-Star break over these next eight or nine games.

“I think it affects you chemistry-wise, because you get used to playing with the same units and everybody knowing their roles,” Pierce said. “But roles change as injuries hit . . . It’s an adjustment you have to make throughout the season, because injuries are part of a long season. But if we can get everybody back in the starting five, then everything is going to be fine.”

Putty in his hands

Marquis Daniels ran through some defensive drills during yesterday’s open practice in front of a group from New England Baptist Hospital, but once the balls were handed out, the swingman left the floor. His surgically repaired left thumb is still too tender for that kind of test.

“Wrap Silly Putty,” Rivers said of what Daniels can do with his left hand for the moment. “That’s about it. That’s all you can do. You don’t want him anywhere near a ball because he can get a bad pass off his hand. If you play, someone is definitely going to hit his hand. We just try to take it slow. He’s going through physical therapy. The muscle atrophied in his hand, and he’s trying to build it back up.”

Joint venture

Brian Scalabrine hopes to miss only one more game - tomorrow night’s home clash with the Clippers - because of a separated right shoulder, also known as a sprain of the acromioclavicular joint, or AC.

“It’s iced up - feels good,” said Scalabrine, who played with the injury a tad too long. “It got worse in Detroit (last Wednesday), but the big fella (Garnett) was out, so you’ve got to get out and play. It’s the nature of this beast.”

Added Rivers: “The AC sprains - they go out and they go back in. I have one. To this day I’ll be golfing and it will come out, and you just can’t do anything for a couple of days. But if it stays out it can get worse, but usually they go right back in and that’s what we have to deal with. They’re painful - I can tell you that. So Scal played with it out for a couple of games, and that’s just very painful, and it usually hurts your play.”

Steve Nash hardly guarded in praise of Rajon Rondo

No less a point-guard expert than Phoenix’ Steve Nash has become duly impressed by Celtics [team stats] guard Rajon Rondo [stats].

“He’s pretty unique,” said Nash, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player. “I can’t think of anyone who quite has the same skill set he has. I mean, I guess the closest thing would have been maybe Jason Kidd in his day, but they’re still different types of athletes.”

Added Suns coach Alvin Gentry, “He’s developed into one of the best point guards in the league. I think that team has developed so much respect for his leadership ability. I mean, I think he is the leader of that team especially on the court, from the standpoint of putting guys in position and things like that. And he’s a big play guy.”

Which is even more remarkable in that Rondo’s reliable range is around six feet.

“I’m sure his outside shot’s improving, but he probably just doesn’t have to rely on it because he does other things so well,” Nash said. “He’s so long. He can finish in the paint, make big plays for his teammates. He does a lot of different things on the court, so he doesn’t have to rely on his shooting.”

Asked if Rondo’s stroke will improve, Nash said, “It should. It’s inevitable if you spend time at anything it’s going to get better. Most guys improve their shooting throughout their career. He’s improving already, and I imagine he’s going to continue to improve.”

Cavaliers’ Daniel Gibson sinks dagger

Daniel Gibson’s 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds remaining gave the Cavaliers a 100-99 victory over Oklahoma City last night in Cleveland, the Thunder’s second loss in two nights in the final seconds.

LeBron James had 37 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, and Shaquille O’Neal added a season-high 22 points to help the Cavaliers win their fourth straight.

Kevin Durant had 34 points, and Russell Westbrook added 23 for Oklahoma City. The Thunder lost to Memphis on Friday night when Rudy Gay hit a 20-foot jumper with 1.3 seconds remaining.

Gibson’s 3 gave Cleveland a 98-96 lead. Durant had a chance to tie, but his shot with 0.9 seconds left was blocked by James.

Heat 115, Kings 84 - Dwyane Wade had 27 points and eight assists before sitting out the fourth quarter, Michael Beasley added 21 points and 13 rebounds and a bizarre week of blowouts continued for Miami, which beat visiting Sacramento.

The Heat beat Indiana by 30 on Tuesday night, lost to Charlotte by 39 on Wednesday night and won in Washington by 24 on Friday night. Only one of Miami’s last nine games has been decided by less than 10.

Nuggets 116, Hornets 110 - Carmelo Anthony scored four of his 30 points in overtime and added 11 rebounds and host Denver beat New Orleans for its season-high sixth straight victory.

Chris Paul had 26 points, seven in overtime, and 10 assists for the Hornets.

Magic 106, Bobcats 95 - Jameer Nelson scored six of his 21 points in overtime and visiting Orlando recovered after blowing a big lead against Charlotte.

Vince Carter also had 21 points to help the Magic end the Bobcats’ home winning streak at nine.

76ers 107, Pacers 97 - In Indianapolis, Elton Brand scored 23 points, and Thaddeus Young had 22 points and 10 rebounds as Philadelphia beat Indiana for its second straight win.

Bulls 104, Rockets 97 - Brad Miller scored 25 points in place of the injured Joakim Noah, and Taj Gibson added 16 points and 14 rebounds to help Chicago beat host Houston.

Bucks 127, Timberwolves 94 - Carlos Delfino scored 24 points, and rookie Brandon Jennings had 18 points and a career-high 13 assists, leading Milwaukee over Minnesota.

Jazz 116, Nets 83 - Mehmet Okur had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Utah beat bumbling New Jersey in Salt Lake City, keeping the Nets winless against the Western Conference.

Suns 112, Warriors 103 - Goran Dragic scored 18 of his career-high 20 points in the fourth quarter and host Phoenix defeated Golden State.

Trail Blazers 97, Pistons 93 - Martell Webster scored a career-high 28 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 for shorthanded Portland, which beat Detroit in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Thunder notebook: Jeff Green making an impact with timely plays

On paper, Jeff Green is having a down year.

The numbers for the third-year forward are down in points, rebounds, assists, field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage. But those statistics undermine the impact Green has had with key plays of late, especially down the stretch in games.

On Monday at Atlanta, Green put the Hawks away with a poster dunk on Josh Smith. Against Minnesota on Wednesday, Green came up with a big block on Jonny Flynn that secured the win. And Green had two big plays down the stretch Friday at Memphis and Saturday at Cleveland in a losing effort. Green rejected a Mike Conley floater in front of the rim, and came up with a big rebound against Cleveland inside the final minute before netting two free throws to give the Thunder a 96-95 lead.

"Jeff has been playing very good basketball,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "His intensity has really stepped up another level. Defensively, he’s very active and has been one of the anchors on the defensive end.”

WORKING TO GET WESTBROOK BACK ON TRACK

Russell Westbrook entered Saturday’s game at Cleveland having failed to score in double figures in his past five outings. The second-year point guard had made just 14 of 42 shots and turned the ball over 23 times.

Against the Cavs, though, Westbrook was noticeably more aggressive attacking the basket and, not surprisingly, it lead to better production. Through three quarters, Westbrook had 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting and added five assists and two steals against only two turnovers.

"You’re never going to have your good stuff every night offensively,” Brooks said. "You just have to keep focusing on...effort on the defensive end. With offense, it’s such a fine line between hitting shots and not hitting shots.”

Westbrook finished with 23 points on 8-for-18 shooting.

MULLENS MAKES DEBUT IN HOME STATE

Byron Mullens returned to the state of Ohio and got to play in front of about 11 family members and friends Saturday night. Mullens played 4 minutes, 54 seconds and scored two points while recording one rebound, one steal and two fouls.

Because Mullens is only 20 and didn’t take up basketball until the eighth grade, the Cavs had drafted LeBron James and come out of their franchise funk, meaning it was fun to watch the Cavs. Mullens remembered attending a handful of games at Quicken Loans Arena while in high school and rooting for the Cavs.

"It’s just good to be back home,” Mullens said. "I was always a Cavs fan from just being in Ohio. It’s a good feeling to actually be out on the court and have people watching me now.”

BROOKS PRAISES LEBRON’S PASSING

Although the Cavs were down two point guards because of injuries to Mo Williams and Delonte West, Brooks predicted before the game that James’ passing ability would be effective enough to keep Cleveland’s offense flowing. Sure enough, James orchestrated the offense from the opening tip and had recorded seven assists by halftime and 10 assists midway through the third quarter.

"That’s one of the many things that he does well,” Brooks said. "I’m sure if the guy wanted to score 40 points a game he can...But his passing is what makes him very difficult to guard. You can collapse on him and he’s willing to pass...He’s a tremendous passer. He’s an extra point guard/playmaker on the floor.”

James had a game-high 37 points with 12 assists and nine rebounds.

Orlando Magic notes: Stan Van Gundy very pleased with play of Matt Barnes

Coach Stan Van Gundy has been happy with the play of SF Matt Barnes as a starter, but he said that he can't guarantee if the lineup will remain the same through season's end.

"You never know about that," Van Gundy said of Barnes. "There's still a long way to go. You don't know what adjustments have to be made. I couldn't be happier the way he's playing. We have 11 weeks left and you never know how you'll end up."

It is assumed that the other four starting spots occupied by PG Jameer Nelson, C Dwight Howard, SG Vince Carter and PF Rashard Lewis will not change (outside of injuries.)

Barnes made his 14th consecutive start against the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night since replacing Mickael Pietrus on Dec. 30 against Milwaukee.

Barnes was averaging 13.6 points per game until having an off-night on Friday night, scoring just three points on 1-of-7 shooting against the Sacramento Kings. He scored a season-high 28 points in a loss to the Denver Nuggets and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds on Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers.

Brown does heck of a job

Van Gundy saluted the job that Bobcats coach Larry Brown, 69, has done to turn the team into a winner.

He also admires Brown as a pure teacher of the game.

"With coach Brown … the guy just loves to teach basketball," Van Gundy said. "Even though he's made a ton of money, you get the impression that he's not in it for the money. If it didn't work out at him being a pro coach, he'd be in a high school gym somewhere teaching basketball."

Layups

One Magic player said he forgot his suit for Saturday's game, risking a $10,000 fine from the league for violating the dress code. To avoid being seen, said player quickly moved out of view from Howard as a camera crew was filming the entrance of Magic players. No, we'll never tell.

PF Ryan Anderson is sporting a shiner under his left eye, a souvenir he received in practice while guarding Lewis. Lewis inadvertently hit him in the eye after following through on a shot. With his goatee and assorted scruff on his face, Anderson says he definitely looks tougher.

Walsh: Lee should be an All-Star

Knicks team president Donnie Walsh admits David Lee is better than he thought this past summer and thinks he should be named to the All-Star team as an Eastern reserve.

Coaches received their ballots Friday. The results will be announced Thursday. The bad side is if Lee is named to the All-Star team, his market value could make it such that Walsh will not have cap space to re-sign him if the Knicks hit the jackpot and land LeBron James.

"He's played well enough to be an All-Star," Walsh said. "I'm not usually a guy who touts his own players. If you're asking me the question, he's had a great year."

Lee's 31-point, 17-rebound night vs. the Lakers on national TV could help his cause, but the Knicks 17-25 record does not. Al Horford and Gerald Wallace, both on winning teams, likely will be selected ahead of Lee, but he still could squeeze in.

Walsh could have locked Lee up last summer, but gave him a one-year, $7 million deal. As for an All-Star berth impacting Lee's chances of returning, Walsh said he hopes Lee can remain a Knick.

"I've told you guys consistently none of these guys are throwaways, even if in their last year," Walsh said. "I'd like to keep him. We're going to have options. Nothing's set in stone."

Lee is averaging 19.4 points and 11.4 rebounds.

"I always thought he was a great rebounder," Walsh said. "I had no idea, particularly in the pick and roll, when he has his back to the basket, he still has touch around the basket that not many players can do. It's real talent."

* Walsh said he was pleased with Friday night's electricity at the Garden, despite suffering a 115-105 loss to the Lakers. The Knicks went toe-toe with purple-and-gold for three quarters, taking a one-point lead into the final period.

"I loved it," Walsh said of the atmosphere. "There was a lot of buzz around the arena. The Lakers are a championship team, and they're playing like a championship team. I want us to be the Lakers."

* Nate Robinson (hamstring) is doubtful today. . . . Rookie Jordan Hill is taking advantage of his new rotation spot; he scored eight points and seven boards in 11 minutes vs. the Lakers.

Dan Klores, director of film 'Winning Time', talks about rivalry between Reggie Miller and Knicks

Garden fans watch in horror as Reggie Miller pulls up from three to tie Game 4 of Eastern Conference finals in 1998. Pacers would go on to win in overtime.

Ninety minutes before the Jets and Colts renew acquaintances Sunday, another New York/Indianapolis story line will be playing out - cinematically - at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. It will feature the Knicks and Pacers; three consecutive years of playoff battles that were more street fights than basketball games; and a protagonist named Reggie Miller, the sweet-shooting, gum-flapping guard who was equally gifted at annoying people and hitting huge shots.

In a riveting, 68-minute film called "Winning Time," Dan Klores, PR-man-turned-filmmaker who grew up playing ball in Brooklyn's Second Street Park, reminds you how long it's been since the Garden pulsed with playoff drama, and brings fresh insight into the multi-layered tensions that the Knick-Pacers series engendered.

Who knew that John Starks' mother angrily approached Patrick Ewing, after Ewing whacked his teammate in disgust following Starks' infamous head butt of Miller in Game 3 of the 1993 series?

"Don't you ever put your hand on my son like that again," Mrs. Starks said.

Replied Ewing, "Mrs. Starks, if he head butts him again, I'm going to smack the living daylights out of him."

* * *

DN: I understand the idea for the film actually came from a photo (above) on your office wall. Is that true?

DK: It is. Donnie (Walsh) sent it to me years ago. It's hilarious, because it shows Reggie making a shot in the Garden, and the faces around him are in total horror. Initially I was going to do a film on the photo, but I started doing research (on the Knicks and Pacers) and realized this is bigger than the basketball thing because it's about the conflicting cultures of the Midwest and the big city - about two once-proud franchises, neither of whom had won a championship since 1973 - and their journey to try to get back to the top.

DN: Reginald Miller is credited as a producer of the film. Reggie Miller is the center of the story. Why did you decide to center the film around him?

DK: I saw him as a performance artist as few great athletes are. To me, the movie is about his psychological need to overcome the overwhelming feeling that he's second rate - that he's never going to measure up to his sister Cheryl. She was a huge star. Reggie had braces on his legs until he was 5 years old. He was not going to be Cheryl, or his older brother, Darrell, who was a catcher for the Angels. He says, "Against the Knicks, it was Cheryl all over again." To me that was the most beautiful, telling line in the film. That was the psychological dynamic. I love that stuff."

DN: There is a scene that explores the pressure Donnie Walsh - then-GM of the Pacers and current GM of the Knicks - felt to take Steve Alford, a Hoosier folk hero, in the 1987 draft. Instead, Walsh drafted Miller, and you have footage of Alford and family looking completely stricken when Miller's name is called.

DK: (laughing) Donnie announced Reggie's name as fast as he could and then got off the stage so he wouldn't get shot.

DN: Patrick Ewing is unguarded, expansive, funny in ways that newspaper reporters rarely saw. Any back story there?

DK: Everyone told me, "Ewing will be terrible," or "You'll never get him." He was great. I think it helped, first of all, that (Jeff) Van Gundy and (Mark) Jackson called him and told him, ‘This will be fun.' Maybe Reggie called him also, I'm not sure.

Think about (Ewing). He's a kid who is from the islands. He moves to the States and plays for a father figure (John Thompson) at Georgetown who is all about Us vs. Them. Then the biggest influence on his pro career (Pat Riley) is Us vs Them. What's going to be his influence?

To me, this is the real Patrick Ewing.

DN: Early in the film you focus on Miller-Starks and the head butt. Miller says it all started with Starks refusing to shake his hand before a game - buying into Riley's we're-going-to-war mentality.

Miller tells you from that point on he wanted to embarrass Starks, and then we see him baiting Starks and even milking the head butt by acting "like I got hit by a tank."

Did you feel empathy for Starks, a guy with an almost childlike passion for the game, that Reggie played him this way?

DK: I feel and felt empathy for Starks. He's a terrific young man, and I actually feel some personal connection with him, because when I would play in the park, there was one guy in particular who knew how to get under my skin. That's a lousy thing to happen all the time.

Reggie knew where to go - and there's a brutality to that method.

DN: Cheryl Miller describes her brother as "a maddening human being." Ewing calls him "a con man" and says, "I hated Reggie." But you convey the idea that Reggie's on-court persona was totally calculated.

DK: Reggie was a renegade. In real life, he is quiet and humble and serious and private. But as a performer, he was the bad boy. I asked him, "Why do you talk (trash)? Is it to rev you up, or to psych out the opponent?" He said 70% of my talk is to get me started and 30% percent is to get inside the opponent's head.

DN: You build the film around four episodes - the head butt; Miller's 25-point fourth-quarter and his by-play with Spike Lee in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals in 1994; Game 1 in 1995 when Miller scored eight points in nine seconds; and Ewing's finger roll that rimmed out at the buzzer in Game 7 of 1995, the end of the Riley Era. Why did you do it this way?

DK: The movie really is about two forms of parallel resentment: Midwesterners' resentment towards New Yorkers, and New Yorkers' resentment towards Reggie Miller. The irony about Reggie is that he has all the personality traits that are attributed to New Yorkers - brash, bold, talks a lot - and yet the people in Indianapolis seem to revere him.

If you put Reggie Miller in New York, he would be detested by those people in Indianapolis.

DN: A strong undercurrent in the film is Riley's stated mission to make the Knicks "the best conditioned, hardest working, most professional, unselfish, toughest, nastiest and most disliked team in the NBA." On the other sideline, Larry Brown's team was equally unselfish and unyielding. The animosity between the teams is almost palpable.

DK: To me, that's what made the rivalry. My contention is that rivalries like that - Knicks-Pacers, Knicks-Bulls, Knicks-Heat, don't exist anymore. Players come and go too frequently. There's not enough of the old-style, personal competitiveness. Last year the Celtics and Bulls played a seven-game series in which six of the games went into overtime. It was probably the most memorable series in the history of basketball, and who talks about it, other than maybe some people in Chicago and Boston?

You've got to want to win, not just want to play.

The Wizards' Antawn Jamison wants to be an all-star

Leaving Dallas provided Antawn Jamison with the greatest escape of his career. He came to Washington, landed his first two all-star appearances and embraced his role as a leader of a playoff team. But with the Wizards in the midst of what could be a second consecutive lottery season, Jamison is holding out hope for a return to Dallas -- only this time, Jamison would like to be wearing a uniform representing the Eastern Conference all-star team.

"I want to go," Jamison said after Wizards practice at Verizon Center on Saturday afternoon. "To sit here and say I don't think about it, or don't worry about it -- of course you want to be an all-star. That's an honor. I hope it does happen. But if not, I understand why."

Since returning after missing the first nine games of the season with a dislocated right shoulder, Jamison has posted 14 double-doubles and scored at least 30 points 10 times. He and Toronto's Chris Bosh are the only power forwards in the Eastern Conference averaging at least 20 points and eight rebounds. But Jamison realizes that his production seems somewhat hollow with the Wizards (14-28) tied for the conference's second-worst record.

"I know it's tough with the record, but I know it's not that many teams in the East that have that great of a record. I hope the coaches see that," said Jamison, who is averaging 21.8 points and 8.6 rebounds.

Jamison also hopes that coaches take into consideration that arguably no team in the league has had to deal with more off-court distractions and adversity than the Wizards, who have endured the death of owner Abe Pollin, a dispute involving guns between Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton, and a felony gun charge and indefinite suspension for Arenas. For Jamison, a few days in Dallas during all-star weekend could provide a much-needed reprieve from a tumultuous season.

"It would be a nice weekend to enjoy myself and get away from all the turmoil and really enjoy time with my family and friends. I hope things go my way," said Jamison, who spent one season with the Mavericks before being traded to the Wizards in the summer of 2004. "It's been tough because of the outside distractions. If we could do away with that, things would be so much different. But things that have been going on this year, you never would've seen coming at all. People are texting me all the time, 'Hang in there.' 'Keep your head up.' People realize what's going on."

Despite the chaos in recent weeks, Jamison ranks fifth in the conference in scoring average in January, with 23.5 per game -- and that's including a current two-game slump in which he has been held to a total of just 15 points on 6 of 24 shooting (25 percent) in losses to Dallas and Miami. It is the first time since April 2007 that Jamison has failed to reach double digits in points in back-to-back games.

Coach Flip Saunders said he thought Jamison could be tiring after carrying such a heavy load in the absence of Arenas. Jamison is averaging nearly 41 minutes per game this month, including a season-high 55 in a double-overtime loss in Chicago. "We are going to try to get him more rest," Saunders said. "It's probably a combination of mental fatigue, physical fatigue, everything. He's been playing at such a high level, we've been asking him to do so much, it probably wore him down a little bit."

Jamison took an elbow to the back and had surgery to remove bone spurs in his right ankle last May, but he denied that he has been slowed by any nagging injuries or ailments. "I'm 33 years old, and the things I do in the offseason are the reason why I'm prepared for what's going on now, so other than soreness the day after the game or the night of, I'm fine. It doesn't have anything to do with what has taken place the last two games with me," Jamison said.

Teammate Caron Butler said he wouldn't bet against Jamison coming back with a vengeance on Sunday afternoon when the Wizards host the Los Angeles Clippers. "Antawn is going to be Antawn. He's going to bounce back. If there is anybody on the team I don't worry about, it's him. "

Jamison is one of five active players with more than 16,000 points and 6,000 rebounds, but he has only been on four teams with a winning record in his 11 seasons. His most regular season wins came in Dallas, where he won 52 games and was named sixth man of the year in his only season with the Mavericks in 2003-04. He had high hopes for the Wizards this season, only to realize his contributions wouldn't be enough to put the franchise back on the right track.

"That's the toughest part, especially the last two seasons with injuries and the way things have been going this year; it's tough," Jamison said. "But as long as I can look at myself in the mirror and say that I'm playing hard and not giving up, and doing what I'm supposed to do, I'm still enjoying it. Even though we're not winning, I'm having fun."

All-Star voting needs a makeover

I'm going to break my own rule here, and get huffy about something that doesn't matter much:

I've got no problem with Allen Iverson accepting an invitation to start in the All-Star Game. I have a problem with the NBA not having a problem with how Iverson was selected. And how Tracy McGrady was nearly selected.

It's time to revisit whether fan voting should have sole control over who starts in an All-Star Game. The league disagrees; an NBA spokesman made it clear in a wire story I read that they like things just the way they are.

I'm sure commissioner David Stern will be asked about this during his media availability at All-Star Weekend. I'm sure David will go into trial-lawyer mode, spinning about the people's will and the tradition of this being the fans' celebration of the game and how, at the end of the day, an All-Star Game is about entertainment, not competition.

All that would have a smattering of truth, but it's a diversion. This is about clicks. And in our cyber-generated culture, clicks are the obsession.

Clicks are how you count page views, which is how you sell Internet advertising. And guess what: You could vote (and not just once, of course) via Internet access on nba.com.

Don't get me wrong, I wish I could vote for president and governor and mayor via Internet. The way we conduct elections is so old-tech, it's a miracle citizens stand in line to exercise their vote. What did Patrick Henry say? Give me I-Phone or give me death?

But this one is about collecting page views and global marketing. It's no secret why McGrady - who's played a handful of games this season and is in trade-demand mode - nearly got the nod over Phoenix point guard Steve Nash.

McGrady is a teammate of a certain Chinese center who is out for the season. If you can't vote for Yao Ming half a world away, then at least you know about McGrady. And there are a lot of clicks to be gathered in the emerging middle class in China.

Iverson is another case: He lasted in Memphis just long enough to tour Graceland, then hinted at retirement, then found a landing spot back in Philadelphia. He drew a buzz the first home game in Philly, and since then he's been a shrug, both in improving the 76ers' record and their attendance.

That didn't stop Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski from claiming Iverson deserved to be an All-Star for his "rock star" quality.

Iverson is now a rock star like Roger Daltrey. Note to Gen-X and Gen-Y: Ask your mom about Daltrey; she still thinks he's hot.

I'm not dumping on Iverson, but it's a joke that he's an All-Star starter. That means someone who dominates - Atlanta Hawk Joe Johnson comes to mind - doesn't start. And some deserving reserve - Charlotte Bobcat Gerald Wallace or Hawk Josh Smith comes to mind - forfeits a chance at a unique experience.

NBA's 10 Most Difficult to Trade Players

There's only one month left in this season's NBA trade derby. With the biggest summer of free agency since 2000 coming up, there could either be tons of high-level activity ... or small moves only. Time will tell.

In the meantime, let's take a look at 10 players that, due to their contracts, health and/or quality, will be quite difficult to move at the deadline, no matter how badly their teams want to lose them.

You'll note there aren't any 2011 expiring contracts on the list. It's becoming clear at least a handful of teams will sit out Destination 2010 in hopes of taking advantage of a new collective bargaining agreement in 2011, so immediate cap space isn't as much of a concern as it was once thought to be. So Eddy Curry? Jared Jeffries? Dan Gadzuric? Count your blessings.

10. Rasheed Wallace, Celtics. For a player so many thought would be the answer to Boston's prayers just a couple months ago, things have turned quickly. Wallace signed a three-year mid-level deal last summer, with the third year (2011-12) a player option. (He'll take it, I imagine.) That'll put Boston on the hook for $13 million over the next two seasons, which isn't the worst thing in the world, even if he's shooting 29.9 percent from three-point range while taking five of them per game. Now add in his trade kicker, some 15 percent of his salary due up front. If you trade him at the deadline this season, the new team is paying up $1.2 million to cover that (the option season isn't included), and the salary cap commitment in 2010-11 goes up to $7 million. Did we mention he holds every world record for technical fouls and isn't considered the easiest guy to play with? We did? Good.

9. Corey Maggette, Warriors. Maggs has quietly avenged his name in Oakland this season, averaging 20 points a game while leading the league in True Shooting percentage at the halfway point. But no one expects Maggette to keep it up, and the $32 million remaining on his contract after this season is poison, considering the free agent options available at lower prices. If the Warriors can take advantage of a starry-eyed buyer quickly, they should, because this gem will shatter before too long.

8. DeSagana Diop, Bobcats. The Mavericks gave Diop his ridiculous contract in 2008, then traded him to Charlotte for the similarly overpaid Matt Carroll. The difference? Carroll's contract shrinks over time, while Diop's gets only fatter and fatter. Diop (who, despite being a defensive specialist playing on a defensive-minded team for a defensive-minded coach, has played fewer than 200 minutes through half the season) is due nearly $21 million through 2013.

7. Vince Carter, Magic. Carter has been a massive disappointment in Orlando, and truth be told the shine was already completely off before New Jersey sent him south in June. Carter is due $17 million in 2010-11, and $4 million in 2011-12 if he's waived after the '10-11 season. (Got that?) While the commitment isn't troubling in terms of length, the size of next season's salary is a bit much to take, even for clubs looking to sit out the 2010 bonanza. The market for Carter at that pay rate is ridiculously small.

6. Rashard Lewis, Magic. Lewis is quite good, but his salary is HOLY GOD THAT'S INSANE, and Lewis is not HOLY GOD THAT'S INSANE good. After this season, Lewis is still owed $50-63 million over three seasons, depending on whether he hits some incentives. For some perspective, the contract LeBron James signs this summer will pay him roughly $56 million over the next three seasons.

5. Luke Walton, Lakers. Walton's presence near the top of this list may surprise given his relative small salary commitment (less than $17 million over three seasons after this year). But a continuous $5 million drain on the cap for a point forward who alternately can't get off the bench and can't get out of the training room is problematic. For a team not spending well over the luxury tax, he'd be a minor anchor -- 1/10th of the salary cap for a 12th man.

4. Rip Hamilton, Pistons. "With the No. 2 pick in the 2003 NBA draft, the Detroit Pistons select ... Darko Milicic" will NEVER be surpassed as Joe Dumars's greatest (basketball) mistake. But unnecessarily extending Hamilton in the fall of 2008 is No. 2 with a bullet. Hamilton's contract would have expired in 2010, but Dumars decided to tack on additional three years at $34 million guaranteed ... for no apparent reason other than he wanted to prove everyone the Pistons weren't waving a white flag by swapping Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess for Allen Iverson. Age is clearly catching up with Hamilton -- this season and last have been his worst as a Piston, and he turns 32 in February. He could start for a handful of teams, but you could get a much better player on the open market for what Detroit's paying Rip.

3. Elton Brand, Sixers. After essentially two seasons on the shelf due to injury, Brand has climbed back on the bull and ... lost his starting job to a raw second-year player? Yep. Brand has started half his games with Philadelphia this season, offering up 13/6 in 30 minutes of play. Not exactly what Ed Stefanski had in mind when he signed the former star in 2008. Brand turns 31 by season's end, already has 25,000 NBA minutes on the treads, and is owed more than $51 million over the next three seasons.

2. Baron Davis, Clippers. L.A.'s funky point guard has bounced back from a catastrophic virgin season, but he's still a drain on the Clippers' chances many nights. Davis is shooting 40 percent. Sadly, that's not buoyed by a large share of made three-pointers: on average he takes four bombs a game ... and hits one. (That's not a good percentage, for you arithmephobes out there.) But hey! He has less than three turnovers a night now, and averages more than one points per shot taken (things which could not be said last season). After this season, Davis is owed $41.6 million over the next three years. He will turn 31 years old in April.

1. Gilbert Arenas, Wizards. You don't need a windsock in a hurricane; it's easy to explain why Washington will have immense trouble trading Arenas until it can work out some sort of contract-shortening arrangement. Arenas will likely miss the balance of this season, and possibly part of next season. In two months of play, he didn't come close to showing that he has his old explosiveness -- explosiveness which was the hallmark of his game -- back. And he's paid $80 million over four years beginning in October. As it stands, Arenas is the nearest thing to untradable we've seen in recent NBA history.

Bobcats Showing Signs of Life

Quick, which is the hottest team in the N.B.A.? It is not the Lakers or the Celtics or the Cavaliers or any of the usual suspects.

It is the Charlotte Bobcats, a franchise that has never come close to a winning record in six years of existence.

A 104-65 blowout victory over the Heat last Wednesday night was not only the team’s largest margin of victory, but it put an exclamation point on their homestand — during which they were 6-0 before losing to Orlando on Saturday night — and was the team’s ninth victory in 11 games. The Bobcats are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and are forcing people around the league to take notice.

The change in the team happened on Nov. 15, when the Bobcats sent Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmonovic to Golden State as part of a deal to acquire shooting guard Stephen Jackson and Acie Law. Charlotte was 3-6 when Jackson arrived and was averaging a league-low 82.4 points. Since acquiring Jackson, the Bobcats are 18-14 and their scoring average has climbed to 94.2 points. Charlotte has always been a strong defensive team, and it currently allows a league-low 92.5 points a game.

Jackson has long been a controversial figure and forced his way out of Golden State with the stated goal of playing for a winning team. There were probably a few people laughing when he went to Charlotte, which had never been confused with a winning team, but he has been the key to making this team a winner. His versatility and ability to hit the outside shot have opened up the floor for point guard Raymond Felton and swingman Gerald Wallace, who are playing their best basketball of the season. Additionally, Boris Diaw seems to have regained the form that made him a budding star in 2008-9.

There were those who wondered how Jackson was going to get along with Coach Larry Brown, who has butted heads with difficult players in the past, but Jackson has thrived under Brown and even drawn praise from Brown for his leadership.

Certainly this recent homestand has been a big part of the Bobcats’ climb up the Eastern Conference standings. Charlotte is 18-4 at home and 3-16 on the road (only the Nets are worse). Still, one of the biggest wins during this streak came at Cleveland, and Charlotte will soon have a chance to see if it can improve on the road. The Bobcats, who lost at home to the Magic, 106-95, on Saturday night, will embark on a six-game trip that includes stops at Denver, Phoenix and the Staples Center against the Lakers on Feb. 3. This trip will show the N.B.A. whether the Bobcats are for real.

It is worth noting that the Bobcats’ hot streak came without Tyson Chandler, who has an injured left foot. There are murmurs that the Bobcats are better without Chandler; they are 10-4 in his absence. But Charlotte will certainly look forward to getting Chandler back inside for his defense and rebounding.

Dalembert has heart for Haiti

PHILADELPHIA — It's the children who always get to Samuel Dalembert.

It's their innocence, their exuberance, even their goofiness.

In many ways, that describes Dalembert, the Sixers center, and it explains why he is so devoted to helping them.

That was true long before the massive earthquake devastated his native Haiti on Jan. 12 and left him disconsolate, mostly over the plight of the many children who were left without families.

Dalembert went to Port-au-Prince last week with Project MediShare, a group that has been involved with aiding Haiti since 1994. He saw the amputations with saws, the kitchen tables used as operating tables, the beleaguered doctors working for 20 straight hours without a break.

But it was the sight of the children that really struck the Sixers center.

"That's the hardest part," said Dalembert, who lived in Haiti until he was 14 and still has family there. "The kids don't deserve that. They deserve better. There are a lot of homeless children. The situation is so terrible."

He described one boy who was in the process of being adopted, a process that had taken nearly four years to complete. It was finally completed Jan. 11.

The earthquake struck the next day.

When Dalembert went to Haiti, he and former NBA star Alonzo Mourning found the boy and brought him back to Miami to meet his adoptive family.

But as the plane was getting ready to depart Haiti, Dalembert said he wanted to run out there "and grab 30 more kids and bring them back with me."

He has already donated more than $130,000 for earthquake relief and pledged to give at least $250,000 more, in addition to pleading on national TV and in person for donations.

Better lives

Dalembert has spanned the globe to help children have better lives ever since the Sixers drafted him in 2001.

He has participated each summer in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program, going to places like China, Argentina, Africa and Mexico to conduct clinics and help impoverished communities.

"He leads the league in (Basketball Without Borders) camps attended, that's for sure," said Kim Bohuny, the NBA's vice president of basketball operations international.

But there is so much more to his generosity.

He started the Samuel Dalembert Foundation a few years ago with the ultimate goal of building a school and sports academy just outside Port-au-Prince.

He raised millions of dollars, in addition to donating nearly $2 million of his own money, to make the academy more than just a dream.

Now, the academy is on hold as Haiti tries to recover from the earthquake.

"It's going to take a lot of work," Dalembert said, "but it's going to get done."

Sixers ambassador

Dalembert has done countless charity events for the Sixers, often staying to make sure every child receives an autograph or picture.

"And those are the ones we know about," said Lara Price, the Sixers' vice president of business operations.

Dalembert's agent, Marc Cornstein, remembered a time shortly after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in Aug. 2005.

Dalembert went with a group of players in an NBA-sponsored program to help with the rebuilding process. The players were on a table set up in the back of a flat-bed truck, signing autographs and posing for pictures. When the session was over, no one could find Dalembert.

They looked around, and there he was, in an adjoining field, playing soccer with about 50 kids.

"Sam is like a big kid," Cornstein said, "and I mean that in a very complimentary way."

Lifetime of giving

Dalembert has been a giver ever since he was a youngster in impoverished Haiti.

It never dawned on Dalembert that he was poor, even though he often went without shoes and ate only one square meal a day.

Dalembert said his grandmother, with whom he lived as a child, would invite his friends over for some food or to sleep on some sheets laid out on the floor. Dalembert, who is 6-feet-11, grew so fast that he would pass his clothes and shoes on to his friends, laughing as they walked around in shoes that were too big and pants that were too baggy.

"You would get used it," Dalembert said. "You can be in a worse place but have good people around you. You just think this is the way people live until you come to America and go to the market, and the chicken is clean over here."

Dalembert was determined to make sure his family and the children in Haiti could enjoy clean food, too.

That's why Dalembert left Seton Hall after his sophomore year, even though he had only been playing basketball a few years. He wasn't ready for the NBA, but scouts were telling him that he could become a first-round pick based on his potential, and he could get the guaranteed contract that went with it.

"I remember sitting with him before the draft and the entirety of his situation was to help his grandmother, who had had a stroke earlier that year and wasn't getting the medical care that she needed," Cornstein said. "He always saw basketball as a higher calling, a way to help his family and the people of Haiti."

Eye to the future

The Sixers picked Dalembert 26th in the 2001 draft, knowing he would need a few years to develop.

They were convinced he was on the verge of a breakthrough in the 2005 playoffs, when he averaged 11.6 points and 12.8 rebounds in the Sixers' first-round loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Billy King, the team's president and general manager, signed Dalembert to a six-year, $64 million contract, but the young center never really lived up to it until recently.

Too often, he complained about his lack of playing time -- to the extent that he asked to be traded last season. The Sixers tried hard to accommodate his request, but his hefty salary scared teams away.