PLAY OF THE DAY

SHOOTING STUDS

Gerald Wallace, Bobcats
125-117 win vs. Hawks
41 pts, 17-22 FG

Pau Gasol, Grizzlies
98-97 loss vs. Sonics
44 pts, 17-28 FG, 10-12 FT

Joe Johnson, Hawks
125-117 loss at Bobcats
35 pts, 15-24 FG, 4-8 3-pt FG

SHOOTING DUDS

Ron Artest, Kings
97-84 loss vs. Wizards
4-18 FG, 1-6 3-pt FG, 12 pts

Ben Gordon, Bulls
97-93 loss vs. Magic
5-17 FG, 12 pts

Boris Diaw, Suns
132-110 loss at Bucks
2-10 FG, 8 pts

STAT SHEET STUFFER

Josh Smith has earned praise from coaches and teammates for his well-rounded play of late, and the second-year forward excelled in every facet of Tuesday's loss in Charlotte. On the attack, Smith scored 20 points and tied a career high with eight assists; while nabbing two steals and five blocked shots on the other side of the ball. And J-Smoove dominated the glass, the link between offense and defense, with 14 rebounds.

RICK KAMLA'S FANTASY TAKE

"How about Charlie Bell? Thought to be a practice player by Terry Stotts in training camp, he is starting for the injured T.J. Ford and making Stotts eat his words. In three starts for Ford, Bell is averaging 17.3 points, 10.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 threes and 2.7 steals. I'm sorry, but T.J. has never had a three-game stretch that awesome, so Bell may turn T.J. into the practice player."

D-LEAGUE STARS OF THE NIGHT

While Derrick Zimmerman was named D-League Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday and backed it up with three steals, teammate Marcus Fizer provided the offensive punch. Fizer, who was named to the D-League First Team on Monday, sank 15-of-23 shots for 36 points and snatched 16 rebounds, but the Toros fell 110-105 in Tulsa to the 66ers.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

If Tuesday's Mavericks-Pistons showdown was indeed a preview of June's NBA Finals, then fans are in for a treat. With three minutes left, the teams were deadlocked at 88, but that's when Chauncey Billups stepped up. Billups added another line to his MVP resumé, scoring eight of his team's final nine points as Dallas went cold down the stretch in a 97-90 Detroit win. He finished with 31 points and 11 assists, shooting 8-of-14 from the field, 4-of-4 from deep, and 11-of-12 from the foul line as the Pistons stayed one step ahead of the Mavericks and Spurs in a race that will decide the location of a potential Game 7. Dirk Nowitzki and former Piston Jerry Stackhouse scored 25 apiece for Dallas, which fell one game behind San Antonio for the Southwest Division and Western Conference lead.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

"Making the big shots is what I do for a living and what they pay me for."

-- Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu, who sank two big jumpers in the closing minutes and scored 15 points in Orlando's come-from-behind 97-93 win in Chicago.

STORYLINES OF THE NIGHT

1. Milwaukee's Best
Coming off Monday's 110-72 loss to the Nets in which reigning MVP Steve Nash went scoreless, the Suns announced this afternoon that Amaré Stoudemire will miss time due to knee stiffness. Tuesday in Milwaukee, Nash bounced back, hitting his first seven shots en route to 23 points, but the Suns did not. The Bucks set an NBA record with 11 3-pointers in their 46-point third quarter and rolled to a 132-110 victory. Charlie Bell, who got his NBA start with Phoenix, notched his first triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists. He sank five treys and Michael Redd hit six as the Bucks set a club mark with 18 threes. "I think we hit pretty much everything that we threw at the rim," said veteran Toni Kukoc, who sank four trifectas of his own en route to 17 points.

2. Oh, What a Night
Almost a month to the day after his previous career high, Pau Gasol erupted again on Tuesday. The Spanish forward hit 17-of-28 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the charity stripe for a career-high and franchise-record 44 points. "Pau is doing a great job," teammate Shane Battier said. "He's carrying the team and had a huge night." It wasn't enough, though, as Ray Allen dealt the Grizzlies a 98-97 loss. Not too far away, Gerald Wallace had the best night of his young career, posting 41 points, the most ever by a Charlotte Bobcat. Wallace shot 17-for-22 FG and tallied eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. He scored 18 of those points in the fourth quarter as Charlotte grabbed a 125-117 victory over the visiting Hawks. "It was a fun game," coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. "You saw some great athletes, young athletes, that the league is going to have to contend with as we move forward."

3. No Point, No Problem
Conventional wisdom would say that a team without its point guard would struggle, especially away from home. Two teams had something to say about that on Tuesday, though. The Wizards had lost eight straight games in Sacramento and were without Gilbert Arenas, fresh off a 40-point, 10-assist performance at Golden State, due to flu-like symptoms. Antonio Daniels made his 13th start of the season, tallied 17 points and seven assists, and Billy Thomas added 14 off the bench as Washington beat the Kings at their castle for the first time since Dec. 19, 1996, 97-84. Further down the California coast, another All-Star sat out. Tony Parker (bruised right shin) missed the Spurs' potential playoff preview against the Clippers, but Michael Finley popped off the pine to score 20 points on 6-for-8 shooting and San Antonio dished out 32 assists without its playmaker in a 98-87 victory.

COOL/CLUTCH PERFORMANCE

Pau Gasol might have dominated most of the way, but Ray Allen came through when it counted. The Seattle marksman scored the game's final five points, first sinking a tough, high-arcing trey to beat the shot clock and cut the deficit to one point with 41.5 seconds left. Then, for the second straight game, Allen hit a late go-ahead jumper. This time he muscled past Eddie Jones for a tough fadeaway that bounced through with just 0.3 seconds on the clock to give Seattle a dramatic 98-97 road win. Allen finished with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists and prevented the Grizzlies from matching their franchise record of eight straight wins.

ROOKIE WATCH

It was a reunion of sorts in Charlotte on Tuesday. While current Atlanta Hawk Marvin Williams posted 14 points and teammate Sean May sat out with injury, the Bobcats' top UNC alumnus, Raymond Felton, put on a show. The fifth overall pick in last year's draft had one of his best performances of the season with 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting and hit the last of his four 3-pointers to clinch Charlotte's exciting 125-117 victory. He added five rebounds and 10 assists for his third double-double in four games.

SIXTH MAN OF THE NIGHT

Don't look now, but Darko Milicic is making an impact. The former No. 2 overall pick scored half of his 12 points in the fourth quarter as Orlando used a 24-11 edge to overcome the Bulls, 97-93, in Chicago. It was the fourth game in a row that he's scored in double figures off the bench. Darko added eight rebounds and four blocks, the 13th straight outing he's had at least one rejection.