Larry Hughes, Cavaliers
118-111 win at Magic
40 pts, 12-19 FG,12-13 FT

Stephen Jackson, Warriors
120-117 win vs Wizards
41 pts, 11-18 FG, 15-17 FT

Pau Gasol, Lakers
106-97 win at Bobcats
26 pts, 9-11 FG

With Larry Hughes going off, LeBron James politely deferred to his teammate and scaled back his own scoring. But, despite finishing with an overshadowed 29 points, LeBron still managed to demand some of the spotlight. Instead of scoring, which was being taken care of, he racked up a dollar worth of dimes. In addition to that, he grabbed seven rebounds, and got himself three steals and a block. The Cavaliers beat the Magic, 118-111.

Dirk Nowtizki, Mavericks
84-76 loss at Sixers
15 pts, 4-15 FG

Jason Richardson, Bobcats
106-97 loss vs Lakers
10 pts, 4-14 FG, 2-7 3-pt FG

Michael Redd, Bucks
96-89 loss vs Clippers
11 pts, 3-13 FG

The Raptors and Spurs met in Toronto: The two teams known for having an exceptional number of foreign-born players. You thought Model U.N. was only good for copping free trips and beefing up that college app? The San Antonio and Toronto front offices knew better. They watch FIBA games with more than a passive interest. They were thinking basketball without borders before there was Basketball Without Borders. They eat at IHOP.

Spurs: U.S. Virgin Islands (Tim Duncan), Netherlands (Francisco Elson), Argentina (Manu Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto), France (Tony Parker, Ian Mahinmi ... Jacque Vaughn?). Raptors: Italy (Andrea Bargnani), Spain (Jose Calderon, Jorge Garbajosa), Argentina (Carlos Delfino), Slovenia (Rasho Nesterovic), Outer Space (Jamario Moon).

On Monday, the Spurs won and never trailed. Though it was more exciting than it sounds: The Spurs led by as many as 18 before the Raptors cut the deficit to three late in the fourth. But Manu Ginobili was too much, scoring 34 points and pulling in a fortuitous, career-high 15 rebounds. "It's the first time, probably in my life, that I got 15 boards. But it's not anything to be so proud of. They just bounced my way, that's it." And humble, too!

The Warriors came back from down 23 points to beat the Wizards on Monday night in Oakland. It was the 12th time this season they came back from a double-digit deficit to win. Makes sense, though; the Warriors are built for comebacks. They shoot more threes than anyone (an unconscionable 27.6 per game) and play at the league's fastest pace, taking more shots than anyone, too (88.6 per game). That is to say, a 23-point first-half lead over a team of wind-sprinting perimeter players with permanently-green lights is about as safe as a six-point lead over the Spurs. (Well, almost.)

Stephen Jackson hit a three with 55.6 seconds left to give his Warriors their first second-half lead. Jackson finished with 41 points, 16 of which came in the fourth quarter, and Al Harrington added 21. Chris Webber actually started in place of Harrington – the Warriors were eager to play with their new toy – but when the quick tempo required for a comeback became clear, Webber sat, ultimately seeing only 14 minutes. During the second quarter, amid a discussion in the NBA TV studio about Webber's poor fit with Golden State, one producer, Neal Baker, casually offered this gem: "He's a Volkswagen playing with a bunch of Ferraris." A more apt comparison, one simply could not make. And with the win, the Warriors extended the Wizards' losing streak to eight.

Dave McMenamin noted that Al Thornton scored a career-high 33 points the night he learned he didn't make the rookie roster for the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge. (To add insult to insult, five of the nine rookies are forwards. Making him, at best, only the sixth-best rookie forward? Wha-huh?) Well, now he's reached double figures in eight of the nine games since the disrespectful news arrived. Monday night, he matched the second-highest point total of his career with 25, and his Clippers beat the Bucks.

Andre Miller and the Sixers held the Mavericks to just 23 second-half points, and 10 in the fourth quarter! Philadelphia won, obviously, 84-76. To be fair, the pace of the second half was a bit slow and the Sixers only managed to score 34 after halftime, but 23 for the Mavs? Even the Miami Heat think that's bad. Dallas shot 8-of-34 in the second half, and, at one point, even missed 13 shots in a row, presumably because of the Sixers' defensive pressure, and not because they weren't aiming or something.

Had he been in the NBA on Monday, and not still Developing, Daniel Horton of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds could have given LeBron James a run for his incalculable wealth as Stat Sheet Stuffer. The Thunderbirds fell to the Colorado 14ers, 111-94, but Horton certainly did everything he could. The former Michigan guard finished with a game-high 28 points, nine assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block. The 14ers countered with seven players in double figures.