Al Harrington, Warriors
111-95 win vs. Trail Blazers
12 pts, 5-5 FG, 2-2 3-pt FG

Allen Iverson, Nuggets
118-105 win vs. Mavericks
31 pts, 11-21 FG, 3-3 3-pt FG, 6-6 FT

Steve Blake, Trail Blazers
111-95 loss at Warriors
22 pts, 8-12 FG, 4-5 3-pt FG, 2-2 FT

Nuggets All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony isn't a regular resident of this box. He has just 19 double-doubles this season, or one less than this rookie. But in Thursday's home win over Dallas, Anthony had one of the best all-around games of his five-year career with 32 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Anthony made 11-of-20 shots and also got to the foul line, making 10-of-14 free throws. The assists were one off his season high and two off his career high.

Ricky Davis, Heat
85-69 loss at Pistons
7 pts, 2-9 FG, 0-3 3-pt FG

Kasib Powell, Heat
85-69 loss at Pistons
2 pts, 1-8 FG, 0-3 3-pt FG

Travis Outlaw, Trail Blazers
111-95 loss at Warriors
9 pts, 3-10 FG

A synopsis of what has happened to the Dallas Mavericks probably cannot be summed up as easily as this one of their NFL neighbors. However, Thursday's unadulterated unraveling at Denver - in which Dallas scored just 35 points in the second half of a 118-105 loss - pushed the Mavericks to the precipice of the playo ff picture. The Mavericks are seventh in the West, one-half game ahead of Golden State and one game ahead of ninth-place Denver, which owns the tiebreaker. Since acquiring Jason Kidd, Dallas has an inexcusable 0-9 record against winning teams. The Mavericks have 10 games left, seven against teams with winning records. The gauntlet begins - without Dirk Nowitzki - on Saturday at Golden State, which visits Dallas on Wednesday. There also are road games against the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix and Portland. Only San Antonio has a longer current stretch of postseason trips than the seven by Dallas, which began the season with title aspirations and mortgaged its future on Kidd. But if the Mavericks can't beat a winning team, a short film about their demise may be appearing on YouTube.

For years, the city of Detroit has cranked out a seemingly endless supply of two staples of American life: automobiles and great music. Now there is a third item coming out of Motown on a regular basis - division titles by the Pistons. Thursday's 85-69 home victory over Miami allowed Detroit to clinch its fourth straight Central Division title with slightly less than three weeks left in the season. "It means a lot," said guard Chauncey Billups, who helped cover for the injured Richard Hamilton with 13 points and 11 assists. "Every year, we're picked to finish second, third, maybe even fourth, but at the end, we're in first. That feels good." At times this season, the Pistons have seemed less than totally committed to the grind of the regular season. Just last week, they suffered consecutive dispirited losses to Cleveland and Washington in which they scored a combined 156 points. But this core of players has reached the Eastern Conference finals five straight years - including an NBA title in 2004 - so for many of them, the real season starts next month, when they should be seeded second behind Boston.

Just over a week ago, Blake Ahearn was toiling for the Dakota Wizards when he got the call every D-League player hopes for: an NBA team executive offering a 10-day contract. Ahearn signed with the injury-riddled Miami Heat and immediately became part of the rotation, scoring five points in his debut. Entering Thursday's game at Detroit, the 6-2 guard with the sweet stroke had missed 12 straight shots over three-plus games but broke out for 15 points in an 85-69 loss. Whether Ahearn leaves enough of an impression on the Heat or another watchful team remains to be seen. But for the rest of his life, he will be able to say the words everyone who loves the game dreams about: I played in the NBA.

Pistons vice president Joe Dumars refused to re-sign Chris Webber and traded big men Nazr Mohammed and Primoz Brezec because of his belief in one player: Jason Maxiell. The 6-7, 260-pound forward spent most of his first two seasons watching but has been the first big off the bench this season as has rewarded Dumars' faith by averaging 7.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 21.4 minutes, all career highs. In Thursday's 85-69 home win over Miami, Maxiell was extremely solid with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, adding seven rebounds and a block. With the playoffs just about three weeks away, Maxiell will be a key element in Detroit's quest to reach the Eastern Conference finals for a sixth straight year.

It was Dollar Beer Night at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa on Thursday night, so to ensure matters didn't get out of control, Energy guard Shannon Brown put up some sobering statistics. Assigned to the D-League by the Chicago Bulls after being acquired in a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brown erupted for 34 points on 12-of-23 shooting, including 3-of-6 from the arc, while making all seven of his free throws. The 6-4 guard pulled down 14 rebounds and handed out eight assists, just missing the ninth triple-double in the D-League this season. Brown even added two blocks and a steal for good measure in the 133-121 win over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants that snapped a four-game slide.