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STAT SHEET STUFFER
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The 76ers dropped a tough one in overtime, but Chris Webber certainly kept Philly in it, racking up 32 points on 13-of-22 shooting to go with 11 rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots.
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RICK KAMLA'S FANTASY TAKE
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"With Ricky Davis' scoring average falling from 22.0 to 19.7 to 17.2 month by month, the trade to Minnesota can only bolster his sagging value. Look for 20-5-5 the rest of the way from Ricky D."
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SIXTH MAN OF THE NIGHT
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Phoenix forward James Jones rose to the occasion in his hometown of Miami, particularly in the second quarter, when he scored 17 of his 20 points. He added six rebounds and a block in the Suns' 107-98 win.
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GAME OF THE NIGHT
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Steve Francis and the Orlando Magic kept a good thing going in Philadelphia, extending their winning streak to a season-high five games with a 119-115 overtime victory Thursday night. In a nip-and-tuck fourth quarter, Keyon Dooling and Hedo Turkoglu hit big shots in the final 90 seconds of regulation, with Turkoglu's coming off one of Francis' career-high 15 assists. A pair of Pat Garrity 3-pointers kick-started the Magic in OT (see Cool/Clutch Performance below), and Dooling's two free throws with 1:08 left put Orlando ahead to stay. "It's a big win for us," Magic coach Brian Hill said. "We haven't done great on the road this year. ... We made some huge shots and we got some stops when we needed them."
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QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
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"I really don't have an answer for that team. We don't have a defensive game for them. I think you need to play them four, five or six times to realize exactly what it is that you need to do to try and stop them."
-- Miami head coach Pat Riley after a 107-98 home loss to Phoenix. The Suns swept the season series.
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STORYLINES OF THE NIGHT
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 1. It's Officially Trading Season
Were teams simply waiting for Artest to move? Quite likely. One day after the Ron Artest-for-Peja Stojakovic deal, Minnesota made not one but two trades. The Timberwolves started modestly, sending Nikoloz Tskitishvili to the Suns for a second-round draft pick, but in the evening Kevin McHale and Co. combined on a seven-player blockbuster with the Celtics. Boston landed Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi, Dwayne Jones and a conditional future first-round draft pick; in return, Minnesota got Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, Justin Reed and two second-round draft picks. "Through this trade, we've become a much more athletic team," McHale stated in the Wolves' press release. "With Ricky Davis, we've added one of the more talented shooting guards in the NBA - both on the offensive and defensive ends of the court." Meanwhile, McHale's Boston counterpart, former teammate Danny Ainge, is eager to see Szczerbiak launch threes in Celtic green: "We are ecstatic to acquire a player of Wally Szczerbiak's quality to complement Paul Pierce and our young talent base."
 2. Have a Nice Trip? Actually, It Was Perfect
Avery Johnson, who earlier this week clinched the Western Conference coaching spot at the All-Star Game, could very well be at the helm of Dallas' best contender yet come Western Conference playoff time. The Mavericks wrapped up a 5-0 road trip with Thursday's 104-97 victory in Seattle, their seventh consecutive win overall. Dallas boasts a beyond impressive 18-6 road mark and now finds itself tied with San Antonio for the West's best record at 33-10. On this night, Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 and added 12 rebounds, and the Mavs' defense held one of the league's highest-scoring teams to 44 second-half points. "We were fortunate enough get some stops and play some tough, hard-nosed defense," Johnson said. "This is the fifth win on a five-game road trip. We have been on the road 11 or 12 days and we played some pretty good defense against a team scoring 150, 120 and 115 points, so I am awfully proud of our guys."
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ROOKIE WATCH
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It wasn't exactly a night to remember for Seattle center Johan Petro (two points, five rebounds and a block), but what is noteworthy is his consistent minutes of late. Petro has seen double-digit minutes in all 13 Sonics games this month -- evidence that Bob Hill, named head coach Jan. 3, wants to see what he has in the French 7-footer. On Thursday, Petro played 20 minutes; on Friday, he celebrates his 20th birthday.
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COOL/CLUTCH PERFORMANCE
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Pat Garrity had the hot hand all night in Philadelphia, but saved his two biggest shots for overtime. The Orlando reserve forward, who finished with a season-high 24 points, hit back-to-back 3-pointers from the right corner in the extra session's first 62 seconds. The Magic never trailed in the OT and prevailed 119-115 over the 76ers.
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D-LEAGUE STAR OF THE NIGHT
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Arkansas guard Clay Tucker enjoyed a solid all-around game Thursday night -- 17 points, nine rebounds, six assists -- but he grabbed the D-League spotlight by hitting a last-second jumper that gave the RimRockers a 103-101 triumph at Austin. Tucker hit 7-of-12 from the field overall, 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
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SCOREBOARD: Jan. 26, 2006 |
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION ARCHIVE
Seattle's Damien Wilkins slams on Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse:
