• 1. UNO
  Gasol Helps End Losing Streaks
• 2. TWO
  Turkoglu Hits Crucial Shot
• 3. TROIS
  Yao, Sick and Still Successful
• 4. SI
  Duncan Helps Spurs Bounce Back
• 5. CINCO
  Kleiza is a Spark Off the Bench
• 6. SIX
  Deng Plays Well Under New Coach
• 7. SETTE
  Dirk Has His Best Game
• 8. ACHT
  Varejao Important to Cleveland
• 9. JIU
  Udrih Has Assist of the Night
• 10. TEN
  Kirilenko Recognized for Feed

Gasol Helps End Losing Streaks

"Sometimes you inherit things," Memphis' coach Marc Iavaroni said to the Memphis Commercial Appeal in reference to the Grizzlies 12-year losing streak against the Pacers on the road. On Wednesday night Memphis ended both the 12-year streak and their recent five game losing streak. The Grizzlies were paced by leader Pau Gasol who registered 30 points and 12 rebounds. After defeating the Pacers 90-72, the Spanish import told the Memphis Commercial Appeal, "It's definitely a good way to start out the (new) year," Gasol said. "We need to continue this hard work and attitude because we've got to find some consistency."

1. Gasol Helps End Losing Streaks

"Sometimes you inherit things," Memphis' coach Marc Iavaroni said to the Memphis Commercial Appeal in reference to the Grizzlies 12-year losing streak against the Pacers on the road. On Wednesday night Memphis ended both the 12-year streak and their recent five game losing streak. The Grizzlies were paced by leader Pau Gasol who registered 30 points and 12 rebounds. After defeating the Pacers 90-72, the Spanish import told the Memphis Commercial Appeal, "It's definitely a good way to start out the (new) year," Gasol said. "We need to continue this hard work and attitude because we've got to find some consistency."

2. Turkoglu Hits Crucial Shot

Hedo Turkoglu was not having a good New Year's Eve. Against the Bulls, he missed seven of his first eight shots, he failed to nail what could have been a game-winner in regulation time and he committed seven turnovers. The Turkey native made up for it late. Turkoglu redeemed himself on the final play of the game when he hit a fadeaway jumper with 0.7 seconds left in overtime to help the Magic defeat the Bulls 112-110. Turkoglu told the Orlando Sentinel, "It doesn't matter if you miss 30 in a row. You just forget them because you always get another chance. I got mine, and now I don't remember all those bad passes I threw to nobody. All the bad is forgotten."

3. Yao, Sick and Still Successful

Suffering from flu like symptoms, Yao Ming explained to the AP, "I had some problems breathing. I felt like I had a lot of fluid in my lungs and in my nose." Despite his season-high eight turnovers Yao played hard and well, leading Houston to a 91-79 victory over Toronto. Posting a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds, the Chinese import remained focus despite his illness. Teammate Rafer Alston discussed the importance of Yao's presence on the floor to the Houston Chronicle , "The thing about Yao is he's a willing passer," Alston said. "We know even when we're going into him a lot to score, we're also going into him to make plays. You can't ask to play with a better superstar than Yao." You can spot the superstar on magazine stands everywhere as he sports the cover of Newsweek magazine. Inside the magazine, writer Melinda Liu discusses her 30-year journey in China in her article, "Mao to Now."

4. Duncan Helps Spurs Bounce Back

After trailing by as much as 12 in the first quarter, the Spurs could not have defeated the Grizzlies without Tim Duncan's stellar performance. Contributing 24 points, a game-high 17 rebounds along with seven dimes, Duncan helped the Spurs to bounce back from a disappointing opening quarter to claim a 111-87 victory. Scoring all but six of his points in the second half, Duncan helped his team maintain the lead throughout the final two quarters of the matchup. Memphis' coach Marc Iavaroni discussed the second half with the Memphis Commercial-Appeal as he said, "We were feeling good about ourselves. ... But in the second half, (the Spurs) asserted themselves."

5. Kleiza is a Spark Off the Bench

Wild and crazy were the adjectives Nuggets coach George Karl used to describe the Golden State Warriors after defeating the fast paced team 124-120. In the high scoring matchup, Linas Kleiza was a spark off the bench for the Nuggets, registering 15 points in 24 minutes. With 1:32 remaining in the third, Kleiza nailed a three to help Denver reach the century mark. Nuggets assistant coach John Welch spoke about Linas Kleiza to the Denver Post . He explained, "L.K. is an energy player. He can come in and runs every time, get offensive rebounds. This year, he's starting to go to the basket more, attacking the rim. (When) he does that, he's tough to stop."

6. Deng Plays Well Under New Coach

Friday night was the beginning of a new era for the Chicago Bulls. As their new coach Jim Boylan made his coaching debut, the Bulls defeated the Bucks 103-99. With his third double-double of the season, forward Luol Deng paced the Bulls with 28 points and 10 rebounds. The Sudan native explained to the Chicago Sun Times, "We definitely needed the win, but the best thing was the effort. I think even when they made a run and we had silly mistakes, we just stayed positive and kept playing hard. There have been a lot of things going on with the way we've been playing, the coach change. I definitely didn't want to come out, have a slow start as a team and hear it from the crowd. We wanted to come out and be aggressive." On Wednesday night, Deng continued to play aggressively, posting a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds in Chicago's 109-97 win over Charlotte. In the same game, Deng received the Assist of the Night honor for his feed to Joe Smith.

Video: Deng received the Assist of the Night honor