SCOREBOARD
Monday, Dec. 31
Toronto at New Orleans (8 p.m. EST). Chris Paul of the Hornets is averaging 24.6 points and 10.0 assists in December.
STARS
Saturday
-David West, Hornets, had 27 points and 15 rebounds in a 86-76 win over Cleveland.
-Yao Ming, Rockets, scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Houston to a 91-79 victory over Toronto.
– Hedo Turkoglu, Magic, scored a season-high 28 points in Orlando’s 104-95 win against Charlotte.
SNAPPED
Dallas beat Atlanta 97-84 on Saturday to snap the Hawks’ longest winning streak in eight years. Atlanta was trying to win six in a row for the first time since late in the 1998-99 season, the last time the Hawks made the playoffs and finished with a winning record.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Jason Richardson finished with 34 points, but Charlotte lost to Orlando 104-95 on Saturday. … Michael Redd scored 35 points in Milwaukee’s 97-95 loss to New Jersey. …
ICE COLD
Miami lost 96-74 to Washington on Saturday, it was the lowest point total for the Heat – or any Wizards opponent – this season.
SLUMPING
Charlotte has lost 10 straight road games after a 104-95 loss at Orlando on Saturday.
STREAKING
New Orleans has won five in a row following a 86-76 victory over Cleveland. … Detroit beat Indiana 98-92 for their eighth straight victory. … Boston beat Utah 104-98 for its fifth straight victory and 14th of its last 15 games.
TRADE
Philadelphia acquired guard Gordan Giricek and a conditional first-round draft pick from Utah for guard Kyle Korver on Saturday. Giricek, 6-foot-5, averaged 4.3 points in 22 games for the Jazz this season and has career average of 9.8 in six seasons. Korver averaged 10.0 points in 25 games with the 76ers and was their top 3-point threat. Korver played four seasons with Philadelphia, averaging 10.5 points and shooting 42 percent.
SPEAKING
“One positive point about tonight’s game is that this is the last game of 2007. It’s been a bad year. Hopefully, with the start of the new year, things will change – if we get healthy.” – Coach Pat Riley after Miami’s fourth consecutive defeat dropped it to 39-48 during the soon-to-end calendar year. The Heat lost to Washington 96-74 on Saturday.