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Cavs’ Gibson likely out a few more days

CLEVELAND (AP)—Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson could be sidelined for a fewmore days with a neck infection that landed him in a Boston hospital.

Gibson was released Tuesday from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with a“soft tissue” infection in his neck. Gibson stayed behind after the teamplayed the Celtics on Sunday night. The 25-year-old is being treated withantibiotics.

Cavs coach Byron Scott said Gibson will undergo more tests Wednesday inCleveland.

“He’s feeling a lot better,” Scott said before the Cavs hosted theCeltics. “I do know the Cleveland Clinic (doctors) are going to do more teststo make sure everything is OK. But other than that, we’re just glad he’s OK.”

Scott said Gibson’s return to the floor will be determined after he’sevaluated by team doctors. The Cavs play at Orlando on Friday and host Dallas onSaturday.

With both Gibson and Anthony Parker (back) out, rookie Mychel Thompson madehis first career start at shooting guard against the Celtics.

Thompson played the entire fourth quarter in Cleveland’s comeback win onSunday in Boston, and Scott was impressed with the youngster’s poise.

“He’ll be fine with the veterans we have out there,” Scott said ofThompson, whose father, Mychal, was a No. 1 overall pick and played 12 seasonsin the NBA. “I thought he was excited to get in and play. When I called hisname I looked dead at him and didn’t get the deer-in-the-headlights look. Hejust took his shirt off like he was ready to go and he went out there and playedthat way.”

Parker doesn’t know when he’ll be back. He’s had a back issue for severalweeks and he aggravated the ailment in the first quarter on Sunday.

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Publisher: Phil Jackson writing memoir

NEW YORK (AP)—Phil Jackson’s next title will be on the cover of his newbook.

Penguin Press says Tuesday that Jackson, the Hall of Famer who won 11 NBAchampionships as coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, is writinghis memoir called “Eleven Rings.”

The book is tentatively scheduled to be out next year.

The 66-year-old Jackson is a 1,155-game winner whose career .704 winningpercentage is the best in NBA history.

He retired from coaching after last season after the Lakers were swept inthe playoffs by the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks.

Jackson previously wrote “The Last Season,” published in 2004.

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Griffin’s dunk wows, Clips top Thunder

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Blake Griffin’s jaw-dropping one-handed jam over KendrickPerkins sent Los Angeles Clippers fans into a frenzy, fired up his teammates,lit up the Twitterverse and burned the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Griffin had 22 points to go with Chris Paul’s 26 points and 14 assists in a112-100 victory Monday night that snapped the Thunder’s four-game winning streakin a matchup of division leaders.

Griffin downplayed his monster move after the game, a sly smile only brieflybreaking his serious expression.

“CP commands so much attention out there. He came off the pick-and-roll andhe hit me in stride,” Griffin said.

Related Video Griffin's monster dunk

Griffin's monster dunk

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Paul added: “I told Blake after the game, `Thanks for letting me be part ofthat.”’

DeAndre Jordan grabbed Griffin from behind in a celebratory bear hug as thebasket got replayed over and over in the third quarter.

Jordan, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds, couldn’t help himself.

“I was shocked. I didn’t know what to do, so I just grabbed him. I hit himkind of hard,” he said. “I’m going to go home and watch it again. It’sprobably going to be the screensaver on my phone.”

Griffin said he knew he’d made an impression judging by the crowd’s raucousresponse. Then he felt Jordan behind him.

“He armlocked me,” Griffin said. “I couldn’t breathe.”

The reaction on Twitter came fast and furious.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald tweeted: “Blake Griffinjust made one of the top dunks of the season. Maybe even his career. (hashtag)Beast.”

Tracy McGrady of the Atlanta Hawks weighed in with “yo, crazy crazy dunk bythe dude Blake Griffin.”

Even Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-wife was impressed.

Shaunie O’Neal tweeted: “OMG!!! Did y’all just see Blake Griffin dunk!!!!!Daaayyyummm!”

Paul had 26 points and 14 assists, Caron Butler also had 22 points, ChaunceyBillups scored 13 and Mo Williams 12 as the Pacific-leading Clippers dunked withhigh-flying abandon against the team with the NBA’s best record at 16-4. Theywon their third in a row to follow up a 109-105 victory at Denver a nightearlier that began a stretch of five games in seven nights.

“We’re not going to read too much into it,” Paul said of the back-to-backwins. “It let us know what we’re capable of. We can explode offensively.”

Kevin Durant had 36 points and 13 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook added 31for the Northwest-leading Thunder, whose league-best road record dropped to 8-3.They had won 11 of their previous 12.

“Chris Paul was running around, getting what he wanted to get on the floorand making passes to guys for wide-open dunks and 3s,” Durant said. “It’stough to stop.”

Griffin’s monster mash had everyone talking and tweeting, but the Clippersput together a stunning sequence going into halftime.

They shocked the Thunder with four consecutive 3-pointers in less than aminute to lead 64-46. The flurry by Williams (two), Butler (one) and Billups(one) stopped the Thunder’s 11-2 run that had drawn them within six points.

“I told Mo that might have been the greatest exchange I have been part ofsince I’ve been in the NBA,” Paul said. “That got the crowd into it. Four 3sin under a minute is unbelievable.”

Jordan said: “We were just hot. It really didn’t look like it was real. Wewere on a high, but we knew we had to come out in the third and knock them outflat.”

The Thunder bumbled their way into the half, with Westbrook and Durantcombining on three straight turnovers that led to the Clippers’ long-rangefireworks. Williams and Butler had two steals in the run.

“That doesn’t happen, and it probably won’t happen again the rest of theyear, that a team will make that many 3s in a minute,” Thunder coach ScottBrooks said. “But they made the shots. They started the game with a lot ofurgency and they had us back on our heels.”

Los Angeles shot 71 percent from long range in a half that also featured aseries of huge dunks by Jordan, Griffin, Durant and Westbrook, although bothteams missed their share of dunks, too.

Daequan Cook was the only other Oklahoma City player in double figures with12 points. Durant and Westbrook scored all but two of the Thunder’s 25 points inthe third quarter, which the Clippers ended on a 3-pointer by Paul to lead90-70.

Durant and Westbrook began the fourth on the bench, although they both stoodup when Cook hit his second 3-pointer of the period to get the Thunder to 95-81.Griffin then scored five in a row, capped by a two-handed jam that extended theClippers’ lead to 100-81.

The Thunder outscored Los Angeles 30-22 in the fourth, but never made a bigrun to get close.

The Clippers made 13 3-pointers—just off their season high of 14 againstDenver on Sunday.

They made 10 3s in the first half, led by four from Butler, who connectedfrom his favorite spot in the left corner.

The Thunder’s only lead was four points to start the game.

Notes: Butler reached the 10,000-point mark on his third 3-pointer in thefirst quarter. … Durant and Westbrook have scored at least 25 points each 37times in their four seasons together. … The Clippers improved to 10-2 at home.… It was the Clippers’ 12th consecutive sellout this season and 24th in a rowoverall dating to last season. The crowd of 19,404 included Larry King and LosAngeles Angels pitcher Dan Haren.

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Cavs Gs Gibson, Parker out vs. Celtics

INDEPENDENCE. Ohio (AP)—Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson remainedhospitalized in Boston for more tests on a neck infection.

Gibson was at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he was beingtreated with antibiotics for what the team said has been diagnosed as a softtissue infection in his neck. The team said Monday night that Gibson would stayin the hospital for additional treatment and tests.

Gibson, who has been with the Cavs since 2006, did not play in Sundaynight’s win over the Celtics because of a sore neck. He stayed behind after theteam returned to Cleveland following the game.

Both Gibson and starting guard Anthony Parker will miss Tuesday’s home gameagainst Boston, and Cavs coach Byron Scott doesn’t know how long he’ll bewithout the two players.

Parker has been bothered by a sore lower back, which limited him to 14minutes in Sunday’s win over the Celtics. Parker sat out Monday’s practice asthe team prepared for their second game in three days with the Celtics.

Scott said Parker was hurting early in the game at Boston.

“I just remember him going up and down the floor a couple times and he waskind of grimacing,” Scott said. “Then he gave me the sign to take him out. Idon’t think it had to do with playing 10 minutes in the first quarter.”

Parker, who is averaging 6 points and 23 minutes, sat out one game last weekbecause of his back.

The Cavs don’t have many options to replace Parker or Gibson, who startedthe game Parker sat out.

Rookie Mychel Thompson played the entire fourth quarter on Sunday againstthe Celtics. Also, 6-foot-6 Alonzo Gee, who has been playing small forward,could move into the backcourt as he has done at times this season.

There’s also a chance the team could recall Manny Harris from their Cantonaffiliate in the NBA Development League. Harris was named the D-League’s playerof the week after averaging 25 points and 7.3 rebounds in three games.

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Suns without star G Nash against Mavs

PHOENIX (AP)—The Phoenix Suns are without star point guard Steve Nash forMonday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.

The 37-year-old two-time NBA MVP bruised his left thigh when he took a kneefrom Marc Gasol in the final seconds of the Suns’ 86-84 victory over Memphis onSaturday night.

Dallas was without point guard Jason Kidd for the second straight gamebecause of a strained right calf.

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Heat shake off slow start, beat Hornets

MIAMI (AP)—LeBron James and Dwyane Wade each scored 22 points, Mike Milleradded 14 off the bench and the Miami Heat shook off a slow start to run awayfrom the New Orleans Hornets 109-95 on Monday night.

James added 11 rebounds and eight assists for Miami, which won for theeighth time in nine games and ended up with six players in double figures. ChrisBosh and Norris Cole each scored 12 for the Heat, and Mario Chalmers added 11.

Miami was down 45-33 midway through the second quarter, then outscored NewOrleans 76-50 the rest of the way.

Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry each scored 14 for New Orleans, which lost forthe 17th time in 19 games after a 2-0 start. Emeka Okafor scored 13 points andGreivis Vasquez added 11 for the Hornets, who only managed 25 rebounds—thelowest total in the NBA this season. Miami had 39 rebounds, and James had moreby himself than any two Hornets combined.

New Orleans Hornets head coach… AP – Jan 30, 10:14 pm EST Miami Heat ' Chris Bosh gi… AP – Jan 30, 10:09 pm EST New Orleans Hornets ' Al-F… AP – Jan 30, 10:09 pm EST New Orleans Hornets ' Trev… AP – Jan 30, 9:18 pm EST New Orleans Hornets ' Trev… AP – Jan 30, 9:18 pm EST Miami Heat ' Dwyane Wade (… AP – Jan 30, 9:12 pm EST Miami Heat ' Dwyane Wade (… AP – Jan 30, 9:09 pm EST Miami Heat ' LeBron James … AP – Jan 30, 9:03 pm EST 1 of 8 NO-Mia Gallery

There were all sorts of indicators suggesting that Miami would get off to aless-than-ideal start.

It was Miami’s third game in four nights, though all were at home. Monday’stip-off came about 24 hours after Sunday’s down-to-the-wire epic againstChicago, where the Heat win wasn’t secure until 0.1 seconds remained. And thesecond night of back-to-backs have been trouble all season for Miami, which hadbeen 3-3 in those contests—including both of its home defeats, those comingagainst Atlanta and Milwaukee.

So sure enough, the Heat started slowly—and found themselves in a 12-pointhole against a team with the worst record in the Western Conference.

New Orleans made 10 of its first 11 shots, then used a 16-6 run in thesecond quarter to build what was a 45-33 lead after Xavier Henry connected on a3-pointer. With that, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called time-out.

Whatever he said in that huddle worked wonders.

When play resumed, Wade got going, and the game changed for good. Wadescored 11 straight Miami points to erase the deficit almost single-handedly—13out of 15 points as well, assisting a basket by James to account for the othertwo—and the Heat went into halftime up 51-49.

They were just getting started.

Less than a minute into the third quarter, Hornets coach Monty Williams wascalling time-out, sensing the game was slipping away.

And it was.

Miami scored the first nine points of the third, stretching the lead to60-49 and capping what was a 27-4 run over a span of less than eight minutes.James scored 14 points in the quarter, Chalmers made all three of his shots—all from 3-point range—and the Miami lead was up to 87-68 by the end of theperiod.

By then, the only drama left was whether James would get his 33rd careertriple-double. Instead, he got the fourth quarter off.

Notes: Justin Bieber, who has been the subject of more than a few tweetsposted by Heat owner Micky Arison, was in attendance. … Williams had highpraise for the Heat before the game, especially Spoelstra. “Spo doesn’t getenough credit in my opinion for the ability to coach talent, supreme talent,every night,” Williams said. … Miller—no stranger to injury problems in hisHeat tenure—was grabbing at his right hand late in the first quarter andgrimacing in pain, but stayed in the game. … James became the 17th player inNBA history with 17,000 points, 4,500 rebounds and 4,500 assists. Of the first16, 13 are Hall of Famers already, the others being Gary Payton, Kevin Garnettand Kobe Bryant, all sure-fire Hall entrants one day.

Surprising 76ers defeat stumbling Magic

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead thesurprising Philadelphia 76ers to their third straight win, 74-69 over theOrlando Magic on Monday night.

The Sixers raced to their best start in nearly a decade by taking advantageof a soft schedule for the first third of the season, but it gets tough fromhere. Orlando was the first opponent in a long run of games against winningteams that includes home games this week against Chicago and Miami.

Led by Iguodala’s burst in the third quarter, the Sixers (15-6) outlastedthe stumbling Magic and won despite posting their lowest point total of theseason. Dwight Howard’s 17 points and 11 rebounds weren’t enough in Orlando’sfourth straight loss.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach … AP – Jan 30, 10:22 pm EST Philadelphia 76ers ' Thadd… AP – Jan 30, 10:02 pm EST Philadelphia 76ers ' Andre… AP – Jan 30, 9:58 pm EST Orlando Magic coach Stan Van G… AP – Jan 30, 8:52 pm EST Philadelphia 76ers ' Elton… AP – Jan 30, 8:52 pm EST 1 of 5 Orl-Phi Gallery

Howard wants out of Orlando and criticized his teammates Friday for notplaying hard enough in a loss to New Orleans. He missed eight of 13 free throwsoverall against Philadelphia and the Magic missed 14 of 17 shots from the floorin the third. Ryan Anderson had 14 points and 20 rebounds.

The Magic missed nine straight shots during a 6-minute stretch in the thirdthat allowed the Sixers to build a double-digit lead. Jodie Meeks hit a3-pointer for a 53-40 lead and the 76ers withstood three late 3s by Orlando thattrimmed the final margin.

The Magic scored only nine points in the third quarter. Howard had all threebaskets.

With 6 minutes left in the game, the Magic had yet to reach 50 points.

Long the fourth pro team in Philadelphia, the improved Sixers are winningback fans one victory at a time. They improved to 11-2 at home in front one oftheir largest crowds of the season (16,299). Heading into a timeout in thethird, the Atlantic Division leaders walked off toward the huddle to a standingovation.

Coming off a triple-double against Detroit on Saturday, Iguodala fell fourassists shy of a repeat effort. The rest of the Sixers struggled to score, butPhiladelphia didn’t need to do much against an Orlando team that has completelyunraveled.

Sixers first year CEO Adam Aron conducted as he mingled with fans and theteam’s retro theme song was blasted for the enthusiastic crowd. Aron and the newownership group have overhauled the game-night atmosphere, but the biggestchange has come on the court.

They’ll need more than a catchy tune to get through the next two weeks.After Chicago and Miami, the Sixers play Saturday at Atlanta. They return homenext week for games against the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and LosAngeles Clippers.

Fans yelled “On the list!” at Howard, a reference to placing the Sixers onhis short list of teams where he’d like to be traded.

Before the game, Howard walked around the locker room with a brick in eachhand, playfully swinging them around and yelling, “I’m going to knock somebodyin the head!”

He shot more bricks from the free throw line, not a total surpriseconsidering he shoots 46 percent from the line.

Evan Turner scored 12 points for the Sixers and Thaddeus Young had 10.

Notes: Magic point guard Jameer Nelson did not travel with the team,sidelined with concussion-like symptoms after taking an inadvertent blow to thehead and jaw in Orlando’s loss at New Orleans on Friday. Coach Stan Van Gundysaid Nelson could be sidelined another week. … The 76ers played again withoutstarting center Spencer Hawes (left Achilles strain) and his backup, rookie NikVucevic (left quad strain). … Iguodala moved into fourth place on the team’scareer steals list, passing Charles Barkley. … Orlando’s nine points in thethird was the low against Philly for a quarter.

Rose’s 35 carry Bulls over Wizards 98-88

WASHINGTON (AP)—Derrick Rose scored a season-high 35 points, Carlos Boozerhad 18 and Kyle Korver added 17 to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 98-88 win overthe Washington Wizards on Monday night.

One day after a four-point loss in Miami, the Bulls rebounded to improvetheir Eastern Conference-leading record to 18-5. They had lost two of their lastthree.

Meanwhile, the Wizards have lost 16 of 20. Washington won two of itsprevious three games—both against the woeful Charlotte Bobcats, who have theworst record in the NBA.

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Rose, who was 10 for 20 from the field and 14 of 15 from the free-throwline, had 34 points in his previous two games. He had 13 in the first quarterfor the Bulls, who never trailed.

John Wall led the Wizards with 20 points, while Nick Young had 17 and JaValeMcGee scored 16.

Chicago quickly opened up a 21-10 lead and had a 26-16 advantage after thefirst quarter. Midway through the second, the Wizards scored seven straight tocut the lead to 36-30, but the Bulls stretched their lead to 51-40 at halftime.Korver had 14 in the first half, including four 3-pointers.

Chicago ran off 11 straight points in the third quarter to take a 70-49 leadwith 5:24 left. Rose had 15 of the Bulls’ 25 points in the third.

Rose was upset about Chicago’s loss on Sunday—when he missed a pair of keythrows and a potential tying jumper in the final 30 seconds—and vowed not tolet it happen again before Monday’s game.

“If I ever get in that position again, I know it will be totally different.Yesterday isn’t going to do anything but make me stronger as a player,” Rosesaid.

Against Washington, Rose came out quickly—hitting six of eight from thefield in the first quarter.

When the teams last met on Jan. 11, the Wizards scored just 64 points—fewest in franchise history. They lost that game by 14. This game was slightlymore competitive for Washington, but it never seriously challenged in the secondhalf.

Early in the fourth, the Bulls led by 19, but Washington cut it to eightwith 6:50 to play. Boozer hit three straight baskets, and Chicago led 92-78.

Notes: Wizards F Andray Blatche will miss three-to-five weeks with astrained left calf, coach Randy Wittman announced before the game. …Washington recalled C Hamady Ndiaye from Iowa of the D-League. … The Bullsplayed without G Richard Hamilton (right thigh) and F Luol Deng (left wrist). Itwas the fifth straight game Deng missed. … This was the second of a nine-gameroad trip for Chicago—its longest since 1992-93. … The Bulls have won sevenstraight between the teams. … The attendance was 18,357—highest of theseason.

Jazz without Jefferson, Bell vs. Blazers

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)—Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson and guard Raja Bell aresitting out against the Portland Trail Blazers because of injury.

Small forward Josh Howard, acquired as free agent after the NBA lockoutended, was set to make his first start Monday night for the Jazz.

Gordon Hayward moves from small forward to shooting guard in place of Bell,and second-year pro Derrick Favors starts in place of Jefferson. It is Favors’fifth start this season.

Jefferson, bothered by inflammation in his right ankle, leads the Jazz inscoring at 17.9 points per game and is second in rebounding with a 9.0 average.

Bell had started every game this season but strained his right adductorSaturday against Sacramento. He is averaging 5.9 points and 1.4 rebounds a game.

Howard has averaged 8.9 points and 2.9 rebounds off the bench.

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Wizards F Blatche to miss 3 to 5 weeks

WASHINGTON (AP)—Wizards forward Andray Blatche will be out three to fiveweeks because of a strained left calf.

Washington coach Randy Wittman made the announcement before Monday night’sgame against Chicago.

Blatche was injured in Saturday’s win in Charlotte. After an MRI exam, hewas advised to stay off his feet.

Blatche missed three games earlier this month with a sprained rightshoulder. He was averaging 10 points and seven rebounds per game.

Since Wittman became coach last week, Blatche had been coming off the bench.To help replace him, Washington recalled center Hamady Ndiaye from Iowa of theD-League.

The Bulls will be without Richard Hamilton (right thigh) and Luol Deng (leftwrist). It’s the fifth straight game Deng has missed.

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