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In NEWSDAY, Anthony Rieber writes, "The Knicks could be without Zach Randolph when they face Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat Sunday night at the Garden. Randolph learned of the death of his grandmother late Friday night and flew to Indiana. Coach Isiah Thomas said Saturday that the power forward is "questionable" for Sunday."

* Washington @ Atlanta

* Miami @ N.Y. Knicks

* New Orleans @ Philadelphia

* Houston @ Charlotte

* Milwaukee @ San Antonio

* Detroit @ Seattle

* Cleveland @ L.A. Clippers

In the HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Jonathan Feigan writes, "Second-year forward Steve Novak will be sent to the Rio Grand Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League on Monday, marking the first time the Rockets have used the option to send first- or second-year players to the D-League."

In the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, Janny Hu writes, "When the NBA descended upon Las Vegas for its All-Star Weekend festivities last season, guard Monta Ellis was the Warriors' lone representative. He was not, however, the only Warrior in town. Kelenna Azubuike and assistant coach Rico Hines were watching Ellis' high-flying act in the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge on television at Baron Davis' Vegas home when their own aspirations took off. 'Next year,' Hines told Azubuike, 'you should be in this.'"

In the TORONTO STAR, Garth Woolsey writes, "Yao Ming is enormous both of stature and newsworthiness, especially so upon his home continent, Asia, and in his homeland, China. Throw him up against another Chinese giant, Milwaukee rookie forward Yi Jianlian, and the entertainment value rockets incrementally. Friday's first NBA regular season meeting of Yao and Yi, in Houston, drew the sort of diplomatic delegations and foreign media coverage usually afforded visiting heads of state. If that were to have been the case, though, the television viewership back home would hardly have matched this one for numbers or hoop-la."

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 10 (AP) -- Kevin Martin had 29 points and Brad Miller added 12 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Sacramento Kings 100-93 over the winless Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

John Salmons had 19 points and three steals for the Kings who were playing at home for the second night in a row.

Al Jefferson had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Rashad McCants came off the bench to score 16 points for Minnesota in a game that was tied 21 times.

Neither team could get much distance after halftime, and Sebastian Telfair made a 3-pointer to send the teams into the fourth quarter tied at 73.

Minnesota took an 89-88 lead on two free throws by rookie Corey Brewer with 4:13 left. But the Kings regained it when Martin hit three straight free throws and Miller made two for a 94-90 lead with 1:28 to play.

McCants hit a 3-pointer on the next possession, but Beno Udrih hit a basket to keep the Timberwolves down by three.

After Garcia won a jump ball, Miller tipped in a missed basket to seal the victory.

Notes: After 354 sellouts at ARCO Arena over an eight-year period, the Kings failed for the third consecutive home game to fill the seats to capacity. ... Saturday night's announced crowd against the Timberwolves was 13,170. ... Sacramento Kings rookie Spencer Hawes made his NBA debut in the second quarter. ... The Kings 10th pick in the first round, Hawes had arthroscopic surgery in October on his right knee. Hawes finished with 2 points in six minutes

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PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 10 (AP) -- The NBA's Rookie of the Year sure showed up the league's Most Valuable Player.

Brandon Roy scored a career-high 32 points and added seven assists and the Portland Trail Blazers ended a 13-game losing streak to the Dallas Mavericks with a 91-82 victory Saturday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers (3-3), who extended their modest winning streak to three games after dropping the first three of the season.

Josh Howard had 20 points for Dallas (4-2), which had won its last three.

Dallas had won the previous 13 games against the Trail Blazers, a streak dating to the 2003-04 season, including a six-game winning streak at the Rose Garden.

"This is a huge win for us. We said it was a statement game for us,'' said Roy, last season's Rookie of the Year. "We didn't care how Dallas was going to come in here and play, we just wanted to play with a big effort. They beat us 13 times and we didn't want it to be 14.''

The streak was a franchise record for the Mavericks over a single opponent. It was the Trail Blazers' fourth-worst losing streak against an opponent - they lost 17 straight to the Los Angeles Lakers in their early expansion years.

The Blazers held Dirk Nowitzki to 11 points, although last season's MVP had nine rebounds. He looked tired and hit just four of 13 field goals.

Nowitzki came into the game averaging 21.6 points.

The Blazers led by as many as 18 points, paced by Roy, and shot 50 percent from the floor. The Mavericks shot 35.4 percent.

"We missed a lot of shots,'' Howard said. "I don't think we could buy a basket tonight.''

The Blazers led by as many as eight points in the first half, and while the Mavericks kept it close, they were never able to pull out in front.

The Blazers went up 30-22 on Joel Przybilla's dunk, but the Mavericks pulled within 32-30 on Brandon Bass' jumper. That was as close as Dallas would come the rest of the way.

The Blazers, who led 49-42 at the break, extended the lead to 53-42 on Roy's jumper from the corner.

Roy' 3-pointer put Portland ahead 59-44. Another 3-pointer put the Blazers up 88-70 in the final quarter.

"I think Brandon had one of his better games from wire-to-wire. I didn't think he forced it,'' Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "Tonight he got it going early and just continued to the end. He was just more consistent, sometimes he's had cold halves and then takes over late. Tonight I thought he developed a flow to his game throughout.''

As time wound down, the fans at the Rose Garden awarded the Blazers with a standing ovation. Roy, last season's Rookie of the Year, raised his fists to the sky.

Travis Outlaw had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Mavericks were without guard Devin Harris, who was not with the team to attend to personal matters. Dallas started Jose Barea in his place.

The Mavericks were coming off a 120-115 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

"We just didn't have it tonight,'' Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "The other team was better. We can't just show up and expect to win. We need our hard hats on and our thinking caps on every night and we just didn't have it tonight.''

The Blazers were coming off a 110-98 victory over Memphis on Friday night.

Notes: Dallas G Jason Terry is the cousin of Blazers forward Martell Webster. ... Before the game, Portland G Brandon Roy formally received his Rookie of the Year trophy from last season. ... The Blazers won 13 games straight against the Mavericks from 1991-94. ... Roy's previous career best was 29 points.
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CHICAGO, Nov. 10 (AP) -- The Bulls' dismal start has T.J. Ford confused.

Carlos Delfino scored 16 points and Chris Bosh added 14 points and six rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors beat the listless Chicago Bulls 101-71 on Saturday night.

The Raptors made quick work out of the Bulls despite playing their fourth game in five nights.

"What's going on with this team?'' Ford said.

Ford had 14 assists and Andrea Bargnani scored 14 points for Toronto, which had its largest win against Chicago in franchise history.

Leading 41-30 at the half, the Raptors opened up the third quarter by outscoring the Bulls 14-1 for a 52-31 lead. Anthony Parker hit a 3 and Jamario Moon stole Luol Deng's bad pass and took it for a breakaway dunk to give the Raptors a 21-point lead that started the boos from the sellout crowd.

Toronto coach Sam Mitchell started Moon to match up against Deng. It was the first start in the league for the 27-year old rookie and he held Deng to 2-of-7 shooting.

"We thought we could use his defense against this team,'' Mitchell said. "I started him because I felt like taking a roll of the dice, I would take a chance tonight.''

Bulls coach Scott Skiles cleared his starters from the floor with 9:35 left in the third quarter, but it didn't help as Parker immediately hit another 3 against the Chicago reserves. Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Ben Wallace, Ben Gordon and Hinrich never returned to the game.

"I never want to do that. On a night when the boo-birds are out I don't want to embarrass the group like that,'' Skiles said. "I thought I would take a gamble right there to see if someone could come into the game and be a catalyst for us. I felt like in unison that group was not performing really well.''

Andres Nocioni led Chicago with 20 points.

The vibe hasn't been good in Chicago since the Bulls were involved in Kobe Bryant trade rumors less than two weeks ago. General manager John Paxson put to rest the Kobe Bryant trade rumors less than a week ago, but some fans continued to chant "Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!'' while the Bulls were down 30-plus points in the third quarter.

"Obviously the Kobe chants is something that never seems like it will never stop being talked about. We understand the crowd's frustration. We're very frustrated as well,'' Hinrich said.

Ford thought the chants have been wearing on the Bulls.

"I'm pretty sure for what it seemed it looked like it kind of affected the guys, but I'm not sure. I'm not in the locker room.''

Notes: Before Saturday's game, the Raptors dropped 15 of their last 17 games against Chicago. ... The restless Bulls fans started the wave in the fourth quarter.


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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Nov. 10 (AP) -- The Boston Celtics won one for Doc Rivers and sent the New Jersey Nets a message in the process.

Hours after attending the funeral of his father in Illinois, Rivers saw the new-look Celtics remain the NBA's only undefeated team and personally show the Nets they are the team to beat in the Atlantic Division with an impressive 112-101 win on Saturday night.

"A long day for me. A tough day for me,'' said Rivers, clad in a dark suit and tie. "I was going to stay at home and my mom said 'Go to the game.' That's what my dad would want. It's still very emotional. I needed this probably more than anybody. I told them that after the game.' '

The victory was the fifth straight for Boston, which is off to its best start since winning six in a row to start the 1987-88 season. That was the last time the trio of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish got to the Eastern Conference finals.

Boston's new big three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen put on another impressive performance against the Nets (4-2).

Pierce, who was scoreless in the first quarter, had 13 of his 28 in the third when Boston turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 21-point margin. Allen added 27 points and Garnett had 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Rivers had told the team on Friday that he did not know whether he would return after attending the funeral of Grady Alexander Rivers Sr., in Mayfield, Ill.

However, the coach walked into the locker room about 75 minutes before the game.

"It was a great boost of confidence,'' Pierce said. "It was a tough situation for him. He could have easily not come. It definitely brought my spirits up when I looked up and I saw him.''

Garnett said having Rivers back gave the team a shot of energy.

"It was a great example,'' Garnett said. "Everybody perked up like little kids when their pops comes through the door. It was a cool moment.''

While the Celtics have become a scoring machine with their new lineup, they also showed they could play defense, holding New Jersey without a field goal for more than eight minutes in the decisive third quarter.

"It's one game,'' said Richard Jefferson, who led the Nets for the sixth straight game with 28 points. "We're not going to play our best ball now. Right now, they are on a roll. They are not going to go undefeated. I will stand by that.''

Vince Carter added 17 before leaving late in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle. Jason Kidd added 17 points, 12 assists and six rebounds.

The Nets trailed by 23 points early in the fourth quarter and never got closer than eight points.

Eddie House added 13 points and Celtics rookie Glen Davis also made a major contribution with six points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes when the game was on the line.

New Jersey got off to a fast start, shooting 67 percent from the field in the first quarter.

Boston took the lead for good midway through the second quarter when Pierce converted a three-point play to ignite a 13-5 spurt. House, a former Nets player was booed when he entered the game, added a 3-pointer in the run, Davis put in a rebound, Kendrick Perkins scored in the lane and Pierce capped the run nailing a wide-open 3-pointer for a 52-45 lead.

The third quarter was all Boston. Pierce hit a layup and scored seven points in a 13-3 spurt to start the period. New Jersey missed its first nine shots and didn't score a basket until Carter drove the lane for a layup with 3:39 left in the period.

A little more than two minutes later Carter was gone. The eight-time All Star drove the lane for a big slam dunk with 1:23 to play. His left foot came down but his right foot rolled after landing on Pierce's foot. He limped off.

Notes: Nets C Nenad Krstic had the misfortune to have a rebound slip out of his hands and go into his own basket. Perkins got credit. ... Garnett got a technical for arguing a call. ... Boston outrebounded New Jersey 49-34. ... Boston F Brian Scalabrine was released from a Massachusetts hospital after being held overnight because of a concussion suffered late in Friday night's game.


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SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 10 (AP) -- Andrei Kirilenko seemed to be everywhere on the court.

The long-armed Russian had four steals, a blocked shot and numerous other tipped passes and deflections on defense. Kirilenko also tallied 15 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists to fall just shy of his third career triple-double to spark the Utah Jazz over the sloppy Memphis Grizzlies 118-94 Saturday night.

Even his top critic praised Kirilenko.

"We were able to pass the ball extremely well and got our hands on the basketball. Andrei, he's played terrific as of late. He made terrific passes and he's played extremely well,'' Utah coach Jerry Sloan said.

Before the season Kirilenko told a Russian newspaper he couldn't enjoy playing for Sloan and would welcome a trade. Now, he's having a ball.

"It was fun. When we up 15-20 points I even had a smile out there. I usually try not to smile because of the concentration, you know,'' Kirilenko said.

"AK's got a great attitude. He's been working hard and it feels like he's everywhere on the court,'' said Carlos Boozer, who led the Jazz with 31 points.

Deron Williams had 20 points and 13 assists of Utah's 34 assists to lead the Jazz to their third win in a row. The Jazz scored 28 fast break points and outscored the Grizzlies 52-36 in the paint.

Down by 25, the Grizzlies used a small lineup sparked by Michael Conley's slashing drives to make it 100-87 on Casey Jacobsen's 3-pointer with 5:39 remaining.

But the Jazz responded with 10 straight points, including two layups off steals, to put the game away. Gordan Giricek, who had 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, scored on a fast break to put Utah ahead, 110-87.

"They kept the pressure on us all night. They kept us on our heels. Let's be honest, Utah is a good team and right now they're a better team than we are,'' Jacobsen said.

Rudy Gay led Memphis with 18 points and Pau Gasol had 11 but the Grizzlies could not overcome Utah's precision offense and 25 turnovers which led to 24 Jazz points.

"They forced too many turnovers on us. Turning the ball over just leads to easy fast breaks and layups and put us behind,'' Gasol said.

Ronnie Brewer, who had 10 points, added, "Defense makes our team run. When we're defending well, we're executing on offense and that's what we were doing tonight.''

The Grizzlies made 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to end the third quarter. Brian Cardinal's deep shot at the buzzer trimmed the Jazz advantage to 89-71.

But the Grizzlies had three turnovers in the first three minutes of the final period and the Jazz scored seven straight points, capped by Giricek's steal and layup to make it 96-71 for Utah.

"I think we helped them control the tempo by turning the ball over-25 turnovers on a night is not going to allow us to have any rhythm offensively and defensively it's the toughest thing to guard because they're off and running,'' Memphis coach Marc Iavaroni said.

In reserve roles, Conley had 10 points and nine assists and Juan Carlos Navarro added 10 points for Memphis. The game was the third in four nights on this road trip for the Grizzlies, who have won just once this season in five contests.

Notes: Utah's Matt Harpring missed the game because of soreness of his right knee, which was surgically repaired during the offseason. He is probable for Monday's game against Sacramento. ... Boozer had seven rebounds, failing to reach 10 rebounds for the first time this season. ... The Jazz were whistled for two separate delay-of-game warnings within 30 seconds of each other, resulting in a technical foul with 6:01 to play. ... Tarence Kinsey and Hakim Warrick were inactive for Memphis.

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INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 10 (AP) -- Denver Nuggets coach George Karl wouldn't reveal the contents of his motivational halftime speech on Saturday night.

"I don't know if most of it is printable,'' he said.

Whatever he said appeared to have the desired effect, though. The Nuggets, who trailed by 25 points in the first half, used Carmelo Anthony's 32 points and 10 rebounds to pull out a 113-106 victory over the stunned Indiana Pacers.

Denver shot 41 percent from the field and committed 13 turnovers before the break, leading to Karl's unpleasant lecture.

"He cursed us out,'' Anthony said.

The Nuggets (4-3) outscored Indiana 57-32 in the second half to win their second straight game following three losses.

"The one thing as a player you want to find out is the type of character you have on your team,'' said Denver guard Allen Iverson, who finished with 27 points and 10 assists. "When you get in situations like that, you can learn a lot about the players on your team.''

Troy Murphy had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Mike Dunleavy scored 17 and Jermaine O'Neal added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers (3-3), who lost their seventh consecutive game to the Nuggets.

"In the second half, we made bad decisions and took bad shots,'' said Indiana forward Danny Granger, who scored 13 points. "We have to figure out a way to close out games.''

Denver chipped away at the deficit in the second half, getting within 93-92 following Marcus Camby's jumper with 8:23 left in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets took their first lead, 95-94, since early in the first quarter on Iverson's 3-pointer.

Indiana regained a 101-97 advantage after O'Neal's dunk and free throw with less than 4 minutes left, but the Nuggets reeled off the next 12 points, capped by Iverson's 3, to secure the win.

"We just kept fighting,'' Anthony said. "If this isn't a confidence-booster, I don't know what is.''

Denver's Linas Kleiza scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to help complete the comeback. His two free throws gave the Nuggets a 104-101 lead with 1:18 remaining.

"He knocked down some big shots,'' Anthony said.

The Pacers raced out to a 21-12 lead in the first quarter following Dunleavy's layup. They extended the advantage to 46-31 on Murphy's two free throws to end the period.

Indiana scored the first eight points, including six by O'Neal, of the second quarter to open a 23-point lead. Denver's first point of the period came on Anthony's free throw with 7:25 left in the half.

Indiana took its biggest lead, 63-38, on Dunleavy's free throw two minutes later.

"A story of two halves,'' Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "I knew they would come back because they have two of the greatest players in the world.''

Denver began the third quarter on a 10-0 run, which included three straight 3-pointers from Yakhouba Diawara, to cut the deficit to 74-66. The Nuggets got as close as 85-80 later in the period following a 9-0 spurt.

"I think (Diawara) gave us a big boost in the second half,'' Iverson said. "He gave us some momentum, and then we rode the wave off of him.''

Notes: Pacers C David Harrison received a technical foul for arguing a call in the second quarter. ... Indiana's 74 points in the first half was a season high. ... The Pacers have lost three in a row after starting the season 3-0. ... Nuggets F-C Nene missed the game with a torn ligament in his left thumb. He's expected to miss six weeks. ... Pacers F Ike Diogu didn't play with a torn left calf muscle. ... Denver snapped a three-game losing streak with a win at Washington on Friday. ... The Nuggets completed a four-game road trip, finishing 2-2.
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ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 10 (AP) -- Grant Hill isn't used to being the bad guy. He inherited the role Saturday against his former team.

The All-Star shrugged off relentless boos from his former fans for 14 points and eight rebounds as the Phoenix Suns beat the Orlando Magic 106-96 Saturday night. While the crowd focused on Hill, Leandro Barbosa scored a career-high 39 points and all five Suns starters cracked double figures to break the Magic's four-game winning streak.

"That's what fans are supposed to do -- they're supposed to boo opposing teams,'' Hill said. "When I used to watch ball back in the day, the 80s, Maurice Cheeks went into the Garden and he didn't get cheered, he got booed.

"We're trying to win a championship, and in order to do that we have to go on the road against other teams,'' Hill said. "You're going to get booed, you're going to get called all types of names -- you've got to be really strong.''

The Suns withstood a 33-point, 18-rebound effort by Dwight Howard, partly by keeping him at the foul line. Howard was 7-of-16 on free throws and missed four straight late in the third quarter as Orlando fell behind 23 points. Besides two attempts in the second quarter by Hedo Turkoglu and one late by Trevor Ariza, no Orlando player but Howard even tried a free throw.

Steve Nash had 19 points and 11 assists and Shawn Marion added 11 points and eight rebounds. Amare Stoudemire had 13 points and six rebounds in his second outing after missing three games with a sore knee.

The teams entered the game first and second in the NBA in 3-point attempts -- 27.7 a game for Phoenix and 25.7 for the Magic. Orlando went the whole first quarter without trying a 3, falling behind 34-27 before eventually shooting 8-for-19.

"I thought they did a pretty good job switching pick and rolls and stuff,'' Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Their energy level was very high, and I thought they did a very good job of closing out and getting to our 3-point shooters.''

Barbosa started in place of Raja Bell, who didn't dress after spraining an ankle late in the fourth quarter Friday against Miami. He scored 16 in the first quarter and missed only two shots in the period -- one of them a 39-footer just before the buzzer that nearly went in.

"As quick as Nash is, he can't even match Barbosa's quickness,'' Van Gundy said. "Leandro Barbosa is the fastest man in the NBA.''

Barbosa made 15-of-26 shots, including 8-for-13 from 3-point range.

"Coach always tells me to keep shooting,'' he said. "He says if you are open to shoot it. Today I was feeling great -- maybe I am not struggling anymore. You have to be patient when you are struggling.''

Carlos Arroyo had 13 points and eight assists for Orlando, Keyon Dooling scored 10 and Turkoglu and Ariza each added 11. Rashard Lewis struggled from the field with 3-of-14 shooting and finished with seven.

"I think they stayed a little closer to me out on the wings when they were rotating on the double team on Dwight,'' Lewis said. "They made sure they paid a lot of attention to me. But at the same time I missed a lot of easy shots -- just couldn't get into a rhythm all night.''

Both teams were playing their fourth game in five days. Orlando was 2-2 after playing the night before, while the Suns were 0-2.

Notes: Tiger Woods, who lives in area, watched from courtside. Both teams shot 47 percent from the field, but Phoenix attempted nine more shots. ... Nash was 9-of-13, one night after scoring 11 points in a row against the Heat.
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Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has assigned rookie center Kyrylo Fesenko to the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League (D-League).

Fesenko, a 7-1, 288-pound center has been on the on the inactive list for the Jazz’s first six games this season. The 20-year-old native of the Ukraine saw action in six preseason games for the Jazz, averaging 4.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.50 blocks in 12.2 minutes per contest.

“At this point, we feel that the best way to further Fesenko’s development is to send him to the Flash, where he will be able to gain more experience in an actual game setting,” said Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor.

Originally selected by Philadelphia with in the second round (38th overall selection) of the 2007 NBA Draft, the Jazz acquired Fesenko’s rights in a draft night deal that sent the draft rights to Herbert Hill (55th overall pick) and trade considerations to the 76ers. He averaged 6.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots in 18.5 minutes a contest last season for the Cherkassy Monkeys of the Ukrainian SuperLeague. Fesenko scored in double figures seven times, posting a season high of 17 points. In six games at the FIBA EuroCup Challenge, Fesenko averaged 7.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots in 18.7 minutes.

Fesenko becomes the second Jazz player ever assigned to the D-League. Guard C.J. Miles was assigned to the D-League each of the previous two seasons by the Jazz, appearing in a combined 19 games for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (2005-06) and Idaho Stampede (2006-07).

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 10 (AP) -- Charlotte Bobcats forward Adam Morrison underwent surgery Saturday to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Morrison suffered the season-ending injury in an exhibition game on Oct. 20. The team said the surgery, performed by team physician Dr. Glenn Perry, was successful.

Morrison will remain hospitalized until Monday, when he'll begin several months of rehabilitation. Morrison is expected to be healthy in time for the start of training camp next fall.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2006 draft, Morrison averaged 11.8 points last season.

In the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, Frank Isola writes, "Jerome James inched closer toward oblivion on Friday when it was revealed that the backup center will have foot surgery Monday and will be sidelined indefinitely. James, who arrived for training camp out of shape and immediately suffered a right knee injury, will have surgery to remove a cyst and a small bone spur from the top of his right foot. The cyst had been drained but it has come back."