Phil Jackson prefers when none of his starters has to play more than 34 minutes. Not only did he get his wish in the Lakers' one-sided win over Denver, but none of them spent 30 minutes on the court -- and they still kept Carmelo Anthony in check. Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 29 points in the third quarter before sitting out the fourth, Andrew Bynum had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Los Angeles...

Not many rookies would have the bravado to hit a difficult pull-up jumper and an acrobatic bank shot in the final minutes of a breakneck-paced game. Not many players of any vintage would punctuate those shots with a finger to their lips, telling a rowdy Oakland crowd to shut up. Derrick Rose did it all in his 13th NBA game, leading the Chicago Bulls to their first road win of the season in one of...

Byron Scott got to eat at his favorite restaurant, visit with his daughter and take a trip down Memory Lane in the city where his team started heading back in the right direction. As it turns out, a return to Oklahoma City might have been just what his New Orleans Hornets needed. David West scored 19 points, Chris Paul added 17 in the city where his NBA career began and the Hornets had a triumphant...

The Dallas Mavericks restored their home-court advantage, thanks to big games from Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd. Nowitzki had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Kidd contributed 18 points and 13 boards, and the Mavericks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 91-76 on Friday night to halt an 0-4 home start. "That's why you have star players, to play like stars," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.

Roger Mason was supposed to be a complementary piece when the San Antonio Spurs signed him as a free agent during the offseason. But Mason was the one drawing the compliments Friday night. Mason scored 29 points and the Spurs made 15 of 25 3-pointers to beat the Utah Jazz 119-94. "I wasn't going to go too crazy, but it was one of those nights," Mason said.

Vince Carter gave Toronto fans a brand new reason to boo him. Carter scored 39 points against his former team, Devin Harris added 30 and the New Jersey Nets rallied from an 18-point, third-quarter deficit to beat the Toronto Raptors 129-127 in overtime on Friday night. Harris called Carter's performance "incredible." "He's been doing that his whole career, but I've never seen it firsthand," Harris...

Kevin Garnett has moved on. The championship trophy he earned with Boston last season made it all too easy to put 12 years of mostly mediocre basketball in Minnesota behind him. The Timberwolves are trying to move on as well without the only star the franchise has ever had. They have jettisoned all but four of his former teammates in the last 16 months, changed the look of their home court and...

Elton Brand went through the usual pregame routine a former All-Star makes the first time he plays his old team. There was the hug for Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, the greetings with the assistants and trash talking with his former teammates. He ended the reunion with something to remember: Brand beat his former team with his biggest basket yet for his new one.

Yao Ming is 7-foot-6. JaVale McGee's wingspan is 7-foot-6. Once McGee gets some NBA seasoning, the two could have quite a duel. But in Round 1 on Friday night, McGee was a rookie making his second NBA start. He didn't back down -- he even won the opening tip and scored the game's first basket with a layup over Yao -- but the six-time All-Star from China and teammate Tracy McGrady dominated in the...

Twice, the Indiana Pacers challenged the NBA's leading shot blocker with the game on the line. Twice, they failed. Orlando center Dwight Howard swatted a potential game-winning shot at the end of regulation, then altered what would have been a game-tying shot in the closing seconds of overtime. He had 24 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks, and the Magic beat the Pacers 100-98 on Friday night.

The Hawks got off to another sluggish start. They're finishing just fine. Joe Johnson scored 30 points, Marvin Williams added 22 and Atlanta pulled away in the closing minutes for a sloppy 88-83 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night. For the second straight game, the Hawks came out like they preferred to be elsewhere.

Roger Mason scored 29 points and the San Antonio Spurs made 15 of 25 3-pointers to beat the Utah Jazz 119-94 Friday night. Playing without the backcourt of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, the Spurs still managed to hit eight of their first nine 3-point attempts. Rookie George Hill scored a career-high 23 points for San Antonio (6-6) which has won four of its last five.