Yao Ming gets best of Yi as Rockets dominate Nets

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – While Yao Ming won the showdown with fellow Chinese Olympian Yi Jianlian, the smallest player on the court stole the show from the 7-footers.

Yao had 24 points and 16 rebounds and Aaron Brooks tied his career-high with 22 points as the Houston Rockets won their season-high fourth straight game with a 114-91 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Monday night in a game that was televised live to China.

With Yao clogging the lane, the Rockets limited the Nets to a season-low 13 points in the first quarter in taking a 29-13 lead and never being threatened again. Houston shot 58 percent for the game, including 9-of-19 from 3-point range.

Keyon Dooling had 17 points to lead New Jersey. The Nets got just 10 points apiece from Yi, Devin Harris, Vince Carter on a combined 11 of 37 shooting.

The 10 points was a season-low for Harris, who has emerged as one of the league's top point guards less than a year after being acquired in a trade for Jason Kidd.

Tracy McGrady added 12 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Rockets, who won for the eighth time in 10 games. Carl Landry added 13 points.

Houston never trailed after McGrady hit a jumper to snap a 4-all tie. Luis Scola scored in the lane against Yi and Brooks followed with the first of what would be his four 3-pointers to push the lead to 11-4.

After Yi followed a miss by Harris, Brooks converted a four-point play and McGrady hit two free throws to give Houston a 17-6 lead.

Brooks finished with 11 points in the quarter, and closing out the period by setting up Landry for a layup in the final seconds for one of the six assists by the 6-footer.

Houston led by 23 points in the second quarter and the Nets never got closer than 16 in the third. The fourth quarter was mostly garbage time for the reserves.

NOTES:@ The Yao-Yi matchup was televised to China live by the nation's largest network. The Nets distributed about 40 credentials to international members of the media. ...The Rockets had 61 points in the first half, the sixth time they have scored 60 or more points in a half. ...Houston has won 11 straight road games vs. Eastern Conference opponents dating to last season. The Nets played without Bobby Simmons, who went to Chicago for the pending birth of his child.

Bibby's 27 points lead Hawks past Pistons, 85-78

ATLANTA – Mike Bibby put an end to Detroit's domination of the Hawks, scoring a season-high 27 points to lead Atlanta to an 85-78 win over the Pistons on Sunday.

Detroit trailed by 18 points early in the second half before launching a steady comeback in the matchup of second-place teams.

The Pistons cut the lead to 80-76 on a basket by Rasheed Wallace with 2:30 remaining, but Bibby answered with a jumper.

With Atlanta leading 83-78, Detroit called timeout with 20 seconds left. Joe Johnson grabbed the rebound on a miss by Tayshaun Prince and hit two free throws to seal the win.

The Pistons swept the four-game series with the Hawks last season, but each of the games came before Atlanta acquired Bibby from Sacramento on Feb. 16. Detroit had won 12 of the last 16 games in the series in Atlanta.

Johnson had 19 points and seven assists. Al Horford added 11 points and 11 rebounds and Josh Smith also had 11 points for Atlanta.

Rodney Stuckey and Wallace each had 20 points for Detroit.

Richard Hamilton had 16 points for Detroit before he was ejected with 1:14 remaining. Hamilton drew the technical from official Rodney Mott as he walked toward the Detroit bench after taking an apparent hit and falling to one knee under the Hawks basket.

Detroit made its first seven shots before a missed jumper by Hamilton 5:13 into the game. Three straight baskets by Johnson helped Atlanta trail only 25-22 at the end of the period.

Bibby opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer, his first of five in the period, as Atlanta led 52-41 at halftime. Bibby had two 3s in a 13-0 run early in the quarter.

The Hawks stretched the lead to 59-41 by scoring the first seven points of the third quarter, but Detroit closed the period with a 9-1 run to cut the lead to 69-63.

Notes: Allen Iverson had 10 points on 4-for-11 shooting. ... Bibby was 5-for-5 on 3-point attempts and scored 15 points in the second quarter. ... The Hawks improved to 11-2 in home games. ... Marvin Williams had nine points and 10 rebounds. ... The teams' reserves combined for only 18 points, including six by Detroit's Antonio McDyess.

Surging Magic outrun weary Spurs, 90-78

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jameer Nelson scored 24 points, and Dwight Howard had 14 points and 13 rebounds to help the Orlando Magic win for the seventh time in eight games, 90-78 over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night.

Howard picked up his fifth foul halfway into the fourth quarter and went to the bench. That wasn't anything new for the Magic, who played the last two games with the All-Star center sidelined by a sore knee.

Rashard Lewis finished with 15 points, and Hedo Turkoglu had 11. The Magic improved to 20-6 to open a 4 1/2-game lead over second-place Atlanta in the Southeast Division.

Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 19 points.

Pierce hurt as Celtics run winning streak to 15

The Boston Celtics will take 15 straight victories to Atlanta, where another long winning streak just ended.

Paul Pierce hopes to be on the court with them.

Pierce hurt his left knee during a scramble for a defensive rebound with 31 seconds left in the Celtics' 100-91 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night and was helped off the court at the end of the game.

"It should be all right," Pierce said. "I put a little weight on it. It didn't go back that far, so it should be all right."

The Celtics hope to have him Wednesday when they visit the Hawks, who are 9-1 at home. Two nights after snapping Cleveland's 11-game winning streak, Atlanta beat visiting Charlotte 83-79 Monday.

Now the Hawks brace for the Celtics, who they beat three times at home in the first round of last season's playoffs.

"It's going to be fun," Atlanta guard Joe Johnson said.

In other NBA games Monday, it was: Indiana 118, Washington 98; New Jersey 94, Toronto 87; Milwaukee 98, Miami 83; Denver 98, Dallas 88; Phoenix 111, New York 103; Sacramento 118, Minnesota 103; and Orlando 109, Golden State 98.

In Atlanta, Johnson scored 18 of his 28 points in the second half as the Hawks extended the Bobcats' losing streak to seven. Al Horford added 12 points and 14 rebounds for Atlanta (15-9), which won its third straight overall in a potential trap game between NBA powers.

"We weren't looking to the Celtics. They just happen to be the next team on our schedule," Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said.

In Boston, Rajon Rondo scored 12 of his career-high 25 points in the final 5:20, and Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Kendrick Perkins added 15 points and 14 rebounds to help the Celtics avenge the worst loss of their 2007-08 championship season.

Pierce scored 15 points as Boston improved to 23-2. The best start in NBA history with two losses is 26-2, set by the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers and matched by the '69-70 Knicks.

The Celtics expect Pierce to be with them as they continue chasing that mark, and coach Doc Rivers said the team trainer thought his star forward would be fine.

"But I'm sure they're going to do the regular tests," Rivers said.

Paul Millsap led Utah with a career-high 32 points.

Suns 111, Knicks 103

At Phoenix, Steve Nash scored 21 points, including a game-clinching 3-pointer with 28 seconds to play, and the Suns spoiled New York coach Mike D'Antoni's return to US Airways Center.

Shaquille O'Neal had 23 points, making 11 of 18 free throws, and 12 rebounds. Amare Stoudemire added 21 points and 14 boards for the Suns, who topped 110 points for the fourth game in a row.

Nate Robinson scored 27, 17 after halftime, in his second game back from a groin injury for New York. Al Harrington added 24, but D'Antoni's run-and-shoot squad was just 5-of-37 on 3-pointers.

Kings 118, Timberwolves 103

At Sacramento, Calif., Francisco Garcia scored 21 points, John Salmons added 17 and Sacramento won its first game under interim coach Kenny Natt.

A few hours after the Kings fired Reggie Theus, Natt led Sacramento to just its second win in 12 games.

Al Jefferson scored all of his 22 points in the first half for Minnesota, which dropped its 10th straight and dropped to 0-5 under Kevin McHale, who replaced Randy Wittman last week.

Nuggets 98, Mavericks 88

At Dallas, J.R. Smith scored 25 points, Carmelo Anthony added 23, and Denver extended its winning streak to four games.

Chauncey Billups had 15 points and eight assists for the Nuggets, who have won seven of eight and improved to 16-4 since Billups joined the team after a Nov. 3 trade with the Detroit Pistons.

Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavs. Josh Howard returned after missing 11 straight games with a sprained left ankle and had seven points in 14 minutes.

Magic 109, Warriors 98

At Oakland, Calif., Jameer Nelson scored 23 of his career high-tying 32 points in the second half, and Orlando won for the fourth time in five road games.

Marcin Gortat, starting in place of injured Dwight Howard, had career bests with 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Magic improved to 19-6, their best 25-game start since opening the 1994-95 season 20-5.

Andris Beidrins scored 23 points to lead the Warriors, who have lost 12 of their last 14.

Bucks 98, Heat 83

At Miami, Michael Redd scored 16 of his 21 points in the first quarter, and Milwaukee started quickly before holding off a late rally to win on the road for the first time since Nov. 22.

Mario Chalmers had 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Dwyane Wade added 15 points for the Heat, who lost their third straight.

Nets 94, Raptors 87

At Toronto, Vince Carter had 20 points and 10 rebounds against his former team, Ryan Anderson scored 21 points, and New Jersey snapped a three-game losing streak.

Devin Harris added 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Chris Bosh and Jason Kapono each scored 17 for the Raptors, who have lost seven of nine.

Pacers 118, Wizards 98

At Washington, Danny Granger scored 27 points and Marquis Daniels had 20 as Indiana snapped a six-game losing streak.

Antawn Jamison had 26 points and a season-high 15 rebounds — his 14th double-double this season — and Caron Butler scored 26 for Washington, which has the Eastern Conference's worst record (4-18) and has lost six of seven.

Kings fire coach Reggie Theus

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Reggie Theus got barely more than 100 games to lead the Sacramento Kings before they headed in yet another direction with yet another new head coach.

Theus was fired by Sacramento on Monday after a 6-18 start to his second season with the club. Assistant coach Kenny Natt took over the last-place Kings for Monday night's game against Minnesota.

Natt, a first-time head coach who has the job on an interim basis, is the fourth coach in less than three years for the Kings, who are in disarray after a prolonged run as one of the NBA's elite clubs earlier in the decade.

Assistant coach Chuck Person was fired along with Theus, who went 44-62 in his brief tenure with Sacramento.

The Kings lost 10 of their last 11 to fall into the Pacific Division cellar, with only a win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the last 3 1/2 weeks. Sacramento's 24-point home loss to the New York Knicks on Saturday night — the ninth loss in 10 games at Arco Arena — was Theus' final game.

"When you look at the overall level of performance that we've experienced this year, it's just not where we want to be," said Geoff Petrie, the Kings' top basketball executive. "Sometimes you just need to try a different voice if you want to try and change things. It's not about just any one game."

Theus is the sixth coach fired in the NBA already this season, following P.J. Carlesimo (Oklahoma City), Eddie Jordan (Washington), Sam Mitchell (Toronto), Randy Wittman (Minnesota) and Maurice Cheeks (Philadelphia), who was dismissed Saturday.

Theus said he was grateful for the opportunity to run an NBA club early in his coaching career, claiming he wouldn't change anything about his short tenure in Sacramento.

"It was a great experience, and I just wish I could have seen it through," Theus told KHTK-AM, the Kings' flagship radio station. "For it to have been better, a lot of things would have had to have been different. ... I think we were entertaining. Good and bad, when people came to games, it was fun."

Theus played 13 seasons in the NBA, memorably scoring the first basket for the first Kings team in Sacramento after the club's move to Northern California in 1985. He went 38-44 in his debut season as head coach after the Kings hired him away from New Mexico State, where he built a solid program that marked him as an up-and-coming coaching prospect.

But with star guard Kevin Martin sidelined by injuries for all but nine games this season, Sacramento has been among the NBA's worst teams, often giving lackluster efforts that drew boos from the halfhearted crowds at Arco Arena, which was sold out for 354 consecutive games before last season's opener.

Martin's left ankle injury and Sacramento's unimpressive roster weren't excuses for owners Joe and Gavin Maloof, who have publicly voiced their displeasure with their franchise's direction in recent weeks.

Some league observers criticized the Kings' coaching staff for its lack of experience, saying Theus leaned too heavily on Person, another former NBA player with a meager coaching resume. Theus dismissed those theories, reaffirming his faith in Person.

Natt is in his second season with the Kings after three years as an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who reached the NBA finals in 2007. He played three NBA seasons, including a stint with the Kansas City Kings, before moving up the coaching ranks in a path that included nine seasons as an assistant to Utah coach Jerry Sloan.

"I told these guys that all I'm asking of them is hard work and discipline each day in practice, because that's where you win basketball games," Natt said. "There's a rotation issue that's been something we've had to deal with for a long time, but that's something we'll have to work our way through. ... I'm not here as a coach to try to keep everyone happy. I'm here to look out for the best interests of this team."

In May 2006, the Maloofs fired veteran coach Rick Adelman, who won 395 games and led the Kings to eight consecutive playoff appearances and winning seasons, but no titles. After making that move over the objections of Petrie, the Maloofs then hired Eric Musselman, who lasted just one tumultuous season before getting fired amid multiple personality conflicts.

Theus, the sharp-dressed ex-athlete who dabbled in acting and broadcasting before becoming a coach, seemed an ideal coach for the showbiz-loving Maloofs, and he did better than many expected in his rookie year. But a slow start convinced the impatient Maloofs to change direction again — and it will cost them financially.

Theus' departure means the Kings will be paying three head coaching salaries this season to Natt, Theus and Musselman, who still has a year left on his contract.

Mayo leads Grizzlies to fourth straight win

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – O.J. Mayo scored 28 points, Rudy Gay added 18 and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Miami Heat 102-86 Sunday for their fourth straight win.

Memphis' winning streak is its longest since it won the final five games of the 2005-06 season. Darko Milicic finished with 13 points and reserve Mike Conley had 12 for the Grizzlies.

Dwyane Wade, who entered averaging a league-best 29.1 points, had his second straight subpar game. He scored 17 on 5-of-16 shooting after making nine of 24 attempts in the Heat's loss to Atlanta on Friday.

Michael Beasley led Miami with 20 points, and Joel Anthony registered a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Memphis shot 65 percent in the third and closed the quarter with a 12-2 run to take an 81-66 lead. Mayo had a big 3-pointer as the shot clock ran out and Gay had a steal and a dunk in the surge.

Miami was without forward Udonis Haslem, who missed the game due to the death of his grandmother. Yakhouba Diawara started in Haslem's place, and finished with six points.

Beasley gave the Heat a boost after both teams struggled at the start. His short bank shot put Miami ahead 31-30 with about 9 minutes left in the half. Wade's 10-footer with about 5 seconds remaining sent the teams into halftime tied at 46.

Notes:@ Heat G Mario Chalmers, a rookie out of Kansas, was booed in the pregame introductions. Chalmers' 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation sent April's national championship game against the University of Memphis into overtime. The Jayhawks eventually won 75-68. Chalmers had a four-point play early in the third quarter. In the last two games, the top three draft picks have made it through the FedExForum. Derrick Rose, the top pick, played Friday night when the Chicago Bulls faced No. 3 pick Mayo and the Grizzlies. Sunday, Beasley, the No. 2 pick, was in town. Grizzlies F Darius Miles, signed on Saturday, was on the active roster, but not in the arena because he must serve a 10-game suspension for violating the league's anti-drug policy by testing positive for a banned weight-loss stimulant. Grizzlies officials said he must be shown as active for the first five games of the suspension, then can appear as inactive until he is eligible to play on Jan. 4. Beasley was back after missing Friday's game against Atlanta with the flu. Miami G Daequan Cook also was suffering from the flu, but played. Jamaal Magloire was ejected with 3:11 left for head-butting Milicic as they fought for position as the Grizzlies prepared to inbound the ball.

West scores 29 in Hornets' 99-91 win over Raptors

TORONTO – David West scored 29 points, James Posey added 20, including six 3-pointers, and the New Orleans Hornets beat the Toronto Raptors 99-91 Sunday for their eighth win in 10 games.

Rasual Butler had 16 points, and Chris Paul added 12 points and 12 assists for the Hornets, who went 12-for-33 from beyond 3-point range. New Orleans leads the NBA in 3-point shooting.

Chris Bosh had 25 points, and Jose Calderon scored 22 for Toronto on 8-for-8 shooting. Calderon also made his only free throw and has hit 59 consecutive dating to last season.

Jermaine O'Neal added 19 points for the Raptors, who were shooting for their first three-game winning streak since a 3-0 start.

Bosh made two free throws to make it 94-89 with 1:24 left, but Butler put in his third 3-pointer of the quarter to build New Orleans' lead back up to eight.

Toronto led 42-34 on Calderon's jumper with 5:08 left in the second, but New Orleans closed the half on a 17-4 run, including a pair of 3-pointers by Posey, to take a 51-46 lead into the break.

Bosh's jumper and a 3 from Calderon cut it to 63-62 midway through the third quarter, but Posey responded with a 3-pointer and a lay-up as the Hornets pushed the lead to six points. New Orleans led 80-72 heading into the final quarter.

Hornets center Tyson Chandler missed his second consecutive game because of a stiff neck. He was replaced by Hilton Armstrong.

Notes:@ Toronto guard Anthony Parker, who missed two games with a sprained ankle, returned to the lineup but didn't start for the first time in 176 career games with the Raptors. ... Posey made a career-high seven 3-pointers against Washington on Dec. 15, 2006. ... Posey was called for a technical foul in the final minute of the first half.

Thunder still drawing well with NBA's worst record

OKLAHOMA CITY – No matter how many ways the Oklahoma City Thunder find to lose, they certainly don't seem to have any trouble finding people to watch it happen.

Despite having an NBA-worst 2-21 record heading into the weekend, the Thunder are one of the bigger draws in the league. Only this week did Oklahoma City fall out of the top 10 in attendance, and that came after the two smallest crowds of the season came to watch losses to Golden State and Memphis — two other teams near the bottom of the Western Conference.

Still, the Thunder are averaging 18,473 fans per game to rank 12th in the NBA, just ahead of West playoff contenders Phoenix, San Antonio and Houston.

So far, the town that agreed to shell out $121 million for arena improvements has received only one home win in return.

"It's important that we play well here. We love the support. The players love it," said interim coach Scott Brooks, who was promoted after P.J. Carlesimo was fired.

"We've been around a lot of other buildings and it's not like this. We definitely need to give them something they can go home and feel good about."

It looked like the Thunder might finally have a breakthrough Wednesday night, when they led Memphis by 21 in the second quarter. But another meltdown dropped them to a miserable 1-11 at the Ford Center.

The local newspaper has even been highlighting how long it's been since the team's last win at home — Nov. 2 against Minnesota.

"Considering how things have started here for us, that means a lot just to be able when we come out to see almost a packed house almost every night," veteran forward Joe Smith said.

"Things are getting better on the floor, but we still have to find ways to win games in the crunch. Just to see them sticking with us the way they have is a great feeling."

The question, first raised as the franchise prepared to move from a much larger market in Seattle, was whether Oklahoma City would continue to support the team if the losses kept piling up. The locally based ownership group even included a clause in its Ford Center lease agreement that would allow it to leave after six years if ticket revenues fall off.

"We're very pleased with the fan response," spokesman Dan Mahoney said. "We think the fans in Oklahoma City have proven what we said would be the case: that Oklahoma City can support an NBA team."

Their loyalty is being tested right now.

The team, which won a franchise-worst 20 games last season, is on pace to break the NBA's record for fewest wins in an 82-game season set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who won only nine times.

"I think since this is our first year here, they're excited about it. They want us just to play hard and leave it on the floor, and I think we've done that for the most part the last few weeks," Brooks said. "But going around to other arenas, it's not like this.

"You have the select teams that are selling out, but we're right there. Every night, it's a good crowd and it's good for our players. Not too many times you can not win a lot of games and have a good crowd."

The base for the Thunder's strong attendance comes from a five-day stretch in September, when the entire stock of about 13,000 season tickets were sold. The team even turned away some potential season-ticket buyers, saving the rest of the 6,000 or so tickets for partial-season plans, groups and gameday sales.

Of those, 3,500 tickets are available at $10 apiece, and Mahoney said he thinks fans have found the Thunder to be an affordable entertainment option

Their numbers are easily outpacing the expansion Bobcats' first season in Charlotte and the Grizzlies' first season in Memphis after moving from Vancouver, with both teams averaging about 14,400. They're also ahead of the Hornets' first season in New Orleans, when average attendance was 15,650.

About the only measure that finds the Thunder even slightly behind is a comparison to the first year of the Hornets' temporary relocation to Oklahoma City. Through 12 games, the Hornets were averaging 18,756 fans — although that total was inflated by two early appearances by regional favorite Dallas and one by the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.

The Mavericks, Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers sold out all eight of their games against the Hornets in Oklahoma City. None of those teams come to town until the second half of the season, and those tickets go on sale Monday.

"It's definitely important for us to have a good home-court advantage, and we have that," Brooks said. "We just have to take advantage of it."

Hornets beat depleted Bobcats, 105-89

NEW ORLEANS – Chris Paul had 15 points and 15 assists, and the New Orleans Hornets won for the seventh time in eight games, 105-89 over the trade-depleted Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.

David West and Peja Stojakovic each scored 17 points for New Orleans (12-6), which led by as many as 23 points in the second quarter and held a comfortable lead the rest of the way. Tyson Chandler had 13 points and 11 rebounds before all the starters left the game for the final period.

Rookie D.J. Augustin scored a career-high 28 points to lead Charlotte, which took the floor with a depleted lineup shortly after a multiplayer trade that sent leading scorer Jason Richardson to Phoenix.

Charlotte also sent small forward Jared Dudley and a 2010 second-round draft pick to the Suns. The Bobcats got Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary from Phoenix.

With Richardson gone, Bobcats coach Larry Brown said he would make the crowd pleasing move of starting Augustin, who starred at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans before playing for Texas in college. The crowd roared when Augustin was introduced.

He played 37 minutes at point guard and had seven assists, then got another ovation when he left the game for good with under 2 minutes to go. Alexis Ajinca scored 12 points, and Matt Carroll 10 for Charlotte.

The Hornets had a new look, too. They wore the white, red and black throwback uniforms of the old New Orleans Buccaneers of the ABA.

The ABA was known for a fast-paced, high-scoring style and little defense. The Hornets looked the part on offense with the speedy and creative Paul running the floor, while the Bobcats helped out by offering little resistance on the defensive end.

Paul fed Chandler for several alley-oops and capped the third quarter with a crowd-pleasing bounce pass to James Posey cutting down the lane for a fast-break dunk. Stojakovic added five 3-pointers on six attempts and New Orleans shot 53.2 percent through three quarters, after which they led 88-57.

Paul's performance gave him 15 double-doubles through New Orleans' first 18 games.

Hornets coach Byron Scott went with a reserve line up for the entire fourth quarter. Morris Peterson scored 16 points in a reserve role, hitting four 3-pointers.

New Orleans began to pull away in the second quarter and maintained a double-digit lead most of the game.

Paul had 10 assists in the first half alone, when West scored his first 13 points. New Orleans led 57-34 when Paul found Rasual Butler for a fast-break layup as he was fouled. The Hornets led 59-40 at halftime.

Notes:@ The Buccaneers played in New Orleans for three seasons from 1967-1970. Bobcats coach Larry Brown was a player on the 1967-68 team. Asked what he thought of seeing the Hornets wear the uniforms he wore back then, Brown said, "Will they be as short? I hope not." Brown added that it brought back good memories. "I had an unbelievable time (playing for the Bucs). It's a great city to live in and I had some unbelievable teammates." ... Stojakovic surpassed 12,000 career points with a 3-pointer late in the first quarter. ... Paul had two steals, giving him a steal in 102 straight games. Alvin Robertson holds the NBA record for consecutive games with a steal with 105, a streak that ended on Dec. 29, 1986.

Timberwolves fire coach Randy Wittman

MINNEAPOLIS – Randy Wittman was fired as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, two days after an embarrassing 23-point loss at home to the last-place Los Angeles Clippers. Kevin McHale took over as coach, leaving his job as the club's vice president of basketball operations.

The young team is 4-15 and has not responded to Wittman's demands for tough defense and consistent effort. The Timberwolves are in the midst of a five-game losing streak in which the average margin of defeat has been nearly 17 points.

"There were certain goals and expectations that we had for this team at the start of the season, and we have not lived up to them," Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said in a statement.

"I am disappointed in our record and believe that we have more talent than our record indicates. A change had to be made and with three-fourths of the season remaining, there is still time to make substantial progress this year," he added.

The team scheduled an afternoon news conference to discuss the change.

This was the fourth NBA coaching firing this season following P.J. Carlesimo (Oklahoma City), Eddie Jordan (Washington) and Sam Mitchell (Toronto).

Wittman was 38-105 since taking over for Dwane Casey in January 2007. McHale picked Wittman to preside over the team's rebuilding following the trade of Kevin Garnett, but the second year of the plan has not produced results.

After keeping things close early in the season, the Timberwolves lost by 29 points at New Jersey on Friday night, then were blown out by the Clippers on Saturday night to seal Wittman's fate. Wittman went 22-60 last year, his only full season in charge.

"I want to thank Randy for all of his contributions to the Timberwolves through the years as both a head coach and an assistant coach, and wish him the best in the future," Taylor said.

Now it's up to McHale to try and turn things around, and he has experience in this kind of situation. He went 19-12 in the final 31 games of the 2004-05 season after firing coach Flip Saunders. He has been the team's top basketball executive since 1995. But unlike his first stint coaching when he kept his VP role, McHale will concentrate fully on coaching this time.

The team did not immediately say who would fill the open executive slot. Assistant GM Fred Hoiberg, in training to eventually take over for McHale, is a top candidate.

"Kevin has assembled the players on this team, and believes in their talent and skill level," Taylor said. "It is my expectation that Kevin will be able to get the most out of our team and our players in his new role as head coach."

While Wittman has been preaching energy and effort, the Timberwolves have been routinely outhustled. They were outrebounded 54-38 and outscored 20-7 in second-chance points against the Clippers, two telltale signs of lack of effort.

Wittman started this season with defense as the top priority, harping on it throughout training camp and urging his team to commit to it at all costs. Yet the Wolves have allowed at least 100 points in seven straight games and constantly give up easy layups and wide-open jumpers. Whatever the coach was trying to teach, it either wasn't working or wasn't sinking in.

On countless occasions this season, Wittman has been reduced to stomping his feet on the sidelines and yelling, "What are we doing?" with his hands in the air in exasperation.

The players said the onus was on them to get things turned around.

"You are going to have bad shooting nights. You are going to have nights where you're not as effective as you want to be. But, the effort has to be there every night," forward Ryan Gomes said after the loss to the Clippers and before the decision was made. "That's one thing. The hustle has to be there every night. Last two nights, it hasn't been there. You look at the games, look at the scores of these games and you can just tell by that, that something was wrong."

Five of the team's first eight losses were by six points or less, leaving hope that an adjustment here or there would get things on track.

But things went downhill last week. Losses at Charlotte, Orlando and New Jersey were ugly, but nothing in comparison to the drubbing delivered by the Clippers (4-16) in front of a home smattering of fans.

This season is starting to look a lot like last year, when the Timberwolves were 3-16 at this point in the season. After jettisoning malcontents Marko Jaric and Antoine Walker and acquiring Kevin Love and Mike Miller, the Wolves expected more this season.

"You look at our team and we have an improved roster and we are still in the same predicament we were in last year," Gomes said.

Wade's 38 carries Heat past Thunder 105-99

MIAMI – NBA scoring leader Dwyane Wade scored 25 of his 38 points in the first half and the Miami Heat won their third straight, beating the reeling Oklahoma City Thunder 105-99 on Saturday night.

Udonis Haslem finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds for Miami, which wasted a 15-point lead in the first 6 minutes of the final quarter. Shawn Marion added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat (11-9), who also got 15 points from Mario Chalmers.

It's the first three-game winning streak for Miami since April 2007, ending the second-longest drought in the NBA. Minnesota last won three straight in January 2007.

Russell Westbrook scored 30 points for Oklahoma City (2-19), which matched the fifth-worst 21-game start in league history. Four teams, most recently the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks, opened 1-20.

That doesn't mean the Thunder were pushovers in this one.

Down by 15 entering the fourth, Oklahoma City opened the final period with a 20-5 run over the first 5:57, getting nine points from Durant over that spurt and pulling into a 90-all tie. But the Thunder never managed to take the lead, and Miami escaped.

Jeff Green scored 21 points for the Thunder. Kevin Durant added 18, and Nick Collison had 14. Earl Watson had a game-high 12 assists for Oklahoma City.

Wade, who also had seven assists and five rebounds, started quickly, getting 11 points in a span of 3:03 in the first quarter, helping the Heat score a season-best 36 points in the period and open a nine-point lead.

Miami saw the margin swell to 12 midway through the second quarter and then to 15 when Wade soared past Desmond Mason and Collison for what became a three-point play with 2.8 seconds remaining in the third, as cries of "M-V-P! M-V-P!" rained down from the stands.

It only seemed to inspire the Thunder.

With Durant and Collison leading the way, Oklahoma City — which has gotten both of its wins this season on the second game of back-to-back contests — had more than enough to make things far more interesting than the Heat wanted.

But when Wade came off the bench, order was restored.

He found Chalmers for a 3-pointer, then hit Marion for another score, and then hit a short fadeaway to give Miami some breathing room in the form of a 97-91 lead with 3:27 remaining.

Wade entered the night averaging an NBA-best 28.4 points, and exceeded that by the midpoint of the third quarter — adding to his margin over Cleveland's LeBron James in the league scoring race.

Wade is now averaging 28.9 points; James, who scored 25 points in Cleveland's easy win at Charlotte, is at 26.5 per game.

Notes:@ Most of the NBA already has enjoyed three-game winning streak this season. Still waiting: Chicago, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Golden State, Washington, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Memphis and the Los Angeles Clippers. ... The Heat began a five-game stretch where they'll face four teams with records currently below .500. ... Westbrook nearly missed a breakaway dunk with 3:55 left in the third, but the ball bounced off the rim and down through the net. ... The 11-9 start is Miami's best since 2004-05 — and is one game better than where the Heat were after 20 games in their 2005-06 championship season. ... Haslem has had at least 13 rebounds in three straight games.

Rockets' Yao has giant game in win over Warriors

Yao Ming might as well have squashed the Golden State Warriors like ants. The 7-foot-6 Chinese star scored 19 of his season-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, and had 14 rebounds and five assists in the Houston Rockets' 131-112 home victory over the Warriors on Friday night.

Yao was 9-for-9 from the line in the final quarter and 17-of-19 overall.

"I'm just attacking the rim," Yao said. "If I catch it in the paint and turn around and draw contact, seven or eight times out of 10, the referee will give you the call."

Ronny Turiaf and Andris Biedrins fouled out trying to stop Yao.

"Yao plays like he's 8 feet tall," Golden State's Corey Maggette said. "It's hard for a small lineup to defend him inside and then when we got in foul trouble, it was impossible to stop him."

In other NBA games Friday night, it was: the Los Angeles Lakers 106, Washington 104; Boston 93, Portland 78; Cleveland 97, Indiana 73; Orlando 98, Oklahoma City 89; Utah 114, Toronto 87; Philadelphia 96, Detroit 91; New Jersey 113, Minnesota 84; Memphis 93, the Los Angeles Clippers 81; Atlanta 98, New York 95; and Milwaukee 101, Charlotte 96.

In Houston, Ron Artest added 28 points for the Rockets, and Rafer Alston and Von Wafer had 18 points apiece. The Rockets were 13-of-21 from 3-point range.

Golden State's Stephen Jackson scored 26 points before he was ejected with 1:35 left. Maggette added 23 points, and Jamal Crawford had 22.

Golden State coach Don Nelson was ejected late in the third quarter, and Houston finished with a 30-11 run in its highest-scoring game of the season.

The Warriors have lost eight straight.

Lakers 106, Wizards 104

At Washington, Kobe Bryant banked in a running 12-foot jumper over Caron Butler with 25 seconds left for Los Angeles, then went 1-for-2 at the line 10 seconds later.

After Bryant missed the free throw, Butler had a chance to win it for Washington, but missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Bryant was 5-for-17 from the field and finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Andrew Bynum had a season-high 19 points, along with 10 rebounds, and Pau Gasol had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Butler led Washington, down by 20 in the fourth quarter, with 26 points.

Celtics 93, Trail Blazers 78

At Boston, Ray Allen scored 19 points, and Rajon Rondo had 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Boston's 11th straight victory.

Portland lost for the first time with Greg Oden in the starting lineup since the season opener, when he left scoreless because of a sprained right foot.

Oden had five points and six rebounds in 18 minutes before picking up his sixth foul on a questionable call with about four minutes left.

Cavaliers 97, Pacers 73

At Cleveland, Anderson Varejao, with thousands of fans wearing curly, redheaded hair pieces in his honor, didn't miss a shot and scored 17 points in the first half in Cleveland's seventh straight victory.

LeBron James had a season-low 11 points. Unbeaten after 11 home games, Cleveland has won 15 of 16 since starting the season 1-2. Troy Murphy led Indiana with 15 points.

Magic 98, Thunder 89

At Orlando, Fla., Dwight Howard had 21 points and 23 rebounds, and Jameer Nelson added 15 points for Southeast Division-leading Orlando.

Russell Westbrook had 19 points for Oklahoma City. The Thunder are 2-18.

Jazz 114, Raptors 87

At Salt Lake City, Mehmet Okur had 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting for Utah in Jay Triano's first game as Toronto's interim coach.

Paul Millsap added 17 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high seven assists for Utah. Chris Bosh had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Toronto, playing its first game since coach Sam Mitchell was fired Wednesday — a day after a 132-93 loss in Denver.

76ers 96, Pistons 91

At Auburn Hills, Mich., Donyell Marshall hit a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left, and Andre Miller led Philadelphia with 18 points

Marshall finished with eight points for the 76ers, playing without scoring leader Elton Brand (strained hamstring). Richard Hamilton had 19 for Detroit.

Nets 113, Timberwolves 84

At East Rutherford, N.J., Vince Carter scored 18 points, and Yi Jianlian and Devin Harris added 16 each for New Jersey.

The Nets rebouned from a home loss to Washington on Tuesday night to win for the fourth time in five games. Randy Foye led Minnesota with 20 points.

Grizzlies 93, Clippers 81

At Memphis, Tenn., Rudy Gay scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half, and O.J. Mayo had 20 points to help Memphis snap a seven-game losing streak.

Baron Davis led Los Angeles with 23 points and eight assists.

Hawks 98, Knicks 95

At Atlanta, Marvin Williams scored 18 points, and Atlanta avoided overtime when New York's Al Harrington missed a last-second 3-pointer.

Harrington led New York with 27 points.

Bucks 101, Bobcats 96

At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 25 points, and Richard Jefferson added 22 for Milwaukee, including two free throws with 9 seconds left.

Jason Richardson had 20 points for Charlotte.

Raptors fire coach Sam Mitchell

TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors have fired coach Sam Mitchell one day after the team absorbed an embarrassing loss at Denver.

Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo says assistant Jay Triano has been promoted to interim coach. Triano's first game as coach is Friday night at Utah.

Colangelo calls Wednesday's move a difficult but necessary step.

Toronto is 8-9 after it lost 132-93 at Denver on Tuesday night — the fifth-worst defeat in franchise history.

Mitchell was 156-189 in four-plus seasons as Raptors coach. He was honored as the NBA's coach of the year for the 2006-07 season.

Triano is in his seventh season on the Raptors' coaching staff. He becomes the seventh coach in franchise history.

Marbury's Knicks status "not resolved" in meeting

GREENBURGH, N.Y. – Stephon Marbury was ordered to stay away from the New York Knicks on Monday while the team looks for a solution to the latest controversy surrounding its point guard.

"After meeting with Stephon and his representative this afternoon, we have directed Stephon not to participate in practice or attend games until further notice," Knicks president Donnie Walsh said in a statement. "We want to continue to meet with him to discuss a long-term resolution."

Marbury's future with the Knicks was "not resolved" during his meeting with Walsh, according to the players' association attorney representing him.

Marbury arrived at the team's practice facility at 2:25 p.m. and met with Walsh for about 20 minutes. His representative, Hal Biagas, walked out of the building shortly after 3 p.m. and into the car where Marbury was waiting.

"(We'll) try to keep this in house and so no comment at this time," Biagas said. "We'll keep you posted if things happen."

Walsh suspended Marbury for one game without pay and docked him an additional game's salary last week after the Knicks said the point guard refused coach Mike D'Antoni's request to play in a loss to Detroit last Wednesday.

Biagas wouldn't say if Marbury, who was penalized nearly $400,000, was reinstated or if there had been any progress toward a buyout.

"We had a conversation," he said.

Marbury wants out of New York and lashed out at teammates and coach Mike D'Antoni in Monday's New York Post.

"I sat there for three weeks and didn't say one word," Marbury told The Post. "I didn't hear one of my teammates say, `Why isn't Stephon Marbury playing? This is a good system for him, even to play with the second unit and bring more firepower.'

"When things got bad and then worse, guys like Quentin Richardson say, `I don't consider him a teammate. He let his teammates out to dry.' He didn't care I was his teammate when I was banished. They left me out for dead. It's like we're in a foxhole and I'm facing the other way. If I got shot in the head, at least you want to get shot by the enemy. I got shot in the head by my own guys in my foxhole. And they didn't even give me an honorable death."

Knicks players have grown tired of the repeated controversies caused by Marbury, especially because they'd like more focus on their improved play this season. New York (8-8) ended November at .500 or better for the first time since going 7-6 in 2004.

"I don't know what to say to that, more than I'm sorry he feels that way and I don't get the impression that we've done that," forward David Lee said. "But moving forward, as I said, this has just got to get taken care of whenever it gets taken care of and we've just got to focus on winning. And buying into comments like that or responding to them does nothing more than take the focus off our team and winning."

Richardson criticized Marbury after the game in Detroit, when the Knicks were forced to play short-handed after injuries and trades. He seemed amused when asked about Marbury's comments after practice.

"He's entitled to his opinion just like I am. And obviously I said what I said and he feels differently about that, and he's entitled to that," Richardson said. "The main thing we want to do is we want to play basketball and win games. These aren't the things we want to come off the court and talk about."

Marbury isn't part of D'Antoni's plans and has been on the inactive list most of the season. However, D'Antoni twice asked Marbury if he would play when the Knicks were undermanned.

"Mike had no intentions of me playing basketball here," Marbury said. "He gave me straight disrespect. It was beyond disrespect. He put in (Danilo) Gallinari, whose back is messed up and (who) didn't participate at all in training camp ahead of me (in the season opener). ... That's saying, `I'm letting you have it right now.' He was sticking it to me."

Marbury also blasted D'Antoni in another interview with the Post last week, saying he didn't trust the coach. Asked about Marbury's comments about playing time, D'Antoni said: "I hate that. Obviously he's in a tough position and I don't think anybody's thrilled with where anybody is, but that's not really true. Again, I'm sure he feels that way and I can understand."

Walsh has said he's opposed to buyouts and agreed that it's difficult to trade Marbury because of his salary of approximately $21 million.

"He (D'Antoni) knew I was in my contract year and did everything they asked me to do. He's not trying to help me. He's trying to hurt me," Marbury said.

Marbury also criticized Walsh for only asking D'Antoni about their conversation in Detroit.

"He suspended me without hearing both sides," Marbury said. "That wasn't fair. He took it upon himself to fine me without even speaking to me."