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Weekly NBA team reports, exclusively on InsideHoops.com. Reports do not include Monday's results.

ATLANTA HAWKS: The Hawks have endured all sorts of lows so far but Wednesday's 113-110 win over Dallas produced some highs. In snapping a five-game losing streak, the Hawks scored 100 points in regulation for the first time all season and their 113 points were a season-high as were their 46 field goals and 49 points off the bench. ... Ex-Maverick forward Antoine Walker overcame his flu and scored 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting. ... Atlanta is making just 65.3 percent of its foul shots this season and first-year coach Mike Woodson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday, all sorts of experts are contacting him about the problem. "People watch your team and offer advice," Woodson said to the newspaper. "They want to come in. If I'm going to bring somebody in, I'm going to bring in Mark Price, who works for us a little bit [as a broadcaster]. He was a great free-throw shooter." ... Rookie G Royal Ivey replaced Boris Diaw and scored five points in 15 minutes during his first career start. ... Diaw, who had started the previous nine games was a DNP-CD as was veteran shooting guard Jon Barry for the eighth straight game. ... On Thursday, Barry was sent to the Houston Rockets for point guard Tyronn Lue but according to GM Billy Knight the deal will not take away minutes from Ivey. "This doesn't mean we're not playing Royal any more," Knight said to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "(Lue) is a different kind of point guard than the type we have, he pushes the ball up the court, has good defensive pressure and a toughness in guarding people." ... The Hawks face the Heat Monday night and might be without center Jason Collier. Collier has a mild right knee sprain after colliding with a teammate in practice over the weekend.

BOSTON CELTICS: The Celtics youngsters are starting to draw some notice for solid play. One of them is rookie power Al Jefferson, who made his first career start in Wednesday's win over the Knicks. Filling in for the injured Raef LaFrentz, Jefferson scored 12 and grabbed five rebounds. He has scored in double figures seven times so far and four of those outings have been since he was held scoreless in four minutes Decemeber 11 at Seattle. Jefferson was back on the bench for Sunday's loss as LaFrentz returned from a sprained left ankle. ... Veteran point guard Gary Payton is averaging 16.7 points over his last eight games and five of those games have been Celtics wins and he is starting to draw praise from coach Doc Rivers, who called him the biggest surprise on the Celtics. "The biggest surprise to me after 25 games is Gary Payton, the oldest guy on the team," Rivers said to the Boston Herald last week "We didn't know how he was going to come in or his whole family situation, and he's been just an amazing, amazing leader. You have no idea what he's doing in our locker room. He's been so selfless this whole season so far. It's just been amazing." ... The Celtics begin the week with three road games in four days, but starting next Friday vs. Washington they play seven of their next 10 at the FleetCenter. ... Only two teams lead the all-time series with the Celtics and the Spurs are one of them. Sunday's 107-90 loss was their 14th in a row in San Antonio, a streak that dates back to Feb. 14, 1990 when star Paul Pierce was 12 years old, Payton was a senior at Oregon State and Rivers was a point guard with Atlanta. Since Tim Duncan was selected with the first pick in the 1997 draft, the Celtics are 0-14. The Celtics just missed out on Duncan as they

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS: After losing their first 10 road games by an average margin of 8.8 points, the Bobcats notched their first road win, beating the Rockets 90-87 Wednesday night. ... Rookie F Emeka Okafor kept his double-double streak going with 21 points and 11 rebounds in his hometown. ... However, the Bobcats couldn't make it two straight on the road as they were dealt a 91-82 loss in New York on Sunday. ... Okafor's double-double streak is now 15, the most by a rookie since Shaquille O'Neal had 15 in 1992-93. ... Point guard Brevin Knight came into Sunday's game averaging 9.6 assists but he finished with four in 24 foul-plagued minutes. In the 14 games he does not reach double figures in assists, the Bobcats are 1-13. ... As a result, the Bobcats had just 14 Sunday, which is 8 1/2 below their average. ... Forward Gerald Wallace injured his wrist Wednesday night but played 36 minutes Sunday and grabbed 11 and 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double. ... Guard Kareem Rush has some extremes in the boxscore recently. On Tuesday, he scored a season-high 23 points vs. the Nets, went scoreless in 15 minutes Wednesday and was the only player to not play Sunday.

CHICAGO BULLS: When they were 0-9, the Bulls were among the worst defensive teams in the league. They were giving up 101.6 points per game and allowing opponents to shoot 45 percent. But during their five-game winning streak, they allowed 81 points and foes to shoot 37.9 percent. ... Their streak was kept alive with Wednesday's 89-82 win at Detroit in which Ben Gordon overcame five fouls and scored 10 points in the fourth. ... However the streak ended with Sunday's 99-92 loss at Milwaukee, which marked the 13th straight defeat in Milwaukee. ... Eddy Curry finished with four rebounds but played just 24 minutes and scored only three points after getting 12 in the first five-plus minutes. "We were getting killed on the glass," coach Scott Skiles told the Chicago Tribune. "I was searching for anybody to go in there and rebound. For the most part, we weren't able to find it." ... Although the Bulls still have a losing record, they appear to have a favorable schedule as 15 of their next 18 games are against teams with a .500 record or worse. ... Rookie guard Ben Gordon is averaging 14.3 points in his last 18 games after averaging 7.9 in his first seven. ... Guard Kirk Hinrich has scored in double figures in his last 10 games.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: LeBron James is certainly a star in this league but apparently not enough to get the calls Michael Jordan used to. In Wednesday's two-point loss at New Jersey, James twice was called for traveling in the final two minutes and was not thrilled with the calls. "I've been doing those moves since I started playing basketball," James said to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "The move has never been a travel. Never. Two moves in a row. I've done them all year. You've seen me. The [reporters] from Cleveland have seen me do it all year, and now they want to call a travel. I couldn't believe it." ... On Sunday, he just missed his first career triple-double, finishing with 22 points, a season-high 14 rebounds and nine rebounds. ... Forward Drew Gooden has scored in double figures in his last 13 games after collecting 18 and 18 rebounds Sunday for his eighth double-double in his last 13 games. ... Forward Robert Traylor was activated from the injured list after missing eight games with a fractured left finger. The Cavs were 3-5 in his absence but scored six points in 19 minutes against the Hornets. "That's a gift for me and the team," coach Paul Silas told the Akron Beacon-Journal. "When he went down we were really searching.'' ... Guard Eric Snow has averaged 12 minutes in the three games since being suspended for cursing at Silas on December 16. In Sunday's win, his first 3-pointer of the season with 59 seconds remaining gave the Cavs an eight-point lead. Cleveland's 7-3 record vs. the Western Conference is the best among the East. ... Guard Jeff McInnis accepted the responsibility for a a defensive misunderstanding last week in New Jersey and made up for it with a pair of big shots in the final 2:16 Sunday.

DETROIT PISTONS: Nothing remotely resembling last month's shocking riot ensued Saturday afternoon in Indiana. In their first meeting with the Pacers since the November 19 melee, the Pistons edged them, 98-92. "The crowd was real courteous, and that was great," Coach Larry Brown said to the Detroit News. "I don't think the players did anything but play and try to win the game, and that was great. Now, we can celebrate the holidays with our families and get over this mess." ... The atmosphere was mostly positive, including several instances of Pistons diving into the crowd to chase down loose balls. One involving forward Antonio McDyess even drew mild applause. In the second quarter, he was chasing down a loose ball when he accidently cut the lip of a woman. After a timeout McDyess walked over and apologized. "I really thought it would be worse," McDyess said of the crowd's reaction to the Detroit News. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. At the end, when they knew we had won, the people behind our bench were getting on us pretty good, but we weren't letting it get to us." ... Saturday's win was preceded by an 89-82 loss vs. the Bulls that led to a $15,000 fine for Brown. Brown was fined for verbal abuse of official Anthony Jordan following the loss. ... In the last five games, Detroit has held an 100-53 edge in offensive rebounding. ... Center Ben Wallace needs 10 blocks for 1,000 in a Detroit uniform. ... Monday's meeting with the Nets is the first since last spring's Eastern Conference semifinals in which the Pistons won the final two games.

INDIANA PACERS: The Pacers welcomed center Jermaine O'Neal back to their lineup Saturday and will have him for Monday's game vs. New Orleans and Wednesday's contest in Charlotte. O'Neal's 25-game suspension for his role in last month's brawl at Detroit was reduced 10 games by a federal judge, who upheld an arbitrator's ruling. But he may have his suspension continued based on the outcome of a hearing this Thursday. In his first action since November 19, O'Neal got a loud ovation from Pacers fans and finished with 21 points on 7-of-19 shooting in 39 minutes. "I feel bad for my team and the city, because so many guys were trying to make sure I got a rhythm," O'Neal said to the Indianapolis Star. "I put the loss on my shoulders, because anytime I step onto the floor, no matter how many games I miss, I have to be prepared." ... With O'Neal out, a lot of the burden has fallen to point guard Jamaal Tinsley, who has had mixed results. In the 15 games before Saturday, Tinsley played 10, missing the others with a thigh injury. He averaged 22.7 points, eight assists and 36 minutes while shooting 45 percent (82-of-182). But he also picked up seven technical fouls and was ejected in losses vs. Philadelphia and at Chicago. ... Forward Jeff Foster collected 16 rebounds before injuring his left wrist in Saturday's 98-93 loss vs. Detroit. In his last six games, Foster has averaged 15.5 boards and has recorded a double-double in each game. ... O'Neal's return meant coach Rick Carlisle used his 16th different lineup. ... The Pacers are 9-6 when shooting at least 45 percent. ... Wednesday's loss to Philadelphia clinched Indiana's first non-winning month since it was 5-9 in March 2003.

MIAMI HEAT: The feud involving center Shaquille O'Neal and Lakers star Kobe Bryant led to Miami playing on Christmas Day for the second time in team history. Just before Miami's 104-102 overtime win, the former teammates shared an uncomfortable handshake. As for stuff on the court, the Heat have tied a team record with 11 straight wins, matching the mark set January 27-February 20, 1997. ... O'Neal called Bryant a "Covette" earlier in the week and scored 24 points before fouling Bryant with 2:15 remaining in regulation for his final foul. O'Neal also got a nice video tribute from the Lakers but told the Miami Herald he wasn't paying attention to it. "I didn't really watch it, because I didn't want to go into a flashback mode," O'Neal said. "I think my sons had a good time watching it." ... Former Laker Eddie Jones, who spent some time with O'Neal and Bryant in Los Angeles also commented to the Miami Herald on O'Neal's differences in dealing with leadership. "I think he's grown up a big deal," Jones said. "Early on, he was always sticking needles at you. It was always something. Now, you can just tell he understands the role of being a leader and being a teammate." ... In his last six games, Jones is averaging 20 points and shooting 55.6 percent (44-of-79). ... Jones also was effective defending Bryant down the stretch. He played with five fouls during the last 8:13 but managed to hold Bryant to just two points. "I wanted it," Jones said to the Miami Herald. "I go out and play defense hard every night, but once Shaq was out of the game in regulation, you have to pick it up a couple notches defensively. ... Saturday's hyped game may have overshadowed another impressive game, a 109-107 comeback win at Sacramento on Thursday. In one of the league's toughest buildings, Miami made up a 12-point deficit and got some offensive heroics from guard Damon Jones, whose 3-pointer with 23.4 seconds left put the Heat in front.

For the remaining seven reports, click here.