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/ Dec. 28, 2004

Reports do not include Monday's games.

MILWAUKEE BUCKS: The Bucks five-game losing streak came to an end with Sunday's 99-92 win over the Bulls, their 13th in a row over Chicago at the Bradley Center. The end came due to 39 points from Michael Redd, who had just four in Wednesday's loss to Portland. "I was just focused tonight," Redd said to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "I didn’t have one of my better performances the other night against Portland. I just wanted to come out and get a win." ... During Milwaukee's skid, Redd had shot 39 percent (37-of-94) but Sunday he made 15-of-27 shots. ... The Bucks won four of their first five home games and averaged 100 points. They have dropped six of their last eight at home and are averaging 92.6 points. ... Forward Keith Van Horn missed his 10th straight game with tendinitis in his right ankle. ... In 11 games since returning from a hip injury, forward Joe Smith is averaging 13.7 points. ... Forward Marcus Fizer has played two games against the Bulls, whom he began his career with and has shot 3-of-13.

NEW JERSEY NETS: Swingman Vince Carter's tenure with the Nets is expected to officially begin Monday night in Detroit, the same city in which he injured his Achilles on December 8, which was his final game as a Raptor. Carter and the Nets took part in a two-hour practice Sunday and a 20-minute film session and coach Lawrence Frank seemed pleased with his newest player. "He's a very quick study," Frank told the Newark Star-Ledger. "He has a very high basketball IQ. He picks things up very quickly. He watches. There are things we haven't put in, and he saw it in (the) video playbook and he referenced it. He's a very smart guy." ... Forward Brian Scalabrine is not expected to make the two-game road trip due to a hamstring and the Nets are expected sign Jerome Moiso, who will join the team Tuesday. ... Although he did not play, Carter introduced himself to media members before Wednesday's 92-90 win vs. Cleveland. "I still have room to grow," Carter said to the New York Times. "Playing with a point guard like Jason, and with Richard Jefferson on the wing, we can complement each other and raise our games to another level. I feel rejuvenated." ... Jefferson scored a career-high 42 points Wednesday and in the 10 games since Kidd has returned, he is averaging 26.8 points while shooting 50.2 percent (85-of-169). ... For Tuesday's three-point win in Charlotte, 7-footer Nenad Krstic got his first start at center and it went well as he totaled 13 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes before getting ejected for elbowing Gerald Wallace in the third quarter. Also Tuesday, Kidd reached double figures in assists for the first time this year, finishing with 12. He has played over 30 minutes in his last four games but did not throw the inbounds pass that led to Jefferson's game-winning shot Wednesday.

NEW YORK KNICKS: After allowing 237 points in losses to Dallas and at Boston, the Knicks bounced back with a 91-82 win over Charlotte Sunday. However, they nearly blew a 16-point lead and wound playing their 20th game decided by 10 points or less. The Knicks have held double digit leads 16 times this season and won 12 of those games. ... Prior to Sunday's game starting shooting guard Jamal Crawford was placed on the injured list with turf toe in his right foot. He suffered the injury when Boston's Jiri Welsch stepped on his foot Wednesday and is expected to miss three to six weeks. ... Crawford's injury elevated Allan Houston to the starting lineup and Houston scored 16 points in a season-high 29 minutes on 5-of-10 shooting. ... Frequently maligned small forward Tim Thomas, scored a season-high 20 points, including eight down the stretch. After the game, Thomas continued to dismiss those who may boo him. "I don't worry about critics," he said to reporters. "Because nine times out of 10, critics haven't played this sport." Thomas also admitted he is ready to focus more on basketball after enduring two deaths in his family. "Going out there running and jumping, that's the easy part," he said. "At this level, the game is 90 percent mental. My family is healthy, so now I'm just concentrating on winning games." ... The Knicks allowed under 85 points for just the fourth time this season. ... With the recent struggles of Stephon Marbury and Crawford, the backcourt duo entered Sunday as the third-scoring tandem at 38.8 points, just behind Orlando's Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley.

ORLANDO MAGIC: Despite being held under 100 points for just the fourth time in their last 15 games, the Magic won their fourth straight home game, beating San Antonio, 93-87 Wednesday. ... The Magic allowed under 90 points for the first time since November 24 vs. Portland, a span of 14 games. It was just the fourth time all year an opponent scored under 90. ... Since returning from the injured list on December 1, G Cuttino Mobley is averaging 18.3 points in his last 12 games. ... Orlando is 6-5 against the Eastern Conference and plays 10 of its next 12 games within its conference. ... Center Kelvin Cato could return Monday or the team could wait until Wednesday against Milwaukee. He has been out since December 6 with a dislocated left shoulder. ... Rookie forward Dwight Howard is slumping lately. In his last five games, he is shooting 26 percent (9-of-34).

PHILADELPHIA 76ers: Winners of five of their previous seven games, the Sixers embark on their challenging seven-game tour of the Western Conference. It starts Monday in Portland followed by a game in Seattle on Tuesday. After two days off, they take on Denver on New Year's Eve and then fly out to California to take on the Clippers and Warriors on January 2-3. After playing Utah on January 5, the trip concludes two days later in Minnesota. The trip will encompass 14 days, 9,000 miles eight flights and is a result of Disney taking over the Wachovia Center for two weeks. "I think it's going to be a good thing for us," guard Allen Iverson said. "Everything's going to be against us. On The road, that's when you really need your teammates and yoru coaching staff because it's that team against 20,000 people. I'm looking forward to going on the road and seeing how positive we can be." ... Despite the lengthy trek, the Sixers enter it on a good note with three straight road wins following an eight-game skid away from home. ... Over his last five games, Iverson is averaging 40 points on 53.6 percent shooting. ... The Sixers have scored at least 100 points in six straight games, something they hadn't done since February 19, 2003-March 2, 2003. ... Forward Glenn Robinson, who has not played this season worked out last Tuesday and will accompany the team on the trip. ... Philadelphia will be aiming for smoother flights on this journey. The Sixers' flight back from Wednesday's win in Indiana turned into a major hassle. They left Indiana took 15 hours more than expected and it was after 4:30 pm Thursday when they finally landed in Philadelphia. The delays were caused by various engine problems and struggles to de-ice the plane. "When we were landing and looked out, and after we had gone through unbelievable turbulence" on the approach to Philadelphia, "you could see the city and it was bumper-to-bumper traffic," coach Jim O'Brien told the Philadelphia Inquirer "It was the first time I ever wanted to be sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic."

TORONTO RAPTORS: Is Jalen Rose being traded? According to Rose, last week's demotion from the starting five lineup might lead to a trade because he was benched in his final days with the Bulls and shipped to the Raptors shortly thereafter in December 2003. Rose, whose 14.8 million salary is now the highest on the team, had been mentioned in several Vince Carter rumors but remained and was replaced by Eric Williams. Following Wednesday's game vs. the Jazz he vented to the Toronto Star "I've seen this movie before," Rose said to the newspaper. "Like I said, there's five guys in the lineup — five — and only one's getting replaced ... It takes a team to build up a 9-18 record." Rose, who earlier that day met with general manager Rob Babcock continued with this comment to the Star "(Management has) been taking hits about (the Carter trade), like, `Who did they get? Who?'" "When (management) doesn't bring you in, they want their own guys in their own situations, to at least get a chance to see how their pieces fit and work ... But at the end of the day, I feel like I'm still a starter in this league." Before the demotion, Rose had been a reserve just twice since the 1999 season when he came off the bench for 48 of 49 games with the Pacers. In his two games as a bench player, Rose has scored 31 points on 13-of-20 from the field. ... In two games with Toronto, Eric Williams has collected 19 points and 12 rebounds. Toronto's road losing streak hit eight games with Sunday's loss in Phoenix, where its bench held an amazing 50-9 edge.

WASHINGTON WIZARDS: The Wizards' five-game Western Swing ended in disappointing fashion with Sunday's 109-74 loss at Minnesota. The loss dropped their record against winning teams to 3-9. The Wizards won 10 of their first 15 games by playing a schedule with 10 opponents that have losing records. But they have dropped six of their last 10 games with the last five losses coming by an average of 16.4 points. ... F Antawn Jamison was held to a season-low eight points Sunday as the Wizards equaled their least productive scoring output. ... The loss was Washington's worst since a 111-67 whipping by New Jersey on January 16, 2002. ... Prior to the game, guard Steve Blake was activated from the injured list after the former Maryland standout missed nine games with a strained left foot. ... As Washington split the first four games of its trip, Jamison, Larry Hughes and Gilbert Arenas combined for 288 of the 412 points.










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