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NBA team reports on the Western conference, including Wednesday, Dec. 29 games, exclusively on InsideHoops.com, updated once per week.

DALLAS MAVERICKS: With 10 of their next 14 games at home, the Mavericks will be looking to improve on their current home record. They had split their previous six home games but opened a five-game homestand with Tuesday's blowout win over the Celtics. ... One of the reasons for the win was ball movement as Dallas had a season-high 31 assists, including 14 by guard Jason Terry. Terry's performance came one day after Don Nelson addressed the point guard situation of Terry, rookie Devin Harris and Darrell Armstrong by saying one was too young, one was too old and Terry wasn't really a point guard. "Nellie always wants to motivate us," Terry said to the Dallas Morning News "It was another way to get us going. He hasn't been particularly happy with any of us. It's never personal. He wants everybody on this team to do better." ... Terry's 12 assists in the first half were one shy of a team record, held by Mark Aguirre, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash. Before Tuesday's win, the Mavericks were averaging 17.5 assists, which ranked last in the league. ... When scoring at 110 points and shooting 50 percent, Dallas is 6-0. ... Forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 of his 29 points in the first half, marking the ninth time he has scored 20 points in a half this year.

DENVER NUGGETS: With the Nuggets on a season-high six-game losing streak and just one basket away from losing nine in a row, general manager Kiki Vandeweghe fired coach Jeff Bzdelik Tuesday and replaced him on an interim basis with assistant Michael Cooper. Bzdelik was 73-119 in two-plus seasons, improving from 17 wins to 43 and a playoff berth last season. Cooper will be the interim coach as Phil Jackson and George Karl also are candidates. Among the reasons for the change might have been defense and Cooper claimed to the Rocky Mountain News, Bzdelik may have focused too much on offense. "I think our defense," Cooper said to the newspaper when asked what the Nuggets need to do better. "That's where everything starts. Coach Bzdelik concentrated more on offense. We can do a little better job (on defense)." ... Denver's slide began December 12 in New York, where they entered with wins four straight wins and 10 victories in its previous 12 games. But starting with that game, they have allowed 105.6 points while scoring 96.5. ... Forward Carmelo Anthony has missed five straight games with an ankle injury but expects to be back Friday vs. Philadelphia. ... Bzdelik guided the Nuggets to a 32-23 mark midway through last season but went 24-31 since, ending his tenure with a 104-101 loss in Golden State, the Nuggets' only defeat against a losing team during their losing streak. ... Injuries also have contributed as 11 different starting lineups have been used and the latest one was caused by forward Kenyon Martin's back injury. Only point guard Andre Miller has started every game and he is averaging 19.8 points during the losing streak. ... Cooper's first practice was an open session for season ticket holders and it featured drills focusing on defensive fundamentals. "It was much more intense," guard Greg Buckner told the Rocky Mountain News. "If you messed something up you had to do it all over again. He just wanted us to do things the right way." Added Martin - "Guys were having fun. It's a new start. It's probably the start we needed."

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: The Warriors have won four in a row and through 30 games, their 12-18 record is two games off last season's mark at this juncture. They have home wins over the Raptors, Nuggets and Grizzlies while the road win was a impressive victory in Sacramento, a place they hadn't won since March 1998. ... Guard Derek Fisher, who is hated by Kings fans for his Laker days was activated from the injured list before Sunday's game at ARCO Arena and scored 10 points in 20 minutes. "This is a good quality win for our team," Fisher told the Contra Coast Times."The trick for us now is to do it at home." ... During this streak, which was preceded by a four-game skid, the Warriors have used their bench in the wins in Sacramento and vs. Denver. The most notable showing was the career-high 24 points from second-year guard Mickael Pietrus. Asked about the depth of his team, vice president Chris Mullin told the San Francisco Chronicle: "That's one of those things that shows itself when guys play well together. It's like you can draw up a good play, (but whether someone makes the shot) makes it a good play or not." Coincidentally, those comments were made before Wednesday's 111-105 win vs. the Raptors, whose bench outscored Golden State's 50-2. ... While battling the flu, forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. but Wednesday scored a season-high 29 points and made the go-ahead basket with 37 seconds left. ... Guard Jason Richardson scored a season-high 35 points with 21 coming in the first half. ... Point guard Craig Claxton missed the game with a groin injury and Fisher made his fourth start of the season. ... Center Adonal Foyle is now the franchise leader in blocked shots after his two blocks Monday moved him past Joe Barry Carroll.

HOUSTON ROCKETS: In the last seven days, the Rockets have made two deals to add to their collection of guards. Last Thursday, they traded point guard Tyronn Lue to the Hawks for veteran shooting guard Jon Barry. On Monday, they swung a deal to obtain shooting guard David Wesley, giving up starting small forward Jimmy Jackson and small forward Bostjan Nachbar. Including injured point guards Charlie Ward and Andre Barrett, the Rockets are carrying seven guards. Barry went from being a non-factor with the worst team in the East to getting major minutes. After coming off the bench to score seven points Sunday against the Clippers, he started at shooting guard in Milwaukee and Cleveland. The start in Milwaukee was just part of a 115-87 disaster on Tuesday that saw Barry go 0-of-8 from the field. But Barry and the Rockets rebounded with a 98-87 win at Cleveland that marked the eighth time this season they reached the .500 mark and snapped four-game road losing streak. ... Wesley was introduced to the media Monday and said he's looking forward to making national television appearances with Houston. In his debut, the Baylor product played 24 minutes and scored just two points on 1-of-5 shooting as the last player off coach Jeff Van Gundy's bench. ... The Rockets will be without Ward for another six weeks after he underwent right knee surgery to fix a torn lateral meniscus.

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS: Remember when the Clippers were good, and we don't mean a decade ago, we mean a month ago. They were 9-6 in November and peaked at 11-7 on December 7. But since then they are 2-6 to fall to 13-14. Part of the reason is injuries, as Marko Jaric has missed four straight games with a sprained right foot. Jaric was all set to go in Wednesday's 101-90 win over the Jazz but was discouraged by his lack of progress. "I'm nervous," he told the LA Times earlier this week. "I don't know what's going to happen with the injury. It really depends…. Morning, it feels a little bit better and then, evening, I'm hurt. Then (I) come here I can run a little bit. I try some more, then I feel like I'm hurt. I don't know how to feel about the injury, you know? I'm trying to come back as soon as possible." ... Before Wednesday's win, the Clippers hit a number of lows Monday night in a blowout loss at Memphis, finishing with 76 points, shooting 36.1 percent, making just 26 field goals and totaling just 15 assists. ... Other injuries of late have included Corey Maggette's groin, which caused him to sit out one game. But in his last six games, he is shooting a woeful 32 percent (23-of-71). Maggette, Elton Brand and Bobby Simmons made just eight of 33 shots Monday but bounced back by combining to shoot 23-of-46 against the Jazz. ... On Sunday, the Clipper signed guard Kirk Penney from the Ashville Altitude of the NBDL. The former Wisconsin star averaged 9.4 points in 12 games for Ashville. On Wednesday, the Clippers announced former All-Star Norm Nixon will join Mel Proctor as the team's color analyst on radio broadcasts.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Shaquille O'Neal vs. Kobe Bryant part one came and went as the Lakers were handed a tough 104-102 loss to the Heat on Christmas. Bryant scored 42 points but shot 12-of-30, missed his final five shots and had nine turnovers. Bryant also told the LA Times he is ready to move beyond this much hyped feud. "Hopefully this is all behind us now," he said. "I think everybody's kind of got the first game out of their system, and now we can just move on and talk about basketball." Overshadowing the hype of the game was forward Lamar Odom's meeting with the Heat, whom he spent one season with. Caron Butler, who spent his first two seasons with Miami also would have played but he was suspended one game for appearing to punch New Orleans guard Dan Dickau. ... The Lakers have six home losses in their first 16 games, one shy of their total from last season. But Bryant's 48-point performance Tuesday in a 117-99 rout ensured they'd remain at six home losses. Bryant's season-best showing came after he survived the wrong side of collisions with Rafael Araujo and Eric Williams. After injuring his left shoulder - the same one that put him on the injured list last season, he finished 14-of-26 from the floor and 16-of-18 from the foul line. ... The Lakers are 15-12 and have failed to enjoy playing eight of their previous 12 games at home. After concluding their six-game homestand Sunday vs. Denver, they will play five of their next seven on the road, including a back-to-back in San Antonio and Dallas. ... Los Angeles hoisted up a team-record 36 3-pointers Saturday and made 14. Tuesday, the Lakers were 13-of-25 from the arc. ... When allowing 100 points, LA is 0-10 and when chucking up 30 3-pointers or more, the Lakers are 0-3. ... On the injury front, small forward Devean George, who has yet to make his season debut following left ankle surgery in July, went through an extended workout Monday and took part in a fullcourt scrimmage. He is hopeful to return January 10 at Minnesota.

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES: The Grizzlies are now 9-6 under coach Mike Fratello and have won their last three at home with the last two games featuring stretches of dominant defense. They held the Clippers to 12 first-quarter points Monday, setting the tone for a 96-76 win and then Wednesday with an 11-point deficit to overcome, they held the Celtics to 15 points in the fourth en route to a 117-109 win. The win was their first in eight tries when allowing 100 points or more and second in 14 tries when trailing through three. ... Six players reached double figures, including guard Bonzi Wells, who has scored double-digits just three times since being moved to the bench on December 7. ... ... Forward Stromile Swift played 20 minutes but was there the entire fourth quarter, when he recorded three of four blocked shots. ... After starting the last two games against the Suns and Clippers, Shane Battier was the first player off the bench Wednesday. ...He was assigned to Shawn Marion and Elton Brand and held Brand to just eight points. ... Pau Gasol finished with 20-plus points for the 11th time and seventh since Fratello took over December 3.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: Swingman Latrell Sprewell's second return to the Madison Square Garden was a rather quiet one. Last season, he got into a cursing match with Knicks owner James Dolan and scored 31 points in a win. But in Wednesday's 100-87 loss, he didn't deal with Dolan, who was on vacation and scored none of his 22 points in the fourth quarter when the Timberwolves were outscored 19-4 over the final five minutes. ... The loss was Minnesota's fifth straight on the road, its longest skid since March 2001. ... Forward Kevin Garnett was held six points below his average as he finished with 17 points as Minnesota moved to 8-8 on the road and 16-11 overall. After the game, he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "I don't even know our record," Garnett said. "I (couldn't care) less what it is. I care how we're playing in the present. I care how we practice, I care how we prepare for games. ... Right now, we're not playing Grade-A basketball like I know we can." ... Guard Troy Hudson may be on his way out of Minnesota. He was a DNP-CD Wednesday, one day after his agent Bill Neff told the media, the team might consider trading him. Hudson stated he wants to stay but believes the team doesn't trust his game. ... Hudson was benched despite averaging 11.3 points in his last four road games and said to the Star Tribune: "I'm coming off an injury. It would feel better just to have support from the inside, knowing that (I am) out there, playing injured, on one leg. That they would support a person like that, more than (saying) 'A guy goes around him.' Or 'This guy's not giving his all.' Or 'How could this guy drive past him? How could he not make that shot or turn the ball over?' Hudson started 74 of 79 games in his first season with Minnesota in 2002-03 but ankle injuries limited him to just 29 last season. He has not started this season and played a season-low seven minutes vs. Washington Sunday. ... C Michael Olowokandi injured his knee early Wednesday and played just 14 minutes. He is day-to-day.

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS: The Hornets spent last week completing their five-game road trip with losses in Cleveland and Indiana with the loss in Cleveland turning out to be David Wesley's last game with the team. On Monday, Wesley was sent to Houston for Bostjan Nachbar and Jimmy Jackson. ... Jackson has yet to report and was fined a game check of $27,500 for missing Wednesday's game and could be docked for missing practice. ... Jackson held a 50-minute conference call with coach Byron Scott and team executives and Scott told the New Orleans Times Picayune "I got the feeling from the conversation that he didn't plan on showing up. He said he was disappointed and that he didn't want to start over. He wants to have a chance to win a championship, just like 200 other players in this league." ... Despite the team's woeful record, general manager Allan Bristow has insisted the team is not in full rebuilding mode and would like Jackson to be a part of things. "We're 2-25, and certainly that's a very discouraging mark," Bristow told the Times Picayune But over the last 14 years, we've been winners, .500 or better. And we don't plan to be in this position very long. We have to turn this thing around. And the way to do that is certainly you've got to get healthy. But you also make trades along the way." ... As for Nachbar, the former first-round pick played 29 solid minutes against Phoenix Wednesday, collecting seven points and seven rebounds. ... Rookie guard J.R. Smith made his second straight start and scored 13 points. ... All the injuries have forced the Hornets to use 19 players, two shy of the franchise record set in 1995-96. ... G Dan Dickau has 29 assists in his last five games, six more than he had in his first nine games with New Orleans. ... The Hornets shot 47 percent Wednesday, marking just the sixth time they have shot better than 45 percent. ... During their seven-game skid, opponents have scored 100 points six times. ... In seven games since returning from a groin injury, Lee Nailon is averaging 18.2 points.

PHOENIX SUNS: The Suns failed their biggest test of the season, getting blown out at San Antonio Tuesday. But luckily for them, a trip to New Orleans was scheduled the next night. But the Suns did not rout the Hornets, winning by just 11 behind a record-setting showing from Quentin Richardson. Richardson had 31 points and set a team record with nine 3-pointers. ... He had been 0-for-7 Tuesday but broke the record set by Dan Majerle and Jason Kidd and tied by Richardson on December 5 ... Although the Suns own the league's best record at 25-4, coach Mike D'Antoni is troubled by some of their recent defensive efforts, including one that allowed the league's worst team to shoot 47 percent, raising the opponents field goal percentage to 49.3 in the last seven games. ... "We're just playing around again," D'Antoni told the Arizona Republic. "Some guys are trying to go. Some of it is they're a little tired and a little down from last night (Tuesday's loss to the Spurs), and you can understand that. But some of it is, 'I just don't want to play real hard tonight.' We can't have that. It's people worrying about things they shouldn't worry about." ... Guard Steve Nash became the first player in NBA history to record 11 straight double-figure assists games but had his streak stopped Tuesday. He finished with nine Wednesday and has been held under 10 assists for the ninth time this season. When that happens, the Suns are 6-3.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS: Portland is at the .500 mark for the 11th time after Monday's 111-104 loss to the 76ers. ... Forward Darius Miles had a season-high 28 points, topping 11 points for the seventh straight game. In his last seven games, including five as a starter for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, he is averaging 18 points on 54 percent shooting. ... Abdur-Rahim may play Thursday against San Antonio. An MRI taken Tuesday, revealed no structural damage in his hyperextended right elbow but there is significant swelling and he will test it during pregame warmups. ... In five games off the bench, guard Damon Stoudamire is averaging 13.5 points on 55 percent shooting (22-of-40). ... Monday's game was the first since guard Nick Van Exel told reporters in Milwaukee he was retiring after the season and he scored just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting. On Sunday, the Blazers signed second-round pick center Ha Seung Jin. The 7-3, 305-pound South Korean averaged 11.4 points and 5.0 rebounds with the Portland Reign of the ABA. On Tuesday, Vladimir Stepania was waived. He was on the injured list all season and appeared in just one preseason game.

SACRAMENTO KINGS: The Kings have lost back-to-back home games for just the second time in five years after losses to Golden State and Miami, teams that featured players that burned the Kings in recent playoff series. Facing former Laker Shaquille O'Neal, the Kings collapsed down the stretch in a two-point loss last Thursday. Against ex-Laker Derek Fisher and ex-Maverick Eduardo Najera, the Kings blew a 10-point halftime lead. "Nothing is a given, just because we've won in Arco before, and because we've been a good team in the past," coach Rick Adelman told the Sacramento Bee. "None of that matters right now, and we try to keep talking about that. You have to earn it in this league. Our biggest problem is we think we should be granted wins instead of going out there and playing, and that's frustrating to me." ... Guard Bobby Jackson has elected to have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist after consulting with two New York doctors. He will not be placed on the injured list until January 5, the first day 10-day contracts can be signed. Maurice Evans got some of Jackson's minutes and scored a career-high 13 points but had problems containing Jason Richardson. ... The Kings are averaging 100.7 points in their last seven road games, winning six and play five of their next six away from home. ... F Chris Webber has reached 20 points in his last six games. ... Backup center Greg Ostertag was a DNP-CD for the fourth time this season Sunday but will play in his return to Utah Friday. Ostertag had a shaky relationship with Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and doesn't expect a standing ovation from fans in Utah Friday.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS: While the Sonics and Suns are racking up wins, so are the Spurs, who begin a three-game road trip with a 23-6 mark. The defense-first approach is still working for them as they made a statement to the Suns by holding them to 94 points - 15 below their average while limiting them to 39.7 percent shooting. That was the 13th time they've held opponents under 40 percent. ... In Tuesday's win, point guard Tony Parker scored a season-high 29 points and it came after he went to sleep at 9:30 pm Monday, 3 1/2 hours before his normal bedtime. ... The win came after the Spurs gave up a season-high 35 points in the first quarter. But then they gave up just 34 over the next 24 minutes and won their fifth straight home game. "Everybody understood defense was going to have to do it for us," forward Bruce Bowen told the San Antonio Express News. "We knew they could score points, but let's see what they can do with they have to shoot with hands in their face." ... Since scoring five points at Houston December 9, Parker is averaging 19.3 points and shooting 47.5 percent (57-of-120).

SEATTLE SONICS: Since winning on back-to-back nights at Dallas and San Antonio on Decmber 8-9, the Sonics have played just six games in the last 20 days and are 3-3 with all the losses coming at home. The Sonics won at Utah Monday and lost to Philadelphia Tuesday in just their fifth set of back-to-back games all season. ... The Sonics have played six games in which they had at least two days off and are 5-1. ... On Monday, the Sonics snapped an eight-game losing streak in Utah but Tuesday disappointed the sixth straight sellout at Key Arena with a 114-107 loss to the Sixers. When Seattle visited Philadelphia on November 16, it tied a team record with 18 3-pointers. On Tuesday, the Sonics were a paltry 8-of-33 from the arc and the main culprits were forward Rashard Lewis (2-of-9) and the normally strong reserve unit, who missed 9-of-10 3-pointers. ... Guard Ray Allen has made just nine of his last 46 3-point attempts. ... Seattle embarks on a five-game, eight-day road trip through Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Orlando and Washington. After this trip, Seattle has just three trips longer than two games. "The last time we did this, that was the beginning to everyone believing in each other and us proving to everyone else in the league that we were for real," forward Danny Fortson told the Seattle Times. "In a funny way, I'm looking forward to this trip. Some teams hate being out on the road, but this team is different. ... The Sonics have hired Dean Oliver to be their statistics consultant and that's not the former Iowa standout who played briefly for Golden State a few years ago. Oliver is a 35-year-old environmental engineer, who has traded his statistical research for free tickets and to join the Sonics, he is taking a 75 percent pay reduction to go from studying causes of pollution to studying key questions like How often does a player make good things happen when he touches the ball and who gets better and who gets worse? "I was certainly doing a very valuable service," Oliver told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer "It's an important part of the economy and keeping the environment safe. Even though basketball is a form of trivial entertainment, I still like the kind of science that I'm doing,".

UTAH JAZZ: At 11-18, the Jazz are seven games below .500 for the first time since the conclusion of the 1982-83 season when they finished 30-52. Wednesday's 101-90 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers was their second in 23 meetings since 1999. ... Guard Raja Bell's knee began to act up late in Monday's loss to Seattle so he missed his first game in a Utah uniform, allowing rookie Kirk Snyder to make his first career start. In a season-high 30 minutes, he scored 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting. ... In the 15 games forward Andrei Kirilenko has missed, the Jazz are averaging 94 points while allowing 103, resulting in 12 losses. ... The saga at point guard continued Wednesday with Keith McLeod getting his second straight start. McLeod played just seven minutes due to early foul trouble. Raul Lopez followed with 11 of 19 minutes in the first half, going 3-of-4 from the field and finishing with eight points. Carlos Arroyo also played, scoring eight points in 23 minutes. "I feel bad for the four guys," coach Jerry Sloan told the Deseret Morning News. "But we've got to do the best we can to try to get some consistency and get some effort that will give us a chance to win." McLeod was activated from the injured list and played 32 minutes, scoring 11 points. According to Sloan, McLeod isn't going anywhere. "He doesn't have anything to worry about in my opinion," he told the Deseret Morning News. "He's going to play hard. I've seen that out of him enough to know." ... Wednesday's game marked just the second time in franchise history the Jazz failed to record a steal. The other time was December 23, 1980 vs. the Mavericks.