Marc Gasol posted an impressive 26-point, five-rebound, six-assist, three-steal and three-block line against the Clippers on Sunday. Perhaps most amazing of all, Gasol’s 13-of-18 shooting today brings him to 59-of-76 (78%) over his last eight games. Gasol is emerging into a potential NBA all-star and a very efficient, effective player. His hot stretch shooting will end sooner than later, but ride the wave while you can.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Houston: Houston Rockets F Luis Scola left Sunday’s game 22 seconds into the first quarter after getting poked in the eye by the Thunder’s Etan Thomas. Expect Scola to be day-to-day.

Boston: Kevin Garnett shot a near-perfect 11-of-12 from the field to score 24 points with eight rebounds, one assist and one steal in the Boston Celtics’ 92-85 win over the Heat on Sunday. At times, Garnett still appears to be struggling with injuries but the big-ticket is still better than most.

Philadelphia: Eddie Jordan admitted that the Sixers have held conversations about Allen Iverson, and other free agents, just an hour after saying certainly that “he had not talked to anyone about Allen Iverson.” We all know that coaches bend the truth, but it’s always nice to see it happen on an hour-by-hour basis.

Detroit: Charlie Villanueva announced Sunday on his Twitter account that he will have surgery on his broken nose Monday, and we’re calling his status for Wednesday’s game “questionable.”

Detroit: Ben Wallace grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds on Sunday, and added 10 points to go with two steals and two assists.

San Antonio: Manu Ginobili (groin) will play Sunday against the Sixers, but Roger Mason (hamstring) will not. “If he got over 20 minutes, I’d be very surprised,” coach Gregg Popovich said.

Phoenix: The Associated Press updated a post-game report identifying that Leandro Barbosa left Sunday’s game due to an ankle injury, not Amare Stoudemire.

New Orleans: Peja Stojakovic will not play against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday due to personal reasons.
Peja was also suffering from an illness, but this adds a new wrinkle to his situation as he hasn’t even made the trip to Sacramento. It’s unclear at this time whether he’ll be able to meet the team in Los Angeles to play the Lakers on Tuesday. The Nets have just two games next week, and Peja belongs on the bench.

Fox Sports’ Stephen A. Smith is reporting that the Sixers appear to be on the verge of signing Allen Iverson, possibly as early as in the upcoming week. With rookie Jrue Holiday set to fill in for Lou Williams over the next two months, the Sixers could use the help. In addition, the number of tickets that Iverson would sell has to interest Philly. “We simply can’t just ignore the upside he’d bring,” a team source said. “Not with our situation.” Iverson appears to be buncing around the league like a pin-ball this season.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Orlando: The Orlando Magic narrowly defeated the Bucks on Saturday, 100-98, led by Dwight Howard’s 25 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks. In the past two games, Howard is averaging 3.5 points, 18.5 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks. Even though he went 5-of-10 from the free-throw line, Howard is emerging as the leagues most dominate center.

Milwakee: Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova scored 20 points and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds vs. the Magic on Saturday. Ilyasova shed his protective facemask before the game, but he wasn’t tentative whatsoever. He connected on 8-of-18 FGs, including two 3-pointers, and looks like a waiver wire steal.

Utah: Jazz PF Carlos Boozer’s continued his stellar play on Saturday, as he led the Utah Jazz with 26 points (11-of-16 FGs), 12 rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block. Boozer has been on fire as of late, scoring 20+ points in seven of the last eight games. He is also averaging 5.0 assists over the past five games, a trend we hope (but are skeptical) he can sustain.

Utah: Jazz F Andrei Kirilenko strained his back during Saturday’s game and will not return in the second half. Kirilenko has been playing well recently and hopes to make it back on the court soon.

Cleveland: Cavs PG Mo Williams made 7-of-7 three-pointers on Saturday, scoring 25 points in a win over the Mavericks. He had one assist, zero steals and four turnovers (atrocious numbers for any PG), but we’re still seeing sevens. And if you had lingering questions about his sore right middle finger, consider this the answer.

Cleveland: Delonte West racked up 10 points and 10 assists for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, playing 28 inspired minutes off the bench.

Charlotte: Gerald Wallace posted 14 points and 14 rebounds on Saturday, leading the Bobcats to their fourth straight victory. Wallace has six consecutive double-doubles, and he’s starting to make his three-pointers. He has made 5-of-10 threes in the past two games after shooting 3-of-21 (14%) in the first 14 games

1. Celtics (12-4): Have done nothing to lose the top spot.
2. Lakers (11-3): Getting healthy is dangerous for rest of the NBA.
3. Suns (13-3): Hanging around at the top.
4. Nuggets (12-4): Very strong team.
5. Hawks (12-4): Young players continue to get better.
6. Magic (12-4): Howard is an advantage against any team.
7. Mavericks (12-4): This team could be scary good.
8. Cavaliers (11-5): James gets you in the top ten.
9. Trail Blazers (12-6): They will go as far as Oden will take them.
10. Heat (9-6): Hanging around the top ten thus far.
11. Thunder (9-7): One of the youngest teams and getting better.
12. Spurs (8-6): Built for the playoffs.
13. Jazz (8-7): Playing better now, finally.
14. Bucks (8-6): Had some bad early season breaks.
15. Pacers (6-8): Nothing really to day.
16. Rockets (8-8): Beat a good Kings team at home this week.
17. Kings (7-8): Look out for this team down the stretch.
18. Bulls (6-8): Should be better than this.
19. Bobcats (6-9): They have a little winning streak going.
20. Raptors (7-10): Their best player is gone in the offseason.
21. Clippers (7-10): Break this team up now!
22. Hornets (7-9): Should be a playoff team, what happened?
23. Warriors (5-9): The bad seed is gone.
24. Grizzlies (6-10): Lakers trade starting to pay dividends.
25. Pistons (5-11): Offseason moves are not paying off.
26. 76ers (5-11): Here comes Iverson!
27. Wizard (2-7): Getting healthy.
28. Knicks (3-13): Terrible.
29. Timberwolves (1-15): Horrible.
30. Nets (0-16): Will they ever win?

Monta Ellis set a season-high in scoring for the second straight night on Wednesday, scoring 42-points on 16-of-25 shooting with four rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block. The 42 points also tied a career-high for Ellis. Just a day after playing all 48 minutes, Ellis went for 44 minutes tonight and there’s no reason to think he won’t keep it up with the Warriors so short-handed. Is Ellis still on the trading block?

Elsewhere around the NBA:

New Jersey: Brook Lopez had 32 points, 14 rebounds, a steal and two blocks on 13-of-25 shooting as the New Jersey Nets lost by 10 to the Blazers to run their record to 0-15. They’re two losses from starting out 0-17 to match the 1988-89 Heat for the worst start in NBA history.

New Jersey: Devin Harris hit just 2-of-6 shots for six points, three assists and two steals as the Nets lost again on Wednesday. He’s clearly not at 100 percent but is at least playing through his groin injury.

Indiana: Pacers beat reporter Mike Wells reports that Danny Granger will not play on Wednesday due to a sprained left MCL.

Portland: Blazers C Greg Oden had 18 points, eight boards, a steal and four more blocks in Wednesday’s win over the Nets. Oden is having a good year and is starting to pay dividends as the No. 1 overall pick. If the Portland Trail Blazers are going to advance in the playoffs, he will need to play well and stay healthy.

Houston: Rockets F/C Carl Landry hit 9-of-11 shots and had a team-high 24 points to go along with six boards in Wednesday’s loss. Landry is quietly having a good year.

Dallas Mavericks: Jason Terry hit 10-of-11 shots and all four of his 3-point attempts on his way to 27 points and a season-high 10 assists on Wednesday. Look for Terry to win the fifth man of the year award.

Dallas: Jason Kidd had nine points and seven assists to pass Mark Jackson for No. 2 on the all-time assists list with 10,337. He still has a long way to go to catch John Stockton at 15,806, but this is quite a milestone for Kidd

Dallas: Shawn Marion had 12 points, three boards and one assist in 31 minutes after missing a few games with an ankle injury. He’ll be better on most nights, but the time off with the injury obviously negatively impacted him tonight.

Sacramento G Tyreke Evans wasn’t slowed by his recent finger and ankle injuries on Monday, as he posted 28 points (10-of-18 FGs, 7-of-7 FTs), four rebounds, four assists in yet another very good game in a loss to Memphis. Evans has now scored 20+ points in seven consecutive games. Without Kevin Martin he’s firmly established as the Sacramento Kings No. 1 option offensively, which is great news for the young Kings.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Milwaukee: Bucks SG Michael Redd will come off the Bucks’ bench on Monday, his first action after missing nine games with a strained left patella tendon. “[Redd will] probably not play a lot of minutes or anything,” said coach Scott Skiles. “Just get his feet back under him in a game and see how it goes.” This should hurt the production of Luke Ridnour and Carlos Delfino, but the Bucks went 7-2 without Redd and it sounds like he’ll be worked back slowly.

Utah: Utah Jazz C Mehmet Okur returned to practice Monday after missing three games with flu-like symptoms.
Okur tested negative for the H1N1 virus. He should be ready to go against the Thunder on Tuesday and Kyrylo Fesenko will take his rightful place on the bench.

Washington: An MRI revealed no structural damage in Caron Butler’s right foot/ankle and he is considered a game-time decision on Tuesday.

Washington: Wizards guard Mike Miller will miss three-to-six weeks with a strained calf. Nick Young will start at SG on Tuesday, but but DeShawn Stevenson and Randy Foye will also get increased minutes in Miller’s absence.

Houston: Rockets G Tracy McGrady (knee) practiced Monday, but his status for Wednesday’s game against the Mavericks remains in doubt. The Rockets aren’t eager to insert McGrady into a lineup, but if he does suit up he will eat into the minutes of Trevor Ariza, Shane Battier and Chase Budinger.

Memphis: Memphis Grizzlies F/C Marc Gasol had another solid game in the teams victory on Monday, posting 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and four blocks. For the season, Gasol is averaging 15.2 points on 61% shooting, 11.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks.

Dallas: Mavericks SF Shawn Marion (ankle) went through some of Monday’s practice and is questionable to play on Tuesday. “It’s still tender,” Marion said. “I can’t push off the way I want to. We want to get it back as close to 100 percent as we can.” Expect Marion to be a game-time decision.