Kevin Durant passed Dale Ellis to set a franchise record for scoring in a season with 40 points on 13-of-22 shooting (2-of-4 from downtown, 12-of-12 from the foul line) to go with nine rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two blocks in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 116-108 win over the Wolves on Sunday.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Okalahoma City: Russell Westbrook had a career-high 16 assists on Sunday, and scored 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting to go with two rebounds and two steals in 32 minutes against the Wolves. He has been a bit all over the board recently, but keeping that in perspective his struggles have simply brought him back to the pack, and at the same time he has shown signs that he’s ready to be an elite PG once again.

Minnesota: Ryan Gomes hit four 3-point buckets on his way to 22 points on Sunday, finishing with a 7-of-13 mark from the field to go with three rebounds and no assists.

New Jersey: Devin Harris scored 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting (including a three) with three rebounds, three assists, and a steal in the New Jersey Nets’ loss to the Wizards on Sunday. He has been banged up and is a shutdown risk, as usual.. Brook Lopez also chipped in with 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting (10-of-11 from the foul line) with five rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.

Toronto: Chris Bosh’s 42 points weren’t enough in the Toronto Raptors’ 113-112 loss to the Warriors on Sunday, as he hit 11-of-19 shots from the field (20-of-23 from the foul line) with 12 rebounds, no assists, five steals, and a block. The loss means that the Raptors are still fighting for their playoff lives

Oakland: Coach Don Nelson tied Lenny Wilkins for most career wins as a coach on Sunday, as Corey Maggette led the charge with 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting (including a three) with four rebounds, four assists, and a steal in 37 minutes.

Oakland: Stephen Curry neared a triple-double with 29 points on 10-of-23 shooting (including five threes) with eight rebounds, 12 assists, three steals, and two blocks against the Raptors on Sunday.

Stephen Curry will not play on Wednesday due to a sprained left ankle. He was fine at shootaround today, but it acted up on him when he returned to the arena. C.J. Watson is probably in for big minutes and production tonight with this news. Curry will likey finish second in rookie of the year voting to Evans.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Toronto: Jose Calderon returned to the starting lineup for the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday and hit 3-of-8 shots and a 3-pointer for nine points, three boards, six assists and two steals. He had been playing better than this off the bench, but the fact the Raptors won should mean more starts for Calderon.

Toronto: DeMar DeRozan hit 7-of-12 shots for 19 points in 35 minutes of Wednesday’s win. DeRozan is averaging 15 points over his last five games, but doesn’t do much else

Chicago: Jannero Pargo started again for the Bulls in place of injured Derrick Rose (wrist), but played just 17 minutes. He had nine points, four assists and five steals, and we’re not sure why he didn’t play more tonight.

San Antonio: Richard Jefferson stayed hot with 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting Wednesday night. Jefferson has started the last four games and been hot. He’s shooting 63. 8 percent from the field in those games and is averaging 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. With Tony Parker out, the San Antonio Spurs are deferring to Jefferson more as a playmaker.

Orlando: Dwight Howard had just nine points, seven rebounds and one block in Wednesday’s blowout of the Spurs. Howard also went 3-for-8 from the free throw line.

New York: Bill Walker started in place of Wilson Chandler (ankle) and had eight points in 23 minutes on Wednesday night. Chandler is in danger of being shut down for the season, so Walker is going to see consistent minutes the rest of the season. We’d expect most nights to be better than this, but he’s not much of a passer or rebounder.

New York: David Lee had 29 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, two steals and block in 44 minutes of work on Wednesday night. Lee is showing no signs whatsoever of letting up. The 44 minutes are the most he’s played since Jan. 16 and it’s even more encouraging that coach Mike D’Antoni left him out there despite the blowout.

Atlanta: Jamal Crawford hit 14-of-24 shots and three 3-pointers on his way to 33 points in Wednesday’s loss. He’s had a nice season and is playing especially well with Joe Johnson out with an Achilles’ injury.

Darren Collison blistered the Pacers for 18 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists, three steals, a block and a 3-pointer while hitting 7-of-13 shots in Friday’s easy win. Not much to say here, other than the Hornets have two stellar point guards on their hands. Trading Chris Paul would bring back a fleet of studs, but we doubt the New Orleans Hornets are ready to put that kind of deal together.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Miami: Mario Chalmers returned from a thumb injury for 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and four 3-pointers in Friday’s win. He came off the bench and this explosion was a surprise. Carlos Arroyo also played well, while Daequan Cook, who started for Dwyane Wade, hit just 1-of-7 shots for three points.

Miami: Michael Beasley hit 13-of-25 shots for a career-high 30 points to go along with eight rebounds, three steals and a block in a double-OT win over the Memphis Grizzlies. With Dwyane Wade out, Beasley is going to be the focal point of the offense.

Sacramento: The Kings’ new starting lineup Friday night is Tyreke Evans, Francisco Garcia, Omri Casspi, Carl Landry and Jason Thompson. Garcia is the biggest benefactor of the Kevin Martin trade, as we expected.

Toronto: Raptors beat writer Eric Smith expects Chris Bosh (ankle) to sit out Saturday in addition to Friday. It makes sense. After Saturday’s game against the depleted Wizards, the Toronto Raptors don’t play again until Wednesday against the Blazers.

Washington: Coach Flip Saunders said he thinks he’ll start Josh Howard against the Nuggets Friday night. Well that was quick. We assume that Howard will take over at the small forward spot, shift Mike Miller to shooting guard and send Nick Young to the bench.

Atlanta: Josh Smith had a nice all-around game in the Hawks’ 88-80 loss to the Suns on Friday, scoring 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting with five rebounds, one assist, three steals, and four blocks.

Vince Carter distorted space and time on Monday, scoring a season-high 48 points on a variety of vintage moves, connecting on 19-of-27 FGs, 6-of-10 three-pointers, and 4-of-4 FTs. VC has scored 20+ points in three consecutive games and is obviously over the shoulder injury that hampered him throughout January. He was posting up, hitting 3-pointers and slashing to the lane, and the buy-low window has officially been slammed shut. It was his highest-scoring game since 2006.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Lakers will play without both Kobe Bryant (sprained left ankle) and Andrew Bynum (bruised right hip) vs. the Spurs on Monday.Consider both of them questionable for L.A.’s final game before the All-Star break, Wednesday at Utah. Lamar Odom will start at PF on Monday, moving Pau Gasol to center.

Toronto: Andrea Bargnani’s ankle was a bit tender on Monday and his participation in practice was limited. The Toronto Raptors don’t play until Wednesday, their final game before the break, and it appears Bargnani just got some precautionary rest.

Charlotte: David West scored 27 points in the Hornets’ losing effort on Monday, making 10-of-19 FGs and 7-of-7 FTs in his second-highest scoring total of the past 18 games.

West is still a reliable option, though his points (17.9), FG attempts (14.8) and rebounds (7.6) have all taken big dips this season, along with his playing time (35:36). Most of that was a lackluster November, however, and an ankle injury which has since healed.

Atlanta: Atlanta Hawks G Joe Johnson is probable for Tuesday’s game despite having the flu. He had been listed as questionable, so this is great news if you gambled on him in a shortened Week 16.

Portland: Brandon Roy did not end up having another injection of PRP on Monday. He’s hopeful rest and treatment will be enough to fix his hamstring, but it’s still too early to tell when he’ll play again. He also won’t be getting much rest over All-Star Weekend, as he’ll be required to be in Dallas for the weekend per the NBA.

Denver: Carmelo Anthony, who was quoted by the Nuggets’ official Twitter page as saying he was “probable” for Tuesday’s game against the Mavs, was non-committal about his availability when speaking with beat writer Benjamin Hochman. “Hopefully I can get back out there [Tuesday],” Anthony said after Monday’s practice. “It felt good out there today. It’s getting better each day. Pretty much I was doing a lot that I could do before I got hurt.”

New Jersey: Devin Harris is “50-50″ to play on Tuesday against the Cavaliers due to his shoulder injury.

Andrea Bargnani went off for a season-high 34 points vs. the Pacers on Tuesday, making 14-of-21 FGs, including 4-of-6 from downtown. To say Roy Hibbert struggled to defend the quicker Bargnani would be a massive understatement, though at 7’0″ it’s not easy to slow him down when his jumpshot is clicking. He was averaging just 9.5 points over the past two games but rewarded those who kept the faith.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Orlando: Vince Carter finally returned to form in Tuesday’s victory, finishing with 17 points, two 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block in 40 minutes. VC was aggressive driving to the hoop and finding his teammates, another great sign. His shoulder has been hampering his shot lately but hopefully this is the start of an upward trend.

Toronto: Toronto lost in Indiana on Tuesday despite a game-high 35 points from Chris Bosh. He was 13-of-22 from the field and 9-of-12 from the FT line, with 15 rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks. The Toronto Raptors simply couldn’t put together many defensive stops — the Pacers had seven players in double figures and collectively made 52.4% of their field goals and 94.3% of their free throws.

Toronto: Marco Belinelli started at SF for Hedo Turkoglu (eye) on Tuesday, scoring 21 points on 7-of-13 FGs, 3-of-4 threes and 4-of-5 FTs. He added five rebounds, two assists, one block and just one turnover in 33 minutes. Belinelli, naturally more of a SG, is an intriguing source of offense and steals when he’s getting enough minutes.

New Jersey: Yi Jianlian returned after taking a brief rest with a shoulder injury, but may have been better off staying on the bench with a 1-for-12 shooting mark that led to three points, five rebounds, no assists, and a block. He finished with 31 minutes under his belt, so it’s hard to say how much of an effect the shoulder had on him. Brook Lopez scored 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocks on Tuesday. Also, Devin Harris (wrist) returned to action on Tuesday, and scored 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting (no threes, 10-of-11 from the foul line) with five rebounds, 14 assists, and a block.

Detroit: Charlie Villanueva, who was a game-time decision with a back injury on Tuesday, ended up playing just eight minutes and had no points, one rebound, no assists, and one steal.

Milwaukee: Brandon Jennings, the reigning Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, was held to just two points on 1-of-7 shooting in Tuesday’s ugly loss to the Orlando Magic. Jennings had four assists and zero turnovers, but his struggles typified the Bucks offense tonight .

J.R. Smith

The Nuggets decided to postpone a press release on what had previously been reported as an announcement of J.R. Smith being suspended for conduct detrimental to the team, and while a suspension is still very possible, it is not a certainty at this point.

Smith’s behavior has grown tiresome, and something he did on the bench in Saturday’s game was the tipping point, enough for coach George Karl to say, “some guys (Nuggets) had strong opinions last night.” The Denver Nuggets are slowing their assessment of Smith’s situation, but any way you slice it he looks headed for the doghouse.

Toronto: Hedo Turkoglu drove the lane and drew a foul with 1.5 seconds left and calmly nailed two free throws to give the Toronto Raptors a 106-105 win over the Lakers on Sunday. Aside from the heroics, he didn’t look good Sunday, scoring just nine points on 1-of-6 shooting (6-of-6 from the foul line) with two rebounds, five assists, a block, and a 3-pointer.

Toronto: Andrea Bargnani (back) returned to action Sunday and scored 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting (including a three) with eight rebounds, a steal, a block, and an assist. He played a full complement of minutes Sunday, and didn’t show any signs of his back hurting him.

Los Angeles: Kobe Bryant came one assist away from a triple-double on Sunday, scoring 27 points on 11-of-23 shooting (including a three) with career-high 16 rebounds, nine assists, one steal, and one block.

Los Angeles: Lamar Odom was non-existent in the Los Angeles Lakers loss to the Raptors on Sunday, playing just 16 minutes and scoring only four points to go with six rebounds, one assist, and one steal.

Denver: Carmelo Anthony will not play Monday against the Bobcats due to an ankle sprain, and is targeting Wednesday’s game for his return. “The best bet is to wait until Wednesday’s game to get it better. It didn’t swell up, so that’s a good sign. I’ve had ankle injuries before, but this one is not as bad as the others,” said Anthony, who is wearing a protective boot to keep him from limping.

Houston: Houston Rockets center Chuck Hayes had just two points and zero rebounds in 10 minutes on Saturday, the result of tendinitis in his right knee. He started the game but was in pain and needed to ride a stationary bicycle when he wan’t playing. “As I get going, sometimes it loosens up, sometimes it tightens on me,” Hayes said. “We’re going to try to keep it loose as much as possible.” Any games or minutes he loses should directly increase the opportunities for Luis Scola and Carl Landry.

Flip Saunders met with the grand jury regarding the Gilbert Arenas gun situation and has also banned gambling from the team plane. Flip met with them on Thursday, while several Wizards’ players were scheduled to meet with them on Friday.

The New Jersey Nets have also banned gambling on the plane and our guess is the NBA will come out and officially do the same for all teams at some point. A day after Arenas’ indefinite suspension, anything pertaining to Arenas has been removed from the Verizon Center in Washington. It appears that Arenas will never play for the Wizards again, and he will have to re-build his image with another team.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Orlando: Orlando Magic G Vince Carter left Friday’s game after spraining his left shoulder while fighting through a screen against the Wizards. He was in tremendous pain on the floor and went directly to the locker room, although he did not require a wheel chair for his shoulder injury. J.J. Redick and Mickael Pietrus should absorb most of his minutes while Carter is recovering.

Philadelphia: Allen Iverson hit 7-of-13 shots for a season-high 22 points to go along with two rebounds, four assists, a steal and a 3-pointer in Friday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors, but the good news ends there. Iverson was hit in the left knee tonight, aggravating a previous injury, and is not traveling with the team to Detroit for Saturday’s game.

Washington: Randy Foye started at point guard for the Wizards on Friday, finishing with 20 points, four rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two 3-pointers in a win over the Magic. He hit just 5-of-17 shots and left the game to get stitches in his mouth, but looks like the starting point guard for the Wizards for the foreseeable future.

Washington: Mike Miller returned from a 21-game absence with a calf injury Friday and started, scoring six points in 39 minutes. He also had six rebounds, six assists and a 3-pointer, which is a pretty encouraging line for his first game since November.

Oklahoma City: Kevin Durant missed Friday’s practice because of his right ankle, which he evidently sprained Monday against the Bulls.

Detroit: Rodney Stuckey (knee) will be in the Pistons’ lineup when they face the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday. Stuckey left Wednesday’s game after landing awkwardly on his knee, but he practiced Friday and coach John Kuester said he liked what he saw from his durable guard.

Tracy McGrady is unlikely to rejoin the Houston Rockets this season, according to Yahoo! Sports. McGrady and his agent will meet with Rockets’ management over the next two days and the likely resolution is T-Mac heading to Chicago to work at the famed Attack Athletics facility.

The Rockets are willing to take on long-term salary to unload McGrady. Kings G Kevin Martin’s name has surfaced in the past, mainly as interest coming out of Chicago, but there are multiple obstacles to any such blockbuster deal. It appears that a buyout is the best resolution to deal with McGrady, in any event we should know the details within the next day or two.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Houston: Rockets guard Trevor Ariza suffered a deep tissue bruise on his left shin in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. X-rays were negative, but he was limping. “I got kicked,” Ariza said. “It’s still throbbing. Hopefully, by tomorrow it will be all right.” The Rockets’ next game is on Tuesday (they play three times this week) and we should have more information after Monday’s practice.

Los Angeles: Ron Artest has been ruled out for Monday’s game against the Sun due to a concussion.
His condition is improving, and he could play later in the week, but get him on your bench for Monday.

Chicago: Beat writer Mike McGraw writes that “the Bulls are NOT anxious to fire [Vinny] Del Negro. They’d rather he finish the season…and help him clean out his office.” McGraw feels that “if the Bulls stay competitive for a playoff spot, Del Negro should be fine.” He has covered the Bulls since 1995 and would have as good a feel for this situation as anyone, so his opinions are not easy to dismiss.

Toronto: There is still no timetable for Jose Calderon’s return from a hip injury. The Toronto Raptors PG has been working out off the court but did not join his teammates for practice on Saturday. The Raptors have gone 8-4 in his absence, with fill-in starter Jarrett Jack playing well, so the team doesn’t have any incentive to rush him back.

Indiana: Danny Granger did some light shooting on Saturday as he continues to rehabilitate his torn right plantar fascia, and he thinks he will be back in “another two to three weeks.” Granger wants to get onto the court as fast as he can, but with the Pacers suddenly playing for ping pong balls, we wouldn’t be surprised to see him forced to return slower than he would like.

Blazers G Rudy Fernandez will miss 4-to-6 weeks after undergoing a microdiscectomy Tuesday to relieve leg pain caused by a nerve root in lower back. “He can get going right away on conditioning… He can swim, it’s more the impact of running and jumping [that might take longer],” Dr. Rich Edelson of Sports Medicine Oregon said Tuesday. Martell Webster, Andre Miller and Jarryd Bayless should pick up extra minutes in Fernandez’s absence, although Miller isn’t willing to play small forward.

Denver: Kenyon Martin will not play Tuesday against the Charlotte Bobcats because of a dislocated pinkie finger.

Toronto: Jose Calderon (hip) will not play Tuesday against the Timberwolves. Calderon went through shootaround and sounded like he might play, but a hip flexor injury flared up after practice and the Toronto Raptors decided to have him sit. Coach Jay Triano said Jarrett Jack will start in Calderon’s place.

Oakland: Warriors F Anthony Randolph flew to Arkansas to deal with a family emergency instead of New York for Wednesday’s game against the Nets. The team said that it hopes Randolph will be back with the team in the “next couple of days,” leaving his availability for Wednesday in doubt.

Indiana: Danny Granger will miss four-to-six weeks with torn plantar fascia in his right foot.

New Jersey: In addition to drawing the ire of the New Jersey Nets‘ braintrust with his recent posts on Twitter, Terrence Williams appears to be at odds with some of his teammates. Dave D’Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that at Tuesday’s shootaround, Williams “seemed more isolated than ever before.” And teammate Rafer Alston added, “Every day he comes in, he just looks like he’s in a funk and he looks like he’s just not there. I asked him yesterday on the bus how he’s doing, and he just had nothing to say. He had this blank look on his face, like he’s just confused.”

Chicago: K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune Tyrus Thomas’ broken forearm is not yet ready to absorb contact. This Friday will mark five weeks that Thomas has been sidelined, and though no return date has been set, it looks like fantasy owners will need to be patient for at least another week or two. Taj Gibson will continue to get the majority of minutes at PF in Thomas’ absence.

Dallas: Mavs GM Donnie Nelson says that Tim Thomas’ alleged involvement in a brawl at Denny’s early Wednesday morning is being “overblown.”
“What I can tell you is that Tim was not involved,” he said. “He’s 30 years old with a wife and kids. When the situation started to escalate, he left the property immediately. Certainly we’re working with authorities and our security folks to get to the bottom of it. But this is something that’s way, way, way overblown.” It is possible that media reports have overstated Thomas’ involvement in the incident, and we’ll continue to track this story as more developments surface.

Houston Rockets SG/SF Tracy McGrady and Head Coach Rick Adelman on Friday both denied a Yahoo! Sports report that the two had engaged in a heated argument behind closed doors on Wednesday.

McGrady said he put on his game uniform Wednesday, despite having no targeted date to return from a knee injury, because “I was excited. I put it on, like a little kid. It felt refreshing to put it on because it was in sight.” Adelman said he simply reminded McGrady that he wouldn’t play, at the earliest, until after his Nov. 23 MRI, and that “We haven’t had any arguments. He wants to know what we’re going to do.” Check back after Nov. 23 for updates. It has long been rumored that the Rockets would like to trade McGrady, but there have been not takers.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Toronto: Toronto Raptors C Andrea Bargnani hit 9-of-14 shots and two 3-pointers on his way to 24 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks on Friday. Bargnani, who is starting to live up to his talent, is averaging nearly 18 points, six boards, two threes and more than a block per game thus far in 2009.

Miami: Heat G Mario Chalmers hit 9-of-15 shots and five 3-pointers to score a career-high 30 points in Friday’s loss to the Raptors. Chalmers also added three assists and three steals on the nigh.

Philadelphia 76ers: Lou Williams hit 12-of-16 shots and four 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 31 points to go along with two rebounds, five assists and six steals. Even with the steller performance, Williams and his team lost to Memphis at home.

Indiana: Pacers F/C Troy Murphy returned from a six-game absence with a back injury and had 12 points, 10 boards, on three pointer and two steals in 24 minutes. Barring a setback, Murphy should see steady minutes in Indiana.

Minnesota: An X-Ray revealed that Kevin Love’s broken hand is progressing, but he’s still about two weeks from practicing and three weeks from playing in a game. Love did some outside shooting Friday, and though he says he feels almost no pain in his hand, he is unable to do anything physical. If he returns Dec. 11 against the Los Angeles Lakers, that would put him right in the 6-to-8 week recovery time originally reported when he broke his hand Oct. 16

Washington: Wizards C Brendan Haywood had 14 points and 16 rebounds in Friday’s loss to the Thunder.
Haywood has play great thus far this season, averaging 11 points, 11 boards and 2.5 blocks.

Boston: Celtics F/C Rasheed Wallace hit just 4-of-16 shots and was 0-for-8 from downtown for nine points, 13 boards, three steals and a block in Friday’s loss to Orlando.