NBA Headlines

Trevor Ariza got his NBA championship ring and his Houston Rockets got the win. Aaron Brooks saw the ring dripping with diamonds and suddenly he was off on a career night. He took the Houston Rockets with him, scoring a career-high 33 points, including five 3-pointers, in a 101-91 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday night, sending the Lakers to a second consecutive loss.

Happy birthday, Amare Stoudemire. Stoudemire celebrated his 27th birthday one day early, scoring 30 points and grabbing eight rebounds, leading the Phoenix Suns to a 101-100 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. He followed one of the worst games of his career with his best game of the season, his first 30-point performance since Feb.

The shiner under Chris Kaman's right eye was evidence of how hard the Los Angeles Clippers worked to make sure they didn't blow another lead. Closing out games has been a problem this season for the Clippers, as evidenced by the fact they'd coughed up nine- and 22-point leads in their previous two games.

The Dallas Mavericks had several things going for them Sunday night. The Detroit Pistons were missing Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, and leading scorer Ben Gordon had one of the worst nights of his career, going 1 for 16 from the floor. That wasn't enough to make things easy for the Mavericks, though, as they saw Gordon get an open look at a game-tying 3-pointer with 2 seconds left.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is glad he went public about being treated for a rare form of leukemia because it has given him a chance to reconnect with people. The NBA's career scoring leader said Sunday that since his recent announcement he has been stopped by people in public who wish him well and encourage him about his condition.

Aaron Brooks scored a career-high 33 points, including five 3-pointers, and the Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 101-91 on Sunday night, sending them to a second consecutive loss.

Amare Stoudemire followed one of the worst games of his career with his best game of the season, scoring 30 points to lead Phoenix to a 101-100 victory over Toronto on Sunday night, the Suns' 11th straight win over the Raptors.

Baron Davis scored 24 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final minute, to help the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 101-93 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, and rookie Rodrique Beaubois added 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting to help the Dallas Mavericks beat Detroit 95-90 on Sunday night, snapping the Pistons' winning streak at three games.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is glad he went public about being treated for a rare form of leukemia because it's given him a chance to reconnect with people.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is glad he went public about being treated for a rare form of leukemia because it has given him a chance to reconnect with people.

Dallas Mavericks center Erick Dampier has been taken to a hospital in the Detroit area after becoming ill.

Philadelphia 76ers forward Marreese Speights will miss six to eight weeks with a left knee injury.

The Memphis Grizzlies signed point guard Jamaal Tinsley on Saturday, adding a player with a checkered past and a 1 1/2-year layoff to their troubled team.

Wizards coach Flip Saunders says captain Antawn Jamison will make his season debut Wednesday night against the Cavaliers.