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J.J. Hickson had 19 points and 15 rebounds for his seventh straight double-double, and the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night for their fifth straight win.

Jeremy Lin had 22 points and eight assists in his return to New York, leading the Houston Rockets to a 109-96 victory Monday night that ended the Knicks' season-opening 10-game home winning streak.

Ricky Rubio is ready for his first game of the season. The Minnesota Timberwolves announced that Rubio has been cleared to make his season debut against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. It will be Rubio's first game since he tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee last March.

Carmelo Anthony scored a team-high 30 points in 22 minutes before leaving the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury in Mike D’Antoni’s return to Madison Square Garden.

As expected, Kobe Bryant joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, and Wilt Chamberlain on Wednesday as the only players in NBA history to score more than 30,000 career points.

The NBA has fined the San Antonio Spurs $250,000 for sending Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green home and not having them available to play against the Miami Heat in a nationally televised game on Thursday night. Stern pretty much had no choice but to fine the Spurs after he came out before the game with a statement saying there would be “substantial sanctions” on the Spurs for their actions.

Rajon Rondo has been suspended for two games for his involvement in Wednesday's brawl, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said on WEEI sports radio in Boston.

The Washington Wizards earned their first victory after starting the season with 12 consecutive losses, getting 19 points from Jordan Crawford in an 84-82 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

Washington Wizards big man Nene cleanly stripped the ball from Charlotte Bobcats center DeSagana Diop, took a few dribbles up the floor, then spotted Emeka Okafor streaking from the corner of his eye. Displaying a little flash to wake up an apathetic crowd at Verizon Center, Nene whipped the ball behind his back and hit Okafor in stride before Okafor jackhammered a one-handed dunk over Diop.

Strange game for the Lakers. First one in a while. Maybe they were tired from back-to-back games. Maybe they've got a weird issue about winning on the road. Actually, there shouldn't be any excuses. They lost to the lowly Sacramento Kings. Period.