Troy Murphy has been back and coming off the bench for five games after returning from a torn plantar fascia tendon in his right foot but it doesn't sound like he will be returning to the starting lineup anytime soon.

"We're taking it one game at a time," Warriors coach Eric Musselman said before the game. "Cliff's done a good job, too. It's been a balancing act. We know Troy is a starter in this league; Cliff's done a great job. At the appropriate time, we'll look at those things."

New Jersey at Indiana (8 p.m. EST) Two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference meet when Jason Kidd and the Nets visit Ron Artest and the Pacers.

STARS

Friday

_Jason Kidd, Nets, had 24 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds for his league-leading fifth triple-double of the season in New Jersey's 82-79 win over Detroit.

_Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets, scored a career-high 37 points in Denver's 95-94 win over Houston

_Eddie Jones, Heat, had 22 points and 8 assists in Miami's 92-84 win over the Washington Wizards.

_Paul Pierce, Celtics, had 27 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds in a 104-102 win over Phoenix.

_Jamal Crawford, Bulls, scored 30 points in Chicago's 87-80 win over Cleveland.

_Keith Van Horn, Knicks, had 28 points and 13 rebounds in New York's 98-94 win over Memphis.

BEATING THE BEST

The three game winning-streak that bumped Milwaukee over the .500 mark has come against the top three teams in the Eastern Conference: Indiana, New Jersey, and Detroit. The Bucks defeated the Pacers 101-96 on Friday night.

PUTTING ON THE CLAMPS

Golden State snapped a 15-game losing streak against Sacramento with a 98-91 victory over the Kings on Friday night. The game also marked the first time in 16 games that an opponent had held the Kings under 100 points.

STRONG IN DEFEAT

Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal had 27 points and 11 rebounds in a 101-96 loss to Milwaukee on Friday night. ... Orlando's Tracy McGrady had 24 points and eight rebounds in a 98-83 loss to San Antonio. ... Toronto's Jalen Rose had 18 points and eight assists in a 97-94 overtime loss to Utah. ... Minnesota's Kevin Garnett had 27 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in a 101-92 loss to Portland.

GOLDEN

With a 95-94 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night, Denver has won 10 of its last 12 at home. Rookie Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with a career-high 37 points against the Rockets.

SPEAKING

``I'm not trying to fill up the stat sheet. I'm just trying to make the play that presents itself.'' _ New Jersey's Jason Kidd, who notched his league-leading fifth triple-double of the season with a 24-point, 12-assist, 11-rebound performance in an 82-79 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.

___

``It's hard when your team is playing as hard as the other team and you don't get the same consideration when it comes to the whistle being blown.'' _ Pacers coach Rick Carlisle on the 24-17 foul disparity between the Bucks and the Pacers in Milwaukee's 101-96 victory Friday night.

Warriors center Adonal Foyle, who has been since the second game of the season with a left-knee injury, has set Golden State's game on Jan.10 against the Seattle Supersonics as his targeted return date.

``The date is only a target,'' Foyle said Friday before the Warriors faced Sacramento at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. ``It's not etched in stone. The knee looks good, but you never know what is going to aggravate it.''

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) The Golden State Warriors waived center Cherokee Parks on Monday.

Parks, an eight-year veteran who has played for seven teams, joined the Warriors on Nov. 9 after Miami waived him. He averaged just 5.3 minutes and 1.0 points in 12 games with Golden State.

The Warriors have just 11 players on their roster. Adonal Foyle, Popeye Jones and Evan Eschmeyer are on the injured list.

Don Chaney met again with Kurt Thomas yesterday and came away confident that his disgruntled power forward was on board with his new role as a backup.

Of course, the coach probably failed to mention to Thomas that over the past 72 hours, the team has intensified its efforts to trade him. That one small detail is vital because the Knicks, who are 9-17 heading into tonight's game in Toronto, are more desperate than ever to make a move.

The usual suspects - Chicago, Golden State, Toronto, Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto - have been contacted. The Knicks would prefer a point guard, and either the Warriors' Nick Van Exel or Jamal Crawford of the Bulls would satisfy that requirement. Atlanta's Jason Terry, a shooting guard in a point guard's body, is definitely available.

Thomas has expressed his disappointment and has hinted that he may ask the Knicks for a trade. Chaney, however, said that the feeling he gets from Thomas is that the forward has "accepted" his role.

"I don't care what he says to you guys," Chaney said to reporters. "I only care what he tells me."

Recently-benched Knicks forward Kurt Thomas and his agent, Jerry Hicks, hope to meet with Knicks management to discuss his future with the team.

Thomas was recently benched when Antonio McDyess returned to the Knicks lineup.

"Every indication we've received seems to suggest (Kurt) may not be in the team's long-term plans," Hicks said. "But we want to talk to them. Obviously, if he's not in their long-term plans I think it would be appropriate to at least consider (asking for a trade)."

Some rumored trade destinations include Golden State and Dallas.

Regardless of whether he is traded or not, Thomas plans to opt out of his contract at season's and become a free agent this summer.

According to Murphy, a best-case scenario would have him playing against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Dec. 16.

"I don't think there should be too many things I can't do," he said. "At some point, you go test it. So we'll find a day where we have a good hard practice and go after it. If I'm in game shape and everything is reasonable, I don't see why not New York. I don't want to say I'm definitely coming back then, but if that's the way I'm progressing, then yeah."