The Celtics lost their third straight game, all of which have come on the road, Wednesday night against the Suns.

- Cleveland 106, Atlanta 101

Team FIC Differential: Cavaliers +20.7, Hawks -20.7

The Cleveland Cavaliers (26-8) used a strong fourth quarter to beat the Atlanta Hawks (21-10) on Wednesday night. LeBron James starred with 48 points, 10 rebounds and six assists on his birthday, Anderson Varejao posted 14 points and nine boards and Maurice Williams added 14 points, 10 dimes and five rebounds. Cleveland attempted 23 more foul shots than Atlanta and turned the ball over just eight times. Joe Johnson led with 35 points, Al Horford tallied 10 points and seven rebounds and Mike Bibby contributed 20 points and six assists in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

LeBron James, Cleveland ? 38.5

Joe Johnson, Atlanta ? 20.8

Maurice Williams, Cleveland ? 17.1

Mike Bibby, Atlanta ? 13.1

- Memphis 121, Indiana 110

Team FIC Differential: Grizzlies +18.6, Pacers -18.6

The Memphis Grizzlies (15-16) got closer to .500 with an emphatic win over the Indiana Pacers (9-22) at Conseco Fieldhouse. Rudy Gay had 31 points and nine rebounds, Zach Randolph tallied 28 points and 13 boards and Marc Gasol put up 21 points and ten rebounds. Memphis shot 50% and attempted 13 more free throws than Indiana. Luther Head led with 30 points and seven rebounds, Roy Hibbert posted 25 points and 13 boards and Earl Watson stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the struggling Pacers.

Game FIC Scores

Rudy Gay, Memphis ? 25.1

Roy Hibbert, Indiana ? 19.3

Luther Head, Indiana ? 18.0

Zach Randolph, Memphis ? 17.6

- Orlando 117, Milwaukee 92

Team FIC Differential: Magic +48.9, Bucks -48.9

Vince Carter recovered from an elbow to the head and led the Orlando Magic (23-8) over the Milwaukee Bucks (12-18). Carter scored 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting, Dwight Howard posted 17 points and 10 rebounds and Jason Williams totaled 16 points and seven assists. Orlando drilled 55% of their shots and Milwaukee took just nine trips to the foul line. Brandon Jennings had a team-high 20 points, Andrew Bogut tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds and Ersan Ilyasova chipped in 13 points and seven boards.

Game FIC Scores

Jason Williams, Orlando ? 17.3

Dwight Howard, Orlando ? 16.8

Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee ? 11.6

Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee ? 10.4

- Toronto 107, Charlotte 103

Team FIC Differential: Raptors +24.6, Bobcats -24.6

The Toronto Raptors (16-17) beat the Charlotte Bobcats (12-18) in a very close contest on Wednesday night. Chris Bosh starred with 33 points and 13 rebounds, Andrea Bargnani scored 28 points and Marco Belinelli recorded 13 points and four boards off the bench. Charlotte shot 54% from the field, but they also turned the ball over 23 times. Stephen Jackson led with 30 points and five assists, Gerald Wallace posted 15 points and 16 rebounds and Raymond Felton helped with 23 points, seven boards and four dimes.

Game FIC Scores

Chris Bosh, Toronto ? 29.1

Raymond Felton, Charlotte ? 18.1

Gerald Wallace, Charlotte ? 14.6

Andrea Bargnani, Toronto ? 11.8

- New Jersey 104, New York 95

Team FIC Differential: Nets +8.1, Knicks -8.1

The New Jersey Nets (3-29) got just their third win off the season against the New York Knicks (12-20) at the Izod Center. Yi Jianlian had 22 points and six rebounds, Brook Lopez posted 21 points and 14 boards and Devin Harris excelled with 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. New Jersey shot 51% and had just 10 turnovers. David Lee starred with 24 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, Al Harrington tallied 25 points and nine boards and Wilson Chandler added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Knicks.

Game FIC Scores

David Lee, New York ? 28.0

Brook Lopez, New Jersey ? 26.5

Wilson Chandler, New York ? 16.5

Yi Jianlian, New Jersey ? 15.0

- New Orleans 95, Miami 91

Team FIC Differential: Hornets +2.6, Heat -2.6

The Miami Heat (16-13) charged back in the fourth quarter, but the New Orleans Hornets (14-16) held on for a win at home. David West had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Emeka Okafor tallied 15 points and 14 boards and Chris Paul contributed 18 points, nine assists and five rebounds. The two clubs had very similar statistics, but New Orleans edged Miami slightly in shooting percentage and rebounds. Dwyane Wade had 22 points and six assists, Jermaine O?Neal posted 12 points and nine rebounds and Quentin Richardson put up 14 points and eight boards.

Game FIC Scores

Chris Paul, New Orleans ? 20.6

Emeka Okafor, New Orleans ? 18.0

Dwyane Wade, Miami ? 12.2

Quentin Richardson, Miami ? 11.0

- Utah 107, Minnesota 103

Team FIC Differential: Jazz +8. Timberwolves -8

The Utah Jazz (18-13) outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves (7-26) at the Target Center. Deron Williams starred with 21 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, Carlos Boozer posted 16 points and 12 boards and Ronnie Brewer scored 20 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Minnesota shot 52%, but had more turnovers and fewer rebounds than Utah. Al Jefferson led with 21 points and nine rebounds, Wayne Ellington tallied 13 points and four boards and Kevin Love stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

Kevin Love, Minnesota ? 23.4

Al Jefferson, Minnesota ? 22.4

Deron Williams, Utah ? 20.8

Carlos Boozer, Utah ? 15.0

- Phoenix 116, Boston 98

Team FIC Differential: Suns +32.5, Celtics -32.5

The Phoenix Suns (21-12) built an early lead and never looked back against the Boston Celtics (23-8) on Wednesday evening. Amare Stoudemire had 26 points and seven rebounds, Channing Frye tallied 26 points and 10 boards and Steve Nash totaled 11 points and eight assists. Phoenix shot 50% and outrebounded Boston by four. Eddie House scored a team-high 19 points, Rajon Rondo posted 13 points and eight assists and Kendrick Perkins recorded 13 points and seven rebounds.

Game FIC Scores

Channing Frye, Phoenix ? 24.3

Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix ? 18.3

Tony Allen, Boston ? 12.3

Eddie House, Boston ? 10.0

- Portland 103, L.A. Clippers 99

Team FIC Differential: Trail Blazers +5.3, Clippers -5.3

The Portland Trail Blazers (21-13) lost LaMarcus Aldridge to an ankle sprain but they still have enough to down the Los Angeles Clippers (13-18). Brandon Roy starred with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Juwan Howard posted 10 points and nine boards and Jerryd Bayless chipped in 14 points and eight dimes. Portland hit 50% of their shots and outrebounded Los Angeles by seven. Chris Kaman had 25 points and nine rebounds, Eric Gordon tallied 24 points and six assists and Baron Davis added 12 points, 11 dimes and five boards.

Game FIC Scores

Eric Gordon, Los Angeles ? 18.4

Chris Kaman, Los Angeles ? 18.3

Brandon Roy, Portland ? 17.9

Juwan Howard, Portland ? 13.5

- Philadelphia 116, Sacramento 106

Team FIC Differential: 76ers +13.9, Kings -13.9

The Philadelphia 76ers (9-22) pulled away from the Sacramento Kings (14-17) in the fourth quarter to record a rare road win. Lou Williams led with 22 points, Allen Iverson tallied 20 points and five rebounds and Andre Iguodala added 19 points, nine assists and seven boards. Philadelphia shot 52% and attempted nine more foul shots than Sacramento. Omri Casspi had 21 points and nine rebounds, Jason Thompson posted 15 points and 11 boards and Donte Greene totaled 21 points and seven rebounds.

Game FIC Scores

Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia ? 24.5

Jason Thompson, Sacramento ? 19.1

Omri Casspi, Sacramento ? 17.5

Lou Williams, Philadelphia ? 17.0

? RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)

( )'s indicate a negative FIC score.

It is also used to rank players and to determine their ?Reina Value.? Click here to view the player rankings with the Reina Value for the current season

The Nets will have their projected starting lineup intact on Wednesday night for the first time since the second game of the season.

New Jersey will face off against New York.

On Oct. 30 the Nets started Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Yi Jianlian and Brook Lopez against the Magic.

Nets center Brook Lopez skipped out on the media on Monday night following the team's loss to the Thunder.

Lopez was called for a few touch fouls in the opening moments of the game, which benched him early with foul trouble.

He also had just six shots in the game's first three quarters and was burned by Oklahoma City center Nenad Krstic on the perimeter.

"It wasn't the type of night he would like," Rafer Alston said. "He always wants to excel for this team and it wasn't one of his better nights."

After having huge games recently, teams have limited Lopez more lately.

"It was a tough night for him all around," said Devin Harris. "Not being in the game offensively like he wanted to, like we would want him to ... and then the fouls. The kind of ticky-tack fouls he got in the first half were tough. It was kind of a double-banger for him."

The developer planning the proposed Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn signed key documents Wednesday to allow the project to proceed.

A state agency has filed paperwork to force the sale of part of the 22-acre property through condemnation.

Opponents say they'll keep trying to stop the massive project, which is being built for the Nets and will cost $4.9 billion.

Last week, developer Forest City Ratner Cos. sold more than $500 million in bonds to finance the arena and completed a plan to sell 80 percent of the team and 45 percent of the arena to Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.

Nets forward Yi Jianlian is still on track to return on Wednesday night against the Timberwolves.

Yi hasn't played since Nov. 2 because of a sprained right knee and then a lacerated upper lip.

New Jersey interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe said he'll try to ease Yi, who was averaging 9.8 points and 7.5 rebounds before the injury, back into the lineup.

The Nets are looking to improve their defense as they continue to rack up losses.

New Jersey coach Kiki Vandeweghe is trying to establish a defensive foundation.

"Obviously there are offensive-minded players and defensive-minded players," Vandeweghe said. "But rather than focus on more rotations and things like that, we?ll focus on guarding your own man.

"And initially ? admittedly ? we may get hurt more by that (by removing the) added responsibility. But anyone can learn to guard their own man if you put a focus on that."

The Nets are allowing 109.0 points per 100 possessions, 22nd among the NBA's thirty teams.

"The thing we'd rather stay away from is gimmicks," Vandeweghe said. "What we've said, our stated goal from the beginning, is to teach the guys a great foundation. And the first foundation is learn to guard your man ? take responsibility for guarding your men.

"It all stems from there ? all the different rotations and helps all work if you can guard your own man. So until we do that, that'll be the focus."

"If we learn that, we can learn more aggressive switches. But you have to initial focus on the foundation. To me ? and maybe it's my UCLA background ? the fundamentals are important and you don?t move on until you get those fundamentals."

Terrell Owens attended the Nets/Raptors game in Toronto on Friday night and tweeted that he could play for the Nets 'right now.'

Owens tweeted the following:

"I'm @ the raptors/nets gm & I'm telling u RITE NOW that I CAN PLAY 4 THE NETS!!!"

Toronto led New Jersey 70-33 at the half.  New Jersey is 2-24 on the season.

Mikhail Prokhorov has survived the N.B.A.?s background examination, helping the billionaire take another step toward acquiring 80 percent of the Nets and 45 percent of the proposed Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

?There were multiple investigations of him by interested parties and there was nothing that was disclosed that would cause us not to move forward with his application,? N.B.A. Commissioner David Stern said Thursday.

The positive results of the vetting process were made known to the league earlier this month.

The deal to bring the Nets to Newark has all but fallen apart.

The Nets have been considering a move to the Prudential Center in Newark prior to their planned move to a new arena in Brooklyn.

The team has not given up on working out an agreement that would end its current lease at the Izod Center and allow the team to play at the Prudential Center next season and most if not all of the following season.

"We continue to be encouraged about the prospect of making an interim move to the Pru Center," said Brett Yormark of the Nets.

Mikhail Prokhorov moved closer to taking control of the Nets on Tuesday night when he signed formal contracts to buy a controlling stake in the team and to invest in its Brooklyn arena project.

The deal with the current owner, the developer Bruce C. Ratner, is subject to approval by the N.B.A. Board of Governors. An N.B.A. spokesman, Michael Bass, said, ?We expect that the Board of Governors will vote on the application early in 2010.?

Prokhorov?s company, Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holdings, is paying $200 million for an 80 percent stake in the Nets and a 45 percent interest in the arena. He has also agreed to cover the team?s losses, up to $60 million, until the Nets move to the new arena, presumably by June 2012.