Jim Boylan's debut as interim head coach of the Chicago Bulls was a winner because of a major change he made soon after getting the job.

Boylan asked Ben Gordon to give up his starter's role and come off the bench to give the stumbling team an offensive lift.

Gordon, the NBA Sixth Man of the Year during the 2004-05 season, prefers to be on the floor at the start of the game but made the switch to help the team. He scored 19 of his 31 points in the final quarter Friday night as the Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 103-99.

In their best all-around effort of the season, the Nuggets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 125-105 on Wednesday night behind a triple-double by Marcus Camby, Carmelo Anthony's fourth straight double-double, Allen Iverson's spectacular 24-point performance and the much-awaited return of power forward Nene.

"If we play like that, unselfish, getting the ball to the open man, we'll win a lot of games and we'll go far this season," said Nene, who had 11 points and seven rebounds in his first game since tearing a ligament in his left thumb at Boston on Nov. 7.

So much fun were the Nuggets having in toying with the Bucks that Camby declared just before the start of the fourth quarter that he was going to reach his first triple-double in nine seasons by setting up behind the arc and letting loose.

"They told me I was three points away, and I was upset with myself because I missed some layups and free throws earlier and I said to myself, 'If I get a chance, I'm going to let it go,'" Camby said. "And luckily it went in."

Charlotte's game at Milwaukee on Saturday night was delayed 15 minutes after weather problems wreaked havoc on the Bobcats' travel plans.

Dense fog closed the airport in Milwaukee preventing the Bobcats from leaving Charlotte immediately after their 105-95 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night. Instead, the Bobcats decided to leave the next morning.

The team assembled at Wilson Air Center at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport early Saturday and eventually departed for the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison and a 60-mile ride to the Bradley Center.

They arrived over Madison only to find out that airport was closed, too. After circling 60 minutes and hoping the weather would clear in Milwaukee, the plane flew to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for fuel and food for the team. The next leg of the odyssey was an attempt to fly to Green Bay and Austin Straubel International Airport, but that airport was closed as they neared the city.

The Bobcats ended up flying into Chicago's Midway Airport and taking a charter bus to Milwaukee. They arrived at the arena about an hour before the scheduled start time, leading to the short delay.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Desmond Mason will miss six to eight weeks due to a torn ligament in his left thumb, the team announced Friday.

Mason suffered the injury in the second quarter of the Bucks 102-89 loss to Sacramento Wednesday. The 30-year-old will undergo surgery Saturday.

Mason, in his eighth year out of Oklahoma State, is averaging 8.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game this season.

Bucks' forward Desmond Mason was scheduled to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging exam on his sprained left thumb this afternoon.

Mason suffered the injury in the second quarter of the Bucks' 102-89 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. It was uncertain when results of the test would be available.

Meanwhile, Coach Larry Krystkowiak continued to contemplate a change in his starting lineup. The Bucks have used the same starting five in all 25 games this season: Mason and Yi Jianlian at forwards, Andrew Bogut at center and Michael Redd and Mo Williams at guards.

"I'm kind of waiting to see what happens with the report on Des," Krystkowiak said after a light practice session at the Cousins Center. "We're going to shake something up, whether it's starting the game that way or playing a little bit different lineup. I think it's time to do that."

Having lost eight of nine going into Monday night, the Cavaliers needed something good to happen.

It took some extra time -- two overtimes to be exact -- but something good finally did happen for the defending Eastern Conference champions in a 104-99 win over the Bucks.

"Every win is good for a team, especially with our struggles lately," said Cavaliers' forward LeBron James, who led Cleveland with 31 points and became the youngest player to score 9,000 career points. "We still have some things to clean up, but it was good to get a win."

Bucks' forward Bobby Simmons, who missed the team's final three games on its West Coast trip, rejoined the team Wednesday.

Simmons took part in the team's noon-time shootaround at the Bradley Center and was expected to play in the Bucks' game Wednesday against the Southeast Division-leading Orlando Magic. The Chicago native left the team on its recent trip due to personal reasons and missed games at Seattle, Portland and Sacramento.

"It's a boost for us, his ability to shoot the basketball, and he's got a nice feel for the game," Bucks' Coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "He provides us with another weapon on the floor, and I think we've missed him for three games."

"We've got some guys dealing with the flu, so additional bodies coming into the mix are always a welcome sight."

Krystkowiak said no players have been ruled out due to the flu bug. "Not at this point," he said. "We'll see how guys are holding up come game time."

Earl Boykins, one of the NBA?s most prominent remaining free agents, received a call on Thursday from Charlotte Bobcats? head coach Sam Vincent conveying interest in having the nine-year guard join his club.  Boykins? agent Mark Termini confirmed the call.

The Bobcats are 6-11 and have lost seven games in row coming into their Saturday night contest versus Cleveland.  Boykins would give Charlotte much needed depth at either guard position as he averaged 14.6 points and 4.4 assists last season.

Boykins became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st when he did not exercise his $3 million option for the 2007-2008 season with the Milwaukee Bucks.  The Eastern Michigan product averaged 23.2 points per game during an 11-game stretch for Denver when the club was without suspended players Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith.

A source says that it is unlikely Boykins would sign for anything below the mid-level exception.

Bucks' forward David Noel will miss the next four to six weeks with a right wrist sprain, the team announced on Friday night.

Noel originally sustained the injury during a workout in Cleveland on November 20. He has been inactive for all 17 of Milwaukee's games this season.

After the Milwaukee Bucks suffered their fourth straight defeat Saturday, a lopsided 117-91 loss to the Detroit Pistons at the Bradley Center, Bucks' Coach Larry Krystkowiak and the rest of the coaching staff met with players in the locker room to talk out some issues, in a meeting that lasted nearly 30 minutes.

"We've got to challenge ourselves every possession, every game," Bucks' guard Michael Redd said. "You've got to play with intensity if you're going to be a championship team, and we've not done it."

The Bucks were riding high just a week ago with a five-game winning streak, punctuated by home-court victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas. But everything has come unraveled in a woeful week, with losses to Philadelphia, Atlanta, New York and the Pistons.

"We don't want it spiraling down to where it was last year, the atmosphere of losing," Redd said.