The Lakers were on their way to losing their 3rd consecutive game but they scored twelve points in 45 seconds at Madison Square Garden, with Kobe Bryant and Chucky Atkins doing a collective impersonation of Reggie Miller sending the game into overtime.

They outscored the Knicks 39-24 in the 4th quarter, playing on a prayer, as well as the lackadaisical play of a New York team already penciling in their 3rd straight victory.

They began the overtime frame taking a quick lead, but squandered the lead with 12.1 seconds after a foul on Stephon Marbury by Chucky Atkins.

With the Lakers trailing 117-115, Kobe penetrated and dished it to Luke Walton who subsequently passed up an open shot and gave him the ball back under the basket, but Bryant fumbled it as he might have been fouled by Kurt Thomas and time expired as he slammed the ball to the floor of the Garden and yelled at Walton.

Bryant did lead the Lakers with 30 points, Odom had 26 of his own and Atkins had 22.

Tim Thomas scored 35 points, an unlikely scoring source for the Knicks.

Alan Henderson and the Mavericks have an agreement in principle for the 6-10 forward to return to the team, possibly as early as Tuesday.

Henderson was traded with Calvin Booth to Milwaukee last Thursday. The Bucks waived Henderson the following day and he will clear waivers on Tuesday.

"We have an agreement," coach and general manager Don Nelson said. "Nothing is official until it is signed. But we feel very good about getting him back."

Nelson said he hopes to have Henderson on the upcoming road trip that starts Wednesday in Los Angeles vs. the Clippers.

In 52 games this season for Dallas, he averaged 3.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, primarily off the bench.

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Isiah Thomas announced today that guard Jermaine Jackson has been signed as a free agent to a 10-day contract and center Jackie Butler has been placed on the Injured List with right patella tendinitis.

Jackson, 6-4, 202-pounds, was averaging 20.8 points and 11.8 assists in 14 games for the Great Lakes Storm of the Continental Basketball Association this season. The Detroit, MI-native had won CBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards three times over the past two months. In three NBA seasons, Jackson owns career averages of 2.2 points and 1.6 assists in 84 games with the Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks.

Butler, 6-10, 250-pounds, was signed as a free agent on Feb. 27 and has yet to appear in a regular season game.

For the first time ever, a week-long series of games featuring regional contests, divisional games and historic playoff matchups highlight the NBA schedule as part of Rivalry Week, which runs through Wednesday, March 2. NBA.com asked current players, NBA Legends and WNBA players what they thought was the best team rivalry in the game today.

ALEX ENGLISH, Denver Nuggets Legend
"Out west I used to say the Spurs and the Lakers. Now, I would say the Spurs and any of the top two teams: Phoenix and Seattle."

GILBERT ARENAS, Washington Wizards
"Besides us and Miami? Me and Dwyane, we got our little thing going: buddies off the floor, warriors on the floor. I wanted to say Indiana-Detroit ... but it?s not a game without Ron Artest. When Ron?s there you can expect anything to happen. That?s the biggest rivalry. The Phoenix Suns against the Seattle SuperSonics could be the best matchup."

The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers also received votes due to the ongoing fued between Kobe and Shaq.

Reggie Miller should have sole possession of 13th place on the All-Time scoring list any day now.  Here is a look at Mr. Miller and some other players who are close to moving up on the milestone list:

- Reggie Miller (Indiana) needs 33 points to tie Patrick Ewing for 13th on All-Time Scoring List (milestone: 24,815).

- Dikembe Mutumbo (Houston) needs 10 blocks to tie Mark Eaton for 3rd on All-Time Blocked Shots List (milestone: 3,064).

- Shaquille O?Neal (Miami) needs 10 points needed to tie Elgin Baylor for 18th on All-Time Scoring List (milestone: 23,149) and 38 points to tie Adrian Dantley for 17th on All-Time Scoring List (milestone: 23,177).

- Jerry Sloan (Utah) needs three wins to tie Red Auerbach for 6th on All-Time Coaching Win List (milestone: 938).

Toronto?s Jalen Rose and Sacramento?s Mike Bibby today were named the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, February 22 through Sunday, February 27.

Rose helped his team to a perfect 3-0 week with wins over New Jersey, Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Lakers.  He averaged 24 points (up 6.9 points from his season average) on .553 shooting (up nine percent) and added 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists.  He led his team in scoring with 30 points at New Jersey including 10 points in the fourth quarter and later in the week, had a team-high 26 points including 12 fourth-quarter points versus the Lakers.

Bibby averaged 26.5 points on .462 shooting, resulting in a 3-1 week with wins versus Atlanta, at Philadelphia and at Washington and a loss to Dallas.  He led his team in assists in all four contests and led the team in scoring in three of the four games.  In a 110-108 win at Washington, he scored 38 points and made five three-pointers.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have activated forward/center Anderson Varejao and placed forward/center Scott Williams on the Injured List, Cavaliers President and General Manager of Basketball Operations Jim Paxson announced today.

Varejao has played in 30 games this season, averaging 4.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game.  Varejao had been placed on the Injured List on February 1, 2005 with a left high ankle sprain that he suffered on January 24 versus Washington.  He missed a total of 14 games while injured. Williams has been placed on the Injured List with right knee patella tendinitis.  He has played in 19 games this season, averaging 1.7 points and 1.6 rebounds in 8.0 minutes per game.

The Cavaliers active roster stands at 12.

After six weeks playing in Detroit, Carlos Arroyo is beginning to earn the praise of the Detroit Staff, most importantly, Joe Dumars.

''He's the most creative guy we have on the team - instantly,'' said Dumars, the Pistons' president of basketball operations, after watching Arroyo score 13 points in 18 minutes in Detroit's 97-88 victory over the New York Knicks last Tuesday. ''This team needed another general on the floor, and he's a general when he's on the floor. I just think he's a perfect fit, and I am so happy to have him here.''

His numbers are down, however Arroyo is making the most of his limited playing time, giving the Pistons solid contributions night in and night out.  

''He's a natural point guard, simple as that,'' said Pistons assistant Gar Heard. ''He looks to make plays before he looks to shoot the ball.''

The Mavericks may have suffered there fair share of injuries, however the good news is that there seems to be plenty of young guys willing to step up.  

Now Mav?s sixth-man Jerry Stackhouse is gearing himself to get back into the lineup.  Stackhouse has been out the past six games after aggravating a strained groin at Sacramento on Feb. 11 and is doubtful tonight against New Orleans at American Airlines Center.

"Looks pretty good, but we didn't do that much," Nelson said of Stackhouse's first practice. "I think we'll have him on the West Coast."

Mavericks all-star Dirk Nowitzki injured his right hamstring in Saturday?s melee versus Phoenix and as a result, sat out Sunday?s practice.

"I'm hoping to give it a go," Nowitzki said of tonight's game.

It seems that when one is playing well, the other struggles.  In the seasons early going Eddie Curry was the Bulls go-to big man while Tyson Chandler was nowhere to be seen.  Lately, Chandler has become the Bulls' fourth-quarter closer, blocking shots, patrolling the paint, snaring rebounds.  Curry can barely find the court at crunch time, having played two fourth-quarter minutes in the last two games, part of his four-game funk.

Curry is nursing a sore hamstring and amid the Bulls winning has been silent about his frustrations.  "I have to be more consistent on defense and rebounding," he said.

"At this point, I know I'm going to be out there for awhile in the fourth," Chandler said. "Coach [Scott Skiles] is letting me get into a groove, so I'm comfortable out there and that gives me confidence.

"I have to be the floor general and keep everything intact defensively. I know other players will do their thing offensively. When it comes to the other end, I feel like I'm the captain out there. I love the respect that [Skiles] shows me."