Liz Robbins of the New York Times writes: Byron Scott glanced at the floor with about four minutes left against the Houston Rockets tonight and realized he would be booking a trip to Philadelphia for the All- Star Game on Feb. 10.

He saw his name in a headline on a stray news release announcing he would be coaching the Eastern Conference team.

When the Milwaukee Bucks lost tonight, the Nets clinched the best record in the East for the first half of the season, and Scott earned the honor. "I started laughing and went right back to the game," Scott said.