Chicago at Utah (9 p.m. EST). Jazz coach Jerry Sloan tries for his 900th career win after losing two straight games, both to San Antonio.

STARS

Monday

_Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets, scored a career-high 39 points to help Denver beat Portland, 116-97.

_Tim Duncan, Spurs, had 31 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks to lead San Antonio to an 83-65 win over Utah.

_ Joe Johnson, Suns, had 27 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds to help Phoenix beat Houston 99-79.

ONE UP

Carmelo Anthony scored a career-high 39 points in Denver's 116-97 win over Portland on Monday night. The day before, fellow rookie star LeBron James scored a career-high 38 in Cleveland's win over Washington.

BORN TO RUN

New Jersey's fast break sparked a second-half surge in a 91-70 win over New Orleans on Monday night. After having no fast-break points or free throws in the first half, the Nets scored 14 off the break in the third period and had more points in the quarter (35) than in the first half (31).

SPORADIC

Atlanta squandered a chance for its first winning streak of the season, losing to the Los Angeles Clippers 101-95 on Monday night. The Hawks are 0-15 coming off a victory.

CLOSE ONES

Detroit beat Miami 102-100 in overtime Monday night for the Pistons' fourth consecutive down-to-the-wire win. The Pistons have won four straight, including two in overtime, by a total of eight points.

SUSPENDED

Shaquille O'Neal was suspended for one game without pay by the NBA on Monday, one day after using obscene language and publicly criticizing officials during a TV interview following the Lakers' win over Toronto.

SPEAKING

``I thought more than that would come out just to see me.'' _ Elton Brand, a former ACC star now with the Los Angeles Clippers, on Monday night's small crowd in Atlanta. The announced attendance was 8,508, but it appeared no greater than 2,500 on a cold, rainy night. The Clippers won 101-95.