Denver at Portland (10 p.m. EST). Newly acquired Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Theo Ratliff are expected to make their debuts for the Trail Blazers.

STARS

Tuesday

_Kevin Garnett, Timberwolves, had 31 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, leading Minnesota to a 96-84 victory over the Clippers.

_Peja Stojakovic, Kings, scored 31 points and added seven rebounds in Sacramento's 124-117 win in Milwaukee.

_Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley, Mavericks, combined for 52 points and 22 rebounds as Dallas ended New York's season-best five-game winning streak with a 105-90 victory.

_Vince Carter, Raptors, scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half as Toronto handed Phoenix its fourth straight loss, 101-94.

COACHES

Randy Ayers was fired by struggling Philadelphia during his first season as coach, and assistant Chris Ford was promoted to replace him Tuesday. The 76ers went 21-31 under Ayers. All but one of the 15 Eastern Conference teams _ Atlanta, with Terry Stotts _ have changed coaches since the end of last season. Philadelphia has done it twice in that span.

STREAKING

Richard Jefferson had 27 points and 10 rebounds for New Jersey, which posted its ninth straight double-digit win and improved to 8-0 under new coach Lawrence Frank with an 89-78 win over Detroit on Tuesday night. ... Dallas has won 13 of 16 heading into the All-Star break.

ON TOP

Indiana leads the NBA with 39 wins before the All-Star break following Tuesday night's 103-84 victory at Chicago.

STRONG IN DEFEAT

Corey Maggette had a season-high 34 points for the Clippers, who lost their third straight Tuesday night, 96-84 to Minnesota.

SHOOTING

Toronto swept the season series from Phoenix for only the second time with a 101-94 victory Tuesday night, and improved to 12-1 when shooting 45 percent or better.

SWIPER

Golden State's Speedy Claxton had six steals in Tuesday night's 106-97 victory at Seattle.

CLEAN

Indiana was called for just two fouls in the first half of its 103-84 victory Tuesday night, fewest ever in a half for a Bulls opponent.

SIDELINED

Toronto guard Jalen Rose had surgery on his broken left hand Tuesday, ending his streak of consecutive NBA games at 286. Rose, averaging 14.4 points and 4.7 assists, hadn't missed a game since Nov. 20, 2000. ... Washington scoring leader Larry Hughes, averaging 18.7 points, has a broken left wrist and will miss four to six weeks.

SPEAKING

``I take this loss on myself. I've got to have a much better, much more productive game than that. I wasn't Lamar tonight.'' _ Miami's Lamar Odom, after a 98-83 loss to the Lakers on Tuesday night.