Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors has won the Joe Dumars Trophy presented to the NBA player who best exemplifies sportsmanship. Curry received 88 of a possible 347 first-place votes from fellow players. Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls was second with 84 votes and Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge was third with 56.

Dwight Howard has another piece of hardware for his personal trophy case. The Orlando Magic center became the first player to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award three straight seasons Monday -- and the voting wasn't close. Howard received 585 points, including 114 first-place votes, from a panel of 120 sports writers and broadcasters.

Chris Paul and a few teammates sneaked across the street from their hotel to Staples Center the night before the New Orleans Hornets began the postseason, eagerly hoisting up a few shots in the shadows of the Lakers' imposing championship banners. With their tumultuous regular season finally a memory, Paul said the Hornets were almost unbearably eager for the playoffs to start.

Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder are no longer just a young team happy to make the playoffs, they are convinced they are legitimate NBA championship contenders this season. "We're growing up, We hold ourselves to a higher standard now," said Durant, who leads the NBA in scoring this season.

Charlie Villanueva drifted over toward the free-throw line as if setting a pick, then collided with Ryan Hollins. Moments later, the two had each other wrapped up, each with a hand on the other's face while players, officials and coaches tried to break up the skirmish. It's been a forgettable season for the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers, but it's almost over.

The Denver Nuggets found themselves without a superstar but sporting one of the deepest rosters in the NBA after sending Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to Broadway. Good thing, too, because their injuries just keep piling up. J.R. Smith's 22 points led nine Nuggets in double figures and Kosta Koufos tied his career high with 18 points in Denver's 134-111 win over Golden State on Monday...

The Dallas Mavericks want the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, and they know they'll have to play better than they did on Monday night once the postseason begins. Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and the Mavericks beat the Houston Rockets 98-91 in overtime to move a half game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for the No.

Even in a game that went to overtime, the most interesting spectacle was the quartet of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo sitting on the Boston Celtics' bench. The Celtics were making a statement: The Miami Heat can have second place. It wasn't worth fighting for anymore. Coach Doc Rivers decreed that a few days of rest for his veteran starters would be a bigger priority...

C.J. Miles needed a mere half to equal his scoring output from his previous three games combined against a New Orleans Hornets squad staggering into the playoffs. Miles and Devin Harris each scored 18 points, and the Utah Jazz never trailed in a 90-78 victory Monday night. Hornets coach Monty Williams, whose club was trounced by 22 points a night earlier in Memphis, seemed almost mystified by his...

The Miami Heat seemed to be coming unglued. Playing against a bunch of backups, Zydrunas Ilgauskas was ejected for slamming the ball off a friend's back and the Big Three were on the verge of blowing a 20-point lead in a game they needed to lock up a better playoff spot. Thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by James Jones, Miami was able to hold on Monday night.

Dwight Howard asked for a moment of silence. He bowed his head, closed his eyes and paused to remember Jrue Holiday's career for what it was before he was posterized on Howard's rim-wrecking dunk. "As I was in the air, I was talking to him," Howard said to laughter. "Jameer, what did I tell him in mid-air?" "Don't jump," Magic guard Jameer Nelson said.