The Basketball Diaries

San Antonio Spurs 97 Dallas Mavericks 94

Tell me if you've heard this story before. The San Antonio Spurs get off to a "slow" start to their season, and everyone gets all "What's wrong with the Spurs!?" when all of a sudden the All-Star break comes, and the Spurs get hot. It happens every season, but each time it seems as though everybody forgets all about it. Well, after beating Dallas on Thursday night the Spurs have now won 7 in a row. Tim Duncan had 31 points and 15 rebounds, while Manu Ginobili added 17 and Michael Finley dropped in 16 to round out San Antonio's attack. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs with 28, while Jason Kidd had 7 points and 10 assists, as Dallas fell to 3-2 since trading for Kidd.

New Jersey Nets 120 Milwaukee Bucks 106

Is there a greater showcase game for the Eastern Conference than Nets/Bucks? I can assure you that this will be the only time these two teams are in a Diaries together for the rest of the season (unless they play on a Thursday night again) but I didn't have many other options for this morning. Devin Harris, recently acquired in the Kidd deal, did make his New Jersey debut and he didn't disappoint. Devin scored 21 points and handed out 5 assists in only 21 minutes. He even had the home crowd chanting his name. "That was like college," Harris said. "I hadn't heard that since I left Wisconsin. Like I said, I don't want to replace anybody. I just want to be myself and play as hard as I can and get them to accept me for who I am."

Elsewhere...

• Lakers 106 Heat 88