NBA Roundup: DJ Was Always A Cut Above

Notes on Thursday's games in the National Basketball Association ...

• Let's Tip A Glass For The Late, Great Dennis Johnson. The above video, of course, depicts one of the great moments in Celtics history. Larry Bird has his signature on "The Steal," but who except Celtics' fans remember that it was Dennis Johnson's heads-up cut to the basket for the pass from Bird which provided that Boston victory in 1987? Johnson, a guard who had a 13-year NBA career, which included three championships wit the Celtics, died on Thursday of a heart attack at age 52. The D-League coach had just completed practice with the Austin Toros when he collapsed. How good was Johnson? Bird called him the best he ever played with, so there's that.

• Heat Handcuffed By DWI (Dwyane Wade Injury). A Mavericks-Heat rematch without Dwyane Wade is kind of like no rematch at all, but don't tell Dirk Nowitzki. The Big D scored 31 points and had 11 rebounds in a 112-100 win over Miami; Dallas' 10th straight win. Wade, who was series MVP last season as Miami beat Dallas for the NBA title, is considering season-ending surgery after dislocating his left shoulder Wednesday night in a loss in Houston.

• Kings Win! Kings Win! Wait ... what? John Salmons' apparent 3-pointer with 0.7 remaining sent the Kings onto the floor to celebrate sending the game to overtime with the Wizards on Thursday. But the officials then ruled it a 2-point basket, and then reviewed the video, which contained more bad news for Sacramento. The replay showed the basket was a 3-pointer, but it was released after the buzzer. No basket. Wizards win! Wizards win! (109-106). Gilbert Arenas scored 43 points for Washington; 30 in the first half.

• Cavaliers Rejected, Dejected. Ben Wallace's 14 points, 19 rebounds and season-high seven blocks led the Bulls over the Cavaliers 84-78. LeBron James had 29 points for the Cavs.