NBA Roundup: New Ball Apparently Works Just Fine

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

• The Score Also Rises. It's official: The Suns and the Nets are going to play each other every other day, as part of a 10-city tour to close out December. The rest of the league can take the rest of the year off. Phoenix outlasted host New Jersey on Thursday 161-157, in a game that had two overtimes and 34 lead changes. How unusual was this one? Steve Nash had more points (42) than assists (18), as the Suns won their eighth straight. Jason Kidd had 38 points for the Nets. And David Stern lifted the dress code for both teams.

• Start Printing Those Playoff Tickets! Dwyane Wade had 32 points, seven in overtime, to lead the Heat over the Kings 93-91.

• We Feel The Need, The Need For 'Sheed. Rasheed Wallace sank 3-pointers on three of four possessions to pace Detroit over Dallas 92-82, which was pretty much the halftime score of the Phoenix-New Jersey game, wasn't it?