The Mavericks trailed 62-40 at halftime but stormed back against the Timberwolves to win 107-100 on Tuesday night.

Dallas trimmed Minnesota's lead from 29 points to just nine over a six-minute stretch in the third quarter.

"At halftime, they [the coaches] said, 'You guys are playing like ...' ? I'll let you fill it in," Jason Terry said. "They said we need to turn it up and defensively is where it?s going to start."

The Pistons ended the Magic's 7-game win streak with an impressive victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Monday night.

- Atlanta 109, Denver 91

Team FIC Differential: Hawks +27.8, Nuggets -27.8

The Hawks (20-10) defeated the Nuggets (20-12) thanks to strong performances from all five of their starters. Joe Johnson had 25 points and 7 assists; Al Horford tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds; and Mike Bibby added 20 points and 9 dimes. Atlanta outrebounded Denver by seventeen and went 12-for-23 from behind the three-point line. Kenyon Martin led with 19 points; Carmelo Anthony posted 16 points and 4 rebounds; and Chauncey Billups contributed 11 points and 5 assists.

Game FIC Scores

Mike Bibby, Atlanta ? 20.6

Joe Johnson, Atlanta ? 17.0

Anthony Carter, Denver ? 12.0

Kenyon Martin, Denver ? 10.0

- Detroit 88, Orlando 82

Team FIC Differential: Pistons +19.3, Magic ? 19.3

After a strong first half the Pistons (18-11) held on and knocked off the Magic (24-7) at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Rodney Stuckey led with 19 points and 5 rebounds; Rasheed Wallace posted 16 points and 6 boards; and Antonio McDyess added 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists off the bench. Detroit outrebounded Orlando by seven and limited them to just 40% shooting. Rashard Lewis led with 23 points and 6 assists; Dwight Howard tallied 18 points and 18 rebounds; and Hedo Turkoglu turned in 14 points, 8 dimes, and 5 boards in defeat.

Game FIC Scores

Dwight Howard, Orlando ? 22.1

Antonio McDyess, Detroit ? 15.0

Rashard Lewis, Orlando ? 15.0

Allen Iverson, Detroit ? 13.5

- Chicago 100, New Jersey 87

Team FIC Differential: Bulls +24.6, Nets -24.6

Derrick Rose led the Bulls (14-17) past the Nets (15-16) on Monday night. Ben Gordon scored 24 points; Larry Hughes tallied 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists off the bench; and Rose had 21 points and 13 dimes. Chicago shot 47%, while limiting New Jersey to just 40% on the night. Vince Carter starred with 31 points; Devin Harris posted 26 points and 5 assists; and rookie Brook Lopez contributed 9 points and 8 rebounds for the Nets.

Game FIC Scores

Derrick Rose, Chicago ? 23.8

Vince Carter, New Jersey ? 16.3

Larry Hughes, Chicago ? 15.5

Devin Harris, New Jersey ? 11.3

- Minnesota 108, Memphis 98 (OT)

Team FIC Differential: Timberwolves +6, Grizzlies -6

The Timberwolves (6-24) dominated in overtime to notch a win over the Grizzlies (10-21) at Target Center. Al Jefferson starred with 38 points and 16 rebounds; Kevin Love tallied 17 points and 7 boards; and Randy Foye added 15 points and 5 assists. Minnesota shot 49% and outrebounded Memphis by six. O.J. Mayo scored 23 points; Kyle Lowry posted 14 points and 12 assists; and Hakim Warrick turned in 12 points and 8 boards in defeat.

Game FIC Scores

Al Jefferson, Minnesota ? 25.4

Kyle Lowry, Memphis ? 18.0

Randy Foye, Minnesota ? 15.4

Marc Gasol, Memphis ? 12.0

- Phoenix 110, Oklahoma City 102

Team FIC Differential: Suns +11.9, Thunder ? 11.9

The game was close, but the Suns (17-12) did just enough to defeat the Thunder (3-29) on Monday night at Ford Center. Shaquille O?Neal starred with 28 points and 12 rebounds; Jason Richardson scored 20 points; and Matt Barnes had 19 points and 6 boards off the bench. Both teams shot over 50% from the field, but Phoenix narrowly won the rebounding and turnover battles. Russell Westbrook led with 31 points and 5 assists; Jeff Green posted 22 points and 11 rebounds; and Kevin Durant added 18 points and 8 boards for the Thunder. Back spasms limited Steve Nash to just 9 minutes.

Game FIC Scores

Shaquille O?Neal, Phoenix ? 24.3

Jeff Green, Oklahoma City ? 21.3

Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City ? 16.6

Matt Barnes, Phoenix ? 12.4

- Washington 89, Houston 87

Team FIC Differential: Washington +14.8, Rockets -14.8

The Wizards (6-23) outlasted the Rockets (20-12) to record a rare victory. Antawn Jamison had 30 points and 12 rebounds; Andray Blatche tallied 16 points, 8 boards, and 5 assists; and Nick Young scored 14 points. Washington outrebounded Houston by two and limited the home team to 40% shooting. Ron Artest led with 20 points; Tracy McGrady posted 15 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds; and Luis Scola contributed 16 points and 5 boards for the Rockets.

Game FIC Scores

Antawn Jamison, Washington ? 23.5

Dominic McGuire, Washington ? 13.2

Tracy McGrady, Houston ? 12.2

Luis Scola, Houston ? 11.5

- Utah 112, Philadelphia 95

Team FIC Differential: Jazz +29.8, 76ers -29.8

The Jazz (19-14) outscored the 76ers (12-18) in all four quarters on Monday night to move five games over .500 on the season. Deron Williams led with 27 points and 6 assists; Andrei Kirilenko posted 16 points and 13 rebounds; and Mehmet Okur contributed 19 points and 10 boards. Utah shot 51%, while limiting Philadelphia to 1-for-9 shooting from downtown. Andre Iguodala had 17 points and 6 rebounds; Andre Miller tallied 13 points and 8 assists; and Thaddeus Young turned in 17 points and 7 boards.

Game FIC Scores

Andrei Kirilenko, Utah ? 23.5

Deron Williams, Utah ? 20.1

Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia ? 12.6

Thaddeus Young, Philadelphia ? 12.0

- Golden State 117, Toronto 111

Team FIC Differential: Warriors +11.8, Raptors -11.8

The Warriors (10-23) used a key run in the second quarter to beat the Raptors (12-19) at ORACLE Arena. Stephen Jackson had 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists; Marco Belinelli posted 23 points and 6 dimes; and Andris Biedrins added 13 points, 15 boards, and 5 blocks. Golden State shot 50% and outrebounded Toronto by ten. Chris Bosh starred with 30 points and 14 rebounds; Jose Calderon tallied 21 points and 16 assists; and Joey Graham contributed 11 points and 5 boards in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

Jose Calderon, Toronto ? 27.3

Chris Bosh, Toronto ? 22.5

Stephen Jackson, Golden State ? 22.3

Andris Biedrins, Golden State ? 20.1

? RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)

( )'s indicate a negative FIC score.

It is also used to rank players and to determine their ?Reina Value.?
Click here to view the player rankings with the Reina Value for the current season

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune believes that the Minnesota Timberwolves could be making forward Mike Miller available.

Johnson believes that Minnesota would trade Miller for the right price, which could make their roster even younger.

Kevin McHale earned his first win in his second tenure as the coach of the Timberwolves on Friday night when the team defeated the Knicks in New York.

The Timberwolves snapped a 13-game losing streak, getting a season-best 23 points from Rashad McCants.

"The guys have been playing hard, and we really needed this one," McHale said. "At the end of the game I said, 'Thank God,' and I meant it."

Knicks' president of basketball operations Donnie Walsh is looking to fill the team's final roster spot with a short-term contract.

Minnesota guard Sebastian Telfair could be a candidate to fill the spot. Even if he opts in for the third year of his deal, his salary would be less than $3 million for 2010-2011.

The stock of former Pistons' and Timberwolves' coach Flip Saunders has never been higher with six teams playing with interim coaches.

Saunders said last week that he would prefer not to take over a team in the middle of the season, which means that he could make a nice candidate in Minnesota, Philadelphia, and Sacramento at the end of the season.

Before the Wolves can entice any top free agent when they have cap space in 2010, they know they have to improve the product on the court to the point they are considered a team worth joining.

"I think that's very important," said Jim Stack. "I think markets can get a little bit overrated. The top players want to go to a city where they can win. We're in a position to add not one but two high-level max free agents to a core that hopefully is going to continue to grow. As we move along, we want to get the team playing better, have a good draft and look at free agency even this year. I think that's going to put us in really good position to get this team moving in a good direction to where we could start competing for championships in 2010.

"There are a lot of variables that play into that (cap space)," said Stack. "It's hard to say there's going be X amount, but I do know we're going to have the cap room to sign players if we decide to go that route. Probably as much as any team. You can't put all your eggs in one basket, but we want to potentially sign one or two max-level free agents to add to our core group."

Timberwolves' coach Kevin McHale believes that all the recent firings is simply a sign of the times.

"I think you're going to see more and more shorter term stuff in our league," McHale said. "Just because the access now, there's so much media availability and everything else. There's just so many bloggers; everybody's got an opinion. There's all kinds of stuff going on. Sometimes that starts forming the opinion of people in front offices, too, and owner. It's been kind of a crazy year so far."

Timberwolves' coach Kevin McHale believes that his players need to undergo a "mind shift".

"The X's and O's are easy," McHale said of re-working the team's offense. "I can draw up all kinds of stuff. It's getting the guys to play a little bit faster and (with) a little bit more pace. That takes a little bit of time."

He isn't trying to create a run-and-gun offense necessarily, though, when he mentions speeding up the team's offense.

"When you talk about faster, I'm not going to say fast-break points," McHale said. "I'm talking getting the ball to Al (Jefferson) and our main cogs with 16, 17 seconds on the shot clock as opposed to seven or eight. It's not coming down and jack it. It's getting in to your main people earlier."

Minnesota forward Mike Miller returned from an ankle injury against San Antonio on Friday night after missing four games.

He sprained his ankle against Orlando on Dec. 3. Since then, Kevin McHale has taken over as the head coach of the Timberwolves.