Los Angeles  - Mike Brown, who guided the Cleveland Cavaliers to a league and franchise-best 66-win season, was named on Monday the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy, honouring the NBA Coach of the Year.

Brown received 355 points, including 55 first-place votes, from a panel of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters to easily outdistance Houston's Rick Adelman (151), Orlando's Stan Van Gundy (150) and Portland's Nate McMillan (127 points).

"Mike Brown is a critical element as to why our franchise is growing into the kind of success we all envisioned and hoped to achieve," Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert said.

Los Angeles - As a youngster, he never thought about it, but Michael Jordan soared into the Hall of Fame like one of his patented slam dunks.

Arguably the greatest to ever play the game, Jordan was elected Monday to the class of 2009.

"Growing up, I would never have envisioned myself at any point in time, being in any Hall of Fame," Jordan said. "All I wanted was a chance to go to college and whatever happened after that happened."

Los Angeles  - The lowly Washington Wizards haven't had many highs this season, but they seem to rise to the occasion against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Caron Butler scored 25 points, Antawn Jamison had 19 and the Wizards regrouped after blowing a 14-point lead to snap the Cavaliers' franchise-best 13-game winning streak, with a 109-101 home-court victory on Thursday night.

Los Angeles  - With the game on the line, Paul Pierce had the ball and the Boston Celtics star didn't have to think twice about what he was going to do with it.

Pierce hit Ray Allen for the game-winning three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in the second overtime, lifting the Celtics to a dramatic 111-109 home-court victory over the pesky Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.

"When you have one of the greatest shooters to ever play the game it's a no-brainer," said Pierce, who finished with a game-high 32 points. "I'll proclaim Ray the greatest shooter that I've ever seen in the history of the NBA. You have to talk about guys that have done it crucial situations and Ray has done it."

Los Angeles  - The Los Angeles Lakers didn't have much difficulty remembering their recent visits to Detroit - and even less trouble reversing those fortunes.

Kobe Bryant scored 30 points Thursday night, and the Lakers closed the third quarter on a decisive 20-0 run to pull away from the short-handed Detroit Pistons for a 92-77 victory.

"It feels good to finally walk out of here with a win," said reigning league MVP Bryant, who added eight rebounds and seven assists.

Los Angeles  - LeBron James took care of the offence, and the Cleveland Cavaliers took care of the ball.

James scored six of his 26 points in overtime, to go along with 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season, leading the Cavaliers past the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers 97-92 on Thursday night.

The Cavaliers improved the NBA's best-mark to 55-13 and 31-1 at home with their seventh straight victory, en route to tying a league-record for fewest turnovers in a game with two.