Al Jefferson

St. Joseph's guard Delonte West and the Boston Celtics' two other first-round draft picks have signed, the team announced yesterday. West, a junior, averaged 18.9 points per game in helping St. Joe's to a 30-2 record last season. He then declared for the NBA draft and went to the Celtics with the 24th pick. Boston's initial first-round selection was Al Jefferson, a forward out of Prentiss (Miss.) High School. He was chosen 15th. The Celtics' third first-rounder was guard Tony Allen, who helped Oklahoma State narrowly defeat West and St. Joe's in the regional finals of last season's NCAA tournament.

THE SCOURGE of Tim Donaghy? Betting lines? Over/unders? Mob connections? Indictments? Can we interrupt the madness, even for a moment or two, and look in on the state of the 76ers? I mean, we're talking actual basketball stuff. Specifically, we're talking about Kevin Garnett landing with the Boston Celtics in a massive trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, teaming with Paul Pierce and the previously acquired Ray Allen. We're talking about whether the Sixers should have made a similar run at Garnett, whether the balance of power in the NBA's Eastern Conference is dramatically affected, and what this does to the immediate hopes of the Sixers.

Wizards deal Hawks another loss Andray Blatche scored 23 points, John Wall had 19, and the Washington Wizards dealt the playoff-bound Atlanta Hawks their fourth straight loss, 115-83, on Saturday night in Washington. The reeling Hawks, who are set to play Orlando in the playoffs, are heading into the postseason in less than ideal shape. The Wizards broke a 12-game losing streak against Atlanta, have won four of six, and are probably playing their best this season. They have just 10 healthy players - including five rookies and three who played in the NBA D-League this season.

A matchup of the Western Conference's best teams turned out to be a mismatch. Kobe Bryant scored 22 points before sitting out the fourth quarter, Pau Gasol added 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers routed the visiting San Antonio Spurs yesterday, 99-85. The win was the fourth straight and 14th in 17 games for the Lakers, whose .814 winning percentage is the best in the NBA. Trevor Ariza came off the bench to score 17 points to match his season high, Andrew Bynum had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Jordan Farmar, in his first game after missing 18 with a foot injury, added 14 points for the Lakers.

WITH A TEAM led by three veteran stars playing the seventh game of a taxing eight-game road trip, it wouldn't have been shocking to see the Boston Celtics simply run out of gas. Instead, they had more than enough energy to slow down and disrupt the suddenly streaking Milwaukee Bucks and close the gap behind the Sixers in the Atlantic Division to a half-game. Paul Pierce scored 25 points to help Boston to a 100-91 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday night, snapping the Bucks' six-game winning streak.

PAUL PIERCE has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics. "The way he played tonight, we're a pretty tough team to stop," the Celtics' captain said after Rondo recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in a 95-91 victory yesterday over the Chicago Bulls, who were without league MVP Derrick Rose. Running the Celtics' offense smoothly without having to worry about covering Rose, Rondo helped Boston rebound from a miserable loss in Toronto on Friday.

THE SAME ARENA that rocked to "M-V-P!" for Kobe Bryant in the first half was bellowing "Beat LA!" in the final minute. It's amazing the fans weren't speechless over what they were witnessing. It wasn't merely that the Los Angeles Lakers had blown a 21-point, second-half lead to the lowly Washington Wizards - it was the fact that the Lakers had essentially lost the game to a bunch of Wizards second-stringers. It truly is almost surreal what happened in the fourth quarter of the Wizards' 106-101 victory last night.

BOSTON - Samuel Dalembert, bless his heart, was looking for open teammates. Sometimes he found them, as when he surpassed his career high with four assists in the first quarter of the 76ers' 102-94 victory over the Boston Celtics last night. After that, though, he seemed to be aiming for targets only he saw. The 6-11 center was looking for cutters in all the wrong places. He was clearly enjoying it, even if - after the early burst - coach Maurice Cheeks was not. This was life in Game 78 of the Sixers' season.

The 76ers were handling the Minnesota Timberwolves as their game unfolded last night. Then a second-quarter explosion by the Sixers nearly ran the visitors out of the Wachovia Center. On the strength of a 43-point second period, the Sixers ran away to a 119-97 victory that extended their longest winning streak of the season to five games. "I liked the way we played for 48 minutes," Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said. "We did not have any major lulls like we have in the past. We stayed at a high level.

MINNEAPOLIS - Dirk Nowitzki is on a tear, and Minnesota never had a chance. Nowitzki led Dallas in scoring for the ninth straight game, scoring 30 points yesterday, as the Mavericks handed the Timberwolves their eighth consecutive loss by a score of 101-78. Dallas led by as many as 31 points en route to its fourth win in a row and ninth in its last 11 despite playing without the ailing Jerry Stackhouse (sprained thumb) and Erick Dampier (knee). "It was really important that we didn't play to the level of our competition," said Josh Howard, who had 22 points and eight rebounds.

WITH A TEAM led by three veteran stars playing the seventh game of a taxing eight-game road trip, it wouldn't have been shocking to see the Boston Celtics simply run out of gas. Instead, they had more than enough energy to slow down and disrupt the suddenly streaking Milwaukee Bucks and close the gap behind the Sixers in the Atlantic Division to a half-game. Paul Pierce scored 25 points to help Boston to a 100-91 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday night, snapping the Bucks' six-game winning streak.

THE SAME ARENA that rocked to "M-V-P!" for Kobe Bryant in the first half was bellowing "Beat LA!" in the final minute. It's amazing the fans weren't speechless over what they were witnessing. It wasn't merely that the Los Angeles Lakers had blown a 21-point, second-half lead to the lowly Washington Wizards - it was the fact that the Lakers had essentially lost the game to a bunch of Wizards second-stringers. It truly is almost surreal what happened in the fourth quarter of the Wizards' 106-101 victory last night.

PAUL PIERCE has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics. "The way he played tonight, we're a pretty tough team to stop," the Celtics' captain said after Rondo recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in a 95-91 victory yesterday over the Chicago Bulls, who were without league MVP Derrick Rose. Running the Celtics' offense smoothly without having to worry about covering Rose, Rondo helped Boston rebound from a miserable loss in Toronto on Friday.

Wizards deal Hawks another loss Andray Blatche scored 23 points, John Wall had 19, and the Washington Wizards dealt the playoff-bound Atlanta Hawks their fourth straight loss, 115-83, on Saturday night in Washington. The reeling Hawks, who are set to play Orlando in the playoffs, are heading into the postseason in less than ideal shape. The Wizards broke a 12-game losing streak against Atlanta, have won four of six, and are probably playing their best this season. They have just 10 healthy players - including five rookies and three who played in the NBA D-League this season.

The 76ers were handling the Minnesota Timberwolves as their game unfolded last night. Then a second-quarter explosion by the Sixers nearly ran the visitors out of the Wachovia Center. On the strength of a 43-point second period, the Sixers ran away to a 119-97 victory that extended their longest winning streak of the season to five games. "I liked the way we played for 48 minutes," Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said. "We did not have any major lulls like we have in the past. We stayed at a high level.

Kevin Garnett was home with the flu, so Paul Pierce had a chance to act like he was once again the Boston Celtics' only All-Star. "I just try to give the game what it needs. Today, I thought it needed my scoring," Pierce said after his 36 points, eight rebounds and six assists helped Boston extend its winning streak to 11 games with a 109-101 victory yesterday over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves. "You go off and say, 'Hey, I've still got it.' Even at 31. " Pierce has scored 35 or more 62 times during a career in which he was often the lone scoring option for woeful Celtics teams.

A matchup of the Western Conference's best teams turned out to be a mismatch. Kobe Bryant scored 22 points before sitting out the fourth quarter, Pau Gasol added 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers routed the visiting San Antonio Spurs yesterday, 99-85. The win was the fourth straight and 14th in 17 games for the Lakers, whose .814 winning percentage is the best in the NBA. Trevor Ariza came off the bench to score 17 points to match his season high, Andrew Bynum had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Jordan Farmar, in his first game after missing 18 with a foot injury, added 14 points for the Lakers.

Randy Foye got the message. After 2 days of listening to his coaches and teammates urge him to play with more intensity, the Minnesota Timberwolves guard did just that yesterday. Foye, the former Villanova star, had 23 points and a career-high 14 assists, and the Timberwolves beat the Detroit Pistons, 106-80, at the Palace of Auburn Hills for their first road victory of the season. "Tonight showed what kind of player Randy can be," Minnesota coach Randy Wittman said. "We've been talking to him for the last 2 days, telling him that he needed to be more aggressive.

The 76ers had talked repeatedly about not getting caught up in their recent success. They wanted to guard against complacency. Last night, however, they could not guard a team that has the worst record in the Western Conference. Failing to build on the momentum of a five-game winning streak, the Sixers began their final two-month playoff run with a limp in a 104-88 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center. That dropped the Sixers to 23-31, while the Timberwolves, who snapped a five-game losing streak, improved to 11-41.

MINNEAPOLIS - Dirk Nowitzki is on a tear, and Minnesota never had a chance. Nowitzki led Dallas in scoring for the ninth straight game, scoring 30 points yesterday, as the Mavericks handed the Timberwolves their eighth consecutive loss by a score of 101-78. Dallas led by as many as 31 points en route to its fourth win in a row and ninth in its last 11 despite playing without the ailing Jerry Stackhouse (sprained thumb) and Erick Dampier (knee). "It was really important that we didn't play to the level of our competition," said Josh Howard, who had 22 points and eight rebounds.