NBA roundup: Knicks' Stoudemire might return Jan. 1
Injured forward Amar'e Stoudemire could be back on the court for the New York Knicks on New Year's Day.
There are indications from Stoudemire that he could see his first action on Jan. 1 against Portland in Madison Square Garden. He called that date "a possibility" when asked when he would make his season debut, according to Newsday. The veteran forward is working his way back from a knee injury.
---Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, reinstated from a suspension Monday, did not travel with the team for Wednesday's game in Portland against the Trail Blazers, the Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones reported.
The Bee also reported that Kings guard Tyreke Evans skipped the trip due to a sore left knee.
During the Kings' loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, Cousins and Smart had a halftime altercation, with the center reportedly screaming at the coach. Cousins didn't play in the second half, and the team announced that next day that he was indefinitely suspended.
-- With heavy snow in the forecast for Indianapolis, the Indiana Pacers postponed their scheduled Wednesday night home game against the Chicago Bulls.
No makeup date was immediately announced, but tickets for Wednesday's game will be valid for the rescheduled game.
The team cited the weather conditions and concerns over travel safety as the reasons for the postponement.
--New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams was expected to miss Wednesday's game against Milwaukee because of a sore wrist
---Television ratings for the NBA's five Christmas Day games were down slightly from last year when the league returned from a lockout but up from two years ago.
Based on overnight numbers from Nielsen, the Oklahoma City-Miami game received the highest rating with a 6.0 share nationally, which also was the fourth highest in history for a regular-season game on ABC. That, however, was down from the Chicago Bulls-Los Angeles Lakers game from last year and the Lakers-Heat game in 2010.
---The Cleveland Cavaliers claimed Washington Wizards castoff Shaun Livingston off waivers Tuesday and waived guard Donald Sloan.
Livingston, 27, who was released Sunday by the Wizards, will back up Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving, The Plain Dealer reported in Cleveland.
---Desperately searching for any kind of help to jump-start an anemic offense, the Washington Wizards have signed free-agent point guards Shelvin Mack and Garrett Temple.
The Wizards (3-22) have lost eight of their past nine games going into Wednesday night's matchup with Cleveland.
