Matt Winkeljohn of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Budenholzer said the fact that Horford has been taking the ball at the basket has opened up his jump-shooting game more. Defenders struggle to decide whether to switch off Horford when he sets a screen and take the ball, or trail him. That often leaves an opening for the driver, or Horford – who finds those spots. It might not be right to say that Horford "drifts" to these marks. A refined instinct usually leads him to an open spot. His streak began on the night he registered his first career double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists Jan. 13 in a win in Philadelphia. So he started by making so many passes, and has averaged 18 points on 10.3 shots attempts over the seven games while getting in position to take passes. Horford has scored 126 points on 72 field goal tries in that span – an average of 1.75 points per shot attempted. Houston’s James Harden is leads the NBA in scoring at 27.3 points per game on 18.3 field goal attempts – an average of 1.49 points per shot attempt. Now, that is efficiency.

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: To Lakers coach Byron Scott, seeing Rockets coach Kevin McHale still brings memories of the NBA Finals battles between the Lakers and Celtics. Having McHale around, however, no longer stirs the same emotions. “Everybody remembers the ‘80s when he wore that green and white,” Scott said. “I’ll never forget that. Kevin is no different. Cedric (Maxwell,) when we go to Boston, he’s working radio and television. When I see them, it always goes back to the ‘80s, but I don’t have that dislike or hate for them, anymore. I like Kevin. He’s a good guy." Asked if that meant he had forgiven McHale for the hard foul he laid on Kurt Rambis in Game 4 of the 1884 Finals, Scott said, "I didn’t say that."

Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle: In the quiet of summer, at a gym in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C., Stephen Curry works on his ballhandling. He dribbles two basketballs at once, he dribbles while tossing a tennis ball to a nearby trainer and he dribbles side-to-side with a resistance band wrapped around his waist. Most intriguingly, Curry also dribbles while five lights alternately flash on a wall in front of him. His quest in this innovative drill is to quickly react to the lights, making a specific move — yellow might mean “crossover” — and reaching out with his other hand to tap the light and hurry to the next one. “The lights mimic what’s happening on the court,” Curry said. “If there’s a defender in front of me, then I’ve got to know where he is and still be ready to initiate whatever move I’m going to make.” Curry long ago gained acclaim as one of the NBA’s best outside shooters, but the roots of his captivating game rest in his extraordinary ballhandling. He has all but mastered the art of dribbling, a fundamental and sublime skill closely connected to all those majestic jumpers. So in the din of sold-out arenas across the land, Curry shows off his “handle.”

Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald: The familiarity between Hassan Whiteside and NBA officials is increasing, and that recognition contributed to the Heat center’s record-setting game on Sunday. Whiteside picked up two fouls in seven minutes in the first half of the Heat’s 96-84 victory at United Center, but he played nearly 18 minutes in the second half, including all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter. He finished with a triple-double and set a franchise record for blocks after speaking with officials about his defense before the start of the second half. “I asked the refs what was I doing,” Whiteside said. “I know the guys are going to keep pump faking me, and so I told them they were just leaning their shoulders into me and the ref said he saw that." The communication helped, and it was one of the behind-the-scenes factors that contributed to Whiteside finishing with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks.

Chris Haynes of Northeast Ohio Media Group: Sunday in the Thunder locker room, Dion Waiters had to answer why the fans at The Q booed him. "I don't know," he said. "It didn't do anything to me. I'm still going to go home and sleep at night. It is what it is." Then he was asked if any of his former teammates talked trash during the game and Waiters provided a Waiters-like response. "Ain't nobody saying nothing to me," he said adamantly. "We just played basketball and kept it at that." Overhearing Waiters, Kevin Durant, a couple of locker stalls away, lifted up his head from tying his shoes and said, "That's a real one right there." That's accurate. Waiters is real and authentic as it gets. He's the total opposite of soft. However, his hardness simply wasn't what the Cavaliers needed. Mozgov imparts a force that can be utilized on the court, where it's needed most. Don't let the young, innocent face fool you. When Mozgov is on the court, he's instilling fear. The Cavaliers have gotten their defensive anchor, and it's no surprise they suddenly have a new competitive edge.

Dan Woike of The Orange County Register: Just like the local greenery, the Clippers were a little prickly Sunday in Phoenix. There was some jawing, some heated discussions, some difficult truths being told. Lightning bolts of frustration struck multiple times, and the Clippers genuinely looked ticked off – sometimes with each other. And then they won by 20. The Clippers survived the momentary in-fighting and a quarter-long defensive hiatus on their way to a 120-100 win over the Phoenix Suns. The Clippers have won four games in a row. “The keyword we’ve been saying is ‘spirit,’” Clippers guard Chris Paul said. “Everyone’s been engaged, and it’s a good feeling.” Spirit doesn’t always mean positive energy. Spirit means passion, and passion sometimes can lead to cursing on the way off the court. It can lead to intense discussions on the sidelines. And that’s OK. “Sometimes, that stuff is healthy,” Paul said.

Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca: After a scintillating start and a befuddling beginning to their mid-season it’s hard to know exactly how things are going to end up for the Toronto Raptors. Are they the team that started 22-6? Or the one that was just 6-9 since, including a touch-and-go come-from behind effort against the hapless Philadelphia 76ers on Friday? They got another chance to stake a claim on Sunday night against the Detroit Pistons and showed tentative signs of progress as they barely avoided snatching defeat from the jaws of victory as they won 114-110 to improve to 29-15 and remain third place in the Eastern Conference. Not pretty, but effective, and they get two more chances to build on it in the next three days, with a visits to Indiana on Tuesday before hosting Rudy Gay and the Sacramento Kings Wednesday. But there’s little risk in saying this: They’re going to need a little from everyone and a lot from a few. Sunday night held hope they might get the help necessary. As the Raptors swooned it became apparent that they were missing DeMar DeRozan, who proved his value as a foundation piece both in his 21-game absence and in his sluggish performance in his return.

John Reid of The Times-Picayune: In most games, Pelicans forward Anthony Davis rarely shows much emotion. But Sunday was different. Davis screamed, pumped his fist and even hugged a fan standing near the court at the end of the game. Most importantly, Davis made the necessary critical plays down the stretch to help the Pelicans beat the Dallas Mavericks, 109-106, to extend their winning streak to three in a row for the first time this season. The Pelicans (23-21) also ended a nine-game losing streak to the Mavericks that dated back to 2013, which included two losses earlier this season. "This was fun," Davis said. "Big win, everyone contributed with our hearts and it's a big team win. A division opponent, a team that's in our conference, and a team that's up there (in the standings)."

J. Michael of CSN Washington: As trade and free-agent signing discussions heat up, it seems weekly that a report will come out about the Wizards' chase for Ray Allen -- reported here Jan. 8 that they're still pursuing him with a vengeance -- who has been on their radar since July. They're not moving on their 15th roster spot until they're certain that Allen is off the table, and true to form John Wall isn't going out of his way to convince the veteran sharpshooter to join him. "I think it would be great, another knockdown shooter and a guy that's a veteran that knows how to play the game. That's basically what (he'd) add, a guy that's won a championship," said Wall when asked what he thought of the idea. "Two championships." What Wall hasn't done is pick up the phone to lobby him, a tactic that he has said that he's not fond of because it's akin to begging. "No, I'm being focused on just trying to lead my team," said Wall. "I'm just trying to be the John Wall I've been from the beginning of the season, sticking to my roots of trying to lead this team, trying to get us to the Promised Land."

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: Cory Joseph had neither a point nor an assist in slightly more than 16 minutes of Sunday’s 101-95 Spurs victory over Milwaukee at the AT&T Center, but what he did at the defensive end in the second half had a dramatic effect. A starter in 14 games while Tony Parker and Patty Mills dealt with injuries, Joseph replaced struggling Danny Green just 52 seconds into the third period. His frenetic defensive work was a spark the Spurs needed, and they limited the Bucks to 12 points in the period to take a lead into the fourth quarter. ... Gregg Popovich, who has had to juggle the playing time behind Parker between Joseph and Mills, understood how Joseph changed the game. “He had a significant impact,” the Spurs coach said. “He comes in and makes it tough for the other team to score. He gets loose balls. He rebounds. He does everything that helps the team, all the blue-collar kinds of things. He got down and really made a contribution, but hardly anyone notices it.” Joseph’s teammates noticed. “For sure, he was big in our turnaround of the game,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said.

Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star: Inside a recreation center where the sounds of soulful R&B grooved in the weight room and laughter saturated the hallways, the Pacers closed the gym doors and opened their own play land. They substituted the normal order of an NBA practice for competitive shooting challenges. Trash talk replaced the drone of the scouting report for the Magic and knockout tournament style 1-on-1 games upstaged the pressure of snapping a seven-game losing streak. In other words, the players had fun. And it worked. By Sunday night inside Amway Center, the Pacers enjoyed a come-from-behind 106-99 win over the Orlando Magic. Though Indiana had fallen behind by nine points early in the fourth quarter, the pressure released from the previous day's practice carried over as the team ripped off 31 points. And remember, the Pacers, and their legs, were on the ninth and final day of their longest trip of the season. ... Instead of fading in the fourth, the Pacers flourished. Especially rookie Damjan Rudez, who burned through the quarter making 6-of-8 shots, including four 3-pointers, for 16 points. Rudez finished with a career-high 18, just ahead of George Hill (17 points) as the Pacers improved to 16-30. And a 16th win in late January never seemed so satisfying.