BRAND STAYS HOME: The Philadelphia 76ers' top scorer Elton Brand has a strained right hamstring and will not travel with the team Friday as the Sixers head to Detroit to take on the Pistons.
Brand had an MRI exam on Thursday and is listed as day-to-day. He leads the Sixers with 16.7 points and 10 rebounds a game. Brand didn't play the final 17 minutes of the 76ers' 114-102 loss to the Lakers on Wednesday when he first complained of the injury. He was limited to three points on 1-of-7 shooting in 25 ineffective minutes.
RUDY CAN'T FAIL: Rudy Fernandez has been putting up solid numbers off the bench for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Fernandez has hit a 3-pointer in each of his first 20 NBA games.
In the past 12 seasons, only two other rookies have put up longer 3-point streaks: Gordan Giricek, who had 24 straight in 2002-2003, and Kirk Hinrich, who had an NBA -record 29 in 2003-04.
Fernandez also has scored in double figures in 14 games.
TIP-INS: The Mavericks are 6-1 since losing F Josh Howard to a sprained left ankle. ... The Trail Blazers are off to their best start since the 1999-2000 season when they started 15-5. ... Mavericks G Jason Kidd made a 3-pointer Thursday in Dallas' win over Phoenix for the 1,386th 3-point goal of his career, tying Antoine Walker for ninth in NBA history.
