Last night

Maurice Evans packed his bags and headed east after being traded to the Magic along with Brian Cook for forward Trevor Ariza.

In this space yesterday morning, I hoped that Royal Ivey would get to see the court at the same time as Daniel Gibson. Turns out, it was an absolute clinic by the two former Horns. D-Gib scored 26 points on the night, adding four assists and two rebounds in his 36 minutes of play. Royal with Cheese had the best game of his young career, scoring 15 points in just under 15 minutes while logging three boards, two assists, and two steals. And as far as bragging rights are concerned, Ivey and the Bucks snagged a 111-107 victory.

No Kwame Brown means more Chris Mihm. Andrew Bynum got the starting nod over Mihm, but the Westlake and UT grad pitched in with nine points and four boards as the Lakers killed the Pacers, 134-114.

T.J. Ford and the Raptors jumped out to a huge early lead against the Mavs, but cooled in the 3rd quarter and allowed homestanding Dallas to escape with a 105-99 victory. Ford scored 13 and dished out five assists in 22 minutes on the court.

Tonight

Can Royal Ivey claim scoreboard over a fellow Longhorn for a second-straight night? Chris Mihm and the L.A. Lakers hope that isn’t the case as they travel to Milwaukee. (7 PM CST, NBA League Pass)

T.J. Ford and the Raptors hope to bounce back in Memphis against the Grizzlies. Tip #1 from Longhorn Road Trip: Keep Jose Calderon on the bench the entire night and let T.J. play 48 minutes. Problems solved. (7 PM, NBALP)

Daniel Gibson travels to Minnesota when the Cavs and Timberwolves tangle in the Target. That’s called alliteration. (7 PM, NBALP)

We hope to see the debut of Maurice Evans in a Magic uniform as Orlando travels to San Antonio and tries to avoid Tony/Eva overhype. (7:30 PM, NBALP)

LaMarcus Aldridge and the Trailblazers host the Nets in a matchup of 4-7 teams. (9 PM, NBALP)

We lead off with apologies to any who tried to visit the website today when it was down. Sometime in the middle of the night, the server died and was still MIA when I tried to log in and write the daily stuff at 5 A.M. I’m not sure how long the site wasn’t functioning, as I’m just now returning to find it operational once again, but I apologize to anybody who swung by during the downtime, and I also apologize for it delaying your daily reads.

Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo, Eric Gordon, Kevin Love, Derrick Rose…we’ve all heard these names ad nauseum during the preseason, and with good reason. They are all quality players who are going to make a huge impact in their freshman seasons. But add a new name to that list — Patrick Mills of St. Mary’s College. Mills, a 19-year old true freshman point guard from Australia, had an absolutely incredible performance as the Gaels upset #11/12 Oregon, 99-87. Mills is an insanely quick guard who can attack the rim, but also has an incredible eye for finding the emerging passing lanes as the defense helps. The freshman scored 37 points in 37 minutes and turned the ball over only one time on an errant pass as the Gaels iced it away. That game between Texas and St. Mary’s on January 4th looks mighty dicey, particularly with the historically anemic crowds in the FEC that time of year.

UCLA held the lead for only 31 seconds against Michigan State last night, but they were the final 31 seconds of the game. The Bruins put together an impressive second-half comeback to knock off Michigan State, 68-63, and claim the title of CBE Classic Champions. In the consolation game, Mizzou took out Maryland, 84-70. Stefhon Hannah of Mizzou and Drew Neitzel of Michigan State were both battling flu bugs after having played each other the day before. Who knew the brand new Sprint Center was a hot zone?

In Maui, Marquette reached the tournament championship by defeating Oklahoma State in the first semifinal, while Duke won the second, 79-66 over Illinois. In the loser’s bracket, Arizona State spanked Princeton and LSU edged Division II host Chaminade. SEC power!

Tonight on the tube, Feast Week continues. And while I’m not all about gluttony, this is seriously one of my favorite times of the year. You get time off of work and more basketball on TV than it is possible to watch. We recommend Washington/Texas A&M in the Preseason NIT semis (6 PM CST, ESPN2), Marquette/Duke for the Maui championship (9 PM, ESPN), and Michigan/Butler in the Great Alaska Shootout (10:30 CST, ESPN2). The Bulldogs are for real, folks. Promise.

Last night

LaMarcus Aldridge had a rough game in a 101-92 Portland loss to Charlotte. L.A. struggled against a tough defense and battled foul trouble as well, playing only 20 minutes on the night. Aldridge finished with seven points and one rebound.

The Memphis Grizzlies defended their home court, taking out the Seattle Supersonics, 125-108. Kevin Durant had eleven points in 30 minutes on the floor and snagged two rebounds.

Tonight

If Royal Ivey snags some playing time, there will be a Longhorn backcourt battle when the Bucks take on Daniel Gibson and the Cavs. (6 PM CST, NBA League Pass)

Chris Mihm will likely see more playing time with Kwame Brown suffering another injury on Sunday, and Maurice Evans hopes to contribute from the bench as the Lakers travel to Indiana. (6 PM, NBALP)

T.J. Ford travels back to Texas as the Raptors face the Mavs in Big D. (7:30 PM, NBALP)

Baylor won a championship!! It may have only been the Paradise Jam down in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but the Bears won three straight games, culminating with a 62-54 win over Winthrop in the finals. After knocking off Wichita State and Notre Dame in the first two rounds, one has to wonder if the Bears are going to be making some noise in the Big 12 this year. Let’s be honest — there’s Kansas, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Texas, and then a huge drop off. (And without Gary Johnson, Texas is not even in the conversation with the other three.) Baylor still has home games against Washington State and Arkansas and a shot to emerge from the pack of the Big 12, so perhaps we’ll be discussing their resumé come February and March.

The Longhorns flip-flopped with A&M in this week’s AP poll, moving up to 15th while staying put at 16th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. At the bottom, Davidson cracked the Coaches at #25 after nearly upsetting #1 North Carolina last week. The Wildcats still have a road game against #10 Duke left on the schedule…I’m just saying.

Okie State won their opening-round game in Maui, taking out LSU 83-77. Mizzou looked incredibly impressive in the CBE Classic semis, but fell just short against a quality Michigan State team, 86-83. They refused to quit despite falling significantly behind a couple of times, and Stefhon Hannah almost singlehandedly willed them to victory in the final few minutes. That January road game in Columbia might not be too much fun for the Horns.

Romeo Miller signed his LOI to attend USC yesterday with future teammate DeMar DeRozan beside him at a press conference in the ritzy Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. That’s right, folks. Lil Romeo is going to play for the Trojans. The LA Times article raises a very good question, namely whether or not the USC staff offered Lil Romeo a scholarship in order to earn points with DeRozan, the much more talented of the two friends.

Big, big game on tap tonight featuring two Texas opponents, when #1 UCLA takes on #11 Michigan State in the championship of the CBE Classic out in Kansas City (9 PM CST, ESPN2). The consolation game should also be good, with Maryland and Mizzou meeting at 6:45 CST on ESPNU. Second-round action out of Maui includes LSU/Chaminade (12:30, ESPNU), Princeton/Arizona State (3:00 CST, ESPNU), Marquette/Oklahoma State (6:00 CST, ESPN), and Duke/Illinois (8:30 CST, ESPN).

Friday

The Raptors grabbed another win, besting the Pacers 110-101 at the Air Canada Centre. T.J. Ford had 15 points on a 50% shooting night and added seven assists.

Portland fell just short of a road victory in Philly, as the 76ers won by a 92-88 count. LaMarcus Aldridge continued to quietly impress, logging 25 points and six boards in 38 minutes on the court.

Kevin Durant hit the game-winning three over the outstretched arms of Al Horford, and the Sonics grabbed a double-overtime victory in Atlanta, 126-123. KD had 21 on the night, along with three blocks, steals, and rebounds as Seattle put together a second consecutive win.

Daniel Gibson scored six, grabbed six boards, and dished out five assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Jazz, 99-94. D-Gib was abnormally cold from behind the arc, missing on all three of his attempts.

The Lakers took out the Pistons, 103-91 at the Staples Center. Maurice Evans provided eleven minutes off the bench, scoring five points while logging three assists, two boards, and a steal. Chris Mihm did not play in the game.

Saturday

LaMarcus Aldridge had yet another double-double, but the Trail Blazers fell short against the Wizards, 109-90. L.A. had 19 points and ten rebounds in his 39 minutes on the court, adding a pair of assists and a block.

The mini winning streak came to a close when the Sonics lost to the Bobcats, 100-84. K-Smoove was a perfect 10-of-10 from the line en route to a 16 point night, but grabbed only one rebound.

Royal Ivey played 13 minutes as the Milwaukee Bucks knocked off the Hawks, 105-96. Ivey had two points, assists, and steals in the winning effort.

Sunday

The Raptors dropped a home game to the Warriors, 106-100. But T.J. Ford certainly did his part for Toronto, scoring 29 points, dropping nine dimes, and grabbing five rebounds in 33 minutes of play.

The Lakers beat up on the pitiful Bulls, logging a 106-78 victory. Chris Mihm scored eleven points in thirteen minutes of play by getting himself to the foul line, where he was 7-of-8. Mihm also had eight rebounds in a game where Maurice Evans added seven points and a board.

Tonight

LaMarcus Aldridge and the Trail Blazers head to the opposite coast to take on the Charlotte Bobcats. (6 PM CST)

The Seattle Supersonics and Kevin Durant look for another win against the hapless Grizzlies in Memphis. (7 PM CST, NBATV)