Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

Nash meets the Answer in a key West clash; Finley on fire; Paul and West strong as ever; Delonte double-doubles; Mavs' Howard tops 30 again; Brand cleared to play; and more...

STRETCH RUNNING 
It's an age-old truism that, it doesn't matter how you start, but how you finish. And after some stops and starts this season, the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets are finishing the regular season running strong.

Both squads have had their ups and downs during the regular sked. The Nuggets were hit by the injury bug early and have been decidedly hot and cold all season long, but lately are on an 8-2 run during their past 10 outings and have pulled into the No.8 playoff spot in the incredibly tough West. Meanwhile the Suns finally seem to have adjusted to having Shaquille O'Neal around, and are themselves on an 8-2 streak, and just four games ahead of the Nuggets in the West.

And despite both featuring lead guards over the age of 30 (in Steve Nash and Allen Iverson, respectively), the Suns and Nuggets continue to play some of the most wide-open, run-first ball in the NBA. As they face off Monday in Phoenix, which of these West powers can keep from running on empty?

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BRAND CLEARED TO PLAY 
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, The Clippers medical staff has officially cleared power forward Elton Brand for a return to the lineup. Brand hopes to return as soon as some conditioning issues are resolved. INTEL: Elton told the L.A. Daily News that he's "looking at the last six to eight games," which could mean as early as Wednesday at Seattle or as late as Sunday at home to Houston (with the team also playing Thursday in Sacrament). If Brand can quickly build his minutes up, the consistent scorer and rebounder may have a chance to fill up a few box scores yet.

FINLEY FIRING IT UP 
Continuing his recent hot steak, Michael Finley put in 22 points for San Antonio Sunday in their 109-88 victory over the Houston Rockets. The performance now leaves him averaging 19.5 points over his past four games, shooting 68.9 per cent during that span. INTEL: Finley is getting old and his numbers have slipped in recent years, but a mid-March return to the starting lineup seems to have put some hop back in his step. He's heating up at the perfect time for a team preparing to defend the NBA title.

MAVS' HOWARD STAYS HOT 
On Sunday Josh Howard reached the 30-point plateau yet again as the Mavericks lost in Golden State, 114-104. His 36 points marked the third consecutive game Howard has stepped up since Dirk Nowitzki's ankle/knee injury. Point guard Jason Kidd also pitched in with 13 points, 14 helpers and nine rebounds. INTEL: While fantasy owners of these two are hoping for Dirk to sit out awhile longer, the Mavericks certainly aren't. Howard's on a nice run but he's likely to return to his seasonal scoring average of 19.9 points per game once Nowitzki is back.

LUTHER GETS A HEAD START 
Houston guard Luther Head got a chance to start against San Antonio on Sunday. He finished with 10 points, including a couple threes, and five assists. INTEL: This is not a long term-change in Houston, but rather Shane Battier came off the bench in order to match up directly with the Spurs' sixth man, Manu Ginobili. Head's been a good shooter for the Rockets, but he doesn't yet bring enough in the rest of his overall game to supplant Houston's regular starters.

BATMAN AND ROBIN ROLL OVER RAPTORS 
Chris Paul had 20 points and 16 helpers Sunday while David West added 32 points in a 118-111 Hornets victory in Toronto. INTEL: It marked the tenth time this season that Paul has had at least 20 points and 15 dimes in the same game, a number no one else has approached this season. West, meanwhile, has gone over 30 three times in six games since he was temporarily sidelined with an ankle injury. They remain one of the premier duos in the game.

KAPONO ICE COLD 
Jason Kapono got a shot at the starting lineup on Sunday for the Raptors, but finished with zero points on just three field goal attempts, playing 16 minutes. It was his first start since Nov.9. INTEL: Ouch. Kapono is a talented long-range shooter: like last season he leads the league in three point percentage (.483) and has won consecutive long-range contests during All-Star Weekend. Yet his defensive inadequacies have lead to him only starting seven games this season, and his bench minutes have been inconsistent.

QUINN STILL IN, HEAT STILL COLD 
With Daequan Cook (concussion) and Jason Williams (thumb) continuing to sit out for the Miami Heat, on Sunday point guard Chris Quinn got his fourth consecutive start in the Heat's 88-62 loss to Boston. While shooting just 3-14, Quinn did end up with 14 points, eight assists and three steals. INTEL: Quinn wasn't the only Miami player with shooting issues on Sunday, as they were held to a shot-clock era low 17 field goals as a team against the Celtics. The Heat these days are having problems merely fielding a team, thus Quinn should to get significant minutes the rest of the way.

CAVS GOING WEST 
Delonte West recorded his first double-double of the season on Sunday, helping Cleveland to a 91-88 win against the 76ers. Finishing with 18 points and 11 assists, he also filled up the rest of the stat sheet with four makes from behind the arc, six rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals. INTEL: West won't likely pile up high regular assist totals since LeBron James takes care of most of the Cavs' ball-handling duties. But lines like this show that he is resourceful enough to keep an eye on going forward.