THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: Houston Rockets center Omer Asik, who has scored 75 
points this season, was placed on a league-wide public auction block by his general manager and has not played a single minute since Dec. 2, received 130,344 All-Star votes.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Milwaukee Bucks forward Caron Butler, on his resemblance to the bobblehead of him given to fans:
“It looks like my cousin. But it’ll do, we are related.”
TANKAPALOOZA!: Is the top spot in the lottery wrapped up already? At 8-35, the Bucks are on pace to win just 15 games, a total already equaled or surpassed by all but two teams. Milwaukee has dropped 11 of 12 and is the only team yet to win consecutive games. Coach Larry Drew called Saturday’s 25-point home loss to Atlanta “unacceptable” and sounded like his head was going to explode. “I’m going to have to go with the guys that play hard. You’re not going to play hard? You’re not going to play,” he said. Oh, good, so now the Bucks will be forfeiting games.
LINE OF THE WEEK: Carmelo Anthony, New York vs. Charlotte, Jan. 24: 39 minutes, 23-35 FGs, 6-11 3-pointers, 10-10 FTs, 13 rebounds, zero assists, zero blocks, zero steals, zero turnovers, 62 points in a 125-96 win. Anthony obliterated otherwise awesome efforts this week from DeMar DeRozan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Marcus Thornton and Terrence Ross as he set Knicks and Madison Square Garden scoring records while becoming just the 21st player in NBA history to score 60 points in game. According to Elias, it was the most points without a turnover since that became an official stat in 1977.
LINE OF THE WEAK: Brandon Jennings, Detroit vs. LA Clippers, Jan. 20: 28 minutes, 0-7 FGs, 0-3 3-pointers, 0-0 FTs, zero rebounds, six assists, zero steals, zero blocks, five fouls, one turnover, zero points in a 112-103 loss. One of the game’s most overrated players, “Young Money” was held scoreless for the second time in his career.
TRILLION WATCH: A quiet week in the world of inactivity, although Timberwolves forward Luc Mbah a Moute cracked the season’s top five with a 6 trillion Tuesday at Utah. As we move past the season’s halway point, the leader remains Thunder forward Perry Jones III and his 10 trillion vs. Charlotte on Dec. 27.
GAME OF THE WEEK: Oklahoma City at Miami, Jan. 29. This could be the game where Kevin Durant overtakes LeBron Jamas as the clear-cut favorite for MVP. Or it could be the game where James reminds everyone that he is “The King.” The best part is both teams will be rested, which isn’t always the case with ESPN games.
GAME OF THE WEAK: Cleveland at New York, Jan. 30. This is what happens when TNT selects its virtually exclusive Thursday schedule before the season starts: Fans get two teams who looked a lot better in October than they do now. Despite playing in the awful Eastern Conference, neither team is in the playoff picture. The Cavaliers are 5-17 on the road; the Knicks are 9-15 at home. But if you have League Pass, you can watch Suns-Pacers instead.
TWO MINUTES: Hawks swingman Kyle Korver’s record 3-point streak is up to 112 games, but it could be in danger of ending. Atlanta already is without star center Al Horford and this week lost backup center Pero Antic – who had been playing well – and starting point guard Jeff Teague for at least two weeks each with injuries. With fewer scorers to mark, opponents can now key in on Korver and run him off the arc. This week, Atlanta visits Oklahoma City (fifth in 3-point defense, .341), hosts Detroit (24th, .369), visits Philadelphia (20th, .366) and 
hosts Minnesota (18th, .362). By the way, Korver has a free throw streak, too – 22 in a row dating to Dec. 10. … The Jazz are 1-18 when Enes Kanter starts. … The Thunder are 3-0 against the Spurs this season, and Reggie Jackson is pretty much the reason why, averaging 23.7 points on 30-of-45 shooting. Even more impressive is that Russell Westbrook played in two of those games. “He has had great games against the Spurs,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “I can’t put my finger on it.” By comparison, in those games Kevin Durant is averaging 25.7 points on 28-of-59 shooting and Tony Parker is averaging 25.3 points on 26-of-52 shooting. … Clippers guard J.J. Redick had two four-point plays in Monday’s win at Detroit, the first player in nearly five years do so. Pistons rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope fouled him both times. … Just over two weeks after being dealt by the Bulls to the Cavaliers, Luol Deng faced his former team Wednesday. The Chicago media descended upon Deng and asked if he would return to the Windy City this summer, when he becomes a free agent. “Maybe they’ll offer me three years, $30 million,” he said. “That might be an option to take.” That was a shot at Bulls GM Gar Forman, who offered Deng an extension at those numbers and was smartly turned down. Deng is a two-time All-Star who plays both ends of the floor and at 28 is still in his prime. He shouldn’t accept anything less than a maximum deal. … On Wednesday night on ESPN, Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha had the “hat trick,” missing all three free throws after being fouled while shooting a 3-pointer. The following night on TNT, Heat forward Shane Battier did the same thing. … Celtics coach Brad Stevens continues to impress us with his understanding of all facets of the NBA. Before Sunday’s Nets-Celtics game, which featured the return to Boston of championship heroes Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, Stevens spoke briefly to his players about game strategy, then allowed them to watch the video tributes shown on the scoreboard. “It was the right thing to do,” Stevens said. “Not much in my life is bigger than the next possession, but that is.” … The Nuggets are the only team without a 30-point game by one of their players this season. The Lakers didn’t have one until Nick Young went for 31 off the bench Monday at Chicago. … After losing their season opener, the Wizards have been 9-9, 14-14, 19-19 and 20-20. Each time, they had a home game with the chance to climb above .500 for the first time since Oct. 31, 2009, when they were a robust 2-1. And each time, they lost. 
“It’s not a magical thing (where) I think all of a sudden fairy dust is going to fall on us if we get over .500 (and) we’re not going to lose another game,” coach Randy Wittman said. Washington had another shot Saturday night to get above break-even but lost at Utah. The Wizards might not sniff .500 for a while; they finish their trip with visits to the Warriors and Clippers, then come home to face the Thunder, Blazers and Spurs. That, folks, is a gauntlet. … In 11 games since Chris Paul was sidelined with a separated shoulder, Clippers forward Blake Griffin is averaging 25.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 55 percent (97-of-177) from the field and 74 percent (84-of-114) from the line. … Spurs forward Matt Bonner is having fun with the protective mask he is wearing for a broken nose. He actually wore it for a sit-down studio interview with ESPN. And when Express-News beat writer Jeff McDonald asked him if the broken nose would end any chance he had at a modeling career, the Red Rocket retorted, “I can still be a hand model.”
Trivia Answer: Joe Fulks and George Mikan. … Happy 47th Birthday, Frank Kornet. … Lookalikes: Thunder center Steven Adams and actor Emile Hirsch. … Joe Johnson came back to Boston last night, too. Where was his tribute?
Chris Bernucca is the managing editor of SheridanHoops.com. His columns appear Monday during the season. You can follow him on Twitter.