"This was a very difficult decision to make," general manager Sam Presti said in a statement. "It is one that I felt was necessary at this time. I am very appreciative of the hard work and effort that P.J. gave to this team and we wish him the best in his future endeavors."

The firing - the first of an NBA coach this season - followed a 105-80 defeat to the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night for the Thunder's 10th straight loss. Brooks was to make his debut Saturday night in a rematch with the Hornets in New Orleans.

The loss Friday night served as a reminder of how the Hornets rebuilt from an 18-win season to a playoff contender during a two-year stay in Oklahoma City brought on by Hurricane Katrina. The Hornets improved by 20 wins their first season in Oklahoma City, and by last year were pushing the San Antonio Spurs in a second-round playoff series.

A similar scenario hardly seemed in the making for the Thunder following their switch from Seattle and discarding the SuperSonics nickname along the way.

Brooks, an 11-year NBA veteran, played on the Houston Rockets' 1994 NBA championship team and bounced around with seven teams before becoming a Denver Nuggets assistant in 2003.

Saturday's games

Hornets 109, Thunder 97 at New Orleans: David West scored a season-high 33 points and Chris Paul had a triple-double to help New Orleans beat Oklahoma City, handing the Thunder their 11th straight loss and first under Scott Brooks.

Heat 109, Pacers 100 at Maimi: Dwyane Wade shook off flu-like symptoms to score 38 points, and the Miami Heat rallied from 15 points down to beat the Indiana Pacers.

Shawn Marion had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Michael Beasley scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half for Miami. Udonis Haslem added 16 points.

Knicks 122, Wizards 117 at New York: Quentin Richardson had 34 points and 12 rebounds in one of his best games since coming to New York, and the short-handed Knicks held on to beat the Washington Wizards.

Richardson made seven 3-pointers, two shy of the franchise record, and fell a point shy of his highest-scoring game since the Knicks acquired him from Phoenix in June 2005. He scored 35 points against the Wizards on Jan. 17, 2007.

Bucks 79, Bobcats 74 at Charlotte, N.C.: Ramon Sessions scored 18 points and hit two clinching free throws with 13 seconds left to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Charlotte Bobcats for their second straight victory.

Charlie Villanueva added 15 points and eight rebounds for Milwaukee, which overcame 21 turnovers to hand the struggling Bobcats their fourth straight loss.

Nets 112, Clippers 95 at East Rutherford, N.J.: Yi Jianlian had a season-high 27 points, and Vince Carter added 26 to help the New Jersey Nets beat the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers.

Devin Harris had 18 points and 10 assists, and Brook Lopez finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Bobby Simmons had 11 points as every Nets starter hit for double figures and New Jersey got its fourth win in the last five games.

Rockets 100, Magic 95 at Orlando, Fla.: Yao Ming had 22 points and 13 rebounds to help the Houston Rockets beat the Orlando Magic for their fifth win in five games.

Tracy McGrady and Rafter Alston added 17 apiece for Houston. The Rockets took control of the tight game in the middle of the fourth quarter and held on to snap Orlando's winning streak at five games.