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(From the Associated Press) - The Indiana Pacers were on their best behavior while their teacher was away. Lester Conner coached in place of Jim O’Brien, who attended a family funeral, and Indiana responded with an impressive 130-115 victory over the surging Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. Danny Granger scored 23 points to help the Pacers snap Toronto’s five-game winning streak. Indiana also ended a three-game skid...“Les is a lot of fun, he’s a great assistant coach,” forward Troy Murphy said. “He’s a guy you can always talk to and he’s a good dude. We’re happy he got the win.” Murphy had 20 points and 14 rebounds. Roy Hibbert added 18 points and nine boards for Indiana, and Earl Watson finished with 15 points and a season-high 11 assists...Chris Bosh had 35 points and 15 rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani scored a career-high 34 points for the Raptors. Bargnani said the defensive meltdown rendered his personal accomplishment meaningless. “When you lose like that, it doesn’t really matter,” he said.
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(From the Associated Press) - LeBron James made at least one play that was Jordanesque. More than a few others were Magical. James tied a career high with 15 assists and Shaquille O’Neal ruled underneath, collecting 13 points and 13 rebounds in 21 minutes to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the worn-down Memphis Grizzlies 105-89 on Tuesday night for their ninth straight victory. James scored 22, but like Magic Johnson, one of the legends to whom he is often compared, he was more focused on setting up his teammates...Cleveland has won its past four games by an average of 19 points. Rudy Gay scored 15 for Memphis, playing its fourth game in five nights. Zach Randolph finished with eight points—13 below his average—on 3-of-14 shooting and O.J. Mayo had 10 on a 4-of-15 night as Cleveland’s defense clamped down hard on the Grizzlies, who beat the Cavs in December...James added two more great plays to his remarkable resume. In the third quarter, he chased down Mayo from behind for a block. Late in the first half, James drove the lane, rose in the air and switched the ball from his right hand to his left before making the layup. It was reminiscent of the signature shot Michael Jordan made in the 1991 NBA finals. “It wasn’t that good,” James said. “But thanks.”
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(From the Associated Press) - Vince Carter sat in a chair at his locker, head down, an ice bag ready, pouring a bottle of water over his head for an ever-so small sense of rejuvenation. Sure seemed that way on the court, too. Carter had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead the short-handed Orlando Magic to an easy 99-82 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night...Charlie Bell and Luke Ridnour had 13 points apiece for the Bucks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Milwaukee fell to 0-3 against Orlando this season...Dwight Howard sprinted out to block a 17-foot jumper by Kurt Thomas, his fifth of the game, in the final minute of the third period, sending the ball into the front row—the third time in the game he swatted a shot into the stands. Howard, who finished with 22 points, came back on the other end with a two-handed alley-oop dunk on a pass by Jason Williams that wasn’t even that close to the rim. Orlando eventually went ahead 77-57 at the start of the fourth quarter. Howard also was hit in the nose by Thomas on another alley-oop attempt. He missed the shot—and the free throws—and the hit spewed enough blood it forced him to temporarily stick a tissue in his left nostril to stop the bleeding. Something Milwaukee could never do.
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(From the Associated Press) - With everyone back in the lineup for the first time since the start of the season, the Detroit Pistons once again found a way to win. Tayshaun Prince slammed down a tiebreaking dunk on an inbounds play with 45.6 seconds left and the Pistons snapped a five-game losing streak with a 97-93 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night. “We had a full deck for the first time in a long time,” Pistons coach John Kuester said. “Anytime you win, you’re happy, but this was important because we had everyone back. Watching Will Bynum play as well as he did was a lift in his first game back. It’s a nice feeling to get everyone back. Now, we just have to get better as a team.”..Richard Hamilton had 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, including three free throws in the final 21.3 seconds, and the key pass on the go-ahead basket. Rodney Stuckey added 21 points and the screen on Prince’s dunk, while Bynum had 10 points in his first game since being sidelined for 16 with a sprained left ankle...Brook Lopez led New Jersey with 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. Devin Harris returned to the lineup after missing four games with a wrist injury and had 24 points and a season-high 14 assists for the Nets (4-43), who were outscored 10-2 in the final 2:22. Courtney Lee added 15 points for New Jersey, which missed six of its last seven shots in losing its third straight.
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(From the Associated Press) - Without center Chris Kaman, the Clippers couldn’t get a lead— let alone a victory. Once he returned from an ankle injury, Los Angeles dominated a Chicago team coming off its most impressive road stretch since the Michael Jordan dynasty days. “Kaman’s our anchor. It’s a big difference when he plays,” coach Mike Dunleavy said Tuesday night after Kaman’s 21 points and 11 rebounds helped the Clippers snap a four-game losing streak with a 90-82 victory over the Bulls...Eric Gordon took advantage, scoring 24 points as the Clippers won for just the second time in their last 14 road games...“We were just making bad plays, making bad decisions,” said Derrick Rose, who averaged 24.6 points during the winning streak but had 16 points on 7-for-20 shooting Tuesday. “It was tough the whole night.” Chicago captain Kirk Hinrich said the Bulls “relaxed a little bit.” “We were doing what it takes to win on the road,” he said. “Tonight we lacked intensity and got beat for it.” Luol Deng led the Bulls with 18 points but had only two after the first quarter. Chicago, which fell back to .500 at 23-23, has lost eight of its last 11 to the Clippers at the United Center. “We’re not a team that can take anyone lightly,” Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. “When your top players don’t play well, it’s hard to beat good teams. It’s hard to beat any team, for that matter.”
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(From the Associated Press) - Thunder coach Scott Brooks admits he was getting nervous when the Atlanta Hawks wiped out a 13-point deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter. His message was simple as he sent his starters back onto the floor: Get three defensive stops in a row. It turned out two would be good enough. Kevin Durant had 33 points and 11 rebounds, and Oklahoma City recovered after its big lead slipped away to beat the Atlanta Hawks 106-99 on Tuesday night...Durant became the first player since Allen Iverson nine seasons ago to score at least 25 points in 22 consecutive games and came up big down the stretch. With Atlanta within two, Durant hit jumpers on back-to-back possessions to make it 97-93, then provided assists on a 3-pointer by Jeff Green and a layup by Russell Westbrook that helped put away the game...Jeff Green added 19 points and Westbrook narrowly missed a triple-double with 12 points, nine assists and nine rebounds as Oklahoma City committed a season-low seven turnovers—outdoing even the NBA’s best team at protecting the ball by three. Joe Johnson scored 37 points and helped Atlanta rally back to tie it after trailing by 13 late in the third quarter. Josh Smith added 15 points and Al Horford scored 14 for the Hawks, who fell out of first place in the Southeast Division with a loss to Orlando on Saturday and have now lost three of four.
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(From the Associated Press) - The Houston Rockets finally got a breather after a month of close games. Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry scored 24 points apiece, and the Rockets salvaged the last game of their longest homestand of the season, routing the Golden State Warriors 119-97 on Tuesday night. Trevor Ariza scored 18 points and Chuck Hayes grabbed 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who finished their six-game homestand with a disappointing 2-4 record...Monta Ellis scored 34 points for the Warriors, who’ve lost six in a row overall and 12 of their last 13 road games. Corey Maggette, Golden State’s second-leading scorer, sat out with a hip pointer, and the short-handed Warriors fell into a 21-point hole in the first quarter...“We couldn’t find it offensively,” said Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who scored 14. “For us to be competitive, we have to be able to make plays and we didn’t. We just didn’t come ready to play.”...Houston’s starters returned and rebuilt the lead to 59-49 by halftime. Ellis scored 27 points in the first half on 10-of-17 shooting. No other Warrior had more than six points at the break. “Monta had a very good game,” Golden State coach Don Nelson said, “but he just didn’t have any help.”
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(From the Associated Press) - The Indiana Pacers were on their best behavior while their teacher was away. Lester Conner coached in place of Jim O’Brien, who attended a family funeral, and Indiana responded with an impressive 130-115 victory over the surging Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. Danny Granger scored 23 points to help the Pacers snap Toronto’s five-game winning streak. Indiana also ended a three-game skid...“Les is a lot of fun, he’s a great assistant coach,” forward Troy Murphy said. “He’s a guy you can always talk to and he’s a good dude. We’re happy he got the win.” Murphy had 20 points and 14 rebounds. Roy Hibbert added 18 points and nine boards for Indiana, and Earl Watson finished with 15 points and a season-high 11 assists...Chris Bosh had 35 points and 15 rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani scored a career-high 34 points for the Raptors. Bargnani said the defensive meltdown rendered his personal accomplishment meaningless. “When you lose like that, it doesn’t really matter,” he said.
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(From the Associated Press) - LeBron James made at least one play that was Jordanesque. More than a few others were Magical. James tied a career high with 15 assists and Shaquille O’Neal ruled underneath, collecting 13 points and 13 rebounds in 21 minutes to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the worn-down Memphis Grizzlies 105-89 on Tuesday night for their ninth straight victory. James scored 22, but like Magic Johnson, one of the legends to whom he is often compared, he was more focused on setting up his teammates...Cleveland has won its past four games by an average of 19 points. Rudy Gay scored 15 for Memphis, playing its fourth game in five nights. Zach Randolph finished with eight points—13 below his average—on 3-of-14 shooting and O.J. Mayo had 10 on a 4-of-15 night as Cleveland’s defense clamped down hard on the Grizzlies, who beat the Cavs in December...James added two more great plays to his remarkable resume. In the third quarter, he chased down Mayo from behind for a block. Late in the first half, James drove the lane, rose in the air and switched the ball from his right hand to his left before making the layup. It was reminiscent of the signature shot Michael Jordan made in the 1991 NBA finals. “It wasn’t that good,” James said. “But thanks.”
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(From the Associated Press) - Vince Carter sat in a chair at his locker, head down, an ice bag ready, pouring a bottle of water over his head for an ever-so small sense of rejuvenation. Sure seemed that way on the court, too. Carter had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead the short-handed Orlando Magic to an easy 99-82 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night...Charlie Bell and Luke Ridnour had 13 points apiece for the Bucks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Milwaukee fell to 0-3 against Orlando this season...Dwight Howard sprinted out to block a 17-foot jumper by Kurt Thomas, his fifth of the game, in the final minute of the third period, sending the ball into the front row—the third time in the game he swatted a shot into the stands. Howard, who finished with 22 points, came back on the other end with a two-handed alley-oop dunk on a pass by Jason Williams that wasn’t even that close to the rim. Orlando eventually went ahead 77-57 at the start of the fourth quarter. Howard also was hit in the nose by Thomas on another alley-oop attempt. He missed the shot—and the free throws—and the hit spewed enough blood it forced him to temporarily stick a tissue in his left nostril to stop the bleeding. Something Milwaukee could never do.
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(From the Associated Press) - With everyone back in the lineup for the first time since the start of the season, the Detroit Pistons once again found a way to win. Tayshaun Prince slammed down a tiebreaking dunk on an inbounds play with 45.6 seconds left and the Pistons snapped a five-game losing streak with a 97-93 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night. “We had a full deck for the first time in a long time,” Pistons coach John Kuester said. “Anytime you win, you’re happy, but this was important because we had everyone back. Watching Will Bynum play as well as he did was a lift in his first game back. It’s a nice feeling to get everyone back. Now, we just have to get better as a team.”..Richard Hamilton had 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, including three free throws in the final 21.3 seconds, and the key pass on the go-ahead basket. Rodney Stuckey added 21 points and the screen on Prince’s dunk, while Bynum had 10 points in his first game since being sidelined for 16 with a sprained left ankle...Brook Lopez led New Jersey with 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. Devin Harris returned to the lineup after missing four games with a wrist injury and had 24 points and a season-high 14 assists for the Nets (4-43), who were outscored 10-2 in the final 2:22. Courtney Lee added 15 points for New Jersey, which missed six of its last seven shots in losing its third straight.
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(From the Associated Press) - Without center Chris Kaman, the Clippers couldn’t get a lead— let alone a victory. Once he returned from an ankle injury, Los Angeles dominated a Chicago team coming off its most impressive road stretch since the Michael Jordan dynasty days. “Kaman’s our anchor. It’s a big difference when he plays,” coach Mike Dunleavy said Tuesday night after Kaman’s 21 points and 11 rebounds helped the Clippers snap a four-game losing streak with a 90-82 victory over the Bulls...Eric Gordon took advantage, scoring 24 points as the Clippers won for just the second time in their last 14 road games...“We were just making bad plays, making bad decisions,” said Derrick Rose, who averaged 24.6 points during the winning streak but had 16 points on 7-for-20 shooting Tuesday. “It was tough the whole night.” Chicago captain Kirk Hinrich said the Bulls “relaxed a little bit.” “We were doing what it takes to win on the road,” he said. “Tonight we lacked intensity and got beat for it.” Luol Deng led the Bulls with 18 points but had only two after the first quarter. Chicago, which fell back to .500 at 23-23, has lost eight of its last 11 to the Clippers at the United Center. “We’re not a team that can take anyone lightly,” Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. “When your top players don’t play well, it’s hard to beat good teams. It’s hard to beat any team, for that matter.”
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(From the Associated Press) - Thunder coach Scott Brooks admits he was getting nervous when the Atlanta Hawks wiped out a 13-point deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter. His message was simple as he sent his starters back onto the floor: Get three defensive stops in a row. It turned out two would be good enough. Kevin Durant had 33 points and 11 rebounds, and Oklahoma City recovered after its big lead slipped away to beat the Atlanta Hawks 106-99 on Tuesday night...Durant became the first player since Allen Iverson nine seasons ago to score at least 25 points in 22 consecutive games and came up big down the stretch. With Atlanta within two, Durant hit jumpers on back-to-back possessions to make it 97-93, then provided assists on a 3-pointer by Jeff Green and a layup by Russell Westbrook that helped put away the game...Jeff Green added 19 points and Westbrook narrowly missed a triple-double with 12 points, nine assists and nine rebounds as Oklahoma City committed a season-low seven turnovers—outdoing even the NBA’s best team at protecting the ball by three. Joe Johnson scored 37 points and helped Atlanta rally back to tie it after trailing by 13 late in the third quarter. Josh Smith added 15 points and Al Horford scored 14 for the Hawks, who fell out of first place in the Southeast Division with a loss to Orlando on Saturday and have now lost three of four.
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(From the Associated Press) - The Houston Rockets finally got a breather after a month of close games. Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry scored 24 points apiece, and the Rockets salvaged the last game of their longest homestand of the season, routing the Golden State Warriors 119-97 on Tuesday night. Trevor Ariza scored 18 points and Chuck Hayes grabbed 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who finished their six-game homestand with a disappointing 2-4 record...Monta Ellis scored 34 points for the Warriors, who’ve lost six in a row overall and 12 of their last 13 road games. Corey Maggette, Golden State’s second-leading scorer, sat out with a hip pointer, and the short-handed Warriors fell into a 21-point hole in the first quarter...“We couldn’t find it offensively,” said Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who scored 14. “For us to be competitive, we have to be able to make plays and we didn’t. We just didn’t come ready to play.”...Houston’s starters returned and rebuilt the lead to 59-49 by halftime. Ellis scored 27 points in the first half on 10-of-17 shooting. No other Warrior had more than six points at the break. “Monta had a very good game,” Golden State coach Don Nelson said, “but he just didn’t have any help.”
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