vs
(From the Associated Press) - LeBron James watched a group of reporters converge on Antawn Jamison in the locker room and yelled to his new teammate. “Don’t worry about that,” a smiling James said, mixing in a few expletives. “You’re home. They still love you.” Jamison burst out laughing. What else could he do? Jamison had just gone 0 for 12 from the field in his debut with Cleveland in his hometown Friday night in the Cavaliers’ 110-93 loss to their surprising nemesis, the Charlotte Bobcats...This new James-Jamison-Shaquille O’Neal front line isn’t dominating just yet. “I told him, ‘I don’t care how many shots you miss, we’re going to continue to give you the ball,”’ James said. “‘Those are shots we need you to make and we know you can make them.”’ Stephen Jackson and the Bobcats had no trouble on offense, shooting 55 percent and looking far more cohesive a day after they made two trades...James had 22 points and nine assists for Cleveland a night after being the first player in NBA history with at least 43 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists, two steals and four blocks. Jamison didn’t play in that loss to Denver, and coach Mike Brown announced before the game that he’d at least temporarily come off the bench. J.J. Hickson kept his starting job at power forward, and Jamison checked in with 5:09 left in the first quarter. Jackson scored 29 points, Tyrus Thomas grabbed 12 rebounds in his Charlotte debut, and three days after losing to the NBA-worst New Jersey Nets for the second time, the Bobcats won their third straight game against the league-leading Cavaliers in a possible first-round playoff preview...James had 22 points and nine assists for Cleveland a night after being the first player in NBA history with at least 43 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists, two steals and four blocks...Boris Diaw had 18 points and nine assists, Gerald Wallace had 17 points and eight rebounds and Charlotte moved a game above .500. Delonte West score 13 points for Cleveland. Mo Williams added 12 in his return to the starting lineup after being out with a shoulder injury, but he had only one assist. O’Neal had 10 points and seven rebounds.
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Al Thornton was weary. He arrived in Washington at 2 a.m., watched his new team at shootaround Friday morning, and after a few hours of sleep, scored 21 points in the Wizards’ 107-97 win over the Denver Nuggets. Thornton’s offense was welcome, and his defense on Carmelo Anthony was sublime. “I just tried to make him frustrated,” Thornton said. “When he gets in a groove, it’s tough to stop him. It’s been a knock on me at times that I don’t play any defense.”...The Wizards won for the second straight time since their changes, and erased an 82-73 deficit after three. The Nuggets seemed to have the game in hand until coach George Karl decided to rest Anthony and Chauncey Billups to start the fourth. Washington outscored Denver 34-15 in the fourth quarter as Thornton held Anthony scoreless. Anthony, who scored 40 against the Cavaliers, missed all five of his shots. He didn’t return until there was 5:35 to play. Anthony entered as the NBA’s third-leading scorer, averaging 28.5 points. “I missed shots,” Anthony said. “Shots that I made (Thursday) night, I didn’t make tonight.” Howard had 20 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. His most memorable moment came slightly off the court. With about four minutes to play, Howard chased a loose ball and landed in the laps of some of the front-row spectators. He spilled some of their beers and caused a two-minute delay as the court was wiped off. "I think those fans enjoyed that, and hopefully, they’ll come back for me,” Howard said. Pint-sized point guard Earl Boykins helped mightily. The 5-foot-5 inch Boykins had nine of his 12 points in the fourth and three rebounds.
vs
(From the Associated Press) - The Philadelphia 76ers finally figured out the fourth quarter. Lou Williams scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth, fueling a decisive run that lifted the Philadelphia 76ers to a 106-94 victory Friday night over the San Antonio Spurs. The Sixers were 3-24 this season when they either trailed or were tied after three quarters. The fourth also has been their least productive quarter, averaging 23.4 points and shooting 43.1 percent from the field. But the Sixers reversed that trend against San Antonio. They opened the fourth quarter down three but outscored the Spurs 33-18, including an 18-3 run...The Spurs have lost eight of their last 10 trips to Philadelphia, dating back to the 1999-2000 season. Andre Iguodala had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Philadelphia...The Spurs received only a combined 12 points from Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Bothered by foot, ankle and hip injuries, Parker finished 1 for 9 from the field. “He’s got some problems,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. San Antonio led for much of the first three quarters because of Manu Ginobili, who scored a game-high 24 points on 9 for 18 shooting...The Sixers seemed poised to get within one midway through the third when the 254-pound Elton Brand rumbled down the court on a break, shooed away 180-pound guard George Hill, who amusingly tried to bump him off track, and finished the break with a dunk. But Brand was called for a charge, and Sixers center Samuel Dalembert drew his second technical foul in a 32-second span and was ejected. “That’s a great teammate,” said Brand, who had 18 points and seven rebounds. “Hopefully it helps me get the next call or something. When you play with that type of emotion, it makes our team better.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - The big story for the Chicago Bulls this week has been the salary cap space they cleared for this summer’s free agent frenzy. The new guys they got played their debut like more than mere footnotes, though. Kirk Hinrich had 20 points and helped the Bulls stay balanced after a couple of rotation-altering trades, outlasting Minnesota 100-94 on Friday night after a bunch of missed layups and free throws by the Timberwolves...Derrick Rose scored 19 points and Luol Deng pitched in 18 points for the Bulls, who rallied from an eight-point second-quarter deficit and clutched a 79-78 lead after Ramon Sessions finished a fast break for Minnesota with a dunk...Corey Brewer led the way with 19 points for Minnesota, but even he had trouble, missing four of his five foul shots. The Wolves went 6 for 18 from the floor in the fourth quarter and missed eight of 13 free throws in the final 12 minutes. “I’d never seen anything like that. I guess all our energy was gone,” said Al Jefferson, held to 10 points and five rebounds...“All the guys who were here before, the guys now—the goal in this league is to win,” Hinrich said. “I feel like we’ve put ourselves in a good position to have a good strong finish.”...Murray had eight points in 19 minutes and Warrick shot 5 for 13 and finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in 31 minutes, with both of them pushing through the mistakes coach Vinny Del Negro predicted before the game.
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Rasho Nesterovic went from being an afterthought in Toronto’s lineup to taking the sting out of the Raptors not having Chris Bosh for the first time this season. Nesterovic scored a season-high 16 points in place of Bosh, sidelined with a sprained left ankle, and the Raptors had seven players in double figures in a 106-89 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Friday night...“It was pretty remarkable,” said point guard Jarrett Jack, who had a team-high 18 points and 10 assists. “In my opinion, basketball is a game of rhythm and he hasn’t been in the lineup for a while. For him to come in and contribute the way that he did is really unbelievable. It’s a testament to him always been ready when called upon.” The only other time that Nesterovic has scored more than 16 points in the last two seasons was a 21-point effort against Atlanta in November 2008, when he was playing for Indiana. “He came in and didn’t miss a shot, go figure,” Nets guard Courtney Lee said. “I should have tried to run him up wide or make him put the ball on the floor instead of giving him time to get a good look at the rim,” said Brook Lopez, who led the Nets with 22 points but didn’t guard Nesterovic very well. Jose Calderon added 16 points as the Raptors dropped the Nets to 5-50. DeMar DeRozan and Hedo Turkoglu added 14 points apiece as Toronto shot nearly 60 percent from the field in extending its franchise record for consecutive 100-point games to 19...Devin Harris added 19 points and 11 assists and Lee added 17 points in a game in which the Nets fell behind early and never caught up...This latest loss puts New Jersey on pace to tie the NBA mark for fewest wins in a season, set by the Philadelphia 76ers (9-73) in 1972-73.
vs
(From the Associated Press) - The Mavericks’ newcomers made the difference against the Magic—along with some tight defense by Dallas. Caron Butler scored 16 points, Brendan Haywood had 15 points and nine rebounds and the Mavericks rode a strong defensive effort to beat the Orlando Magic 95-85 on Friday night. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs with 23 points and Jason Terry had 16 as the Mavs won for the second time in three games since acquiring Butler and Haywood from Washington...Dwight Howard had 29 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks for Orlando, but didn’t get much help. Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson had 16 points apiece and the Magic were 4 of 25 from 3-point territory...Jason Kidd, who had 10 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, put the game away for the Mavericks with a 3-pointer that made it 88-81 with 1:20 left in the game. The Mavericks scored the last seven points of the third quarter and first 12 of the fourth period to go from 11 points down to a 77-69 lead with 8:54 left in the game...“We obviously needed that spurt to get back in control of the game,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “We get some stops, get the ball in Jason Kidd’s hand and great things happen for us, but it was the defensive end that triggered a lot of good stuff.”...“Obviously our shooting was horrendous, but I can’t really say I’m upset,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Every shot those guys took was wide open and we didn’t make any. That’s not typical of us.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - John Salmons spent most of Friday wondering where he was supposed to go. Luckily for the Milwaukee Bucks, he figured it out. Salmons, playing his first game after being acquired from Chicago on Thursday, scored 19 points and hit a clinching 3-pointer as the Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons 91-85...After getting Salmons for Joe Alexander and Hakim Warrick, the Bucks went right to him in a key situation. With Milwaukee leading 85-84, he hit a 3-pointer over Ben Wallace with 16 seconds to play...Former Piston Carlos Delfino added 16 points for Milwaukee, while Ersan Ilyasova had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Brandon Jennings went 1-for-13, but grabbed a loose ball to prevent a late Detroit rally. “Tonight was one of those nights where we had guys that were having off nights, but stepped up down the stretch,” Skiles said. “Brandon got a big steal, even when he couldn’t hit a shot, and Andrew (Bogut) had 12 rebounds and five blocks when he wasn’t having a great offensive game.” Richard Hamilton scored 29 points to lead Detroit, which outshot Milwaukee 49 percent to 38 percent but made only one 3-pointer...Detroit, normally a poor-shooting team, hit its first 11 shots before Hamilton missed a 17-foot jumper with 3:05 left in the first quarter. That helped the Pistons build a 25-12 lead, but Milwaukee was back in front early in the second period. “We did a nice job weathering what they did at the start of the game,” Skiles said. “We made a lot of 3s and we made plays.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Without Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley stepped into a lead role for Miami and the Heat kept their winning streak intact. Beasley scored a career-high with 30 points and the short-handed Heat won their season-best fifth straight by defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 100-87 in double overtime on Friday night. The Heat, playing without Wade (strained calf) and Rafer Alston (right hand), blew an 18-point lead in regulation than pulled away in the second overtime behind Udonis Haslem, who scored eight points in the final five minutes...Jermaine O’Neal finished with 18 for the Heat before fouling out in the first overtime. Mario Chalmers, who was playing his first game since injuring his left thumb in late January, also had 18 points...Marc Gasol led Memphis with 22 points and O.J. Mayo had 17. Zach Randolph scored 16 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. Rudy Gay had 15 points, but was 6 of 19 from the field...Carlos Arroyo (10 points and six assists) and Daequan Cook (three points and 1 for 7 shooting) started in place of Alston and Wade. It was the second straight overtime game for Memphis, which won 109-102 in overtime at Toronto on Wednesday night...The Heat’s zone defense caused poor shooting for Memphis early. The Grizzlies missed 10 of their first 11 shots as Miami defenders took away Memphis’ interior game. “I ain’t never seen a team play zone the whole game,” Randolph said. “This is the NBA. But we couldn’t hit shots, and we didn’t penetrate the zone.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Darren Collison received a good-natured ribbing from Hornets teammates about coming within two turnovers of the first quadruple-double in franchise history. Still, injured star Chris Paul handed the rookie the game ball in the locker room and the team gave him a round of applause. Collison registered his first career triple-double—the first he could remember at any level, in fact—with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, and New Orleans beat the Indiana Pacers 107-101 on Friday night...“It means a lot,” Collison said. “I was just going out there and playing and my teammates were just telling me what I needed and being supportive. … I hope I have a lot more in my career and I was fortunate to have one today. I was just trying to help the team win.”...Indiana had the lead back down to four when Hibbert’s short jumper made it 103-99 with 46 seconds to go. Then, West rebounded Marcus Thornton’s miss and drew a foul. West, 13 of 15 from the foul line, made both free throws and the Pacers did not score again until the final seconds. West finished with a team-high 29 points and career-high seven assists. Stojakovic scored 17, and Okafor had 13 points and 13 rebounds. “As long as guys continue to play with confidence, we’re going to have a shot to win the games in terms what we have on the schedule,” West said. Thornton scored 12 and Morris Peterson 11 for New Orleans, which extended the Pacers’ losing streak to four. Danny Granger scored 29 and Mike Dunleavy 15 for Indiana, which trailed by as much as 21 in the second quarter, but got within four in the final minute before New Orleans held on. Hibbert finished with 13 points, while Earl Watson and Luther Head each added 11. “We have to develop some consistency,” Granger said. “We’ve been battling with that all year. We haven’t gotten a handle on that, but when we do we will win more games than we lose.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Having endured a seemingly endless amount of trade rumors in recent weeks, Amare Stoudemire can finally relax and put all his focus on helping the Phoenix Suns make a run for the playoffs. Stoudemire scored 22 points for his ninth straight game over 20, leading the Suns to an 88-80 victory over the poor-shooting Atlanta Hawks on Friday night...Stoudemire also had eight rebounds, one night after the Suns decided to keep him in Phoenix rather than trade him and risk losing him this summer with no compensation if he opts out of the final year of his contract. “The last week or week and a half, he’s just been playing,” coach Alvin Gentry said. “He’s put it all behind him. He played well. I’m proud of the way he’s handled the situation. I think he’s done great.” Grant Hill added 16 points for the Suns, who used a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away. Josh Smith led Atlanta with 21 points, but didn’t score in the fourth period, and Joe Johnson had 19 points. The Hawks were outrebounded 50-36 and shot just 39.5 percent for the game. That was enough for the Suns to overcome an off night from Steve Nash. He had just six points, missed seven of his 10 shots and had six turnovers for the game...Robin Lopez had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Suns. Jamal Crawford scored 11 points and Al Horford added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks. “I thought our offense hurt us tonight,” Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. “It really put us behind. We ended up with 12 assists and we missed a lot of good shots and a lot of our shots were hurried shots.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Already one of the NBA’s most dominant teams at home, the Utah Jazz are learning how to win on the road. That can’t be good news for the rest of the league. Carlos Boozer had 30 points and 16 rebounds, Andrei Kirilenko scored 22 points and the Jazz extended their longest road winning streak in eight years with a 100-89 win over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. “It just shows that we’re maturing a lot,” point guard Deron Williams said. “It’s something we’ve been searching for the last couple of years, to win consistently on the road. We’re finding ways to do that now.”...“We passed the basketball and executed the way we were supposed to tonight,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “We found the open man and hit the shots when we needed to.” C.J. Watson had 22 points and Corey Maggette added 14 for Golden State. The Warriors struggled most of the night offensively in Monta Ellis’ return to the lineup following a three-game absence. “We just couldn’t make any shots and the ball didn’t fall our way,” Watson said. “They were contesting every shot, running us off the 3-point line and we just couldn’t make any shots inside the paint.”...Ellis returned to the Warriors’ lineup after sitting out three games with a mild left knee sprain. The layoff clearly hurt Ellis, second in the league in minutes played. He made just two of 14 shots from the floor and finished with six points and six assists, then made a quick exit out of the Warriors locker room without speaking to the media. “I don’t know if I expected more than that, but it’s understandable,” Golden State coach Don Nelson said. “Anyone coming back from an injury is not going to be sharp. Whatever it takes, we’ll just have to deal with it.” No one did much for Golden State, which was coming off a 32-point win over Sacramento on Wednesday. The Warriors shot 37.2 percent as a team and were held to their fewest points since being held to 89 by Portland on Jan. 2.
vs
(From the Associated Press) - If this is the way Ray Allen is going to start shooting, then Doc Rivers wants a lot of speculation swirling around his sharpshooter. Even if that means the Boston coach needs to make up rumors. “Ray is going to get traded tomorrow,” Rivers cracked. “We’re going to keep saying it so he can keep playing well.” Allen scored 21 points, including eight straight early in the fourth quarter to stymie a run by Portland, and the Celtics completed a difficult West Coast two-step beating the Trail Blazers 96-76 on Friday night. Kevin Garnett scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half, helping the Celtics on the second night of a difficult back-to-back. After holding off the Lakers 87-86 Thursday night in Los Angeles, the Celtics easily dispatched a rested Portland team and handed the Blazers their worst loss of the season...Andre Miller led the Blazers with 16 points, but the debut of Marcus Camby in Portland was a dud. Camby made his first shot, then missed his next four. He finished with two points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes. All-Star Brandon Roy played 34 minutes in just his second game since Jan. 20. Roy made three of eight shots and finished with nine points, but struggled to get open looks and appeared distracted by his gimpy leg. How frustrating was it for Roy? In one of his swiftest moves of the night, Roy sprinted baseline to gather a rebound and dunk, only to be called for having his heel on the baseline. Roy said the lack of game action in the last month has him struggling to find a rhythm again...The short-handed Celtics thought they might have even fewer bodies before the game when a sprained right thumb started acting up on Paul Pierce. He played and added nine points, and the Celtics got 33 points from their bench while still waiting for the arrival of Nate Robinson. Acquired in a trade with the Knicks, Robinson will remain on the East Coast while recovering from the flu before joining his new team. “Those guys really controlled the game and pretty much pushed the lead,” Pierce said of the bench. “They closed the game and allowed us to rest and that’s big especially on a long road trip.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - LeBron James watched a group of reporters converge on Antawn Jamison in the locker room and yelled to his new teammate. “Don’t worry about that,” a smiling James said, mixing in a few expletives. “You’re home. They still love you.” Jamison burst out laughing. What else could he do? Jamison had just gone 0 for 12 from the field in his debut with Cleveland in his hometown Friday night in the Cavaliers’ 110-93 loss to their surprising nemesis, the Charlotte Bobcats...This new James-Jamison-Shaquille O’Neal front line isn’t dominating just yet. “I told him, ‘I don’t care how many shots you miss, we’re going to continue to give you the ball,”’ James said. “‘Those are shots we need you to make and we know you can make them.”’ Stephen Jackson and the Bobcats had no trouble on offense, shooting 55 percent and looking far more cohesive a day after they made two trades...James had 22 points and nine assists for Cleveland a night after being the first player in NBA history with at least 43 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists, two steals and four blocks. Jamison didn’t play in that loss to Denver, and coach Mike Brown announced before the game that he’d at least temporarily come off the bench. J.J. Hickson kept his starting job at power forward, and Jamison checked in with 5:09 left in the first quarter. Jackson scored 29 points, Tyrus Thomas grabbed 12 rebounds in his Charlotte debut, and three days after losing to the NBA-worst New Jersey Nets for the second time, the Bobcats won their third straight game against the league-leading Cavaliers in a possible first-round playoff preview...James had 22 points and nine assists for Cleveland a night after being the first player in NBA history with at least 43 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists, two steals and four blocks...Boris Diaw had 18 points and nine assists, Gerald Wallace had 17 points and eight rebounds and Charlotte moved a game above .500. Delonte West score 13 points for Cleveland. Mo Williams added 12 in his return to the starting lineup after being out with a shoulder injury, but he had only one assist. O’Neal had 10 points and seven rebounds. 
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Al Thornton was weary. He arrived in Washington at 2 a.m., watched his new team at shootaround Friday morning, and after a few hours of sleep, scored 21 points in the Wizards’ 107-97 win over the Denver Nuggets. Thornton’s offense was welcome, and his defense on Carmelo Anthony was sublime. “I just tried to make him frustrated,” Thornton said. “When he gets in a groove, it’s tough to stop him. It’s been a knock on me at times that I don’t play any defense.”...The Wizards won for the second straight time since their changes, and erased an 82-73 deficit after three. The Nuggets seemed to have the game in hand until coach George Karl decided to rest Anthony and Chauncey Billups to start the fourth. Washington outscored Denver 34-15 in the fourth quarter as Thornton held Anthony scoreless. Anthony, who scored 40 against the Cavaliers, missed all five of his shots. He didn’t return until there was 5:35 to play. Anthony entered as the NBA’s third-leading scorer, averaging 28.5 points. “I missed shots,” Anthony said. “Shots that I made (Thursday) night, I didn’t make tonight.” Howard had 20 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. His most memorable moment came slightly off the court. With about four minutes to play, Howard chased a loose ball and landed in the laps of some of the front-row spectators. He spilled some of their beers and caused a two-minute delay as the court was wiped off. "I think those fans enjoyed that, and hopefully, they’ll come back for me,” Howard said. Pint-sized point guard Earl Boykins helped mightily. The 5-foot-5 inch Boykins had nine of his 12 points in the fourth and three rebounds.
vs
(From the Associated Press) - The Philadelphia 76ers finally figured out the fourth quarter. Lou Williams scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth, fueling a decisive run that lifted the Philadelphia 76ers to a 106-94 victory Friday night over the San Antonio Spurs. The Sixers were 3-24 this season when they either trailed or were tied after three quarters. The fourth also has been their least productive quarter, averaging 23.4 points and shooting 43.1 percent from the field. But the Sixers reversed that trend against San Antonio. They opened the fourth quarter down three but outscored the Spurs 33-18, including an 18-3 run...The Spurs have lost eight of their last 10 trips to Philadelphia, dating back to the 1999-2000 season. Andre Iguodala had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Philadelphia...The Spurs received only a combined 12 points from Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Bothered by foot, ankle and hip injuries, Parker finished 1 for 9 from the field. “He’s got some problems,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. San Antonio led for much of the first three quarters because of Manu Ginobili, who scored a game-high 24 points on 9 for 18 shooting...The Sixers seemed poised to get within one midway through the third when the 254-pound Elton Brand rumbled down the court on a break, shooed away 180-pound guard George Hill, who amusingly tried to bump him off track, and finished the break with a dunk. But Brand was called for a charge, and Sixers center Samuel Dalembert drew his second technical foul in a 32-second span and was ejected. “That’s a great teammate,” said Brand, who had 18 points and seven rebounds. “Hopefully it helps me get the next call or something. When you play with that type of emotion, it makes our team better.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - The big story for the Chicago Bulls this week has been the salary cap space they cleared for this summer’s free agent frenzy. The new guys they got played their debut like more than mere footnotes, though. Kirk Hinrich had 20 points and helped the Bulls stay balanced after a couple of rotation-altering trades, outlasting Minnesota 100-94 on Friday night after a bunch of missed layups and free throws by the Timberwolves...Derrick Rose scored 19 points and Luol Deng pitched in 18 points for the Bulls, who rallied from an eight-point second-quarter deficit and clutched a 79-78 lead after Ramon Sessions finished a fast break for Minnesota with a dunk...Corey Brewer led the way with 19 points for Minnesota, but even he had trouble, missing four of his five foul shots. The Wolves went 6 for 18 from the floor in the fourth quarter and missed eight of 13 free throws in the final 12 minutes. “I’d never seen anything like that. I guess all our energy was gone,” said Al Jefferson, held to 10 points and five rebounds...“All the guys who were here before, the guys now—the goal in this league is to win,” Hinrich said. “I feel like we’ve put ourselves in a good position to have a good strong finish.”...Murray had eight points in 19 minutes and Warrick shot 5 for 13 and finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in 31 minutes, with both of them pushing through the mistakes coach Vinny Del Negro predicted before the game.
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Rasho Nesterovic went from being an afterthought in Toronto’s lineup to taking the sting out of the Raptors not having Chris Bosh for the first time this season. Nesterovic scored a season-high 16 points in place of Bosh, sidelined with a sprained left ankle, and the Raptors had seven players in double figures in a 106-89 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Friday night...“It was pretty remarkable,” said point guard Jarrett Jack, who had a team-high 18 points and 10 assists. “In my opinion, basketball is a game of rhythm and he hasn’t been in the lineup for a while. For him to come in and contribute the way that he did is really unbelievable. It’s a testament to him always been ready when called upon.” The only other time that Nesterovic has scored more than 16 points in the last two seasons was a 21-point effort against Atlanta in November 2008, when he was playing for Indiana. “He came in and didn’t miss a shot, go figure,” Nets guard Courtney Lee said. “I should have tried to run him up wide or make him put the ball on the floor instead of giving him time to get a good look at the rim,” said Brook Lopez, who led the Nets with 22 points but didn’t guard Nesterovic very well. Jose Calderon added 16 points as the Raptors dropped the Nets to 5-50. DeMar DeRozan and Hedo Turkoglu added 14 points apiece as Toronto shot nearly 60 percent from the field in extending its franchise record for consecutive 100-point games to 19...Devin Harris added 19 points and 11 assists and Lee added 17 points in a game in which the Nets fell behind early and never caught up...This latest loss puts New Jersey on pace to tie the NBA mark for fewest wins in a season, set by the Philadelphia 76ers (9-73) in 1972-73.
vs
(From the Associated Press) - The Mavericks’ newcomers made the difference against the Magic—along with some tight defense by Dallas. Caron Butler scored 16 points, Brendan Haywood had 15 points and nine rebounds and the Mavericks rode a strong defensive effort to beat the Orlando Magic 95-85 on Friday night. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs with 23 points and Jason Terry had 16 as the Mavs won for the second time in three games since acquiring Butler and Haywood from Washington...Dwight Howard had 29 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks for Orlando, but didn’t get much help. Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson had 16 points apiece and the Magic were 4 of 25 from 3-point territory...Jason Kidd, who had 10 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, put the game away for the Mavericks with a 3-pointer that made it 88-81 with 1:20 left in the game. The Mavericks scored the last seven points of the third quarter and first 12 of the fourth period to go from 11 points down to a 77-69 lead with 8:54 left in the game...“We obviously needed that spurt to get back in control of the game,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “We get some stops, get the ball in Jason Kidd’s hand and great things happen for us, but it was the defensive end that triggered a lot of good stuff.”...“Obviously our shooting was horrendous, but I can’t really say I’m upset,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Every shot those guys took was wide open and we didn’t make any. That’s not typical of us.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - John Salmons spent most of Friday wondering where he was supposed to go. Luckily for the Milwaukee Bucks, he figured it out. Salmons, playing his first game after being acquired from Chicago on Thursday, scored 19 points and hit a clinching 3-pointer as the Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons 91-85...After getting Salmons for Joe Alexander and Hakim Warrick, the Bucks went right to him in a key situation. With Milwaukee leading 85-84, he hit a 3-pointer over Ben Wallace with 16 seconds to play...Former Piston Carlos Delfino added 16 points for Milwaukee, while Ersan Ilyasova had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Brandon Jennings went 1-for-13, but grabbed a loose ball to prevent a late Detroit rally. “Tonight was one of those nights where we had guys that were having off nights, but stepped up down the stretch,” Skiles said. “Brandon got a big steal, even when he couldn’t hit a shot, and Andrew (Bogut) had 12 rebounds and five blocks when he wasn’t having a great offensive game.” Richard Hamilton scored 29 points to lead Detroit, which outshot Milwaukee 49 percent to 38 percent but made only one 3-pointer...Detroit, normally a poor-shooting team, hit its first 11 shots before Hamilton missed a 17-foot jumper with 3:05 left in the first quarter. That helped the Pistons build a 25-12 lead, but Milwaukee was back in front early in the second period. “We did a nice job weathering what they did at the start of the game,” Skiles said. “We made a lot of 3s and we made plays.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Without Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley stepped into a lead role for Miami and the Heat kept their winning streak intact. Beasley scored a career-high with 30 points and the short-handed Heat won their season-best fifth straight by defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 100-87 in double overtime on Friday night. The Heat, playing without Wade (strained calf) and Rafer Alston (right hand), blew an 18-point lead in regulation than pulled away in the second overtime behind Udonis Haslem, who scored eight points in the final five minutes...Jermaine O’Neal finished with 18 for the Heat before fouling out in the first overtime. Mario Chalmers, who was playing his first game since injuring his left thumb in late January, also had 18 points...Marc Gasol led Memphis with 22 points and O.J. Mayo had 17. Zach Randolph scored 16 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. Rudy Gay had 15 points, but was 6 of 19 from the field...Carlos Arroyo (10 points and six assists) and Daequan Cook (three points and 1 for 7 shooting) started in place of Alston and Wade. It was the second straight overtime game for Memphis, which won 109-102 in overtime at Toronto on Wednesday night...The Heat’s zone defense caused poor shooting for Memphis early. The Grizzlies missed 10 of their first 11 shots as Miami defenders took away Memphis’ interior game. “I ain’t never seen a team play zone the whole game,” Randolph said. “This is the NBA. But we couldn’t hit shots, and we didn’t penetrate the zone.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Darren Collison received a good-natured ribbing from Hornets teammates about coming within two turnovers of the first quadruple-double in franchise history. Still, injured star Chris Paul handed the rookie the game ball in the locker room and the team gave him a round of applause. Collison registered his first career triple-double—the first he could remember at any level, in fact—with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, and New Orleans beat the Indiana Pacers 107-101 on Friday night...“It means a lot,” Collison said. “I was just going out there and playing and my teammates were just telling me what I needed and being supportive. … I hope I have a lot more in my career and I was fortunate to have one today. I was just trying to help the team win.”...Indiana had the lead back down to four when Hibbert’s short jumper made it 103-99 with 46 seconds to go. Then, West rebounded Marcus Thornton’s miss and drew a foul. West, 13 of 15 from the foul line, made both free throws and the Pacers did not score again until the final seconds. West finished with a team-high 29 points and career-high seven assists. Stojakovic scored 17, and Okafor had 13 points and 13 rebounds. “As long as guys continue to play with confidence, we’re going to have a shot to win the games in terms what we have on the schedule,” West said. Thornton scored 12 and Morris Peterson 11 for New Orleans, which extended the Pacers’ losing streak to four. Danny Granger scored 29 and Mike Dunleavy 15 for Indiana, which trailed by as much as 21 in the second quarter, but got within four in the final minute before New Orleans held on. Hibbert finished with 13 points, while Earl Watson and Luther Head each added 11. “We have to develop some consistency,” Granger said. “We’ve been battling with that all year. We haven’t gotten a handle on that, but when we do we will win more games than we lose.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Having endured a seemingly endless amount of trade rumors in recent weeks, Amare Stoudemire can finally relax and put all his focus on helping the Phoenix Suns make a run for the playoffs. Stoudemire scored 22 points for his ninth straight game over 20, leading the Suns to an 88-80 victory over the poor-shooting Atlanta Hawks on Friday night...Stoudemire also had eight rebounds, one night after the Suns decided to keep him in Phoenix rather than trade him and risk losing him this summer with no compensation if he opts out of the final year of his contract. “The last week or week and a half, he’s just been playing,” coach Alvin Gentry said. “He’s put it all behind him. He played well. I’m proud of the way he’s handled the situation. I think he’s done great.” Grant Hill added 16 points for the Suns, who used a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away. Josh Smith led Atlanta with 21 points, but didn’t score in the fourth period, and Joe Johnson had 19 points. The Hawks were outrebounded 50-36 and shot just 39.5 percent for the game. That was enough for the Suns to overcome an off night from Steve Nash. He had just six points, missed seven of his 10 shots and had six turnovers for the game...Robin Lopez had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Suns. Jamal Crawford scored 11 points and Al Horford added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks. “I thought our offense hurt us tonight,” Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. “It really put us behind. We ended up with 12 assists and we missed a lot of good shots and a lot of our shots were hurried shots.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Already one of the NBA’s most dominant teams at home, the Utah Jazz are learning how to win on the road. That can’t be good news for the rest of the league. Carlos Boozer had 30 points and 16 rebounds, Andrei Kirilenko scored 22 points and the Jazz extended their longest road winning streak in eight years with a 100-89 win over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. “It just shows that we’re maturing a lot,” point guard Deron Williams said. “It’s something we’ve been searching for the last couple of years, to win consistently on the road. We’re finding ways to do that now.”...“We passed the basketball and executed the way we were supposed to tonight,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “We found the open man and hit the shots when we needed to.” C.J. Watson had 22 points and Corey Maggette added 14 for Golden State. The Warriors struggled most of the night offensively in Monta Ellis’ return to the lineup following a three-game absence. “We just couldn’t make any shots and the ball didn’t fall our way,” Watson said. “They were contesting every shot, running us off the 3-point line and we just couldn’t make any shots inside the paint.”...Ellis returned to the Warriors’ lineup after sitting out three games with a mild left knee sprain. The layoff clearly hurt Ellis, second in the league in minutes played. He made just two of 14 shots from the floor and finished with six points and six assists, then made a quick exit out of the Warriors locker room without speaking to the media. “I don’t know if I expected more than that, but it’s understandable,” Golden State coach Don Nelson said. “Anyone coming back from an injury is not going to be sharp. Whatever it takes, we’ll just have to deal with it.” No one did much for Golden State, which was coming off a 32-point win over Sacramento on Wednesday. The Warriors shot 37.2 percent as a team and were held to their fewest points since being held to 89 by Portland on Jan. 2.
vs
(From the Associated Press) - If this is the way Ray Allen is going to start shooting, then Doc Rivers wants a lot of speculation swirling around his sharpshooter. Even if that means the Boston coach needs to make up rumors. “Ray is going to get traded tomorrow,” Rivers cracked. “We’re going to keep saying it so he can keep playing well.” Allen scored 21 points, including eight straight early in the fourth quarter to stymie a run by Portland, and the Celtics completed a difficult West Coast two-step beating the Trail Blazers 96-76 on Friday night. Kevin Garnett scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half, helping the Celtics on the second night of a difficult back-to-back. After holding off the Lakers 87-86 Thursday night in Los Angeles, the Celtics easily dispatched a rested Portland team and handed the Blazers their worst loss of the season...Andre Miller led the Blazers with 16 points, but the debut of Marcus Camby in Portland was a dud. Camby made his first shot, then missed his next four. He finished with two points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes. All-Star Brandon Roy played 34 minutes in just his second game since Jan. 20. Roy made three of eight shots and finished with nine points, but struggled to get open looks and appeared distracted by his gimpy leg. How frustrating was it for Roy? In one of his swiftest moves of the night, Roy sprinted baseline to gather a rebound and dunk, only to be called for having his heel on the baseline. Roy said the lack of game action in the last month has him struggling to find a rhythm again...The short-handed Celtics thought they might have even fewer bodies before the game when a sprained right thumb started acting up on Paul Pierce. He played and added nine points, and the Celtics got 33 points from their bench while still waiting for the arrival of Nate Robinson. Acquired in a trade with the Knicks, Robinson will remain on the East Coast while recovering from the flu before joining his new team. “Those guys really controlled the game and pretty much pushed the lead,” Pierce said of the bench. “They closed the game and allowed us to rest and that’s big especially on a long road trip.”
No comments:
Post a Comment