The AP reports: John Salmons hit a 17-footer with 1.6 seconds remaining in the third overtime and the Kings held on to beat the injury-depleted Golden State Warriors 135-133 on Wednesday night, ending a 12-game road losing streak dating to Nov. 19 at New Orleans. Salmons finished with 25 points, a career-best 14 rebounds and seven assists for Sacramento, which earned consecutive victories against the Warriors for the first time since taking 15 in a row in the series from 2000-03… Brad Miller had a season-high 30 points and a career-high 22 rebounds for Sacramento, but was whistled for a technical with 2:17 remaining in the initial OT that could have been costly. .. Jamal Crawford scored the first four points in the first overtime on the way to 35 points after missing the potential winner at the end of regulation. Crawford also stripped Kevin Martin as he attempted a final shot to end the first extra period.
Day: January 15, 2009
Spurs beat Lakers in Western finals rematch
The AP reports: The San Antonio Spurs made it clear to the Los Angeles Lakers that they’re still a major player in the Western Conference. Roger Mason hit a jumper with 10 seconds left and made a free throw after being fouled by Derek Fisher, and the Spurs beat the Lakers 112-111 on Wednesday night in the first meeting between the teams since the Western Conference finals… Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 27 points, and Bryant had 29 for Los Angeles. He added 10 assists. Both teams are 10-2 in their last 12 games. Bryant was double-teamed on the Lakers’ last play, so he swung the ball to Ariza. But Ariza was called for traveling… Tony Parker and Tim Duncan each added 20 points for the Spurs. Duncan also had 10 rebounds and eight assists. Pau Gasol scored 21 points for Los Angeles after hitting eight of this first nine shots.
Paul outplays Kidd, leads Hornets past Mavs
The AP reports: Facing triple-double master Jason Kidd, Chris Paul nearly did him one better. With 33 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and seven steals, Paul narrowly missed a rare quadruple double, but it was still enough to pull the New Orleans Hornets to a 104-97 victory over the slumping Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night… Paul also guarded Jason Terry in the second half. Terry had 18 points before Paul took over, 10 after… Peja Stojakovic and David West each scored 16 points for New Orleans, and Devin Brown had 12. It was the Hornets’ first regular-season victory in Dallas since Jan. 24, 1998. The skid was 13 straight, although they won a playoff game here last spring. “We really didn’t want to double-team (Paul) that much and leave all the shooters open and he used that freedom and killed us,” said Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Thunder beat Jazz for 7th win
The AP reports: The presence of big man Nenad Krstic is beginning to pay off in a big way for the Oklahoma City Thunder. In just his fifth game since being signed away from a Russian league, Krstic had 14 points and 11 rebounds Wednesday night in helping the Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 114-93. Nine of his rebounds came at the defensive end as Oklahoma City outrebounded the Jazz 48-26… Jeff Green scored 23 points, Russell Westbrook added 22 and Kevin Durant had 21 for the Thunder, which won for just the seventh time this season but the fourth time in the past eight games… Deron Williams scored 25 points for the Jazz, which had a four-game winning streak ended. All of those came at home; this was the team’s fifth straight loss on the road. Kyle Korver had 14 points, but just two in the second half.
Cook helps struggling Wade as Heat beat Bucks
The AP reports: Reserve Daequan Cook wasted no time redeeming himself. A night after teammates questioned if he’d even played in Miami’s win at Minnesota following an 0-for-3 performance, Cook hit his first six 3-pointers en route to a career-high 24 points in the Heat’s 102-99 victory over Milwaukee on Wednesday night… Wade finished 5-for-20 and had 17 points, contributing by distributing 13 assists to help the Heat improve to 3-2 on a seven-game trip… The Heat went on a 9-0 run to start the second half and had an 84-74 lead with 10:57 to play, but the Bucks, who overcame a 12-point second-half deficit in Washington on Monday night, nearly came back in this one thanks to 25 points by Luke Ridnour and 16 by Michael Redd.
Lee helps Knicks roll past Wizards
The AP reports: David Lee had 30 points and 10 rebounds, reserve Al Harrington scored 27 points, and the Knicks handed the Wizards their sixth straight loss with a 128-122 victory Wednesday night… Quentin Richardson added 26 points for the Knicks, who have piled up the points in the first three meetings with the Wizards this season and can complete a season sweep for the first time since 2003-04 by grabbing the back end of a home-and-home series Friday in Washington… Chris Duhon finished with 17 points and nine assists for the Knicks, who scored 114 and 122 points in their two earlier victories over Washington—which fired Eddie Jordan two days after the second one… Washington’s Nick Young scored 33 points, establishing a career high for the third time in four games, and Caron Butler added 25. Mike James had 20 points, but the Wizards stumbled when he had to leave with five fouls.
Pierce leads Celtics past Nets
The AP reports: Paul Pierce brought the Boston Celtics to the midpoint of the season with their third straight win and with hope that they’ve regained the rhythm that produced a 27-2 start. Pierce shook off a cold first half and scored 18 points in the third quarter by going 5-for-5 on 3-pointers to lead the Celtics a 118-86 win over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night… Pierce led Boston with 22 points two nights after getting a season-high 39 in an overtime win over Toronto. The Nets also won in overtime that night, beating Oklahoma City… Kevin Garnett scored 20 points for the Celtics. The Nets were led by Devin Harris with 17 points, while Keyon Dooling and rookies Ryan Anderson and Brook Lopez had 13 each. Anderson made his second consecutive start in place of injured Yi Jianlian after sitting out the previous four games.
Granger leads Pacers past Pistons
The AP reports: For once, overtime was a good time for the Indiana Pacers. Danny Granger scored 24 points and made the tying shot late in regulation in the Indiana Pacers’ 110-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. It was Indiana’s first overtime win in five tries this season… T.J. Ford scored 23 points, and Troy Murphy added 18 points and 13 rebounds to help the Pacers snap a three-game losing streak. Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 30 points, Allen Iverson had 23 points, and Rasheed Wallace added 17 points and 15 rebounds. The Pistons have lost three in a row, including a two-point loss at home against Charlotte on Tuesday night.
Rose scores 25 points, Bulls beat Raptors
The AP reports: Derrick Rose’s big fourth quarter and Joakim Noah’s block gave the Chicago Bulls a rare road victory. Rose scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth, and Luol Deng had 16 points and 14 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup in the Bulls’ 102-98 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night… Andres Nocioni added 16 points, Kirk Hinrich had 12 and Ben Gordon 10 for Chicago, which had lost eight of 11 coming in… Andrea Bargnani had a career-high 31 points and finished with 10 rebounds for Toronto, which has lost three straight. Bosh scored 25 points, and Anthony Parker had 15.
76ers beat Blazers, win season-high fifth straight
The AP reports: Andre Iguodala scored a season-high 29 points, and Lou Williams had 14 to lead Philadelphia to its fifth straight victory, 100-79 over Portland on Wednesday night. Iguodala made four of Philadelphia’s season-high 11 3-pointers and just missed becoming the first Sixers player to score 30 points in a game this season… Thaddeus Young made three 3s and finished with 11 points, and Andre Miller scored 12 points. Brandon Roy led Portland with 27 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points and nine rebounds. Portland was without Rudy Fernandez (foot), and coach Nate McMillan said the rookie will likely miss Thursday night’s game in New Jersey. Steve Blake left in the first half because of a separated right shoulder.