The AP reports: With the game tied and the clock ticking down, Bryant ran off 23 seconds, then, with defenders lunging at him, coolly hit a turnaround, fadeaway jumper with 3 seconds remaining Friday night to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 121-119 victory over the stubborn Indiana Pacers. Bryant’s 36 points included the Lakers’ final 11 of the game, and he also finished with 13 assists and seven rebounds… “We couldn’t stop Kobe,” said the Pacers’ Danny Granger, who had 28 points when he fouled out with 47 seconds remaining… Troy Murphy had 24 points for Indiana and Dunleavy finished with 22. Pau Gasol had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, and Andrew Bynum had 20 points.
Month: January 2009
O’Neal leads Suns to 128-100 rout of Dallas
The AP reports: The Suns outscored the Mavericks 40-19 in the third quarter and went on to a 128-100 rout on Friday night. Shaquille O’Neal had 25 points and 10 rebounds in just under 27 minutes for the Suns… Jason Richardson added 21 points and Leandro Barbosa had 20 in the Suns’ highest-scoring game of the season… Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 for Dallas, and Josh Howard had 16 before departing with a sprained left wrist in the third quarter. X-rays were negative. Amare Stoudemire scored 16 in Phoenix’s fourth win in five games. Grant Hill added 10 points, eight in the third quarter, as the Suns shot 63 percent for the night. Steve Nash had nine points and 12 assists.
Wade scores 41 to lead Heat over Kings
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade was having a rough night. His shot was unreliable. Wade, of course, was still spectacular. He scored 10 of his 41 points in overtime to help the Miami Heat outlast the Sacramento Kings 119-115 on Friday night… Kevin Martin and John Salmons scored 29 points for the Kings, who had a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter but have now lost five straight and 11 of 12. Rookie Michael Beasley came off the bench to score 23 points for the Heat. Mario Chalmers had 13 points and Udonis Haslem had 11.
Prince’s jumper, Iverson’s 23 lead Pistons over Nuggets
The AP reports: Tayshaun Prince and Aaron Afflalo ensured Allen Iverson’s return to Denver was a success. Prince hit a running jumper with 20 seconds left, Afflalo hit six straight free throws after that, and the Detroit Pistons overcame 30 points by Chauncey Billups to beat the Nuggets 93-90 on Friday night in Allen Iverson’s return to the Mile High city. Iverson, making his first appearance in Denver since being traded to Detroit for Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb on Nov. 3, led the Pistons with 23 points—20 in the second half. He said his return to Denver was special… The Pistons shot 37 percent in the first half but stayed within range heading into the third quarter. Denver led by 13 after Billups hit three free throws early in the second half, but Detroit climbed back, getting within 59-56 with 3:14 left in the period.
Ridnour’s floater lifts Milwaukee over Nets
The AP reports: Luke Ridnour’s 5-foot floater with 0.5 seconds left lifted the Bucks to a 104-102 victory over the Nets on Friday night in the first meeting since Jefferson was dealt on draft day to Milwaukee for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. Jefferson left Simmons alone to try to defend Vince Carter in the closing seconds and Simmons, who finished with 15 points by going 5-of-9 from 3-point range, hit his final one with 9 seconds left to tie it at 102… But Carter, who finished with 23 points, 14 assists and one rebound short of his fifth triple-double, hit a fadeaway jumper and set up a layup by Brook Lopez to make it 100-97… Jarvis Hayes scored 16 points for the Nets, while Milwaukee got 23 points from Charlie Villanueva, 11 from Ramon Sessions and 10 each from Ridnour, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Charlie Bell.
Gordon, Bulls beat Washington 98-86
The AP reports: Larry Hughes scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, Ben Gordon had 22 and the Bulls hung on for a 98-86 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday after watching a 21-point lead dwindle to seven in the fourth quarter… Hughes got booed when he entered the game late in the first quarter and seemed to hear it after every miss in the second and third, but his late flurry helped hold off the Wizards. He even heard a few cheers in the latter stages, but not many… Tyrus Thomas added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Drew Gooden scored 16 while grabbing 11 rebounds—his second straight double-double after missing eight games with a sprained ankle… Jamison scored just 12 after pouring in a season-high 32 points in Wednesday’s six-point loss to Toronto, and Caron Butler finished with two while shooting 1-for-8.
Hornets defeat Clippers, 107-80
The AP reports: Rasual Butler scored a season-high 27 points, and the New Orleans Hornets handed the Los Angeles Clippers their 10th straight loss, 107-80 on Friday night. Relegated to the end of the bench for much of last season, Butler said he approached his summer workouts with renewed commitment. It began to show when coach Byron Scott inserted him into the starting lineup for then-injured Morris Peterson on Nov. 19… Tyson Chandler had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets, dunking three times on alley-oop feeds from Chris Paul. James Posey had 16 points and Paul, who played only 29 minutes, had 10… Eric Gordon and Mardy Collins each scored 15 points for the Clippers, who have lost their last eight meetings with New Orleans. Marcus Camby had 13 points and 17 rebounds.
Cavaliers rock Celtics 98-83
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 38 points, harassed Paul Pierce all over the floor and strengthened his case to be the league’s MVP front-runner as the Cavaliers, playing with a bottled-up intensity reserved for the playoffs, improved to 19-0 at home by beating the staggering Boston Celtics 98-83 on Friday night. James scored 23 in the second half. He added seven rebounds, six assists, four steals, three blocks and made Pierce’s life miserable for 35 minutes… Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo added 13 assists for the Celtics, who shot only 41 percent from the floor and didn’t have their usual swagger… Anderson Varejao scored 14 points and Mo Williams 13 for Cleveland, which avenged a season-opening road loss to the Celtics despite playing without injured center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
McGrady’s 28 lifts Rockets past Thunder 98-96
The AP reports: After losing three straight games to start a long road trip, the Houston Rockets are grateful for any road win—even a narrow one over the team with the NBA’s worst record. The Rockets blew a 15-point second-half lead, but Tracy McGrady capped a 26-point outing with two critical free throws with 8.2 seconds left as they edged the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-96 on Friday night… Houston’s Yao Ming struggled much of the game, not making his first basket until early in the third quarter, missing a dunk later in that quarter and committing two offensive fouls in the fourth quarter. The 7-foot-6 center finished 3-of-10 from the field and scored 14 points—well below his 19.8-point average—but nine of those came in the final 4:22… Russell Westbrook scored 15 points for Oklahoma City.
76ers win third straight game, beat Bobcats
The AP reports: The Philadelphia 76ers are running again, their scoring is up and they’re ascending the Eastern Conference standings. Andre Miller had 22 points and six assists, Thaddeus Young scored 15 points and the Sixers won their third straight, 93-87 over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night. The Sixers have rapidly put a 1-5 trip behind them and won their third game this week to get out of last place in the Atlantic Division and into the Eastern Conference playoff race… Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams each scored 12 points and the Sixers had the fast-break edge, 20-4… Emeka Okafor had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats.