The AP reports: Tony Battie had 18 points and eight rebounds, and the Magic got a big boost from the bench to clinch a playoff spot with a 107-79 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night… J.J. Redick had 13 points, and Marcin Gortat added 13 points and 15 rebounds in reserve for the Magic, who have won five of their last six games and moved closer to taking another Southeast Division title… John Salmons had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Brad Miller added 11 points for Chicago, which shot a mere 31.4 percent from the floor and had 16 turnovers.
Day: March 12, 2009
Hawks end Utah’s 12-game winning streak, 100-93
The AP reports: Deron Williams knew the Jazz wouldn’t go unbeaten through the end of the regular season. Even so, Utah’s star point guard wished his team had given itself a better chance against the Hawks to extend its winning streak to 13 games… Joe Johnson scored 31 points and Josh Smith had 22 points and 12 rebounds to help the Atlanta Hawks end Utah’s 12-game winning streak with a 100-93 victory Wednesday night… Flip Murray scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Hawks. Smith ended the scoring with a pair of free throws with 24.3 seconds remaining.
Paul’s triple-double leads Hornets past Wiz 109-98
The AP reports: Taking over the game when he wanted to—no matter what defensive schemes he faced—Chris Paul compiled 30 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds Wednesday night, steering the New Orleans Hornets to a 109-98 victory over Washington… Guarded by Wizards reserve Juan Dixon, Paul did pretty much whatever he wanted over the next 3 1/2 minutes, engineering a 12-0 run that tied the score. During that stretch, Paul scored 10 points and assisted on the other basket. He probably should have had two fewer points and an extra assist, but Rasual Butler somehow missed a layup off a perfect pass. So all Paul did was grab the rebound and drive for a layup himself.
Young, Dalembert lead 76ers over Raptors 115-106
The AP reports: Samuel Dalembert heeded the advice of Hall of Fame center Moses Malone earlier this week when the former Philadelphia center told him to get mean. Thaddeus Young scored a career-high 29 points, Dalembert snapped out of his recent slump, and the Philadelphia 76ers handed the Toronto Raptors their sixth straight loss with a 115-106 victory Wednesday night… Dalembert, who entered the night with only three blocks over the last four games, recorded his 11th double-double of the season with a season-high 19 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots… Chris Bosh was limited to 17 points for Toronto after consecutive 30-point outings.