The AP reports: Chris Paul and David West reminded the New Orleans Hornets of what a luxury it can be to have pair of All-Stars working together in crunch time. Paul capped a 26-point, 10-assist, five-steal performance by setting up West’s dunk with 12.6 seconds left that gave the New Orleans Hornets a 94-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night… Kevin Love had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, one night after getting 17 points and 19 rebounds in a loss at San Antonio… Rasual Butler had 14 points for New Orleans and Hilton Armstrong, starting at center for Tyson Chandler, had 12 points. Ryan Gomes had 17 points for Minnesota, while Rodney Carney added 12, Foye 11 and Telfair 10.
Month: March 2009
Anthony leads Nuggets from behind to beat Grizz
The AP reports: The road has been unkind to the Denver Nuggets since the All-Star break, and it looked like they were headed for trouble again versus the Memphis Grizzlies. But the Nuggets turned up the defensive intensity in time, overtook the Grizzlies in the final 2:35 and defeated Memphis 111-109 on Wednesday night. “It would have been a long plane ride home thinking about this loss,” said Carmelo Anthony, who led Denver with 35 points, including the go-ahead three-point play with 33.2 remaining… The Nuggets snapped a six-game road losing streak. Chauncey Billups added 18 points and 12 assists for Denver and J.R. Smith scored 21… Rudy Gay led Memphis with 30 points. O.J. Mayo matched Warrick’s 16 points, and Mike Conley had eight points and matched his season-high with 10 assists.
Howard nears triple-double, leads Magic past Bucks
The AP reports: Playing back-to-back road games and coming off a tough loss, the Orlando Magic could have fallen into a trap against a Milwaukee team that had just tripped up another Eastern Conference contender. Instead, Dwight Howard dominated in the first quarter and the Magic never really let the Bucks back into the game, cruising to a 106-80 victory Wednesday night… Orlando was coming off a deflating 97-93 loss at Cleveland, a game in which Howard scored only 13 points. That turned around right away Wednesday, as Howard scored 18 points in the first quarter on his way to 28 for the game. He added 12 rebounds, and had seven assists, falling three shy of a triple-double… Charlie Villanueva had 17 points for the Bucks, who are desperately trying to earn the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and were coming off a home victory over Boston.
Carter scores 29, helps Nets blow out Knicks
The AP reports: Vince Carter scored 29 points and the Nets salvaged the final game of their otherwise miserable five-game trip with a 115-89 victory over New York on Wednesday night… Brook Lopez added 23 points for the Nets, who put up 70 points across the middle two quarters, making 16 of 22 shots (73 percent) in the third, and cruised to a surprisingly easy victory in a game between teams fighting desperately to stay in the playoff race… Al Harrington scored 21 points, and Nate Robinson had 18 points for the Knicks, who went 3-2 on their trip and were opening a stretch where they play five of six at home.
Wallace, Bobcats beat short-handed Kings 104-88
The AP reports: Gerald Wallace returned with a slight limp for the second half and finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds, willing the Bobcats to a much-needed 104-88 win over the short-handed Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night… Emeka Okafor added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats, who pulled away in the fourth quarter and had much better injury luck than the NBA-worst Kings, who dropped to 0-28 against the Eastern Conference… Sacramento played without top scorer Kevin Martin (illness) and Andres Nocioni (quadriceps), then lost Rashad McCants (ankle) late in the fourth quarter after he scored 30 points.
Trail Blazers beat Pacers 95-85
The AP reports: Greg Oden had four points and seven rebounds in his first pro game in his hometown, and the Trail Blazers beat the Indiana Pacers 95-85… Brandon Roy, who led the Trail Blazers with 20 points, said he has tried to encourage Oden… Travis Outlaw had 15 points, and Steve Blake added 14 points and eight assists for the Trail Blazers. Indiana’s Danny Granger had 35 points and 10 rebounds in his first start since leaving a game Feb. 18 against Charlotte because of a partially torn tendon in his right foot. Indiana coach Jim O’Brien had little to say about Granger’s performance.
Pierce scores 36 as Celtics beat Wade-less Heat
The AP reports: The only All-Star healthy enough to play made the difference. Paul Pierce scored 36 points without Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to share the load, Dwyane Wade missed his first game of the season, and the Boston Celtics clinched the Atlantic Division title with a 112-108 overtime victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night… “We’re a team, the Miami Heat, with or without D-Wade,” said Michael Beasley, who led Miami with 21 points off the bench… Rajon Rondo had 27 for Boston. Miami, in its third overtime game in its last five, got 19 points from Mario Chalmers and 17 from Jermaine O’Neal.
Allen Iverson not healthy yet
The Detroit Free Press (Vince Ellis reports: Allen Iverson doesn’t appear to be any closer to returning to the Pistons lineup. Pistons coach Michael Curry said before tonight’s game at Houston that the 13-year veteran saw his doctors at Georgetown University today and he was still in pain. He will have more tests Thursday and Friday and then the Pistons will reassess.
Leon Powe out two weeks
The Boston Herald reports: In what has become a cavalcade of Celtics injuries, Leon Powe became the latest addition with the announcement he could miss two weeks with a strained left knee. “He’ll be out for a couple of weeks, most likely,” Doc Rivers said before tonight’s game against Miami.
Dwayne Wade out with hip strain
The Palm Beach Post (Chris Perkins) reports: Heat All-Star guard Dwyane Wade won’t play in tonight’s nationally-televised game at Boston due to a right hip injury. According to the Heat the injury is a right hip flexor strain. Wade said he reached the decision about 45 minutes prior to tonight’s 7 p.m. tipoff. Wade said the decision to sit out tonight’s game was “very tough. I can’t even describe how tough it is.”