Day: November 2, 2008

Nov 1: Suns 107, Blazers 96

The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 16 of his 23 points in the decisive third quarter and Phoenix beat the Trail Blazers 107-96 Saturday night to give Terry Porter his first home victory as Suns coach… Steve Nash had 20 points, including a 3-pointer that put Phoenix ahead 101-90 with 1:48 left. Matt Barnes scored 21, Shaquille O’Neal 16 and Raja Bell 13 for the Suns, who shot 55 percent. Nash also had seven assists. Brandon Roy and Rudy Fernandez scored 20 apiece for Portland. Roy, hounded by Bell much of the night, was 7-of-18 shooting. LaMarcus Aldridge added 16 for the Trail Blazers, coming off a 100-99 home victory over San Antonio on Friday night.

Nov 1: Lakers 104, Nuggets 97

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 33 points and the Los Angeles Lakers nearly became the first team in three years to hold Anthony to single digits in a 104-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night… Coming off a two-game suspension, Carmelo Anthony scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter. He made two 3-pointers with under a minute left to extend his NBA-best streak of consecutive games in double figures to 208… Anthony Carter scored 20 points to lead the Nuggets, who also got 18 points from Kenyon Martin before he departed in the second half with a pulled left hamstring.

Nov 1: Jazz 101, Clippers 79

The AP reports: With Deron Williams on the bench in street clothes recovering from a sprained left ankle he injured in the preseason, newcomer Brevin Knight had six assists and Ronnie Price had seven assists as the Jazz beat the winless Clippers with a commanding second half. “Those guys are playing great. We’re holding it down without D-Will,” said Carlos Boozer, who had his second double-double of the season with 25 points and 10 rebounds… Cuttino Mobley scored 20 points and Chris Kaman had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the winless Clippers, who host the Jazz in a rematch Monday night… Andrei Kirilenko added 11 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and four assists. Mehmet Okur had 10 rebounds and nine points and Ronnie Brewer scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half for Utah.

Nov 1: Rockets 89, Thunder 77

The AP reports: Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets made up for a sputtering offense with some sparkling free-throw shooting. McGrady had 22 points, Yao Ming added 16 and the Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 89-77 on Saturday night for their third straight win. Carl Landry had 14 points and tied a career best with 11 rebounds for Houston. Ron Artest, Luis Scola and Rafer Alston added 10 points apiece… Kevin Durant, the reigning Rookie of the Year, had 26 points, five rebounds and four steals for Oklahoma City. Johan Petro and Jeff Green had 10 points each.

Nov 1: Raptors 91, Bucks 87

The AP reports: Jose Calderon scored a career-high 25 points, including a huge 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, and the Toronto Raptors won their third straight with a 91-87 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night… Calderon was 8-of-15 from the floor, including 3-of-4 on 3-pointers and made all six free throws. He also added nine assists… Chris Bosh had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Jamario Moon added 15 points, and O’Neal and Anthony Parker each had 11 as the Raptors spoiled new Bucks coach Scott Skiles’ home debut and gave Toronto a 3-0 start for the first time since 2004-05. Michael Redd had 19 points but missed a shot from the corner in the closing seconds that could have tied the game. Andrew Bogut had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Ramon Sessions added 12 points in his first game of the season.

Nov 1: Bulls 96, Grizzlies 86

The AP reports: While Derrick Rose hopes to show more fire someday, the Chicago Bulls will take the sort of cool contribution he made on Saturday. The rookie who led Memphis to the NCAA final last year buried that city’s NBA team, scoring 26 points in his best game to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 96-86 victory over the Grizzlies. Kirk Hinrich added 18 points, but the night belonged to Rose, the No. 1 draft pick and Chicago native… Hinrich was 5-of-7 on 3-pointers. Drew Gooden grabbed 20 rebounds, and Chicago pulled this one out after losing by 16 at defending champion Boston the previous night thanks in part to a 51-43 edge on the boards… Rudy Gay scored 20 after pouring in 29 and hitting the winning 18-footer against Orlando on Friday. Warrick added 18 points and seven rebounds, while Mayo, the No. 3 pick, scored 16.

Nov 1: Hornets 104, Cavs 92

The AP reports: Chris Paul had 24 points and 15 assists, and New Orleans remained perfect on the young season with a 104-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. David West added 25 points for New Orleans (3-0) and Posey scored 15 to go with his trademark clutch late-game defense and perimeter shooting… Zydrunas Ilgauskas led Cleveland with 18 points, while James finished with 15 points and 13 assists. Daniel Gibson scored 14 points for the Cavs. Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West each added 12. However, the Cavs turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 26 Hornets points.

Nov 1: Mavs 95, Wolves 85

Jason Kidd came close to a triple-double as the Mavericks defeated a cold-shooting Timberwolves team. For Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki had 21 points, 6 rebounds and almost nothing else. Jason Terry had 19 points and 4 steals off the bench. Josh Howard (just 6-of-15) had 14 points and little else. Jason Kidd (just 4-of-11) had 9 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals. For Minnesota, which shot just 1-of-12 from three-point range (though 22-of-24 free throws), Rashad McCants (6-of-8) had 18 points off the bench. Al Jefferson (just 5-of-15) had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals. Mike Miller (just 4-of-11) had 13 points and little else.

Nov 1: Warriors 105, Nets 97

The Warriors had three players score 20 or more points and got to the free throw line 52 times in beating the Nets. For Golden State, Stephen Jackson had 23 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists. Andris Biedrins (8-of-11) had 23 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Corey Maggette (just 3-of-13) had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals. The Warriors hit just 34 of their 52 free throws. The Nets went 21-of-28 from the line. For New Jersey, Vince Carter had 20 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Starting center Josh Boone had 17 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Devin Harris (just 3-of-12) had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Ryan Anderson scored 12 off the bench. Brook Lopez had 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks off the bench.