The AP reports: Dwight Howard had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Magic rode a strong second-half start to go ahead by 41 points and hand the Cleveland Cavaliers their most lopsided loss of the season with a 116-87 blowout Friday night. “It’s embarrassing,” James said. Rashard Lewis had 22 points and Hedo Turkoglu scored 13 for the Magic, who remained percentage points behind Boston—but tied in the loss column—for the Eastern Conference’s second seed. James finished with 26 points and nine rebounds but never did find his rhythm, shooting 7-for-20 from the floor… A series of alley-oops, dunks and wide-open 3-pointers all seemed to connect for Orlando. And when Courtney Lee finally missed a jumper for the Magic during the spurt, Howard cleaned it up with a monstrous put-back dunk that began the chants of “M-V-P!” every time he shot free throws.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Celtics add to Hawks’ road woes, win 104-92
The AP reports: Pierce scored 21 points and Rondo had 20 for Boston, which has four days off before its next game and has just one, two-game road trip before the end of the season. The Celtics also have just one set of back-to-back games, on the last two days of the regular season. Kendrick Perkins had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Glen “Big Baby” Davis had 19 points in place of Garnett, who missed his fourth straight game and his 17th of 21. Tony Allen played his first game since Feb. 8, but Brian Scalabrine and Leon Powe also remained on the bench with injuries… Flip Murray scored 21 points, Mike Bibby had 20 and Josh Smith had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta, which has lost seven straight regular-season games to the Celtics and nine in a row overall in Boston, including last year’s seven-game, first-round playoff series.
Parker leads Spurs in 126-121 win over Pacers
The AP reports: The San Antonio Spurs played their worst defensive quarter of the season in the final 12 minutes against the Indiana Pacers. Fortunately, for the Spurs, the Pacers played poor defense the entire game. Indiana scored 40 points and shot 70 percent in the fourth quarter, but the Spurs beat the Pacers 126-121 on Friday night. The Spurs were happy to win, but shocked by their late defensive collapse… Tony Parker had 31 points and 10 assists, Duncan had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Michael Finley scored 18 points and Drew Gooden added 17 for the Spurs, who now trail Denver by half a game in the scramble for the No. 2 seed in the West… Danny Granger scored 35 points for the Pacers, his fourth straight game with at least 30 points. Jarrett Jack scored 22 points, and Troy Murphy added 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Pacers, who fell four games behind Chicago for the No. 8 spot in the East.
Wade, Heat beat Bobcats 97-92 to reach playoffs
The AP reports: A year ago, the Miami Heat couldn’t wait to finish a horrendous, injury-plagued season. Now Dwyane Wade and his young teammates plan to be playing deep into the spring thanks to one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history. As usual, Wade led the Heat’s latest milestone, scoring 27 points and dishing out 10 assists on Friday night as Miami clinched a playoff berth with a 97-92 comeback victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. A year after going 15-67, the Heat joined the 1968-69 San Diego Rockets—a team that included Heat president Pat Riley—as the second NBA team to reach the postseason after winning 15 or fewer games the year before. The Rockets also recovered from a 15-67 disaster.
Smith leads Nuggets past Jazz for 50th win
The AP reports: The Denver Nuggets reached 50 wins faster than any time in their NBA history Thursday night, when J.R. Smith sank eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points in a 114-104 victory against the Utah Jazz. Smith had 21 points in 15 minutes in the first half, helping turn an 11-point deficit into a 54-43 halftime lead that Denver never surrendered against a team that’s lost six of its last seven road games. Smith’s eight 3-pointers tied a career high, and was one shy of the franchise mark set by Michael Adams in 1991 and tied four years later by Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. Carmelo Anthony added 23 points for the Nuggets, who are seeking home-court advantage in a playoff series for the first time since 1988. They won for the 10th time in 11 games and improved to 50-26… C.J. Miles led six Jazz in double figures with 19 points.
Worst beats best: Wizards top Cavaliers 109-101
The AP reports: In the closest thing they’ll have to a playoff game this year, Gilbert Arenas and the Wizards fed off a sellout crowd Thursday night and ended the franchise-record 13-game winning streak of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Washington recovered after blowing a 14-point second-half lead and held on for a 109-101 victory… Brendan Haywood, also playing his second game of the season and making his first start after recovering from a major wrist injury, added 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Wizards also received the usual steady contributions from Caron Butler (25 points) and Antawn Jamison (19) and a surprising 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting from Darius Songaila as they snapped a three-game losing streak. MVP candidate James scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half and finished with six assists and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers, but—how’s this for a statistical oddity—he was responsible for all five of his team’s turnovers until Daniel Gibson traveled in the final minute of the third quarter.
Iguodala leads 76ers past Bucks 105-95
The AP reports: Andre Iguodala scored 20 points, Lou Williams had 14 of his 21 in the second half, and Philadelphia rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat Milwaukee 105-95 on Thursday night. Andre Miller contributed 18 points and 11 assists for the Sixers (39-35), who won their second straight and vaulted past Miami into fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Marreese Speights had 14 points, Reggie Evans chipped in 13 and Samuel Dalembert added 10 rebounds for Philadelphia, which won its fifth in a row against the Bucks, including all three this season… Ramon Sessions led Milwaukee with his second straight stellar outing, getting 18 points, 10 assists and five rebounds a night after his first career triple-double against the Los Angeles Lakers… Richard Jefferson added 17 points and Charlie Bell contributed 14 for the Bucks (32-45), who have lost seven of eight.
Paul has double-double, Hornets edge Clippers 104-98
The AP reports: Two starters are out and an All-Star is hurting, but the New Orleans Hornets still have Chris Paul to carry them. Paul had 30 points and 14 assists, David West added 19 points, and the Hornets moved closer to the top of the Southwest Division by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 104-98 on Wednesday night… Eric Gordon led Los Angeles with 25 and Zach Randolph added 24 for the Clippers, who lost their ninth straight to New Orleans… David West was limited to three rebounds, but provided enough scoring for a New Orleans team missing injured starters Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler.
Martin scores 50 but Warriors beat Kings 143-141 OT
The AP reports: Monta Ellis scored a career-high 42 points for the Warriors to overcome Kevin Martin’s career-best 50 for the Kings, and the Warriors snapped a five-game losing streak with a 143-141 overtime victory over Sacramento on Wednesday night… “Like Game 7 of the playoffs,” said Jamal Crawford, who had 15 points and seven assists for the Warriors… Kelenna Azubuike had 27 points and 13 rebounds, hitting another free throw with 4.8 seconds left in OT, and Anthony Randolph added 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Warriors rallied to beat their local rivals despite having just eight healthy players.
Nash leads Suns past Rockets 114-109
The AP reports: A spirited victory over the Houston Rockets may be too little, too late for the Phoenix Suns. Steve Nash had 25 points and 17 assists—with just one turnover—and the Suns held on for a 114-109 victory on Wednesday night… Grant Hill had 23 points, Shaquille O’Neal 22 and Jason Richardson 18 as the Suns won their season-best sixth straight at home… Ron Artest scored 28 for the Rockets, who dropped to fourth in the crowded scramble for playoff positioning in the West, a game behind No. 2 Denver and a half-game behind San Antonio. Yao Ming, in a rugged matchup with O’Neal, had 20 points and 14 rebounds… Shane Battier added 18 points for Houston.