The AP reports: Flip Murray scored a season-best 30 points, and Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson each added 20 as the Atlanta Hawks won their season-high eighth straight home game, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-97 on Monday night. It was Atlanta’s eighth win in nine games and the Hawks are 28-7 at Philips Arena. It was the fifth straight loss for the Timberwolves… Al Horford added 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks. Bibby, who hit on nine of his first 10 shots, finished nine-of-13. He also had nine assists. Randy Foye led Minnesota with 19 points, while Kevin Love added 17.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Sixers’ Igoudala scores 27 in win over Kings
The AP reports: Andre Iguodala made his first 10 shots and scored 27 points, and the Philadelphia 76ers never trailed in beating the Sacramento Kings 112-100 Sunday night to end a two-game skid. Thaddeus Young scored 22 points for the 76ers, who shot nearly 60 percent and never let their lead fall below double digits after taking a 17-5 lead midway through the first quarter. Louis Williams scored 18 points, Marreese Speights had 15 points and Willie Green added 10 for Philadelphia. Francisco Garcia made six 3-pointers and scored 24 points for the Kings, who outscored the 76ers 26-17 in the fourth quarter but couldn’t get closer than 11. Spencer Hawes had 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists to narrowly miss first career triple double. Kevin Martin scored 16 and Jason Thompson had 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Paul, West lead Hornets over Warriors
The AP reports: New Orleans held Golden State to 13 field goals while opening a 20-point first-half lead and then coasted to a 99-89 victory Sunday. “We came out with the right mind-set,” said David West, who scored 23 points. “We were prepared for them defensively and didn’t allow them to get any control of the game.” Chris Paul scored 27 points as the Hornets pulled within 1 1/2 games of the Southwest Division-leading Houston Rockets. They trail the San Antonio Spurs, who lost to the Rockets earlier Sunday, by a game… Stephen Jackson led Golden State with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Kelenna Azubuike added 16 points after missing his first eight shots.
Cavs win 9th straight, beat Nets 96-88
The AP reports: LeBron James had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and the Cavaliers won their ninth straight game, beating the New Jersey Nets 96-88 on Sunday night to tie a franchise record with their 57th victory. Ilgauskas added 18 points as the Cavaliers improved the NBA’s best record to 57-13… Vince Carter had 25 points and nine rebounds, but without injured All-Star point guard Devin Harris the Nets simply lacked the firepower to hang with the NBA’s toughest defensive team. .. James finished two assists shy of a fifth triple-double during the winning streak on a night where he was content to let his big men handle the scoring load early. Anderson Varejao finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, helping Cleveland outrebound New Jersey 46-37.
Rockets stun Spurs to claim division lead
The AP reports: Knocking the Spurs from first place in the Southwest Division for the first time since January, Houston capped a furious fourth-quarter rally when Yao Ming fired a perfect pass to Luis Scola underneath with 11.9 seconds left to stun San Antonio 87-85 on Sunday. Ron Artest scored 24 as Houston won its fourth straight and headed to Utah with a half-game division lead over the Spurs. Not since Christmas have the Rockets enjoyed at least a share of first place… Tim Duncan scored 23 points and Tony Parker had 22 and 12 assists for the Spurs, who had appeared to start pulling away midway through the fourth before the Rockets embarked on a 10-2 run.
Bosh lifts Raptors past struggling Clippers 100-76
The AP reports: The Toronto Raptors gave Chris Bosh an early birthday present: a rousing win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Bosh had 16 points and 13 rebounds, Shawn Marion added 14 points and 13 boards and the Raptors routed the struggling Clippers 100-76 Sunday… Jose Calderon scored 15 points, including a rare dunk, and Joey Graham added 13 for the Raptors, who have won five of six against the Clippers… Zach Randolph scored 20 points and Baron Davis added 12 for the Clippers, who have won just two of their past 12… Randolph shot 10-for-17 while the rest of the Clippers combined to go 19-for-58. Davis shot 3-for-15, rookie guard Eric Gordon was 3-for-10 and Marcus Camby finished 2-for-6.
Durant leads Thunder past Wolves 97-90
The AP reports: Kevin Durant had his best game since returning to the Oklahoma City lineup after missing seven games with a bum ankle. But it wasn’t Durant’s 30 points that caught the eye of his coach. “Like I told him before our last game, ‘Kevin, you can fill up the stat sheet, but you don’t have to worry about your points to help us win,”’ Thunder coach Scott Brooks said after the Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 97-90 on Sunday… Durant had eight rebounds and five assists, and Jeff Green added 17 points for the Thunder, who jumped on the lethargic Timberwolves early to make up for a humiliating, 42-point defeat the last time they visited Minnesota… Craig Smith scored 19 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota and Bobby Brown fueled a late Wolves run with 12 points in the fourth quarter.
Wade, Haslem lead Heat in 101-96 win over Pistons
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 39 points in the first 47 minutes Sunday. In the final minute, he turned into a defensive specialist. Wade blocked two shots in the final 22 seconds and Udonis Haslem scored six points in the last 6.3 as the Miami Heat rallied for a 101-96 victory over the short-handed Detroit Pistons… Detroit was missing three key players—Richard Hamilton (groin), Rasheed Wallace (calf) and Allen Iverson (back)—but took a 96-95 lead on Walter Herrmann’s 3-point shot with 13 seconds left… Stuckey led the Pistons with 24 points, while McDyess had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Richardson scores 35, Suns beat Wizards 128-96
The AP reports: Shaquille O’Neal scored 13 in the Phoenix Suns’ 128-96 victory over Washington on Saturday night to pass Moses Malone as the No. 5 scorer in NBA history with 27,411 points… Jason Richardson responded with 35 points, 17 in the third quarter, Phoenix extended its winning streak to a season-high four games… Steve Nash added 17 points for the Suns, who pulled with 3 1/2 games of idle Dallas for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West with 13 to play. Stromile Swift had 10 points and 12 rebounds in his best game since joining Phoenix on March 4.
Bryant leads Lakers over Bulls, 117-109
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 28 points, Pau Gasol added 23 and the Lakers rallied for a 117-109 victory Saturday over the Chicago Bulls in the first of a season-high, seven-game trip. The Lakers trailed by 16 in the second quarter and 14 at the half, but came roaring back in the third, pulling within one… Despite the high point total, he shot just 10-for-25. Even so, the man who once said he wouldn’t mind playing in Chicago got serenaded with “MVP! MVP!” chants… Gasol grabbed 10 rebounds. Trevor Ariza scored 18 points, Lamar Odom added 16 and Jordan Farmar had eight of his 13 in the decisive run for the Lakers, who have won five of six… John Salmons scored 30 and Derrick Rose 25 for the Bulls, who had tied a season high with three straight wins, but their luck ended against the Western Conference leaders. So did their seven-game home win streak.