The AP reports: Raja Bell had trouble lifting his right arm, yet started. Gerald Wallace twice got hit near the rib he fractured earlier this season and stayed in the game. Raymond Felton and Emeka Okafor played despite tender ankles. All four Bobcats reached double figures Tuesday night, and Charlotte proved too tough for the undermanned Chicago Bulls in a 96-80 victory they hope continues an improbable journey to the playoffs. Bell scored all 18 of his points in the first half before turning into a decoy when his injured biceps proved too painful to shoot, while Felton had 18 points and nine assists in Charlotte’s season-high fourth straight win… While the Bobcats played through the pain, the Bulls were without forwards Luol Deng (leg) and Tim Thomas (knee). Chicago fell behind early and never recovered. Tyrus Thomas had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the disjointed Bulls, who shot 39 percent and committed 18 turnovers.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Magic win big-man battle, top Suns 111-99
The AP reports: Dwight Howard made Shaquille O’Neal run. He made him fall. Then he got the ultimate vindication: he made him flop. Howard had 21 points and eight rebounds in a bruising battle with O’Neal, and the Orlando Magic beat the Phoenix Suns 111-99 on Tuesday night… Rashard Lewis had 29 points and Hedo Turkoglu scored 22 for the Magic, who overcame a season-high 24 turnovers. O’Neal finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, outmuscling his first NBA team for most of the night before he lost his cool late, again drawing boos by the Orlando crowd… Jason Richardson had 27 points, and Steve Nash added 20 points for Phoenix after missing the last three games with a sprained right ankle.
Spurs rout Clippers 106-78
The AP reports: Home-court advantage for a potential showdown with the league-leading Lakers doesn’t appear a realistic possibility with the Spurs trailing them by 7 1-2 games despite Monday night’s 106-78 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers… Tony Parker had 26 points and 10 assists for San Antonio, which pulled away in the third quarter with four 3-pointers from Michael Finley. The Spurs, who came in with a league’s best assist-to-turnover ratio, had 28 assists and just eight turnovers against the Clippers… Tim Duncan, playing his second game after missing the previous three with a sore right knee, had 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists before sitting out the fourth quarter. The 11-time All-Star needs 18 points to overtake Scottie Pippen for 44th place on the career scoring list.
Undermanned Thunder stun Mavs 96-87
The AP reports: Russell Westbrook had his first triple-double of his rookie season with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and midseason pickup Nenad Krstic added a season-high 26 points as the undermanned Thunder beat Dallas 96-87 Monday night despite playing without their two leading scorers… Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas’ charge back from a 23-point deficit, and his 3-pointer from the right wing got the Mavericks back within 88-84 with 4:13 to play. Those were the last of his 28 points, and Dallas didn’t score again for 4 minutes… Kyle Weaver, who answered Nowitzki’s final 3-pointer and then added a runner to help Oklahoma City stop the comeback, finished with a career-high 18 points and Thabo Sefolosha added 15 points. Jason Terry scored 20 points for Dallas in his second game back after surgery on an injured finger.
LeBron scores 42, Cavs beat Heat 107-100
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 42 points, Williams got 15 of his 30 points in the final 7:14 to lead a stirring rally, and the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the final minutes to beat the Heat 107-100 on Monday night… Wade’s dunk put Miami up 91-80 with 7:52 left. The Heat shot 2-for-17 with four turnovers the rest of the way, getting outscored 27-9—a far cry from Saturday night, when the Heat got 24 from Wade in the final quarter to pull off a stunning win over the New York Knicks… Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 12 points and had 15 rebounds—his fourth double-double on a four-game road trip—for Cleveland, which moved a full game ahead of idle Boston for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Jermaine O’Neal scored 16 points, Mario Chalmers added 15 and Moon had 11 for Miami, which shot 2-for-17 with four turnovers in the final 6:52 to waste what was a 91-80 lead.
InsideHoops.com note: Dwyane Wade had 41 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists (but 8 turnovers) and 7 steals.
West scores 30, Hornets beat 76ers 98-91
The AP reports: David West scored 30 points with 10 rebounds to lead the Hornets to their season-high fifth straight win, 98-91 over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night… Chris Paul bounced back from a two-point first half to finish with 16 points and 12 assists. His 3-pointer with 70 seconds left made it 95-89 and the Sixers could not recover… Andre Iguodala scored a season-high 30 points and Andre Miller had 28 for Philadelphia… Rasual Butler, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds, hit the Hornets’ eighth 3 of the game and they were back ahead by double digits.
Hawks overcome flight delays, beat Wizards 98-89
The AP reports: Marvin Williams scored 28 points, Horford added 16, and Joe Johnson had 16 points and 13 rebounds as the Hawks completed a 4-0 season sweep of the Wizards. Atlanta was in need of a slump-busting win, having lost five of seven after Sunday night’s 88-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, a game decided on a free throw by LeBron James with 1.6 seconds left… Antawn Jamison scored 23 points for the Wizards, whose talent level took another plunge when Caron Butler was scratched with tightness in his left hamstring. Washington fell to 0-13 against the Southeast Division, just three games away from becoming the first NBA team to go winless within its division.
Ronnie Brewer shines, Jazz beat Warriors 112-104
The AP reports: Mehmet Okur scored 23 points, Deron Williams had a season-high 20 assists and the Utah Jazz won their eighth straight, beating the voluntarily short-handed Golden State Warriors 112-104 Sunday night. Ronnie Brewer scored 21 points one night after getting a career-high 26 for the Jazz, who moved within two games of Northwest Division-leading Denver… Corey Maggette scored 27 points and rookie Anthony Randolph had a career-high 20 for the Warriors, who rested leading scorer Stephen Jackson as part of coach Don Nelson’s unorthodox plan to give more playing time to his youngsters… Jamal Crawford, who wasn’t allowed to play in Golden State’s loss to Charlotte two nights earlier, scored 20 points in the Warriors’ fourth loss in five games.
Kidd hits milestone, Mavs beat Raptors 109-98
The AP reports: Jason Kidd handed out 15 assists to become the fourth player in NBA history with 10,000 for his career, Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Toronto Raptors 109-98 on Sunday night. Kidd reached the milestone with 1:04 left in the third quarter when he handed out his 13th of the night, passing to Brandon Bass for a 10-foot turnaround. Kidd received a standing ovation when the feat was announced to the sellout crowd… Josh Howard had 16 points and Antoine Wright added 15 for Dallas. James Singleton had a career-high 16 rebounds and scored 12 points. Former Dallas high school star Chris Bosh paced the Raptors with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani added 18 points.
Roy, Aldridge score 26 each, Blazers beat Spurs 102-84
The AP reports: Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge each scored 26 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 102-84 victory over San Antonio on Sunday night, spoiling the return of Tim Duncan to the Spurs. The Spurs didn’t even play Duncan in the fourth quarter after Portland led by as many as 29 points. The All-Star forward had missed the last three games with a right quad injury. Steve Blake added 15 for the Blazers, who won their ninth straight at the Rose Garden Arena. Portland is 24-5 at home this season… Duncan, who leads the Spurs with an average of 20.7 points and 10.7 rebounds, had 14 points in his return.