The AP reports: Dwyane Wade knew he was on the cusp of a triple-double. He didn’t mind getting a break instead. Wade had 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists before sitting out the entire fourth quarter, and the Miami Heat pulled away in the second half to beat the Washington Wizards 93-71 on Wednesday night… Daequan Cook and Michael Beasley each had 16 points for the Heat, who’ve won three straight, all against Southeast Division rivals. Udonis Haslem scored 14 points, and James Jones and Mario Chalmers had 10 each for Miami, which closed the game on a 44-21 run… Antawn Jamison had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Washington, an NBA-worst 9-36. Caron Butler added 18 points, and Darius Songalia had 10 for the Wizards.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Ford drives Pacers past Bucks 107-99
The AP reports: T.J. Ford’s driving skills keep improving. Even when Danny Granger isn’t around to help co-pilot—and even though his ailing back still isn’t 100 percent. The veteran guard maneuvered around Milwaukee’s standstill defense Wednesday night, repeatedly exploiting the gaps to match a career high with 34 points and leading the Pacers past his former team 107-99… Ford wasn’t the only Indiana player who exploited the middle of Milwaukee’s defense. Jarrett Jack followed Ford into the lane, finishing with 14 points. Mike Dunleavy and Rasho Nesterovic also had 14 each… So Charlie Villanueva and Richard Jefferson produced the points. Villanueva finished with 28 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. Jefferson added 19 points and guard Ramon Sessions had 16 points.
Diaw, Brown lead Bobcats past Lakers 117-110
The AP reports: Boris Diaw had 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, reserve Shannon Brown scored five of his 14 points in the second overtime, and the Bobcats continued their surprising recent domination of the Lakers by beating them 117-110 on Tuesday night… Gerald Wallace scored 15 points before leaving with 2:08 left in the fourth quarter after a flagrant foul by Andrew Bynum knocked him to the floor… Raymond Felton had 22 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and nine assists, Emeka Okafor had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Raja Bell added 17 points for the Bobcats. Bryant had eight rebounds and five assists to go with his 38 points. Bynum added 24 points and 14 rebounds and Derek Fisher scored 14 for the Lakers (35-9), who lost for just the fourth time in 27 home games.
Spurs beat Jazz 106-100 on strong fourth quarter
The AP reports: Manu Ginobili made all eight of his foul shots in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the final period to help the Spurs hold off the Utah Jazz 106-100 on Tuesday night. Ginobili made 11 of 12 foul shots, saving the Spurs from an embarrassing night at the line and keeping the Jazz from rallying at the end. “Until that horn goes off, you’re worried about whatever may happen,” said Tim Duncan, who had 24 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs… Tony Parker added 24 points and six assists for the Spurs, who have won five of six. Matt Bonner scored 20, going 6-for-7 on 3-pointers as the Spurs went 11-for-20 from beyond the arc. “They started off the second half really hot, knocking down 3s,” said Ronnie Brewer, who led Utah with 23 points… Deron Williams had 19 points and 13 assists and Mehmet Okur had 22 points and a season-high 17 rebounds for Utah, which lost its fourth straight.
Billups scores 29 to lead Nuggets over Grizzlies
The AP reports: Chauncey Billups scored 14 consecutive points in the third quarter and finished with 29 to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 100-85 victory Tuesday night, sending the Grizzlies to their 10th straight loss Hollins’ debut as coach… The Nuggets got 20 points from J.R. Smith and 16 points from Linas Kleiza. Chris Anderson had five of Denver’s 15 blocked shots, a season high… Rookie guard O.J. Mayo led the Grizzlies with 19 points. Gay, Kyle Lowry and Darius Miles scored 13 apiece.
Pietrus returns, leads Magic to 135-111 win over Pacers
The AP reports: Mickael Pietrus came back from his broken wrist as good as new. He had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 135-111 victory Tuesday night over the Indiana Pacers. Pietrus, who missed the previous 12 games with a broken right wrist, came off the bench to lead a well-balanced Magic attack. Seven players reached double figures scoring, including Rashard Lewis with 24 points and Dwight Howard with 22… T.J Ford, had 23 points for the Pacers and Granger, who came into the game averaging 26.1 points, had only 10.
Williams, James help Cavs beat Kings 117-110
The AP reports: Mo Williams scored a career-high 43 points with 11 assists and strengthened his argument to be in Phoenix among the NBA’s stars next month, and LeBron James recorded his 20th career triple-double as the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 21-0 at home, beating the Sacramento Kings 117-110 on Tuesday night… LeBron James scored 23 points with 15 rebounds and 11 assists, his third triple-double this season. He picked up assist No. 10 in the third quarter with a pass to Williams, who knocked down three consecutive 3s—all off feeds from James—in a span of 1:05. Williams was so good, James only had to take 10 shots… Kevin Martin scored 35 points and John Salmons 21 for the Kings, who lost their sixth straight and dropped to 0-19 against the East with a date in Boston on Wednesday.
Roy leads Trail Blazers past Clippers
The AP reports: Brandon Roy scored 33 points on 11-of-15 shooting to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 113-88 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night… Travis Outlaw scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and keyed the run that gave the Trail Blazers breathing room. Greg Oden went 7-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-4 from the line for 16 points and had six rebounds. Al Thornton scored 23 for Los Angeles, which lost for the 16th time in 18 games. Steve Novak added 21 points, and Fred Jones had 19 points and seven assists. Brian Skinner, back after missing two games with flulike symptoms, had eight points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Thunder beat Nets 94-85
The AP reports: Kevin Durant scored nine of his 18 points in the decisive third quarter, and the Thunder enjoyed big advantages at the free throw line and on the boards to beat the New Jersey Nets 94-85 Monday night in front of just 5,000 fans. Russell Westbrook had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Jeff Green scored 13 for the Thunder. Oklahoma City took 38 free throws, 20 more than the Nets, and outrebounded the opponent for the eighth time in nine games… Rookie Brook Lopez, who had a career-high 31 points in the first meeting, scored 18 for the Nets. Carter, averaging 21.6 points per game, had just eight on 2-of-12 shooting. Devin Harris (21.8) scored 10 and was 4-of-17.
Jefferson’s double-double leads Wolves over Bucks
The AP reports: Al Jefferson had 23 points and 10 rebounds as he roamed the paint freely and Ryan Gomes added 22 points, lifting the Timberwolves over the short-handed Bucks 90-83. Minnesota improved to an NBA-best 10-2 in 2009 and Jefferson thwarted the Bucks when it counted in the fourth quarter with Milwaukee also missing center Andrew Bogut for the seventh straight game with back spasms… Richard Jefferson, who finished 3-of-15 from the field, hit a jumper, but Al Jefferson answered when he kicked out a pass to Gomes for a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 1:46 left… Milwaukee’s Ramon Sessions, who had 18 points replacing Redd, said Gomes’ shot was deflating.