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John Wall explodes for 47 points in Wizards win over Grizzlies

John Wall finished Washington’s last game on the bench after getting two technical fouls.

He stuck around for the finish of his best NBA performance Monday, scoring 17 of his career-high 47 points in the fourth quarter as the undermanned Wizards beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 107-94.

”I was just in a zone. I made my first couple of shots and I knew I was in a great rhythm. Ten points in the first quarter, I knew I had it going,” Wall said after posting the third-highest point total in the NBA this season.

Wall, who added eight assists and seven rebounds, shot 13 of 22 from the field and made a career-high 19 free throws on 24 attempts.

”That was an incredible performance for him. We jumped on it and he carried us. It felt to me that it was all under control. All within our offense. All within what we were doing,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.

Emeka Okafor added 21 points and nine rebounds for a Washington team that was without five members of its rotation.

Already without guard Bradley Beal (sprained left ankle), guard A.J. Price (groin) and forward Trevor Ariza (flu), Wittman announced before the game that forwards Nene (sore right knee) and Martell Webster (abdomen strain) were also out.

— Reported by Harvey Valentine of the Associated Press

Nuggets 15-game winning streak ends with loss to Hornets

Even Brian Roberts couldn’t believe the performance he delivered to help end Denver’s 15-game winning streak.

Starting for only the second time, the rookie doubled his season high with 18 assists, Ryan Anderson scored 23 points and the short-handed New Orleans Hornets beat the Nuggets 110-86 on Monday night.

”It’s crazy to fathom, having 18 assists,” Roberts said. ”Guys play years and don’t have that many assists. Somebody pointed out I had more assists than they had as a team. For me to come out in my second start and do that is just a testament to my teammates making shots.”

And to Roberts’ work ethic, too. He never had 10 assists in four years at the University of Dayton, where he was more of a scorer than a facilitator. Then he spent five years trying to make an NBA roster before hooking on with the Hornets last summer, re-working his game to become a pass-first player.

Eleven of those passes turned into assists in the first half alone against the Nuggets, who finished with four fewer assists than Roberts. He became the 20th rookie to have 18 assists or more and the first since Darren Collison did it for New Orleans in 2010…

Danilo Gallinari had 24 points for the Nuggets, who were without starting point guard Ty Lawson (right heel injury) for the third consecutive game. Denver lost for the first time since Feb. 22 against Washington after matching its 1969-70 ABA team’s record of 15 straight victories.

”We played a bad game and they played a great game,” said Nuggets point guard Andre Miller, who had nine points and six assists.

— Reported by Guerry Smith of the Associated Press

Goran Dragic shines, but Suns lose to Nets

One of the best games of Goran Dragic’s career still wasn’t enough for the Phoenix Suns.

Instead, Deron Williams and C.J. Watson made a handful of crucial plays down the stretch and the Brooklyn Nets escaped with a 102-100 victory Sunday night.

Dragic fell a rebound shy of what would have been his second career triple-double with 31 points, 12 assists and nine boards. He was a point short of his career scoring high.

Dragic’s only career triple-double came with Houston two years ago and he knew he must have been close to one as this game progressed…

Brook Lopez added 20 points and Kris Humphries a season-best 17 for Brooklyn. Watson scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter for the Nets, playing without Joe Johnson, who bruised his thigh in Brooklyn’s loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles on Saturday night…

Wesley Johnson added 21 points – including 5 of 9 3-pointers – for the Suns, who were coming off consecutive blowout losses at home to Washington and Minnesota…

Dragic reached double digits in assists for a career-best fifth game in a row. His 11 double-digit assist efforts since the All-Star break are second only to Milwaukee’s 12 and Jennings has played one more game.

— Reported by Bob Baum of the Associated Press

Mike James helps Mavericks beat Jazz, 113-108

Mike James didn’t play like a 37-year-old on his last legs in the NBA on Sunday night.

James scored a season-high 19 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 17 and the Dallas Mavericks beat the slumping Utah Jazz 113-108.

The journeyman point guard scored 12 points in the third quarter, including seven in a 20-2 run which bridged the third and fourth quarters.

”I’m like a little kid in the candy store,” James said. ”People don’t understand how much fun I’m having out there.”

The 11th-year point guard is probably enjoying himself more now considering he didn’t even have an NBA job three months ago. James joined Dallas on a 10-day contract on Jan. 8, and the Mavericks signed him for the rest of season three weeks later.

Rick Carlisle inserted James into the starting lineup on March 6, and the Mavericks have gone 8-3 since then to get within two games of the Los Angeles Lakers for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference…

Vince Carter and Shawn Marion each had 15 as the Mavericks improved to 2-1 on a season-long six-game homestand. Dallas has gone 21-13 since dropping 10 games under .500 on Jan. 9…

Enes Kanter scored 17 points as the Jazz lost their ninth straight on the road, Utah’s longest such skid since losing 17 in a row away from home during the 1981-82 season. The Jazz’s last road win was Feb. 13 at Minnesota.

— Reported by David Jimenez of the Associated Press

Late James Harden jumper helps Rockets edge Spurs

The Houston Rockets got contributions from several players Sunday night against the Spurs.

In closing time, they turned to James Harden again.

Harden sank an off-balance jumper with 4.5 seconds left to lift the Rockets to a 96-95 victory over San Antonio. Harden scored 18 of his 29 points in the second half as the Rockets rallied from three down in the final minute to snap a four-game losing streak to their state rivals.

Houston has won three in a row and inched closer to clinching a postseason berth.

”Tonight was a great environment, great crowd,” Harden said. ”Hopefully, we can continue to build off this lead. It’s momentum.”

Tony Parker scored 23 points, including 10 in a row to put San Antonio ahead with just under 2 minutes left. The Spurs led 95-94 when Harden got the ball from Omer Asik, drove to the free throw line and hit the winning jumper between Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard…

Chandler Parsons scored 20 points and Asik grabbed 14 rebounds for the Rockets. Backup point guard Patrick Beverley had 11 points and blocked Danny Green’s layup attempt with 1:22 left to keep Houston within one.

Duncan had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Spurs, who shot 42 percent (33 of 78), gave away 18 turnovers and were held below 100 points for just the third time in 12 games.

— Reported by Chris Duncan of the Associated Press

Miami Heat winning streak reaches 26 games

The world’s best came out to see if Miami could do it again. Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked men’s tennis player. Wladimir Klitschko, the world heavyweight boxing king. Rory McIlroy, who sits atop the golf rankings for at least one more night.

And they got quite a show.

The Heat won their 26th straight game on Sunday, with LeBron James going for 32 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in a 109-77 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

”I think it’s very humbling that you can have some of the greats from other sports come to see your team play, come to see you play,” said James, who was 11 for 14 from the field in another surgical performance. ”You try to leave an impression on them, as a team and as an individual, absolutely. So it was great to have them in the building, for sure.”

Chris Bosh and Norris Cole had 15 points apiece for the Heat, who played without Dwyane Wade, held from the lineup because of right knee soreness that the team believes is minor. And after yet another slow start, Miami is now seven victories shy of matching the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the league record of 33 in a row.

The show now goes on the road for a four-game trip that begins in Orlando on Monday, a swing that also will take the Heat to Chicago, New Orleans and San Antonio. And the Heat will start that trip 2 1/2 games ahead of San Antonio in the race for the NBA’s best record.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Al Horford, Josh Smith lead Hawks over Bucks

Al Horford scored 24 points to help the Atlanta Hawks rally for a 104-99 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

Josh Smith added 23 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks, who trailed 98-95 with 1:05 remaining. Devin Harris added 16 points and Jeff Teague finished with 14.

Smith converted a layup with 33.8 seconds to tie it at 99. After the Bucks turned it over, Dahntay Jones was fouled. He made the first and missed the second, but Anthony Tolliver grabbed the rebound for Atlanta and called timeout.

Horford was fouled with 20.1 seconds remaining and hit both free throws to give the Hawks a 102-99 lead. Monta Ellis missed a 3-pointer for Milwaukee, and Teague made two foul shots to put the game away.

Ellis scored 20 points for Milwaukee, and Ersan Ilyasova added 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bucks have dropped six of eight to fall to fall two games behind idle Boston for seventh in the Eastern Conference standings with 13 games remaining.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Duncan leads Spurs past Warriors 104-93

The San Antonio Spurs just keep winning, especially when they face the Golden State Warriors at home.

Tim Duncan had 25 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and four blocks, and San Antonio beat Golden State 104-93 on Wednesday night for its 29th straight home win against the Warriors.

Golden State has not won in San Antonio since Feb. 14, 1997, the season before Duncan was selected No. 1 overall by the Spurs.

”He’s a Hall of Fame player, an all-time great,” Warriors coach Marc Jackson said. ”He certainly had a big game tonight.”

Tiago Splitter added 17 points and Manu Ginobili had 16 points and seven assists for San Antonio (52-16), which has won three straight and seven of nine overall. Nando De Colo had 10 points.

The Spurs are right behind Miami (53-14) for the league’s best record.

Stephen Curry had 24 points for Golden State (39-31), which remains sixth in the West. Jarrett Jack had 14 points, and David Lee added 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Golden State closed to 92-88 when Curry went 1 for 2 at the line, but Duncan threw in a running hook and a 16-foot jumper to give San Antonio an eight-point lead with 2:37 remaining.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Lopez, D-Will lead Nets past Mavericks 113-96

Brook Lopez is just like Deron Williams. He enjoys visiting Dallas, too.

Lopez scored 38 points and Williams had 31 in his first visit since spurning his hometown team in free agency, leading the Brooklyn Nets past the Mavericks 113-96 on Wednesday night.

Williams scored 26 in the second half, repeatedly hitting shots and occasionally assisting on baskets by Lopez to prevent a Dallas rally in the fourth quarter.

Lopez matched the 38 points he scored in one of the five games he played last season, when the Nets snapped a 12-game losing streak in Dallas. Both times, he finished one point shy of his career high from two years ago against Detroit.

”The team played well in both games,” Lopez said with a laugh. ”I think that’s the correlation. It just depends on who’s hot. We have so many options on this team.” …

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 16 points and had a team-high six rebounds compared to 22 boards for Reggie Evans of the Nets, who outrebounded the Mavericks 45-34.

— Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press

Tip-in from Marc Gasol lifts Grizzlies over Thunder in OT

Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies finally put away Oklahoma City with their final shot.

In a matchup of Western Conference contenders that had a playoff feel to it, Gasol tipped in Zach Randolph’s miss with less than a second left in overtime Wednesday night to give Memphis a 90-89 win over the Thunder.

Gasol was so excited about the winning basket that he dropped a not-suitable-for-television expletive in the live postgame interview.

”I saw Zach going baseline and just went for the rebound and got lucky with the tip,” Gasol said. ”It’s an emotional game. It’s a team that we like playing against, and a team that knows us very well. It was a gritty game.” …

”We win in a variety of ways. It’s never pretty,” said Mike Conley, who led the Grizzlies with a season-high 24 points. ”That’s that grit-and-grind motto right there. We just find a way to win however it is. (This) was one of those wins.”

Randolph added 15 points and 18 rebounds, giving him 7,001 career rebounds, while Gasol had 14 points and 15 rebounds.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 32 points, including 15 in the third quarter to help Oklahoma City take its first lead. Westbrook scored 20 on 7-of-25 shooting from the field. Kevin Martin added 17 points, but no other Thunder player had more than seven.

— Reported by Clay Bailey of the Associated Press