The AP reports: The Grizzlies came out determined to finally beat the Mavericks, and O.J. Mayo made sure they finished off the win. Mayo scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half, and Memphis snapped a 13-game losing streak to Dallas with a 102-82 victory Sunday… Marc Gasol had 19 points for Memphis, which ended a four-game skid overall. Rudy Gay and Warrick added 18 apiece. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 28 points, hitting 11 of 21 shots. Jason Terry scored 18, and Josh Howard finished with 12 points, including 10 in the third period.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Prince, Stuckey lead Pistons over Clippers 88-87
The AP reports: Allen Iverson got some timely assistance from Al Thornton, who was called for goaltending by referee Tommy Nunez Jr. after swatting away a driving scoop shot with 4.9 seconds on the clock. The ruling gave the Detroit Pistons the deciding points in an 88-87 victory on Sunday. “You know you’re having a bad-shooting game when you get the game-winner— and that don’t even go in,” Iverson said after going 7-for-22 from the field and finishing with 18 points and 10 assists… Rodney Stuckey scored 24 points and Tayshaun Prince added 20, helping extend Detroit’s winning streak to seven games in a matchup of injury-depleted teams. The four-time defending Central Division champs have beaten the Clippers 12 straight times and have won the last six meetings at Staples Center. Rookie guard Eric Gordon scored a career-high 31 points for the Clippers, but missed a 15-footer over Prince as time expired… Antonio McDyess, who missed the previous two because of sore ribs, had 15 rebounds and six points in 24 minutes.
Did not play: Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton, Zach Randolph, Baron Davis, Chris Kaman
No walk in the park: James, Cavs lose to Wiz 80-77
The AP reports: LeBron James was whistled for taking an extra step while driving for a potential tying layup with 2.3 seconds left, and his Cleveland Cavaliers lost 80-77 to the Eastern Conference-worst Washington Wizards despite wiping out a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter. “Bad call,” said James, who compiled 30 points, 10 assists and six rebounds… Indeed, Washington’s Caron Butler—who scored 19 points and guarded James most of the game, including on that closing play—remembers that same move, without an official’s call, from one of the teams’ recent playoff meetings… Antawn Jamison led Washington with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while McGuire had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his first NBA double-double.
Parker scores 26 points as Raptors beat Magic 108-102
The AP reports: It’s hard to imagine anything lacking in a 39-point performance by Dwight Howard, but Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy wasn’t too happy about his star center’s seven missed free throws. Especially considering the Magic lost by six. Anthony Parker scored a season-high 26 points, Chris Bosh added 23 points and 10 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors overcame Howard’s big game to beat the Magic 108-102 on Sunday. Howard matched career highs in both points and field goals. But while Toronto went 14-of-15 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, Howard was languishing through an 11-for-18 performance from the stripe… Anthony Parker was 13-of-16 from the field and came within one point of his career high. The Raptors also got 18 points from Andrea Bargnani, 12 from Roko Ukic and 11 from Will Solomon… Rashard Lewis had 20 points and six 3-pointers for the Magic, who shot 15-for-34 from beyond the arc, one shy of a season-high. Jameer Nelson scored 15 for Orlando.
Nuggets blow lead, recover to beat Hornets 105-100
The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points, including a layup with 56.5 seconds left, and the Denver Nuggets blew a 26-point third quarter lead before recovering to beat the New Orleans Hornets 105-100 on Saturday night. J.R. Smith scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for Denver. Chris Paul had 30 points and 11 assists, and David West had 21 points for the Hornets, who had their four-game winning streak snapped… The Hornets played without center Tyson Chandler, suspended for one game for an altercation with Portland’s Joel Pryzbilla on Friday night. Hilton Armstrong started in place of Chandler and had 17 points.
Wolves beat Bulls 102-92 for 2nd straight win
The AP reports: The Minnesota Timberwolves celebrated their first winning streak of the season—at the Chicago Bulls’ expense. Randy Foye scored 21 points, Al Jefferson added 18 points and 14 rebounds and the Minnesota won consecutive games for the first time this season, beating Chicago 102-92 on Saturday night… Derrick Rose finished with 22 points, and Tyrus Thomas had 15 points, seven rebounds and eight blocked shots for Chicago, which has lost six of its last seven games. Ryan Gomes finished with 19 points for Minnesota, which has won four of its last six games. The Wolves had 28 second-chance points to the Bulls’ eight… Kevin Love had 13 points and seven rebounds.
Parker’s shot lifts Spurs over Sixers, 108-106
The AP reports: Tony Parker hit a high-arching 15-footer at the buzzer and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Philadelphia 76ers 108-106 on Saturday night after blowing an early 21-point lead. Parker finished with 15 points and 10 assists to help the Spurs win for seventh time in eight games and rebound from a 100-98 loss Tuesday night to Milwaukee. Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Andre Miller led Philadelphia with 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting. Andre Iguodala added 25 on 10-of-15 shooting as both teams shot more than 50 percent.
Wade ignites Heat’s 101-96 OT win over Nets
The AP reports: Soaring for blocks and acrobatic dunks, Dwyane Wade stuffed the Nets. Wade scored 29 points, had three key blocks in the closing minutes and the Miami Heat overcame a 16-point deficit to beat New Jersey 101-96 in overtime Saturday night. Wade did it all in the Heat’s biggest comeback victory of the season. The superstar went up high for two blocks on dunk attempts by 7-footer Brook Lopez, including one in overtime and another late in the fourth quarter, and swatted Vince Carter’s jumper into the stands in the final minute of regulation… Trailing by 16 points in the first quarter, the Heat rode a season-high 19 points from Diawara and 17 points from Michael Beasley… Keyon Dooling had 23 points, and Carter had 20 for the Nets, who won in overtime a night earlier against the Atlanta Hawks.
Devin Harris did not play.
Bibby hits winner as Hawks beat Rockets 103-100
The AP reports: Mike Bibby made a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining, and Josh Smith scored a season-high 29 points in the Hawks’ 103-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Joe Johnson had a season-high 14 assists, the last when he drove from the perimeter and into the left side of the lane before passing to Bibby for the winner… Flip Murray finished with 17 points for Atlanta, which snapped a three-game losing streak to Houston. The Hawks won their sixth straight at home, improving to 15-2 this season at Philips Arena. Overall, Atlanta has won six of seven… Reserve Carl Landry scored 18 points, and Yao Ming had 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead Houston, which has dropped two straight and five of seven. Aaron Brooks missed a 3 from the left corner at the buzzer that would’ve forced overtime. Von Wafer had 17 points for Houston, and Brent Barry added 16.
Wallace leads Bobcats past Bucks, 102-92
The AP reports: The Charlotte Bobcats can look bad one night and good the next. They’ve played well for stretches then gone on long losing streaks. Newcomer Boris Diaw isn’t surprised. The good Bobcats showed up Saturday night, with Diaw scoring 21 points and Gerald Wallace 24 in a 102-92 win over Milwaukee. It came a night after the same Bucks held Charlotte to 75 points in the Bobcats’ 28-point loss… Richard Jefferson scored 19 points, and Michael Redd added 17 to go over 11,000 points in his career for the Bucks, who had won seven of 10 games and were trying to complete a four-game season sweep of Charlotte… Emeka Okafor added 14 points, and D.J. Augustin had 12 for the Bobcats, who had assists on 22 of 33 field goals and surpassed 100 points for only the 10th time this season.