The AP reports: Kobe Bryant had 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Pau Gasol scored seven of his 20 points in the final three minutes, and the Lakers used a strong finish to beat Boston 92-83 Thursday, snapping the Celtics’ franchise-record 19-game winning streak… “Give them all the credit,” said Boston’s Paul Pierce, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds but was scoreless in the fourth quarter. “We just have to play better down the stretch.” … Lamar Odom had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers (24-5), who won their 12th straight game at home, where they’re 15-1… Kevin Garnett shot 11-of-14 in leading the Celtics (27-3) with 22 points and nine rebounds. Ray Allen scored 14, but went 2-of-11 after making his first three shots. Rondo was held to six points, shooting 3-of-11, but had 12 assists.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Dec 25: Spurs 91, Suns 90
The AP reports: Roger Mason didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter until there were 4.3 seconds left. Then he came in and made the biggest shot of the game. Mason’s 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer Thursday gave the San Antonio Spurs a 91-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns… Tony Parker scored 27 and Tim Duncan had 25 points and 17 rebounds as the Spurs won their fourth straight. Amare Stoudemire had 25 points and 13 rebounds and Shaquille O’Neal 23 points and 12 boards for the Suns, who led most of the afternoon but never by more than eight in the second half… O’Neal was 9-of-16 at the foul line to become the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to miss 5,000 career free throws. Steve Nash had 13 points. His eight assists made him the 13th NBA player to reach 7,000 for his career. Porter is among the other 12.
Dec 25: Magic 88, Hornets 68
The AP reports: Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points to lead the Magic to an 88-68 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Thursday in a matchup of division leaders… However, Stan Van Gundy said he understood how his team could build a 61-31 halftime lead and then shoot 23 percent in the second half… Dwight Howard had 12 points and 15 rebounds in Southeast-leading Orlando’s sixth-straight win. Rashard Lewis added 18 points and Jameer Nelson 14… David West had 13 points for New Orleans. Chris Paul and Devin Brown each added 12. Paul, the NBA steals leader (3.7 average), snapped his league-record string of 108 games with at least one… With Peja Stojakovic also out for the fourth straight game with back spasms, the Hornets were weak up front, and the Magic took advantage.
InsideHoops.com says: The Magic stomped the Hornets something nasty. It was 29-14 after the first quarter and 61-31 at the half. For the game, Turkoglu hit 4-of-6 three-pointers for 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists (but 5 turnovers). Rashard Lewis on 12 shots had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Jameer Nelson hit 4-of-6 threes for 14 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. Dwight Howard shot just 4-of-15 for 12 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks. Orlando shot just 40.5% but the Hornets were just 33.3%.
Dec 23: Blazers 101, Nuggets 92
The AP reports: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points, Brandon Roy added 19 and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 101-92 on Tuesday night. Joel Przybilla had 19 rebounds and 10 points, going 4-of-4 on free throws in the final 2:40 to help Portland (18-11) tie the Nuggets atop the Northwest Division… Linas Kleiza had 20 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Nuggets, who lost three in a row before beating Portland 97-89 on Monday night in Denver. Nene had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Chauncey Billups added 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
Dec 23: Mavs 100, Grizzlies 82
The AP reports: The Dallas Mavericks don’t need their ‘A’ game to beat the Memphis Grizzlies. Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points, Jason Terry added 17, and the Mavericks stretched their winning streak against the Grizzlies to 13 games with a 100-82 victory on Tuesday night. Josh Howard added 14 points, and Erick Dampier contributed 13 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, who have won 14 of 18… Hakim Warrick had 17 points, and Rudy Gay added 16 points and nine rebounds for Memphis. Kyle Lowry scored 15 points for the Grizzlies, coming off a nine-point home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
Dec 23: Spurs 99, Wolves 93
The AP reports: Tony Parker keeps finding ways to hurt the Minnesota Timberwolves. Manu Ginobili just keeps getting hurt. Parker scored 36 points on 13-of-17 shooting to lead the Spurs to a 99-93 victory over Minnesota on Tuesday night, handing the Timberwolves their 13th consecutive loss. Ginobili, who missed the first 12 games of the season because of left ankle surgery, limped slightly to the sideline with about four minutes left. He returned two minutes later and played until 15 seconds remained in the game… Tim Duncan added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs (18-10), who have won nine of 11 and head into a Christmas day matchup against the Suns in Phoenix… Al Jefferson led the Timberwolves with 28 points. Randy Foye added 26 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
Dec 23: Lakers 100, Hornets 87
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 20, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets 100-87 on Tuesday night. The performance was more dominant than the final score indicated and precisely what the Lakers needed after stumbling through much of a four-game road trip… Chris Paul finished with 17 points and 10 assists for the Hornets, who had won 11 of their previous 13 games and were looking to move closer to the Lakers in the Western Conference… Andrew Bynum scored 13 points for Los Angeles, which also got 11 points from Derek Fisher and 10 from Trevor Ariza. Butler scored 17 points for New Orleans. Morris Peterson added 16 and David West 13 on 5-of-15 shooting.
Dec 23: Bucks 94, Jazz 86
The AP reports: The Milwaukee Bucks shot 1-of-16 from 3-point range and 39 percent from the field. That probably would have meant a blowout loss not long ago. Not anymore. Michael Redd scored 27 points Tuesday night to lead the surging Bucks to their third win in a row and fifth in six games, 94-86 over the Utah Jazz. “It’s huge for us,” said Luke Ridnour, who had 11 points, 11 assists and six steals… Reserve Andrei Kirilenko scored a season-high 22 for Utah. Deron Williams added 17 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, but had seven of Utah’s 24 turnovers… The Jazz were playing without center Mehmet Okur, who sat out with back spasms, and forward Carlos Boozer, who missed his 18th straight with a strained left quad tendon.
Dec 23: Pistons 104, Bulls 98
The AP reports: The Detroit Pistons traded Chauncey Billups because they believed Rodney Stuckey was ready to become a big contributor. On this night, he showed they were right. Stuckey scored a career-high 40 points Tuesday to help the Pistons overcome an injury to Allen Iverson in a 104-98 victory over the Chicago Bulls… The Pistons are 11-11 since Iverson joined the team, but they didn’t need much from him against Chicago… Tayshaun Prince had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Detroit. Richard Hamilton scored 14, while Antonio McDyess added 10 points and 11 rebounds off the bench… Larry Hughes led the Bulls with 19 points, while Andres Nocioni and Ben Gordon had 18 each before fouling out. Derrick Rose also fouled out, with 10 points.
Dec 23: Heat 96, Warriors 88
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade had 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Daequan Cook scored 15 of his 20 points to spark a second-quarter comeback, and the Heat matched last season’s win total by beating the injury-depleted Golden State Warriors 96-88 on Tuesday night. Udonis Haslem scored 16 points and Shawn Marion finished with a Heat season-high 16 rebounds as Miami reached the 15-win mark in 27 games—55 fewer than it needed to get there last season as the NBA’s worst team… C.J. Watson scored 18 points for Golden State, which has lost 16 of 19. Kelenna Azubuike scored 16, Brandan Wright added 12 and Anthony Randolph finished with 10 for the Warriors, who got within four points in the final minutes but simply couldn’t stop Wade, who delivered four points and a big assist to Marion with the game on the line.