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Byron Mullens lifts Bobcats over Raptors 107-101

Gerald Henderson is enjoying the best streak of his four-year NBA career, and the Charlotte Bobcats are playing better, too.

Henderson turned in another solid all-around game, Byron Mullens scored 25 points and the Bobcats beat the Toronto Raptors 107-101 on Wednesday night to win consecutive games for the first time since mid-November.

Henderson scored 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting and added seven rebounds and five assists. The soon-to-be restricted free agent is averaging 22.7 points on 50 percent shooting in his last seven games, including a 35-point performance in a win over Boston on March 12.

But he’s more willing to talk about the team’s recent improvement than his own personal accomplishments.

”I think it’s just us maturing,” Henderson said. ”I think that’s a big deal. We’ve been in a lot of situations where we haven’t gotten it done in the fourth quarter but we have recently, so that’s good.”

With the Raptors keying on him in the final period, Henderson played the role of distributor and the Bobcats leaned heavily on Mullens and Ben Gordon down the stretch.

— Reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press

Heat barely survive Cavs, get 24th win in a row

Miami’s winning streak was in danger of disappearing – in Cleveland, of all places.

But LeBron James wouldn’t give up.

”That guy right there doesn’t want to lose in this building,” teammate Dwayne Wade said, nodding toward James, who left many angry Cavaliers fans behind when he bolted for Miami as a free agent three years ago. ”Not tonight.”

James scored 25 points as the Heat overcame a 27-point deficit in the third quarter and won their 24th straight game, 98-95 over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night to extend the second-longest winning streak in NBA history.

The Heat are within nine games of matching the record of 33 consecutive wins held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Once believed to be untouchable, the mark is now within reach.

James and his teammates have insisted the record isn’t one of their goals, and for more than 30 minutes the defending champions seemed disinterested and on the verge of losing for the first time since Feb. 1. Miami trailed 67-40 with 7:44 left in the third quarter.

— Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press

Toney Douglas helps Kings rally to beat Clippers

Marcus Thornton had 25 points, Toney Douglas scored 17 of his 19 in the fourth quarter and the Sacramento Kings rallied from eight down in the final 11 minutes to stun the Los Angeles Clippers 116-101 on Tuesday night.

DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans added 17 points apiece for the Kings, who beat the Pacific Division-leading Clippers for the first time in more than two years.

They did it behind a stellar effort off the bench from Thornton and a smothering defense that held Los Angeles to just five buckets in the final quarter.

Blake Griffin had three of them and finished with 26 points, four rebounds and five assists for the Clippers. Los Angeles has lost four of its last seven.

Thornton went 7 of 14 from the floor and made six 3s but it was Douglas, the midseason acquisition from Houston, who came up biggest for Sacramento. He made three straight 3s after the Clippers pulled within 98-96 then added four free throws in the final 1:30 to help seal the win.

Cousins, who missed the past two games with a bruised left quad, also gave the Kings a spark despite playing in foul trouble most of the game. The emotional Cousins helped hold Los Angeles center DeAndre Jordan to 11 points, and finished with 11 rebounds for his 29th double-double of the season.

— Reported by Michael Wagaman of the Associated Press

Nuggets beat Thunder for 13th win in a row

Ty Lawson scored 25 points, Andre Miller had 20 points and nine assists and the Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-104 Tuesday night to win a 13th straight game for the first time since joining the NBA.

The Nuggets trailed by one at halftime but took control in the third quarter and never let Oklahoma City reclaim the lead. Denver moved within 3 1/2 games of the Thunder in the Northwest Division and became the first team this season to beat Oklahoma City three times.

It’s also a big win in the chase for home-court advantage in the playoffs for Denver, which is tied with Miami for the NBA’s best home record at 30-3.

Kevin Durant had 34 points and Russell Westbrook chipped in 25 for Oklahoma City, which lost at home for just the fifth time this season.

The Thunder gave up a season-worst 72 points in the paint – Denver’s specialty – as both teams struggled throughout the game from 3-point range. The Nuggets had 66 and 60 points in the lane in wins against Oklahoma City in Denver earlier this season.

Denver’s previous longest winning streak in the NBA was 12 straight games in 1982. The franchise won 15 in a row in the ABA.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Monta Ellis helps Bucks beat Blazers 102-95

The Milwaukee Bucks had to hold back a strong rally after pulling off one of their own two days earlier.

Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and Monta Ellis added 21 to help Milwaukee hang on for a 102-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.

Milwaukee rallied from an 11-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter Sunday against Orlando and went on to a 115-109 victory over the visiting Magic.

”That’s been our main concern,” said Ellis, who was hit hard on his left hand late in the game but said X-rays were negative. ”We just wanted to come out with a lot of energy. We didn’t want to play with this team and try to climb back like we had to do (Sunday). They made a run, which this is the NBA. But we were able to close the game out.”

Ellis added nine rebounds, eight assists, three steals and matched a career high with three blocks for Milwaukee, which outscored Portland 31-8 in the second quarter.

The Blazers finished with their fewest points in any period this season after shooting a woeful 2 for 20 from the field to go with six turnovers in the quarter. It was also the lowest total the Bucks gave up in any quarter…

Wesley Matthews hit a career high seven 3-pointers and scored 28 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost for the 10th time in their last 11 road games.

— Reported by David Boehler of the Associated Press

Pacers beat struggling Magic 95-73

Paul George scored 19 points and Tyler Hansbrough had 14 points and 14 rebounds, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 95-73 rout of the struggling Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.

The Pacers improved to 27-8 at home despite playing without second-leading scorer David West because of a sprained lower back.

Maurice Harkless and Arron Afflalo each had 10 points for the Magic, who lost their fourth straight on a night they shot just 31.8 percent from the field and coach Jacque Vaughn Jacque Vaughn was ejected in a flurry of four technical fouls with 4:47 left in the third quarter.

The Central Division-leading Pacers closed the first quarter on a 12-0 run to take a 19-12 lead, led 42-29 at the half, and 62-44 in the third quarter after the technicals. Orlando couldn’t get closer than 12 the rest of the way.

How miserable was it?

Indiana started the game by missing its first six 3-point attempts, but Orlando missed its final 11 shots in the first quarter and barely avoided matching the franchise’s all-time low scoring total in the first half – needing a tip-in with 29.1 seconds left in the second quarter to top the 27 points they scored at Houston on Jan. 24, 2005.

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

Suns beat banged-up Lakers 99-76

A worn-out Los Angeles Lakers team without Kobe Bryant fell apart in the fourth quarter in Phoenix.

Luis Scola scored all 14 of his points, including his second 3-pointer of the season, and grabbed eight of his nine rebounds in the fourth quarter Monday night and the Suns pulled away for a 99-76 rout of the Lakers, without Bryant for the second night in a row.

”I thought the game was kind of on the line,” Scola said, ”and I was just trying to be aggressive.”

Steve Nash scored 19 against his former team, but was just 6 of 17 from the field as the Lakers shot 33 percent for the game.

”We just hit the wall,” Nash said, ”our ninth game in 14 days in seven cities and you could just kind of see the wheels fall off. Especially lately, with some guys being injured, we’ve been playing a seven-man rotation and I think it caught up with us a little bit. Our legs just came undone.”

The Suns, blown out at Washington 127-105 two nights earlier, outscored the Lakers 28-10 in the fourth quarter to snap a four-game losing streak…

Dwight Howard had 16 points and 11 rebounds, but was just 6 of 18 from the field for the Lakers, still without injured Pau Gasol.

Wesley Johnson added 14 points for the Suns, who beat the Lakers in Phoenix for the fourth time in a row…

Goran Dragic had 12 points and 10 assists for the Suns, who had six players in double figures. Jared Dudley scored 13, Kendall Marshall 11 and Michael Beasley 10 for Phoenix.

— Reported by Bob Baum of the Associated Press

Bobcats win 119-114, end Wizards 3-game win streak

Although the Charlotte Bobcats have been eliminated from playoff contention, Kemba Walker believes the young team can still take something from the season’s final 16 games.

Most notably learning how to win close games like Monday night.

Gerald Henderson had 27 points and Walker came up with a flurry of big plays in the closing minutes helping the Bobcats overcome a five-point deficit and beat Washington 119-114 to snap the Wizards’ three-game win streak.

Walker scored nine of his 18 points in the final three minutes, sparking a 12-0 Charlotte run…

Walker shot 8 of 14 from the field and had seven assists.

Henderson, who came in averaging 22.5 points over his previous five games, was 8 of 16 from the field and 10 of 11 on free throws. He also tied a career high with eight assists and his 3-pointer with 55 seconds left ultimately sealed the victory.

Ben Gordon had 19 points and Josh McRoberts added 17 for Charlotte.

John Wall scored 25 points and Nene added 21 for the Wizards, who lost three of four games this season to the NBA-worst Bobcats. Emeka Okafor and Garrett Temple each had 17 points.

— Reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press

Chris Paul leads Clippers over banged-up Knicks

Without Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire, the New York Knicks are hardly a team that should present many problems for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Although the Clippers caused a few problems for themselves, they solved them in plenty of time to keep moving toward their franchise’s first Pacific Division title.

Chris Paul had 20 points and eight assists, Caron Butler added 14 points, and the Clippers beat the injury-depleted Knicks 93-80 Sunday in a meeting of division leaders.

Blake Griffin had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who shook off a turnover-plagued start and pulled away in the second half of their first home win since February 2009 over New York, silencing the cadre of taunting Knicks fans that invades Staples Center for each visit.

”We want them to be at full throttle with Melo and Tyson just for the competition of it,” said Chauncey Billups, who scored 12 points. ”When they’re not playing, it’s just human nature to have a subconscious letdown, but you have to find a way to just scrap through it.”

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press

Monta Ellis scores 39, Bucks beat Magic

Bucks coach Jim Boylan was hardly in the mood to celebrate even though his team came back from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Monta Ellis scored a season-high 39 points, including 25 in the fourth quarter, and Milwaukee rallied for a 115-109 over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.

Losers of three consecutive games coming into the matchup with the Magic, who own the second-worst record in the NBA, the Bucks trailed most of the way before Ellis took over in the fourth. He connected on all five of his 3-point attempts in the period, and his 25 points were the most by an NBA player in one quarter this season.

”Monta was pretty amazing there in the fourth quarter. I’m happy that we won the game, but I am really concerned with the way we are playing right now,” Boylan said. ”It’s not good enough. We need to play better. Right now we are not a very good team. You can’t rely on scoring 45 points in the fourth quarter in order to pull a game out at home.”

The Bucks, who hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, are looking to improve their position heading into the season’s final stretch.

— Reported by Rich Rovito of the Associated Press