The AP reports: O.J. Mayo and the Memphis Grizzlies used a quick start to put away the injury-depleted Houston Rockets. Rudy Gay scored 20 points, Mayo and Hakim Warrick had 18 points apiece, and The Grizzlies scored the first 10 points Monday night in a 109-97 win over the Rockets, who were without two of their top three scorers as Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest sat out with injuries… Kyle Lowry had 11 points and five assists, while Mike Conley and Marc Gasol each had 10 points. Gasol and Warrick had eight rebounds apiece for Memphis. Luis Scola had 16 points and 15 rebounds, and Rafer Alston had 16 points and eight assists for the Rockets. Von Wafer added 15 points, and Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks finished with 14 apiece. Carl Landry had 12 points.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Dec 8: Warriors 112, Thunder 102
The AP reports: Playing without two of their top scorers, Andris Biedrins had 17 points and 21 rebounds as the Warriors ended a nine-game skid with a 112-102 victory over the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night… Kevin Durant scored a season-high 41 and almost brought the Thunder all the way back from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit, but Oklahoma City ended up losing its fourth straight and dropping to 2-20. Stephen Jackson (20.1 points per game) and Corey Maggette (19.1) sat out with injuries but it didn’t slow the Warriors. Jamal Crawford scored 19 points, and Brandan Wright and Anthony Morrow each had 15 as Golden State (6-15) shot 50.6 percent from the field.
Dec 8: Heat 100, Bobcats 96
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 41 points, 10 in the final 8 1/2 minutes to lead the Heat back from a seven-point deficit for their fourth straight win—extending Miami’s longest streak since the 2006-07 season… Wade scored 41 points, 10 in the final 8 1/2 minutes to lead the Heat back from a seven-point deficit for their fourth straight win—extending Miami’s longest streak since the 2006-07 season… Mario Chalmers scored 15 points and Marion finished with 13 for Miami. Jason Richardson scored 24 for Charlotte, but missed two free throws that would have tied the game with 32.3 seconds remaining. Okafor added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Bobcats, who were without their second-leading-scorer Gerald Wallace, who was in Alabama to mourn the death of his grandmother.
Dec 7: Lakers 105, Bucks 92
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant had 20 points and a season-high eight assists, Derek Fisher added 19 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat Milwaukee 105-92 on Sunday, improving their record to 17-2 and equaling the best 19-game start in the franchise’s 61-year history… Andrew Bynum, who had a career-high 17 rebounds against the Bucks last Jan. 11, grabbed 14 boards and scored 14 points. Pau Gasol had 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Joe Alexander had a team-high 15 points for the Bucks, who have lost 15 of their last 17 against the Lakers in Los Angeles. Beleaguered coach Scott Skiles got only 18 points from his staring lineup, and the team shot a collective 38 percent from the field… Richard Jefferson, who averaged 22.2 points over his previous six games, scored three during a foul-plagued 9 minutes.
Dec 7: Celtics 122, Pacers 117 OT
The AP reports: Ray Allen scored a season-high 35 points, and the Boston Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 122-117 in overtime on Sunday to increase their winning streak to 12 games. Kevin Garnett had 17 points, 20 rebounds and five steals, Paul Pierce had 17 points and eight rebounds and Eddie House had 15 points for Boston (20-2). The Celtics are on their longest win streak since 1986, when they won 14 straight on their way to the NBA title. Marquis Daniels led Indiana with a season-high 26 points. Danny Granger scored 20 points, but shot just 7-of-22 from the field… Indiana G Mike Dunleavy remains out with a sore right knee. He has not played this season.
Dec 7: Blazers 98, Raptors 97
The AP reports: Steve Blake drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 8 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers spoiled Toronto coach Jay Triano’s home debut with a 98-97 victory over the Raptors. LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and Blake added 19 for Portland, which has won six of seven. Rudy Fernandez scored 16 points, Brandon Roy had 15 and Greg Oden had 10 points and 10 rebounds… Jermaine O’Neal scored a season-high 24 and blocked six shots and Bosh added 19 points, but it wasn’t enough to give Triano his first win as the Raptors lost their fourth straight game… Jose Calderon had 15 points and 13 assists, and reserves Joey Graham and Jason Kapono had 10 points each.
Dec 7: Knicks 104, Pistons 92
The AP reports: Chris Duhon had 25 points and nine assists, Quentin Richardson scored 23 points, and the New York Knicks blew most of a 29-point lead before holding off the Detroit Pistons 104-92 Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak… Al Harrington finished with 18 points and Wilson Chandler had 17 for the Knicks, who avoided their first four-game skid of the season. David Lee had 12 points and 19 rebounds as all but nine points came from New York’s starters… Tayshaun Prince had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who fell to 7-8 since Allen Iverson’s debut with the team. Iverson and Arron Afflalo each finished with 17 points for the Pistons, who are 11-2 on the other days of the week.
Dec 4: Spurs 108, Nuggets 91
The AP reports: Tony Parker scored 22 points, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili each added 21 and the San Antonio Spurs took advantage of a rare poor performance by Chauncey Billups since he arrived in Denver to whip the Nuggets 108-91 on Thursday night. The Nuggets had won 12 of 15 since acquiring Billups from Detroit in the Allen Iverson trade… In the first half, Billups scored just 3 points on 1-of-7 shooting and he doled out but a single assist. Billups scored nine points in the irrelevant fourth quarter to finish with 12. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 16, and J.R. Smith had 15 points and 10 boards off the bench. The Spurs shot 56 percent, racing out to a 61-41 halftime lead that put this one in the win column early—not a single time in their history have the Nuggets overcome a deficit of 20 or more points.
Dec 4: Mavs 112, Suns 97
The AP reports: Maybe it was facing buddy Steve Nash. Maybe it was having two point guards in the starting lineup. Maybe it was the way Phoenix kept switching defenders against him without ever finding a stopper. Something put Dirk Nowitzki into quite the scoring mood. Nowitzki scored 37 points in three quarters and wound up tying his season high of 39, and the Dallas Mavericks continued their recent surge with perhaps their best performance of the season in a 112-97 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night… “We haven’t found a rhythm or a good balance yet,” said Nash, who had 20 points and 10 assists without playing the fourth quarter… Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 28 points but got his fifth foul late in the third quarter and wasn’t a factor after that… Barea, who earned the start by hitting the winning shot in the final minute of the previous game, finished with a season-best 18 points. Terry scored 19, continuing his strong play off the bench to make up for the scoring punch lost by Josh Howard being out with an ankle injury. Dallas is 6-1 in the seven straight games he’s missed.
Dec 3: Heat 93, Jazz 89
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade overcame his headache and foul trouble while leading Miami to a 93-89 victory over the short-handed Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, getting the Heat back above .500 as they ended a five-game Western Conference road trip. “I was going to play. Anything I can do to help my guys and try to get a win,” said Wade, who had 23 points and five assists… The Jazz were missing a large chunk of their regular lineup and the Heat took advantage inside, outrebounding Utah 45-38 as injured forwards Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpring watched from Utah’s bench in suits. Udonis Haslem had 13 rebounds and Joel Anthony had four blocks for the Heat, who held off several runs by the Jazz and went 9-of-11 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to seal it… Paul Millsap led Utah with 20 points and 13 rebounds… Shawn Marion scored 15, Michael Beasley had 12 points and reserve Chris Quinn added six assists for Miami.