The AP reports: LeBron James got plenty of help on offense, then sealed the victory with a spectacular play on defense. James scored 27 points, Anderson Varejao added 10 of his career-high 18 in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied to beat the Indiana Pacers 111-107 on Friday night… Mo Williams, a key offseason acquisition from Milwaukee, finished with 21 points for Cleveland, which trailed throughout most of the first three periods, then scored 40 points in the fourth quarter. Danny Granger tied his season high with 33 points for Indiana. He scored 21 in the first half… Pacers rookie center Roy Hibbert had 11 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes, but fouled out with 9:08 to play. Marquis Daniels added 17.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Nov 7: Bobcats 92, Hornets 89
The AP reports: D.J. Augustin, the ninth pick in the draft and for now Felton’s backup, spearheaded Charlotte’s comeback Friday night, keying a fourth-quarter rally as the Bobcats spoiled Paul’s homecoming in a 92-89 victory over the New Orleans Hornets… Felton and Jason Richardson scored 20 points apiece for the Bobcats, who made 29 of 31 free throws and got a big contribution from the bench. Morrison was 3-of-5 on 3-pointers and scored nine points, getting feeds from Augustin… Chris Paul, who grew up 90 minutes away and bought 500 tickets for friends and family, recovered from a scoreless first half to have 20 points, 10 assists and six steals.
Nov 7: Knicks 114, Wizards 108
The AP reports: Jamal Crawford led new coach Mike D’Antoni’s never-take-a-breath attack with 23 points, and the Knicks spread the wealth with five players in double figures and 51 percent shooting Friday night in a 114-108 victory over the Wizards. “It’s fun,” said Chris Duhon, who had 12 assists and no turnovers… Zach Randolph added 22 points and 13 rebounds, Wilson Chandler and Nate Robinson each scored 17 points, and David Lee had 13 points for the Knicks, who also had 3-pointers from seven players—by halftime… Caron Butler scored 30 points, and Antawn Jamison had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, whose 0-4 record prompts eerie flashbacks to last season’s 0-5 start.
Nov 6: Blazers 101, Rockets 99 OT
The AP reports: Brandon Roy made a 30-foot jumper as time expired in overtime to lift the Portland Trail Blazers to a thrilling 101-99 win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night. LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers, who snapped a five-game losing streak to the Rockets in a game that featured three dramatic shots in the final 1.9 seconds. Roy first hit a turnaround 21-footer that put the Blazers up 98-96 and sent a sold-out Rose Garden into a frenzy. But Yao Ming scored and drew a foul against Roy on the other end with 0.8 seconds left, then made the free throw to give Houston the lead. Portland called timeout and the inbounds play went to Roy, who swished the winner to send a charge through the delirious crowd.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: For Portland, Aldridge had 27 and 9 plus 3 blocks. Brandon Roy (just 6-of-18) had 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists (but 5 turnovers). Rudy Fernandez (5-of-9, 3-of-5 three-pointers) scored 15 off the bench. Travis Outlaw (5-of-12) had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks off the bench. Steve Blake had 8 points and 8 assists. For Houston, Tracy McGrady (11-of-23) had 30 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. Luis Scola (7-of-10) had 14 points and 4 rebounds. Aaron Brooks (5-of-9) scored 14 off the bench. Yao Ming (4-of-13) had just 13 points and 6 rebounds. Ron Artest had a mere 10 points and 4 assists.
Nov 6: Magic 98, Sixers 88
The AP reports: Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis scored 20 points apiece and the Orlando Magic overcame Dwight Howard’s foul trouble to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 98-88 on Thursday night. With All-Star center Howard limited to only four minutes in the first half, the Magic got strong performances from Tony Battie and Lewis, who picked up the rebounding slack as Orlando won its third straight game. Thaddeus Young scored 19 points for Philadelphia, which placed four players in double figures. The Sixers cut a 23-point deficit to six in the fourth quarter but couldn’t draw closer… Jameer Nelson had a season-high 16 points for Orlando, and Howard scored seven of his 14 points in the fourth.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Magic shot 45.1%, the Sixers just 37.9%. The Magic also got double the free throw attempts, though bricked a lot from the line. The Magic only committed 10 turnovers. Nelson had 16 points and 9 assists. Dalembert had 10 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Elton Brand had just 6 points on bad shooting, and 12 rebounds. Iguodala had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists, but 5 turnovers.
Nov 5: Warriors 111, Nuggets 101
The AP reports: Stephen Jackson had 29 points and seven assists and Golden State overcame a poor first quarter and some sloppy second-half play to beat the Denver Nuggets 111-101 on Wednesday night… Carmelo Anthony had 28 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Nuggets, who couldn’t do enough on offense without departed playmaker Allen Iverson despite jumping out to a quick 17-4 lead behind seven points from Dahntay Jones… Nene added 19 points and 15 rebounds in Denver’s first game since dealing Iverson to Detroit on Monday for Chauncey Billups… Kelenna Azubuike added 22 points and eight rebounds off the bench and reserve Brandan Wright scored 14 of his career-high 18 points in the first half to keep Golden State close. He also had a career-best 13 rebounds and three blocks. The Warriors were within 59-58 at the break.
Nov 5: Lakers 106, Clippers 88
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, and the Lakers used a late 22-0 run to beat the Clippers 106-88 Wednesday night, giving them six straight wins over their crosstown rivals… The Lakers shot 7-of-16 in the fourth quarter, but went 17-of-22 from the foul line in outscoring the Clippers 34-20. The Clippers were 8-of-23 in the final 12 minutes and shot 38.9 percent overall… Lamar Odom had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers (4-0); Derek Fisher scored 13 points, Vladimir Radmanovic added 11, Ariza had 10, and Andrew Bynum had nine points, 17 rebounds to match a career high and four blocked shots… Al Thornton led the Clippers (0-5) with 22 points. Tim Thomas added 18 points and 11 rebounds and Baron Davis had 17 points and seven assists.
Nov 5: Kings 100, Grizzlies 95
The AP reports: Kevin Martin scored 33 points and John Salmons had 21 points and nine rebounds in the Sacramento Kings’ first victory of the season, 100-95 over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night in the NBA’s final home opener. Spencer Hawes had 13 points before fouling out for Sacramento, which opened the season by losing at every stop on a difficult four-game trip… O.J. Mayo scored 28 points and hit six 3-pointers for the Grizzlies, who opened a four-game West Coast trip with the best performance of the No. 3 overall draft pick’s short NBA career… Rudy Gay had 18 points for Memphis, and Kyle Lowry added 14 points and seven assists.
Nov 5: Jazz 103, Blazers 96
The AP reports: Brevin Knight, who joined the Jazz in the offseason, played the final 15 minutes and engineered a comeback that pushed Utah past the Portland Trail Blazers 103-96 on Wednesday night… Mehmut Okur scored 22 points and Carlos Boozer added 20—including four in the final 30 seconds—for the Jazz… Brandon Roy, who had 18 points for Portland, sliced Utah’s lead to one at 97-96 on a drive down the lane in the final minute. Andrei Kirilenko found Boozer for a layup with 29.2 seconds left to reclaim the three-point advantage… LaMarcus Aldridge also had 18 points for Portland.
Nov 5: Celtics 96, Thunder 83
The AP reports: Paul Pierce had 20 points and nine rebounds, Ray Allen scored 18 points and the defending NBA champions clamped down on Oklahoma City after the Thunder’s fast start to run away with a 96-83 victory Wednesday night… Kevin Garnett added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Perkins had 10 points and nine rebounds. Allen also had nine rebounds as four of Boston’s starting five had eight or more. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 17 points, but had another poor shooting night in his team’s new gym. He went only 6-for-15 and is 18-for-50 this season at the Ford Center. Jeff Green added 14 points for Oklahoma City, and Russell Westbrook finished with 13 after two late 3-pointers.