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Lakers center Dwight Howard scores 39 in Orlando

Dwight Howard scored a season-high 39 points, had 16 rebounds and was sent to the free throw line 39 times by his former team as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic, 106-97 on Tuesday night.

The victory came in Howard’s first return to Orlando since his drama-filled offseason trade to the Lakers. He endured a chorus of boos throughout, and tied his own NBA record for free throw attempts.

The majority of them came as the Magic tried to employ an intentional foul strategy. It backfired, though, as the All-Star center hit on 16 of 20 attempts in the second half.

The victory was the Lakers’ fourth straight.

Jameer Nelson led Orlando with 21 points. The Magic have lost three of their last four and haven’t won back-to-back games since December.

After a week of back-and-forth in the media following some perceived negative comments made about his former team during a television interview, Howard and Nelson spoke briefly just after the final buzzer and shook hands.

It was a light moment in what was mostly a hostile atmosphere.

Homemade signs jeering Howard with sentiments that said everything from ”Coward” to ”Kobe’s Kid” were sprinkled throughout the Amway Center stands.

Boos rained down on the All-Star center almost every time he touched the basketball. They were followed by louder cheers when he missed a free throw.

— Reported by Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press

Heat win 18th straight, beat Pacers 105-91

It’s not a LeBron James winning streak. It’s a Miami Heat winning streak.

If there was any confusion on that point, the reigning NBA champions might have cleared that up Sunday night.

Mario Chalmers scored 26 points, Chris Bosh added 24 and the Heat won their 18th straight game, easily topping the Indiana Pacers 105-91 – even with James scoring only a season-low 13, yet clearly helping control play with seven assists and six rebounds.

”That’s the thing about our team,” Chalmers said. ”We can click on all cylinders.”

The streak ties the seventh longest in NBA history, and is the league’s best since the Boston Celtics won 19 straight in November and December 2008.

”We just did what we’re supposed to do,” said Dwyane Wade, who added 23 points and six steals for Miami. ”Win at home.”

Ray Allen added 11 for Miami (47-14), which now has a victory over every NBA team this season. The Heat had been 0-2 against the Pacers…

David West scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half for the Pacers, who fell nine games behind Miami in the Eastern Conference standings. Roy Hibbert scored 15, D.J. Augustin had 14 and Paul George scored 10 for Indiana.

The Heat held a 27-15 edge in points off turnovers and finished the game shooting 56 percent compared with 41 percent by Indiana.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Clippers hand Pistons 5th straight defeat, 129-97

The Clippers had been talking in practice the last couple days about turning up their intensity.

DeAndre Jordan clearly got the message, slamming home a monster dunk in the second quarter of a 129-97 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night that had jaws dropping.

”That was the best dunk of the year and the best I’ve seen in person,” said no less an expert than Blake Griffin, who led seven players in double figures with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting in 21 minutes after early foul trouble.

The Clippers led by 26 points in the first half, building it with a 28-12 run that included two noteworthy dunks from the 6-foot-11 Jordan. The first one off Chris Paul’s alley-oop left Brandon Knight – who is 8 inches shorter – flat on his back with a foul…

Butler added 15 points before leaving in the third quarter with a left elbow contusion. Coach Vinny Del Negro said an X-ray was negative, and Butler will have a MRI on Monday. Matt Barnes added 16 points, Jordan finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, Willie Green had 11 points and Chauncey Billups 10 points.

The Clippers set season highs for points scored and shooting percentage (62) while leading the entire game. Their old high of 125 points came in a win over the Lakers last month…

Jose Calderon was one of five Pistons in double figures with 18 points as they lost their fifth in a row overall, fourth straight to the Clippers, and fell to 0-11 on the road against Western Conference opponents…

Clippers G Jamal Crawford missed his second straight game with a sore left ankle. He was shooting 60 percent and averaging 23.0 points in a four-game stretch before getting hurt. … The Clippers were without G Eric Bledsoe (sore left calf).

— Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press

Jameer Nelson scores 24, Magic beat Sixers 99-91

Injuries left Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson as a spectator in each of his team’s first two matchups this season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

In Round 3 the Pennsylvania native reminded the Sixers what his presence can bring to a game.

Nelson had 24 points and 10 assists, and Nik Vucevic added 14 points and 17 rebounds as the Magic held off the Sixers in the fourth quarter to secure a 99-91 victory on Sunday night.

The win ended the Magic’s seven-game home losing streak, their longest skid in Orlando since 2003-04. It also gives the Magic some momentum in advance of the Los Angeles Lakers’ visit Tuesday, which will be Dwight Howard’s first return to Orlando since he was traded this past summer…

Arron Afflalo and Tobias Harris added 17 and 15 points, respectively. The double-double was the 35th of the season for Vucevic, who was dealt to the Magic by Philadelphia as part of the multi-team Howard deal.

Thaddeus Young had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, followed by Damien Wilkins with 16 points in his first start of the season…

The Magic improved to 13-10 when leading after three quarters. … Young recorded his 16th double-double of the season. … The unit that opened the game for Philadelphia was its 13th starting lineup of the season. … Collins said the biggest change that he’s seen in Vucevic’s game since the Sixers dealt him to the Magic is as simple as him getting more playing time.

— Reported by Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press

Dwight Howard grabs 21 rebounds, Lakers beat Bulls 90-81

Dwight Howard scored 16 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, Kobe Bryant chipped in with 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 90-81 Sunday.

The Lakers improved to 33-31, the first time this season they have been two games over .500. They also moved one-half game of the Utah Jazz and into sole possession of the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Lakers led almost throughout, only briefly falling behind by two points in the second quarter, and led by as many as 18 in the third period.

Steve Nash had 16 points for the Lakers.

Nate Robinson led the Bulls with 19 points, and Joakim Noah had 18 points and 17 rebounds…

After a sluggish first half by both teams, the Lakers came out hot to start the third quarter. Led by 10 points from Nash, Los Angeles went on a 21-7 run to begin the quarter, capped by a 3-pointer by Jodie Meeks that gave the Lakers a 65-47 lead. But the Bulls responded with an 8-0 spurt to narrow their deficit to 65-55…

Bryant took only three shots in the first quarter, going scoreless in the opening 12 minutes. Metta World Peace was cold as well, missing four open 3-pointers, but the Lakers held an early lead thanks to Howard’s efforts down low. Though he missed all three free throws he took in the quarter, Howard was 3 of 3 from the field for six points and grabbed seven rebounds.

— Reported by Joe Haakenson of the Associated Press

Thunder grind out 91-79 win over Celtics

In a reunion with his former Boston teammates, Kendrick Perkins and the Oklahoma City Thunder got just the kind of victory he enjoys most.

Kevin Durant had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Russell Westbrook scored 15 points and Thunder beat the Celtics 91-79 on Sunday to stretch their winning streak to five games.

Boston was able to slow the Thunder from their best-in-the-NBA scoring pace of 107 points per game, but Oklahoma City’s lowest output since Jan. 13 was still enough to come out ahead in this one.

”I told the guys coming into this game that it’s going to be one of those low-scoring games, one of those nights that we have to grind out, so that’s what we did,” said Perkins, who won the 2008 NBA title with Boston. ”Every night, we can’t go out and expect to put up 100 points and the score to be 120-100. Some nights, it’s going to be like this.”

The Thunder limited Boston to 25 percent shooting in the second half after the Celtics shot 51 percent in the first. Boston dropped off to 33 percent in the third quarter and all the way down to 18 percent in the fourth, when the game got away…

Paul Pierce had 20 points to lead Boston, which had its own run of five straight wins broken. Kevin Garnett chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Celtics finished at 38 percent shooting for the game with 19 turnovers, more than four above their average, while falling to 14-5 since All-Star Rajon Rondo’s season-ending knee injury…

Martin added 12 points off the bench for Oklahoma City, which moved to 28-4 at home.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Wizards finally get win over Bobcats

The Washington Wizards are one of the few NBA teams who can actually call the Charlotte Bobcats a nemesis, and that’s nothing to brag about.

So the Wizards had no problem finding the motivation to become the latest team to beat up on the worst club in the league. They never trailed Saturday night in a 104-87 victory, Charlotte’s 10th straight loss.

”They beat us two times on the season,” said Nene, who scored 19 points, ”so we needed to step up.”

Trevor Ariza scored a season-high 26 points as Washington shot 50 percent against a team that hasn’t played very much competitive basketball lately. The Bobcats have been outscored by an average of 21.5 points during the 10-game skid.

But the Wizards had been 0-2 against the Bobcats, dropping both games back in November when Charlotte was actually toying with the idea of a respectable season. Washington has remained near the bottom of the league as well, sitting 13th in the 15-team Eastern Conference…

Kemba Walker scored 29 points for the Bobcats, who were done in by their 5-for-17 shooting from the field in the second quarter. Charlotte did manage to cut a 22-point, third-quarter deficit down to nine early in the fourth, but Ariza made a pair of 3-pointers to restore the Wizards’ comfortable lead.

— Reported by Joseph White of the Associated Press

Balanced Grizzlies beat Hornets 96-85

The Memphis Grizzlies keep returning from halftime and imposing their style on opponents.

With an emphasis on defense and pressure to increase the pace, Memphis again used a strong third quarter to beat the New Orleans Hornets 96-85 on Saturday night.

”I think our focus coming out of halftime, understanding what we need to adjust, then going out and executing it, has been phenomenal,” said guard Mike Conley, who led Memphis scorers with 22 points.

”We came in the locker room and said: ‘We have to do this, that and this,’ and we go out there and do it.”

Conley, who also had eight assists, led seven Memphis players in double figures as the Grizzlies won their fourth straight. Tony Allen had 14 points, while Tayshaun Prince and Quincy Pondexter scored 13 points apiece. Ed Davis had 12 points, nine rebounds and matched his career best with five blocks.

Davis, who came to Memphis in the three-team deal that sent Grizzlies leading scorer Rudy Gay to Toronto on Jan. 30, said he is becoming more comfortable in his new surroundings and that the Grizzlies’ defensive mindset allows him to roam more on defense.

— Reported by Clay Bailey of the Associated Press

With Melo and Stoudemire out, Knicks rout Jazz

J.R. Smith scored 24 points and the New York Knicks shook off the absence of Carmelo Anthony and the shock of Amare Stoudemire needing more knee surgery to rout the slumping Utah Jazz 113-84 on Saturday night.

The Knicks learned earlier Saturday that Stoudemire will have right knee surgery that will sideline him approximately six weeks. But they still have plenty of scoring off the bench, with Steve Novak adding a season-high 20 points.

Alec Burks scored 14 points and Gordon Hayward had 13 for the Jazz, who completed a 0-4 road trip that dropped them into a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Utah played without starting forward Paul Millsap because of right knee inflammation.

The Knicks bounced back from a 95-94 loss to Oklahoma City on Thursday to win for the sixth time in eight games, seizing control with an 18-2 run in the second quarter and taking a 32-point lead in the second half.

They played their third straight game without Anthony, their leading scorer who they said has a stiff and sore right knee.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Andray Blatche shoots 9-of-11, Nets beat Hawks 93-80

Brook Lopez and Andray Blatche each scored 18 points, Deron Williams added 17 and the Brooklyn Nets won their third straight game with a 93-80 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.

Al Horford finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks, who seemed lethargic after losing in overtime at Boston on Friday. Atlanta has lost two straight and five of six.

Brooklyn had a better performance coming off its 17-point home victory over Washington on Friday in which Williams set the NBA record with nine 3-pointers in a half and scored a season-high 42 points.

Lopez, who finished with nine rebounds, scored 14 points in the third, including a runner that gave Brooklyn its first 20-point lead.

The Nets took their first double-digit lead midway through the second quarter when Mirza Teletovic’s 3-pointer made it 39-29. It only got worse in the second half for Atlanta, which trailed by 23 early in the fourth on a couple of long jumpers by Blatche.

— Reported by George Henry of the Associated Press