The AP reports: Reserve point guard Travis Diener scored 15 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and the Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 105-97 Sunday night. Diener, who averages seven points per game, made five of six 3-pointers in the final period. “It was big time for us,” said Danny Granger, who led the Pacers with 27 points… The Pacers shot 5-for-23 shooting in the third quarter, but 13-for-21 in the fourth quarter to overcome a 10-point deficit… Mike Dunleavy had 17 points and seven assists and Jeff Foster had a season-high 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won eight of 11. Redd led Milwaukee with 24 points and Charlie Villanueva added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Bucks, who have lost six of eight. Bucks point guard Mo Williams sat out with an abdominal injury.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Apr. 6: Mavs 105, Suns 98
The AP reports: Dirk Nowitzki scored 32 points and the Mavericks rallied from a 13 points down early in the fourth to stun the Phoenix Suns 105-98 on Sunday. Dallas outscored Phoenix 27-9 in the fourth quarter for the kind of gutsy victory against a strong opponent the Mavericks had sought since the trade that brought Kidd from New Jersey… Josh Howard added 24 points and Brandon Bass 19 for the Mavericks, who used a smothering defense in a 16-0 run that put them ahead for good in a game the Suns had led nearly throughout. Phoenix went scoreless for just under 8 minutes, missing 12 shots in the process… Amare Stoudemire had 31 points for the Suns but missed three of four free throws down the stretch. Nash had 14 points and 10 assists, but shot only 4-of-17 from the field.
Apr. 6: Hornets 108, Warriors 96
The AP reports: Chris Paul had 16 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds and New Orleans tied a franchise record for single-season victories with 54 in a 108-96 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday… Peja Stojakovic and David West each scored 25 points, helping New Orleans close the game on an 18-6 run after Golden State had rallied to tie the game at 90 early in the fourth quarter… Monta Ellis had 35 points and 10 rebounds to keep the Warriors close late into the final period, which Warriors coach Don Nelson called “a bright spot in kind of a gloomy game.” … Baron Davis and Andris Biedrins each scored 17 points and Biedrins also had 15 rebounds for Golden State (46-31), which has lost three of four games and will need a strong finish to earn a playoff berth.
Apr. 5: Kings 118, Nuggets 115
The AP reports: Kevin Martin scored 36 points despite missing Sacramento’s shootaround with the stomach flu and the Kings capitalized on Kenyon Martin’s one-game suspension by getting 29 points from Francisco Garcia and 23 from Mikki Moore… The Kings, out of playoff contention and missing Ron Artest (thumb) and Brad Miller (leg), won their fourth straight game and snapped Denver’s nine-game home winning streak. They took advantage of sloppy play and silly mistakes by the Nuggets, who got 47 points from Carmelo Anthony, two shy of his career high… Linas Kleiza started in place of Kenyon Martin and scored 28 points, 21 in the first 18 minutes, helping Denver take a 41-32 lead.
Apr. 5: Wizards 99, Bulls 87
The AP reports: Having a healthy Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas would help, but the Wizards will take what they got on Saturday night—a career-high 25 points from Brendan Haywood, 18 from Butler and a 99-87 victory over the Chicago Bulls… The Bulls got 18 points from Ben Gordon and 16 from Larry Hughes, but it wasn’t enough to beat a team that was missing two of its best players. Jamison, averaging a team-leading 21.5 points and 10.2 rebounds, was injured late in Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee. He missed his first game of the season on Friday when the Wizards beat Miami to clinch their fourth consecutive playoff berth.
Apr. 5: Nets 99, Raptors 90
The AP reports: A day after the ankle prevented him from playing against Detroit, Vince Carter returned to the lineup and scored 32 points to lead the Nets to a 99-90 victory over the struggling Toronto Raptors on Saturday night… Richard Jefferson added 28 points and Devin Harris had 12 points and seven assists as the Nets won for only the fourth time in 11 games… Rasho Nesterovic had 22 points and 14 rebounds to lead the playoff-bound Raptors, who lost their third straight and 11th in 15 games. Chris Bosh added 18 points for Toronto, which had all five starters score in double figures. The bench contributed 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting… Carter, who also added seven rebounds and five assists, then took over.
Apr. 5: Celtics 101, Bobcats 78
The AP reports: Doc Rivers accomplished it all Saturday night: resting his stars and continuing the Boston Celtics’ record-breaking return to prominence. Leon Powe had 22 points and nine rebounds, leading a makeshift lineup of Celtics who were never threatened in a 101-78 win over the Charlotte Bobcats that not only clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, but set the NBA record for biggest single-season turnaround… Powe dominated the inside and James Posey added a season-high 19 points for the Celtics, who improved to 61-15… Emeka Okafor had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Bobcats, who had won in Boston and lost at home to the Celtics on Ray Allen’s buzzer-beater.
Apr. 5: Hawks 92, Sixers 85
The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 22 points, Josh Smith added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and the Hawks built a big lead and held off the Philadelphia 76ers 92-85 on Saturday night. Marvin Williams contributed 18 points, Al Horford had 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Mike Bibby had 10 points for the Hawks (36-41), who responded after losing to the Sixers 109-104 on Friday in Atlanta… Andre Iguodala scored 25 points for Philadelphia, which had clinched a playoff berth for the first time in three years with Friday’s win. Andre Miller added 18, Lou Williams and Rodney Carney had 13 apiece and Samuel Dalembert had 10 rebounds for the 76ers (39-38), who had their two-game winning streak snapped. Still, they have won 21 of their last 29 games.
Apr. 5: Magic 101, Cavs 86
The AP reports: Hedo Turkoglu scored 23 points, Rashard Lewis added 21 and the Magic, one of this season’s biggest surprises, locked up the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 playoff seed Saturday with a 101-86 win over the staggering Cleveland Cavaliers. The Magic, who have sat behind Boston and Detroit in the standings for much of the season, won despite getting only four points on 1-of-8 shooting from All-Star center Dwight Howard—17 below his average. Orlando’s defense, though, was the difference… Howard had 12 rebounds, Jameer Nelson had 16 points and 9 assists and reserve Pat Garrity had 13 points for the Magic (48-28), who won 40 games last season and are now two victories from their first 50-win season since 1995-96— when they lost in the conference finals… Delonte West scored 19 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas 18 for Cleveland, which has dropped five of seven and is staggering toward the regular-season finish line.
Apr. 4: Lakers 112, Mavs 108
The AP reports: Lamar Odom scored a season-high 31 points against a subpar Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant added 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Pacific Division-leading Lakers put a crimp in the Dallas Mavericks’ postseason push with a 112-108 victory on Friday night… Pau Gasol had 25 points and seven assists for Los Angeles, and Odom grabbed 10 rebounds. It was the sixth time this season that the Lakers have had three players with 20 or more points—all victories… Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs with 27 points, Jason Terry scored 25 and Josh Howard added 23. Jason Kidd had 10 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. This was the Mavericks’ 10th loss that was decided by four points or less.