The AP reports: Peja Stojakovic scored six points in the final minute—a clutch 3-pointer and three free throws—to lift New Orleans past the Orlando Magic 98-97, giving the Hornets their franchise-record 24th road win… Chris Paul had 19 points and 12 assists for the Hornets, Morris Peterson scored 19 points and David West had 18 points and 11 rebounds… Hedo Turkoglu had 26 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Orlando. Rashard Lewis added 24 points and Dwight Howard had 17 points and 15 rebounds… Orlando point guard Jameer Nelson missed his second straight game with a bruised jaw, and forward Brian Cook was out after breaking a finger Monday in practice.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Mar. 31: Mavs 93, Clippers 86
The AP reports: Jason Kidd scored 27 points, Josh Howard got 12 of his 25 in the fourth quarter, and the Dallas Mavericks held off the banged-up but stubborn Los Angeles Clippers 93-86 Monday night to complete a sweep of the four-game season series… Jason Terry had 20 points for Dallas, playing its fourth game since reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki went down with knee and ankle injuries… Forward Jerry Stackhouse, whose buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave the Mavs a 95-94 win over the Clippers the last time they played them at Staples Center on Jan. 12, missed his second game with strained right groin. Rookie Al Thornton scored 26 points for the Clippers, who trailed throughout. They shot 36.8 percent and committed 23 turnovers against a Dallas defense that came in forcing a league-low 12.3 turnovers per game. Leading scorer Corey Maggette scored 23 points and was just 3-for-15 from the field.
Mar. 31: Suns 132, Nuggets 117
The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 41 points and Steve Nash had 36, and the Phoenix Suns rallied from a 22-point second-quarter deficit to overcome the Denver Nuggets 132-117 Monday night for their 50th victory of the season. In reaching at least 50 wins for the fourth straight season, the Suns tied the idle Los Angeles Lakers for first place in the Pacific Division and strengthened their position in the tight Western Conference playoff race. The comeback matched the third-best in Suns’ history… Stoudemire also had 14 rebounds, while Shaquille O’Neal had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Raja Bell had 15 points and 10 rebounds. J.R. Smith led the Nuggets with 23 points, Allen Iverson scored 21, Kenyon Martin 19, Carmelo Anthony finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Marcus Camby scored 16.
Mar. 31: Jazz 129, Wizards 87
The AP reports: C.J. Miles scored a career-high 29 points and the Utah Jazz set a team record with 15 3-pointers in a 129-87 rout of the short-handed Washington Wizards on Monday night. Deron Williams had 12 points and 16 assists, despite resting most of the fourth quarter, and Mehmet Okur returned from a stomach virus with 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Carlos Boozer added 19 points and Kyle Korver scored 15, making all six of his shots. Utah outrebounded Washington 40-23, had 40 assists on 50 field goals and shot almost 60 percent (50-for-84)… They were also resting Caron Butler’s strained left hamstring instead of playing him back-to-back nights. Antawn Jamison led Washington with 22 points.
Mar. 31: Hawks 116, Grizzlies 99
The AP reports: Josh Smith had 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Atlanta Hawks built an early lead before and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 116-99 on Monday night. Atlanta led by 38 in the third quarter and seemed to be coasting to the victory. However, Memphis opened the fourth with 13 consecutive points, part of a 23-4 run that made the game more interesting, and forced Atlanta to put its starters back in the game… Al Horford and Joe Johnson scored 19 points apiece for Atlanta, and Mike Bibby had 17, Josh Childress 14 and Marvin Williams 12. Johnson also had eight assists and Bibby seven. Smith shot 11-of-13 from the field, part of Atlanta’s 56 percent effort on the night. Rudy Gay led Memphis with 29 points, while Juan Carlos Navarro and Kyle Lowry finished with 17 each.
Mar. 31: Pacers 105, Heat 85
The AP reports: Jermaine O’Neal scored nine points after sitting out for more than two months with a knee injury, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Miami Heat 105-85 on Monday night. O’Neal shot 3-for-4 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line in 18 minutes. He had missed 33 straight games with a bone bruise, and the Pacers went 12-21 during that stretch. Danny Granger led Indiana with 23 points and Mike Dunleavy added 18 as the Pacers won their second straight and their sixth of eight to remain contenders for an Eastern Conference playoff spot. Indiana entered the game three games behind Atlanta for eighth place in the East. Daequan Cook led Miami with 16 points and Kasib Powell and Chris Quinn both scored 15.
Mar. 31: Raptors 104, Bobcats 100
The AP reports: Chris Bosh scored 32 points and the Toronto Raptors remained alone in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a 104-100 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night. Bosh hit 13 of 16 free throws and added eight rebounds and five assists for the Raptors, who won for the third time in four games to pull a game ahead of idle Philadelphia in the playoff race… Anthony Parker added 20 points and T.J. Ford added 15, including the clinching free throw with 1.9 seconds left for the Raptors, who bounced back from a home loss to New Orleans on Sunday. Jason Richardson scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half, Gerald Wallace scored 20 points and Emeka Okafor had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Bobcats, whose faint playoff hopes took a hit.
Mar. 30: Lakers 126, Wizards 120 OT
For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant (just 7-of-24) had 26 points and 13 assists, Sasha Vujacuc (6-of-9, including 6-of-8 three-pointers) had 20, Vladimir Radmanovic (7-of-11, including 4-of-7 threes) had 18, and Derek Fisher (6-of-12, including 3-of-6 threes) scored 17.
For the Wizards, DeShawn Stevenson (9-of-15, including 8-of-12 three-pointers) had 27, Nick Young (10-of-16, including 3-of-4 threes) had 27, Caron Butler (6-of-17) had an awesome 17 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 steals, and Antawn Jamison (6-of-15) had 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. The two teams combined for 31-of-57 from three-point range.
Mar. 30: Warriors 114, Mavs 104
The AP reports: Monta Ellis scored 30 points and Kelenna Azubuike hit two clutch shots down the stretch to help the Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-104 Sunday night to create a three-way tie for seventh place in the ultracompetitive Western Conference… Baron Davis added 21 points, Stephen Jackson had 16 and Andris Biedrins had 16 points and 14 rebounds. Azubuike scored 15 off the bench a day after Davis and Jackson called for more help from the reserves. Josh Howard scored 36 to lead Dallas in his third straight 30-point game since Nowitzki went down with the injury. Brandon Bass added 21 off the bench, while Kidd had 13 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds.
Mar. 30: Kings 120, Sonics 107
For the Kings, Kevin Martin (11-of-19) had 31 points, Ron Artest (12-of-23) had 29 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks, and Francisco Garcia (8-of-14) had 21 points and 5 rebounds. For the Sonics, Kevin Durant (10-of-18) had 25 points, Jeff Green (9-of-16) had 21 (but a few too many turnovers), Earl Watson (9-of-15) had 20 points and 12 assists, and Damien Wilkins (7-of-15) had 18. The Kings shot 55.1% from the field, and had 28-of-32 free throws, compared to just 11-of-15 free throws for the Sonics.