The AP reports: Kevin Garnett scored twice before Miami made a basket, and the Boston Celtics held the Heat to an NBA-record low 17 field goals, coasting to an 88-62 victory Sunday. The matchup of the NBA’s best team and its worst was even more lopsided than anticipated. Boston was up 27-4 after 10 minutes and Celtics coach Doc Rivers started subbing for his starters just 7:10 into the game. Boston’s backups finished the first quarter, handled most of the second and all of the fourth as no starter played more than 25 minutes. Leon Powe had 17 points and 13 rebounds for Boston, and Garnett finished with 12 points, five assists and eight rebounds in 21 minutes. Ricky Davis had 14 points and six rebounds and Chris Quinn had scored 14 with eight assists for the Heat (13-60), who lost their third straight and sixth out of seven as they solidify their hold on the worst record in the NBA. Miami coach Pat Riley skipped his fourth game to resume his college scouting tour, and assistant Ron Rothstein ran the bench.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Mar. 30: Cavs 91, Sixers 88
The AP reports: LeBron James made a twisting bank shot with 19.3 seconds left to put Cleveland ahead to stay and the Cavaliers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 91-88 on Sunday night. James, who finished with 26 points, took the ball at the top of the key, drove through the lane and put Cleveland up 90-88. After a Philadelphia miss, Cleveland forward Joe Smith was fouled and made one free throw. Andre Iguodala, who led the 76ers with 19 points, missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Trailing 86-82, Cavaliers guard Delonte West hit two 3-pointers to tie the game at 88 with 1:13 to play. West finished with 18 points. James, who made 4-of-17 shots in Saturday’s loss to Detroit, was 11-of-18 from the field with nine rebounds and nine assists.
Mar. 30: Hornets 118, Raptors 111
The AP reports: David West scored 32 points and Chris Paul had 20 points and 16 assists to lead the New Orleans Hornets to a 118-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. Peja Stojakovic scored 25 and Tyson Chandler had 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Hornets bounced back from a 20-point loss in Boston on Friday night to win for the sixth time in seven games. The Hornets reached 50 wins for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Chris Bosh scored 21 points and Carlos Delfino added 18 as Toronto’s modest two-game winning streak came to an end. Rasho Nesterovic had 14 and Jamario Moon added 13 for the Raptors, who have lost seven of 10.
Mar. 30: Hawks 114, Knicks 109
The AP reports: Marvin Williams scored 27 points and Joe Johnson had 23 to help the Atlanta Hawks win their third straight, 114-109 over the New York Knicks on Sunday… Jamal Crawford led the Knicks with 39 points—19 coming in the third quarter—but he was just 2-for-5 from the field in the fourth before his meaningless layup ended the scoring… Johnson, who had a season-high 13 assists, caught Al Horford’s pass from the right wing and laid in a short turnaround for a 105-94 lead with 3:42 remaining… David Lee finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Mar. 30: Wolves 110, Jazz 103
The AP reports: Al Jefferson had 22 points and eight rebounds and Rashad McCants scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half of Minnesota’s 110-103 victory Sunday over a Utah team that just can’t seem to win on the road. Corey Brewer tied a career high with 16 points and had seven rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have now beaten the Jazz at home twice this season, losses that are inexcusable for a team that hopes to contend for the Western Conference crown. Carlos Boozer had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the short-handed Jazz, who are nearly unbeatable at home but just 16-22 on the road this year… Deron Williams had 15 points and 13 assists, but was pretty quiet from a scoring standpoint after getting seven points in the first 5 minutes.
Mar. 30: Spurs 109, Rockets 88
The AP reports: Michael Finley scored 22 points on Sunday and the Spurs picked up their seventh straight win with an easy 109-88 victory over the Houston Rockets… Tony Parker added another 22 points and Tim Duncan had 13 for the Spurs, who have 51 wins—the most in the tightly packed Western Conference. The Rockets aren’t far behind… Luis Scola scored a season-high 24 points for the Rockets. Tracy McGrady— most often matched up against Spurs top defender Bruce Bowen—and Rafer Alston each had 13 points after shooting a combined 9-for-38… Luther Head scored 10 points for the Rockets. Manu Ginobili scored 14 for the Spurs and Kurt Thomas added 10.
Mar. 29: Clippers 110, Grizzlies 97
The AP reports: Rookie Al Thornton scored 20 of his career-high 39 points in the fourth quarter, Corey Maggette added 26, and the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a season-worst 10-game losing streak with a 110-97 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. Chris Kaman had 10 points and 15 rebounds for the Clippers, who won for only the third time in 19 games after consecutive home victories over Memphis and Utah. Among the numerous Clippers sidelined by injuries were Tim Thomas (sore Achilles’) and Quinton Ross (sore left foot). Brevin Knight had 14 points and 11 assists. It was only the second double-digit assist game by the Clippers, who have used seven players at the point guard spot this season because of Shaun Livingston’s yearlong rehab from knee surgery. Knight had 12 assists on Feb. 29 in a 110-104 loss at Denver. Rudy Gay had 23 points and Kyle Lowry added 20 off the bench for the Grizzlies, who are 6-23 since beating the Clippers in overtime at home on Jan. 26.
Mar. 29: Bobcats 93, Blazers 85
The AP reports: Emeka Okafor scored 21 points and Jason Richardson added 20 for the Bobcats in a 93-85 victory over the Blazers on Saturday night. The Bobcats broke open the back-and-forth game in the final 2 minutes, and won despite being outrebounded 57-32 by the Blazers. “We got out rebounded and we still won so that shows a lot for our team,” said Raymond Felton, who added 18 points. Travis Outlaw tied a season-high with 26 points to lead Portland, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 13 rebounds for his team-leading 15th double-double of the season.
Mar. 29: Nuggets 119, Warriors 112
The AP reports: Allen Iverson’s 4-for-20 performance hardly mattered thanks to Kenyon Martin, who scored a season-high 30 points, leading the Denver Nuggets past the Warriors in the wild, wild Western Conference playoff race with a 119-112 win Saturday night… So did Carmelo Anthony, who hit 11-of-16 shots for 25 points, and a trio of reserves whose third-quarter play keyed the victory: J.R. Smith (20 points, seven assists), Eduardo Najera (11 points, 7 rebounds) and Linas Kleiza (8 points)… Martin’s biggest bucket was a buzzer beater from the left corner that made it 115-110 with 1:11 remaining, and Baron Davis, who led the Warriors with 28 points, misfired twice on 3-pointers in the final minute. Stephen Jackson added 25 points for Golden State, Monta Ellis had 22 and Andris Biedrins 17 points and 17 rebounds.
Mar. 29: Bulls 114, Bucks 111
The AP reports: Joakim Noah had a season-high 18 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks to lead the Bulls to a 114-111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night after nearly squandering a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Bulls couldn’t hold an 18-point lead earlier in the month at home against the 76ers and dropped a game to the Wizards after leading by 20 points in the second half… Larry Hughes scored 19 points and Luol Deng added 16 to help the Bulls win for just the fourth time in 12 games. Chicago pulled 3 1/2 games behind eighth-place Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Michael Redd scored 33 points to lead the Bucks, who lost for the 12 time in 14 games in March. Charlie Villanueva scored 15 of this 26 points in the third quarter, and Mo Williams added 13 points for Milwaukee.