Games – Page 32 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Pau Gasol helps Lakers hold on to beat Pistons 98-97

In a season full of turmoil and frustration, this would have been a particularly exasperating loss for the Los Angeles Lakers.

One of the most accurate free throw shooters in NBA history had missed two, giving the Detroit Pistons one more chance at a game-winning shot. Kyle Singler lobbed the ball toward the basket, and rookie Andre Drummond stretched his 6-foot-11 frame and tried a one-handed dunk with Pau Gasol defending.

No good. The Lakers held on for a 98-97 victory.

”Every game is like a playoff game for us right now,” Los Angeles coach Mike D’Antoni said. ”And some crazy things happen in playoff games.”

Gasol had 23 points and 10 rebounds and was the last line of defense on Detroit’s final alley-oop attempt Sunday. The Lakers blew an 18-point third-quarter lead but overcame their late free throw struggles to win for the fifth time in six games.

Los Angeles has won two in a row without Dwight Howard. The All-Star center sat out again with a right shoulder problem…

Detroit was still without guard Jose Calderon, who the Pistons acquired from Toronto on Wednesday. The Spanish-born Calderon has not been available to play because of unresolved visa issues.

The Lakers trail eighth-place Houston by 3 1/2 games in the Western Conference playoff race. Bryant scored 18 points but shot poorly from the perimeter. After an airball with the score tied at 95, he decided to drive to the basket the next time down. Bryant muscled through a foul and scored a basket that was counted on a continuation call…

Bynum had 18 points and 10 assists for the Pistons, and Greg Monroe added 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Clark had 17 points for Los Angeles. Nash had 11 points and 10 assists…

Bryant had five assists, snapping his streak of five straight games with at least eight.

— Reported by Noah Trister of the Associated Press

Celtics streaking without Rondo, top Clippers 106-104

The Celtics keep rolling without Rajon Rondo.

Not even a late comeback by one of the NBA’s best teams could keep Boston from beating the Los Angeles Clippers 106-104 on Sunday and improve to 4-0 since a knee injury ended their star point guard’s season.

”A lot of people say that we don’t have a chance to go to the playoffs, we can’t do this, we can’t do that,” starting guard Avery Bradley said. ”We know we have each other and we’re going to go out there and fight for each other, no matter what, every single night.”

The Clippers played without their own brilliant point guard. Chris Paul missed his seventh straight game with a bruised right knee cap.

But they cut a 98-83 deficit to 103-101 on a 3-pointer by Eric Bledsoe with 56 seconds remaining. Then Bradley drew an offensive foul on Los Angeles’ Jamal Crawford with 26 seconds to go.

Paul Pierce then held on to the ball – and was surprised that the Clippers didn’t foul him – before making a 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left to clinch the win and finish with a team-high 22 points…

Jeff Green and Leandro Barbosa scored 14 points each for the Celtics and led a 52-point contribution from the bench. The Clippers were led by Bledsoe, replacing Paul, and Crawford, who made a 3-pointer at the buzzer, with 23 points each. Blake Griffin had 20 points and 11 rebounds…

Backup Celtics C Jason Collins, playing more because of Sullinger’s absence, had a season-high seven points. … Barnes returned for the Clippers after a one-game suspension for striking Minnesota’s Greg Stiemsma on Wednesday.

— Reported by Howard Ulman of the Associated Press

Stephen Curry scores 29, Warriors beat Suns

Stephen Curry started campaigning early, sending several signals out to coach Mark Jackson for playing time.

”He was ignoring me, turning his back on me and giving me that look my kids give me when they want something special for Christmas,” Jackson said. ”He wanted badly to be out on the floor.”

Curry returned after missing two games with an ankle injury and scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half, helping the Golden State Warriors beat the Phoenix Suns 113-93 on Saturday night.

”I’ve been through that same conversation with him three times,” Curry said of Jackson. ”I put up a good fight today. I was 0 for 2 before that. It was not really a pain issue but a swelling issue. I gave it all day to lessen and then conferred with the trainers to get the OK.” …

Harrison Barnes matched his season high with 21 points for the Warriors, who have won four straight and seven of nine overall. David Lee had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Klay Thompson added 17 points and Andrew Bogut finished with 11…

Curry, who twisted his right ankle in the third quarter of Monday night’s win over Toronto, was 6 for 10 from 3-point range as Golden State beat Phoenix for the fourth straight time…

The Warriors recorded a season-high 34 assists and had four players – Curry, Lee, Thompson and Jarrett Jack – with at least seven for the first time in franchise history and the first time in the NBA since Nov. 24, 2006, when the Denver Nuggets did it against the Warriors.

Michael Beasley scored 24 points for the Suns, who have dropped four of five. Jared Dudley added 16 points, Goran Dragic scored 13 and Luis Scola had 14 rebounds.

— Reported by Rick Eymer of the Associated Press

James Harden gets triple-double as Rockets beat Bobcats

James Harden never had a game like this, and he never saw a player hurt the way Charlotte’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was on Saturday night.

Harden had 21 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his first career triple-double in the Rockets’ 109-95 win over the Bobcats on Saturday night.

The Rockets broke open a close game in the fourth quarter, after Kidd-Gilchrist collided with teammate Jeff Taylor and left the court on a stretcher. Kidd-Gilchrist, the second overall pick in last year’s draft out of Kentucky, was fitted with a neck brace and taken to the hospital for X-rays.

The team said late Saturday night that Kidd-Gilchrist would be hospitalized overnight with a concussion. The X-rays and a CT scan were negative, the Bobcats said…

Chandler Parsons and Patrick Patterson scored 24 points apiece for the Rockets. Patterson hit 10 of 12 shots and scored 14 points in the final quarter to help Houston finally pull away…

Houston had 16 assists on 24 first-half field goals and led 62-51 at the break…

Sessions scored at least 20 points for the fourth time in five games. … Rockets F Carlos Delfino strained his right elbow in the second quarter and did not return to the game. … The Rockets have scored at least 60 points in 18 first halves this season. … Asik had 19 points and 15 rebounds for Houston.

— Reported by Chris Duncan of the Associated Press

Kyrie Irving scores 35, Cavs beat Thunder

Kyrie Irving wasn’t just interested. He was incredible.

With one shot better than his last, Irving scored 35 points, including 13 in the final 2:52, as the Cleveland Cavaliers stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-110 on Saturday.

One night after saying he was ”disinterested” during a loss in Detroit, Irving was simply spectacular down the stretch. He single-handedly closed out one of the NBA’s best teams, making his last five shots and showing why he’s an All-Star at age 20. Irving’s biggest bucket was a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to make it 113-108.

”He’s a killer,” said newly acquired Cavs forward Marreese Speights, who added 21 points. ”I knew a little about him, I didn’t know THAT.”

Kevin Durant scored 32 points and Russell Westbrook had 28 for the Thunder, who came in 35-11 and with the league’s best road record. Durant left briefly in the third quarter with an injured rib, but returned and scored 13 in the fourth…

Tristan Thompson added 12 rebounds and C.J. Miles scored 16 for the Cavs, who had played poorly in consecutive losses this week to Golden State and Detroit…

Speights, recently acquired in a trade with Memphis, gave the Cavs a huge spark in the fourth, scoring 10 of Cleveland’s 13 points in one stretch. The 6-foot-10 big man has only practiced twice with his new teammates.

— Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press

Stoudemire 10 for 10, Knicks crush Kings 120-81

Amare Stoudemire sat through the sluggish start, and had one thought in mind when it was his turn to change it.

”Dominate,” he said. ”Dominate is the main objective. That’s the only thought that I think when I go in the game.”

That’s exactly what Knicks did. Really, really dominate.

Stoudemire was 10 for 10 from the field for 21 points, and New York unleashed a 38-4 run on Sacramento in the first half and clobbered the Kings 120-81 on Saturday night for its fourth straight victory.

The Knicks actually trailed by 10 when Stoudemire entered in the first quarter, then went on to challenge the franchise-record victory margin of 48 points and kept alive Mike Woodson’s chances of coaching the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

It was an awesome display by New York in front of some special guests: 150 children, their families and teachers from Sandy Hook Elementary School. The Knicks didn’t even need much from leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who tied a season low with nine points and had his run of 20-point games snapped at 31, the longest single-season streak in franchise history…

J.R. Smith scored 25 points and Steve Novak added 15 as the Knicks made 19 3-pointers. Tyson Chandler had 11 points and 20 rebounds, becoming the first Knicks player with consecutive 20-board games since Marcus Camby on Dec. 8 and 11, 2001…

DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, who were horrible from all areas of the court, missing shots right at the rim on offense and often not even getting anywhere near the Knicks’ 3-point shooters on defense.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Bulls beat Hawks 93-76 with 3 starters held out

Luol Deng and Taj Gibson were exhausted and determined to stay on the floor. They kept playing in the final minutes, long after the Chicago Bulls had secured another win.

Deng said the starters in a patchwork lineup were determined to finish what they started.

Deng had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and the short-handed Bulls used their stifling defense to shut down the Atlanta Hawks in a 93-76 victory on Saturday night.

Playing without injured starters Kirk Hinrich, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, Chicago dominated near the basket and got a lift from the frenetic play of Nate Robinson. The Bulls used only eight players for the second straight night, but it was more than enough for an impressive road win.

Deng, Gibson and Jimmy Butler each logged more than 45 minutes. Robinson topped 40 minutes as the Bulls had a strong answer for their 89-83 loss at the Nets on Friday night…

Gibson had 19 points and a career-high 19 rebounds…

Butler added another double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Robinson went 4 for 6 from 3-point range and finished with 20 points.

The Hawks had no answer for Deng, who had five assists, four steals and two blocks. He had seven offensive rebounds…

Josh Smith led Atlanta with 19 points and 13 rebounds but his only basket in the second half was a 3-pointer. Jeff Teague scored 16, and Al Horford had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

— Reported by Charles Odum of the Associated Press

Pau Gasol starts, helps Lakers beat Wolves

Pau Gasol knew he could play like this. Kobe Bryant and Ricky Rubio did, too. The only person in Laker land who seemed to doubt what the gifted post player could do was the man in charge.

Now maybe coach Mike D’Antoni will become a believer as well.

Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup and Bryant nearly had a triple-double in leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 111-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

”It was a good feeling out there,” Gasol said. ”Like the good old days.”

Bryant had 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and Steve Nash added 17 points and seven assists for the Lakers, who played without Dwight Howard due to a sore right shoulder. They have won four of their last five games and beat the Wolves for the 20th straight time, the longest active streak in the NBA.

”It’s been a rough season so far, no way around it,” said Gasol, who topped 20 points for just the third time this season. ”Just stay with it, keep playing. You never know when things can change direction. Just play your game when you’re out there. Tonight I was able to start, play more minutes, get a good flow. It was a good game.” …

Alexey Shved scored 18 points and Rubio had nine points and seven assists for the Timberwolves, who lost their sixth straight game. They trailed by 29 in the second quarter, but climbed within four in the fourth.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Bench helps Nets beat banged-up Bulls, 93-89

Bench carries Nets past banged-up Bulls, 93-89

The Brooklyn Nets kept going deeper down their bench to find a winning combination. The Chicago Bulls simply had nowhere to go.

Brook Lopez scored 20 points through three quarters, then the Nets turned to their bench to beat the short-handed Bulls 93-89 on Friday night.

With most of their best players in street clothes, the Bulls’ normally sturdy defense allowed the Nets to make 11 of 18 shots in the fourth quarter. Nine of the baskets were by reserves.

”It’s huge, especially when a lot of our starters didn’t have it going tonight,” Nets guard Deron Williams said. ”It was good that those guys came in and stepped up for us. Without them, we don’t win this game.”

Andray Blatche scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter and MarShon Brooks had nine of his 13 as the reserves scored the Nets’ first 20 points. A starter didn’t score until Joe Johnson’s 3-pointer gave Brooklyn an 86-80 lead with 2 minutes to play…

Johnson finished with 13 points for the Nets, who bounced back from a loss to Miami on Wednesday by beating another top Eastern Conference team.

Luol Deng scored 18 points and Taj Gibson had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls, who played without starters Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Kirk Hinrich while losing for just the third time in 11 games…

Nate Robinson had 12 points and 11 assists but shot just 4 of 16 in place of Hinrich, who returned to Chicago to get his right elbow examined. Marco Belinelli scored 18 points and Jimmy Butler had 12 off Chicago’s bench.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Melo scores 25 as Knicks beat Bucks 96-86

Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points, Amare Stoudemire had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and the New York Knicks extended their winning streak to three games with a 96-86 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

J.R. Smith had 17 points and Tyson Chandler pulled down 20 rebounds in New York’s fourth straight win over Milwaukee.

Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with 19 points and seven rebounds. Monta Ellis added 16 points and Brandon Jennings had 14.

The Knicks trailed for the majority of the game until late in the third quarter when they stormed back…

After Jennings’ layup made it 78-75, the Knicks went on an 8-2 run and never looked back. Iman Shumpert scored on a layup and Chandler followed with a dunk to make it 82-75. Marquis Daniels answered with a layup for Milwaukee but Shumpert made another basket and Felton followed with a 3-pointer to make it 87-77 before the Bucks called timeout with 4:58 to go…

The Knicks honored former New York City Mayor Ed Koch during a timeout in the first quarter. Koch died of congestive heart failure Friday at 88. … New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia was in attendance. … The Bucks had won 12 of 14 before losing four straight to the Knicks. … The Bucks are 0-12 when held to 90 points or fewer this season. They scored 88 in a loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

— Reported by Adriano Torres of the Associated Press