Games – Page 45 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Melo scores 45, Stoudemire returns, but Knicks lose to Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers overcame Carmelo Anthony’s season high-tying 45 points and spoiled Amare Stoudemire’s season debut, beating the New York Knicks 105-100 on Tuesday night.

Nicolas Batum scored 26 points, Damian Lillard had 21 points, six assists and five rebounds, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Portland.

Stoudemire finished with six points on 3-of-8 shooting and one rebound in 17 minutes off the bench in his return from knee surgery. Anthony shot 14 of 24 and nearly led the Knicks back from 19 points down after missing two games with a knee injury, but the Trail Blazers had too many options.

J.J. Hickson scored all of his 18 points in the first half as Portland won for the third time in four games.

Anthony had missed the previous two games with a hyperextended left knee. The Knicks are still without point guard Raymond Felton because of a broken pinky finger and struggled to get their offense going until too late, losing for the third time in four games.

J.R. Smith had 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks.

Stoudemire had surgery on Oct. 31 to clean up tissue in his left knee and decided to play after going through a couple of practices this week, though adding he wasn’t yet 100 percent.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Mavericks end 6-game losing streak, beat Wizards

Vince Carter scored 23 points, O.J. Mayo and Darren Collison each added 15 to help the Dallas Mavericks break their six-game losing streak with a 103-94 win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

When the Wizards, who are now 4-25, took a 14-point lead early in the second quarter, Dallas, which had arrived in Washington in the midst of its longest skid in nearly 14 years, rallied. They trailed by four at the half, and then outscored the Wizards 35-19 in the third quarter to take an 83-71 lead.

The Mavericks were ahead 99-84 with 3:28 to play, but Washington scored eight straight to cut the lead to seven, but Carter, making just the second start of the season threw down an emphatic dunk with 1:11 to play to make it 101-93.

Six players scored in double figures for Dallas. Chris Kaman scored 12 points and Shawn Marion had 11 points with a season-high 14 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki played in just his fifth game since returning from right knee surgery and added 11.

Bradley Beal equaled a career high with 22 points for the Wizards. Emeka Okafor had 14 and 11 rebounds. Martel Webster also had 14.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Rockets bounce back with 123-104 win over Hawks

The Houston Rockets had allowed 120 points in consecutive tough losses entering Monday night’s game against Atlanta.

This time it was Houston’s turn to put on an offensive show that left the other team at a loss.

James Harden had 28 points and the Rockets rebounded from their worst loss of the season with a 123-104 win over the Hawks.

The Rockets were coming off a 30-point defeat by Oklahoma City that was preceded by a loss to the Spurs…

Lou Williams had 21 points to lead the Hawks, who saw a four game winning streak snapped with the loss…

Smith scored 17 with seven rebounds in his return after missing a game with a hip injury, and Al Horford had 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Delfino returned from a two-game absence with an illness to score a season-high 22 points, with six 3-pointers, and a career-high-tying eight assists. Asik added 11 points and 17 rebounds for the Rockets and Jeremy Lin added 16 points with eight assists.

— Reported by Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press

Spurs beat Nets, who scored just 5 third quarter points

The Brooklyn Nets ended 2012 a few hours earlier than most.

Tony Parker had 20 points and the San Antonio Spurs held the Nets to only five points in the third quarter en route to a 104-73 win Monday night.

MarShon Brooks had a season-high 16 points to lead Brooklyn (16-15), which suffered its first loss under interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo. Joe Johnson added 12 points and Brook Lopez had 11, but Deron Williams was held to eight points and one assist.

San Antonio set a franchise low for fewest points by an opponent in the third quarter when it held the Nets to 10-percent shooting (2 for 20).

”I’m actually surprised it wasn’t worse,” Carlesimo said.

Tim Duncan added 15 points and Nando DeColo had 11, while Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter and Matt Bonner chipped in 10 apiece for San Antonio (25-8), which won its sixth straight…

Spurs G Gary Neal (strained right calf) missed his fourth straight game and sixth this season. . Brooklyn F Gerald Wallace (bruised left knee) missed his eighth game of the season. . Johnson, Andray Blatche and C.J. Watson are the only Nets to play in every game this season. Johnson has started each of those games. . The fewest points an opponent has scored in any quarter is three by Denver during the opening period on Nov. 27, 2002.

— Reported by Raul Dominguez of the Associated Press

LeBron leads Heat over Magic in OT

LeBron James had 36 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, and Chris Bosh scored 22 points to help the Miami Heat slip past the Orlando Magic 112-110 in overtime Monday.

James scored eight points in overtime, including two free throws that clinched it with 1.5 seconds left. Dwayne Wade, who had 21 points, had a steal and dunk with 6.2 seconds to go to give Miami a four-point lead.

Arron Afflalo scored 28 points for the Magic and J.J. Redick added 23, but he committed the turnover that led to Wade’s decisive dunk. Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and 29 rebounds as Orlando lost its sixth straight.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Paul George leads Pacers over Grizzlies

The Indiana Pacers are now finding ways to win on a regular basis with or without veteran players.

”I’m proud of them and the effort to be a really good basketball team,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said.

Paul George scored 21 points to lead the Pacers to an 88-83 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

D.J. Augustin had 17 points and David West added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who have won five of six. George also had six rebounds and five assists.

Zach Randolph had 21 points and 15 rebounds and Marc Gasol scored 13 for the Grizzlies, who have lost three of four…

Still without star forward Danny Granger and with the injured Hill on the bench and even without center Roy Hibbert putting up the expected numbers, Indiana remains atop the Central Division and now a game up on the Chicago Bulls…

[Lance] Stephenson was listed as day to day with a left orbital contusion, but started. … Grizzlies F Quincy Pondexter didn’t travel with the team because of a left MCL sprain. … Hibbert’s first offensive rebound of the night was his 800th career.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Bobcats end 18-game losing streak with win over Bulls

Squandering a healthy lead is nothing new to the Charlotte Bobcats – hanging onto one is.

Kemba Walker had 18 points and eight rebounds, and the Bobcats ended an 18-game losing streak with a 91-81 win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Gerald Henderson added 16 points and reserve Ben Gordon had 15 to help Charlotte snap the second-longest skid in team history. It was the Bobcats’ first win in their last 10 road games.

”We’re a desperate team right now,” Henderson said. ”This losing streak has been very tough on us.”

Luol Deng scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Chicago. Carlos Boozer also had a double-double with 19 points and 14 boards.

Charlotte fended off several rallies by the Bulls, who never held a lead, to win for the first time since Nov. 24…

The new year couldn’t come quick enough for Charlotte (8-23), which narrowly avoided posting a 0-16 calendar month for the second time in 2012. The Bobcats went 0-16 in April to end last season on a franchise-worst 23-game losing streak.

The eight wins already surpasses Charlotte’s seven wins all of last season…

Bobcats F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (scratched right cornea) did not play after being poked in the eye during a 98-95 loss to New Orleans on Saturday.

— Reported by Travis Miller of the Associated Press

Clippers win 17th in row, go 16-0 in December

After their 17th consecutive victory gave them a perfect month, the Los Angeles Clippers finally paused to admire their achievement.

”We got something extremely magical going on,” said Caron Butler after the Clippers beat the Utah Jazz 107-96 on Sunday night to become the third team in NBA history to record a perfect month.

The Clippers went 16-0 in December to join the 1995-96 San Antonio Spurs, which included Del Negro, and 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers as the only teams to go undefeated in a month. Their franchise-record winning streak is the longest since Boston won 19 in a row four years ago.

”I am amazed because I haven’t done it since I’ve been in the league,” said seven-year veteran Chris Paul, whose 19 points and nine assists helped his team maintain the league’s best record at 25-6.

Butler led the Clippers with 29 points despite not playing in the fourth quarter and made all six of his 3-pointers, including five in the opening period. Jamal Crawford scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. Blake Griffin piled up five fouls and was held to seven points after getting double-teamed…

Al Jefferson scored 30 points – one off his season high – to lead Utah, which fell victim for the third time during the Clippers’ streak. The Jazz lost 116-114 on Friday when the Clippers rallied from 19 points down, and they were beaten 105-104 on Dec. 3, both times at home.

”It’s frustrating,” said Gordon Hayward, who had 16 points. ”Knowing that they’re a good team and knowing that we’re always right there with them, knowing that we need to keep on playing good for 48 minutes.”

— Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press

Isaiah Thomas leads Kings past Celtics 118-96

Isaiah Thomas scored 27 points and made one of Sacramento’s two four-point plays in the second half as the Kings handed the Boston Celtics their third straight lopsided loss on a California road swing, 118-96 on Sunday night.

John Salmons added 23 points off the bench, Jason Thompson scored 20 and DeMarcus Cousins had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double for the Kings, who ended the calendar year by winning their sixth home game out of the last seven.

The Celtics are going in the other direction after handily beating Brooklyn on Christmas Day. They followed that win with a trip to California to face the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State and Sacramento and got outscored by 69 points in losing all three.

The Kings were in control for most of this game and then pulled away with their long-range shooting in the fourth quarter. James Johnson and Jimmer Fredette made 3-pointers early in the fourth and then Salmons’ 3-pointer midway through the quarter gave the Kings a 100-84 lead…

Pierce scored 20 points to give him 23,189 in his career, passing Adrian Dantley for 23rd place all-time. Jason Terry also had 20 for Boston…

Sacramento G Aaron Brooks was sidelined by a sore left ankle.

— Reported by Josh Dubow of the Associated Press

Spurs send Mavs to sixth straight loss

Dirk Nowitzki grabbed a loose ball in the backcourt and started the fast break himself, pulling up for a 3-pointer just like the days before his first knee surgery.

The difference this time: The Dallas Mavericks star threw up an airball.

Nowitzki will need more time to work his way back from a surgery that cost him the first 27 games of the season. Even then, it may not be enough to keep up with the San Antonio Spurs and their Big Three.

Tony Parker had 21 points and nine assists, Manu Ginobili had several key baskets among his 20 points and the Spurs handed the Mavericks their sixth straight loss, 111-86 on Sunday night.

Two nights after his second 30-point game of the season, Tim Duncan had 10 in the second quarter before settling in for a more typical outing: 18 points and 10 rebounds for his 16th double-double to go with three blocks…

Nowitzki followed his first-half airball by missing three more in the second half before finally getting a basket on a driving layup. He finished with eight points on 3-of-9 shooting – and didn’t come close to trying another 3-pointer. He did have five rebounds and three blocked shots…

Darren Collison scored 18 points to lead the Mavericks, whose losing streak is their longest since January of their championship season in 2010-11…

O.J. Mayo, Dallas’ leading scorer, was held under 10 points for the third time in four games. He came in averaging 9 points on 33-percent shooting the previous four games and finished with eight on 4 of 14 shooting…

Mavericks F Vince Carter made his first start after coming off the bench the first 30 games.

— Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press