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Nets beat Spurs for 10th win of season

Playing in New Jersey, the Nets Monday night beat the injury-riddled San Antonio Spurs 90-84 for their 10th win of the season.

With the victory, the Nets surpass the nine-win mark, the lowest in NBA history.

The Spurs were playing without stars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

For the Nets, center Brook Lopez (7-of-14) led with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Courtney Lee (7-of-13) had 19 points and six rebounds. Devin Harris (6-of-16) added 17 points and dished nine assists without a single turnover. As a team, the Nets only shot 37.6%, and they were outrebounded as well.

The Spurs were led by George Hill (8-of-19), who scored 19. Richard Jefferson, playing against his former team, had 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. Tim Duncan was kept in check, hitting just 6-of-15 for 13 points, 12 rebounds, and as many turnovers as assists. As a team, the Spurs hit just 41.5%.

New Jersey is now 10-64. Their remaining schedule includes games against the Wizards, Bulls and Pacers, so it’s possible the team can add to their current win total.

JJ Redick rocks Nuggets

The AP reports:

J.J. Redick had 23 points and career highs of eight assists and seven rebounds in place of an injured Vince Carter, helping the Orlando Magic beat the Denver Nuggets 103-97 on Sunday night.

He was 8-for-15 shooting and played a career-high 46 minutes after Carter sprained his right big toe. The Magic also got a big boost with 19 points from Anderson for their 13th win in the last 15 games.

Redick got another lift at halftime, too, when he saw his former Duke team about to clinch a spot in the Final Four. But he pointed to his minutes — and what he did with them — as his proudest moment of the night.

“I think sometimes as a player when you know you’re not going to come out, you don’t force things and you move the ball and you make the extra pass,” Redick said.

Rodrigue Beaubois scores 40 on Warriors

The AP reports:

Rodrigue Beaubois unleashes huge 40-point game on Warriors

Rookie guard Rodrigue Beaubois played just 48 seconds and went scoreless Wednesday night when the Dallas Mavericks lost to Portland.

Beaubois made up for lost time Saturday night and made a strong case for more playing time, scoring a career-high 40 points in the Mavericks’ 111-90 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

“I felt great,” Beaubois said. “I thought I couldn’t miss so I kept shooting.”

Beaubois made 9 of 11 3-pointers, was 15 of 22 overall from the field, made his only free throw and had eight rebounds to help the Mavericks snapped their two-game losing streak. The 6-footer from Guadeloupe had 26 points in the first half, two more points than his previous career game high.

InsideHoops.com adds:

Beaubois also had eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Career highs by Lopez and Yi give Nets 9th win

The AP reports:

The New Jersey Nets aren’t going to be the worst team in NBA history.

Career highs by Lopez and Yi give Nets 9th win

Brook Lopez had a career-high 37 points and Yi Jianlian had a career-best 31 and the Nets eliminated any chance of setting a record for fewest wins in a season, beating the Detroit Pistons 118-110 on Friday night for their first winning streak of the season.

“We’re smiling,” said point guard Devin Harris, who had 12 assists. “It’s good to get two wins in a row, but we’re not satisfied. We want to continue to be better and finish the season on a high note.”

Even if New Jersey (9-63) loses its final 10 games, it can do no worse than tie the league mark for the worst record (9-73), set by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1972-73.

Melo buzzer jumper helps Nuggets beat Raptors

The AP reports:

Carmelo Anthony takes great pleasure in knocking the life out of a crowd.

Anthony buried an 18-foot fadeaway at the buzzer to lead the Denver Nuggets to a come-from-behind 97-96 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.

“I think hitting one on the road, you get that much more joy out of it,” said Anthony. “That much more satisfaction. You’ve got 20 thousand people against you and you can make a shot to silence them? That feels good.” …

Anthony scored 25 points and Nene added 20 for the Nuggets (48-25), who avoided their first four-game losing streak since February 2007. Billups chipped in with 18 points despite going just 4 for 18 from the field.

Chris Bosh had 18 points and 12 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan added 15 points in a rare reserve role, and Bargnani had 14 points and 15 rebounds for Toronto.

Danny Granger scores 44 on Jazz

The AP reports:

With victory assured, Danny Granger’s next goal was to score 50 points.

The versatile forward didn’t quite get there, but he scored 18 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Utah Jazz 122-106 on Friday night.

“I was trying to get 50, but I just ran out of gas at the end,” he said, laughing. “I missed some free throws, too. Overall, I’m glad we won.”

It was the fourth straight game in which Granger has scored at least 30 points. He made 14 of 23 attempts from the floor, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range…

Troy Murphy added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who set a franchise record with 17 3-pointers. Indiana overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half to win its fifth straight overall and seventh in a row at home…

Mehmet Okur had 27 points and 12 rebounds, Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Deron Williams added 21 points and 12 assists for Utah, which allowed its highest point total of the season.

Bucks end Nuggets 7-game home winning streak

The AP reports:

The fans sure expected a bleary-eyed, weary-legged Milwaukee Bucks team to show up at the Pepsi Center, where the Denver Nuggets were 30-5.

Chauncey Billups swears he knew better, even though he and his Denver teammates were powerless to do anything about it in a 102-97 loss Saturday night to the Bucks, who didn’t arrive in their hotel rooms until 3 a.m. following a double-overtime win in Sacramento…

The surging Bucks secured their signature road victory even though point guard Brandon Jennings (nine points) and center Andrew Bogut (two points, three rebounds) had nights to forget.

Carlos Delfino scored 26 points, John Salmons added 21, Ersan Ilyasova pitched in 14 points and 10 rebounds and Luke Ridnour hit 5 of 8 shots for 11 points.

Celtics handle Mavericks

The AP reports:

The Boston Celtics got the split they wanted with the Dallas Mavericks.

Paul Pierce scored 29 points, Rajon Rondo added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the Celtics stretched their winning streak to four games with a 102-93 victory over the Mavericks on Saturday night.

Ray Allen had 21 points for the Celtics, beaten by the Mavericks 99-90 in Boston on Jan. 18 in their only other meeting this season.

Boston’s Rasheed Wallace vowed “retribution” in the rematch, complaining after the game in January that the referees give Dallas’ top scorer Dirk Nowitzki preferential treatment. Wallace refused to comment after Saturday night’s game, but Rondo said the Celtics weren’t dwelling on the past…

This time, Garnett and Wallace took turns guarding Nowitzki, who still went 11 for 19 from the floor and finished with 28 points.

Chris Bosh drops 36 on Nets

The AP reports:

With the Toronto Raptors in the midst of a slump, Chris Bosh got a little pep talk from Jarrett Jack(notes), Antoine Wright and Marcus Banks before their game with the woeful New Jersey Nets.

The message was simple. Play some basketball, have some fun and score 30 points.

Bosh did that and more, scoring 23 of his 36 points in the second half and the Raptors kept the Nets on the road to an NBA single-season record for losses with a 100-90 victory Saturday night.

“They were just on me about playing basketball and that made it fun,” Bosh said after the Raptors won for only the third time in 13 games.

“They were telling me what they wanted to see from me and what they wanted me to do, and anytime that happens, I see that as a challenge, and you know you don’t feel like you are out there by yourself.”

Playing in his 500th game as a Raptor, Bosh hit 16 of 27 shots from the field in helping the Toronto rally from a seven-point deficit early in the third quarter.

Suns destroy Wolves 152-114

Tuesday night in Phoenix, the Suns went bonkers against the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 152-114 win.

Offensively, the Suns were unstoppable. They shot 55-of-98 (56.1%) from the field and hit 15-of-31 three-pointers. They also hit 27-of-29 free throws. Phoenix also won the assists category 37-18.

Jason Richardson led the way for Phoenix with 27 points. Amar’e Stoudemire had 25, but just four rebounds and no assists. Louis Amundson came off the bench to shoot 10-of-13 for 20 points and seven rebounds. Five other Suns players scored in double-digits. Steve Nash dished 14 assists.

The Wolves had what under normal circumstances would have been a good offensive night, shooting 46.2% and hitting half of their 14 three-point attempts. They were simply unable to withstand the Phoenix offensive hurricane.

Leading the Wolves was Corey Brewer with 21 points and little else. Ryan Gomes scored 18. Al Jefferson had a quiet 13 points and eight rebounds.

The Suns scored 38 points in the first quarter, 41 in the second, 35 in the third and 38 in the fourth.