The AP reports: The New Jersey Nets are at their best on the road. Vince Carter scored 28 points and the Nets got support from their bench in overtime to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 114-103 on Saturday night. Devin Harris added 26 points, and reserves Jarvis Hayes and Josh Boone added 14 and 12 points, respectively, for New Jersey, which improved to 10-4 in road games this season… Gerald Wallace scored 32 points. Raja Bell added 18, Emeka Okafor had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Raymond Felton scored 13 points for Charlotte, which had defeated New Jersey 95-87 in East Rutherford, N.J., just 24 hours earlier.
Category: NBA Teams
NBA teams blog
Wally Szczerbiak out one week
Cavaliers forward Wally Szczerbiak has experienced right knee contusions during the last several Cavalier games. He had an MRI at The Cleveland Clinic Friday, December 26th, which confirmed the contusions. He is expected to be out for approximately one week.
For the season, Szczerbiak is playing 19.4 minutes a game and averaging 6.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, on subpar 41.8% shooting.
Dec 26: Warriors 99, Celtics 89
The AP reports: Stephen Jackson returned to the lineup and scored eight straight points during the decisive fourth-quarter stretch to finish with 28, and the Golden State Warriors sent Boston to back-to-back losses for the first time this season by rallying past the Celtics 99-89 on Friday night. Paul Pierce had 21 points and five assists and Kevin Garnett scored 14, but the Celtics couldn’t hold a 14-point lead a day after their franchise-record 19-game winning streak ended with a nine-point loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Christmas… Jackson—who had missed the past four games with a sprained left hand— scored 15 points in the final period and Marco Belinelli totaled 22 for the Warriors, who have won five straight and 12 of 15 against the Celtics at home. Golden State lost 119-111 in Boston on Nov. 26 in the teams’ first meeting.
Dec 26: Raptors 107, Kings 101
The AP reports: Jermaine O’Neal scored 36 points in his highest-scoring game in two seasons and the Toronto Raptors ended a 10-game losing streak in Sacramento with a 107-101 victory over the Kings on Friday night… With Chris Bosh limited to just 13 points because of foul trouble, O’Neal took over the game for the Raptors. He hit a pair of difficult drives midway through the fourth quarter after the Kings had tied the game at 95 with just under 5 minutes to play… Jose Calderon added 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Andrea Bargnani also had 14. Brad Miller and John Salmons scored 20 points each to lead the Kings. Bobby Jackson added 17 points off the bench.
Dec 26: Nuggets 105, Sixers 101
The AP reports: The Denver Nuggets played most of the game disinterested in anyone or anything that wasn’t standing within a step of the 3-point line. Odd, then, that they won it with a backboard-shaking dunk from a big guy, Kenyon Martin, who spent most of Friday night acting as though he was one of Denver’s many shooting guards. Martin took a bounce pass from Chauncey Billups and drove for the go-ahead dunk with 9 seconds left to lift the Nuggets to a 105-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers… J.R. Smith made seven 3s for the Nuggets and finished with a team-high 27 points. Billups had 26 points and 10 assists… Andre Miller, used as trade fodder two seasons ago when the Nuggets dealt for Allen Iverson, had 19 points and eight assists for the Sixers… Louis Williams finished with 16 points, and his nice alley-oop to Marreese Speights gave Philly a 101-100 lead with 17.7 seconds to set the stage for Martin.
Dec 26: Jazz 97, Mavs 88
The AP reports: Running out of forwards and centers, the Utah Jazz turned to rookie Kosta Koufos and seldom-used Kyrylo Fesenko. Both came through with career high scoring nights and anchored a patchwork lineup as Utah beat the weary Dallas Mavericks 97-88 on Friday night. Koufos scored 18 points and Fesenko added eight points as the short-handed Jazz pulled ahead early and never gave up the lead, ending Dallas’ three-game winning streak… With Utah missing its top three scorers and rebounders in Carlos Boozer (quad), Paul Millsap (knee) and Mehmet Okur (back), Koufos made his sixth career start and had his best game since leaving Ohio State after his freshman year… Koufos was 8-for-11 and also had eight rebounds and the Jazz outscored the Mavericks 52-34 in the paint and topped his previous career high of 12 points… Reserve Jason Terry led Dallas with 26 points. Nowitzki had 17 points and eight rebounds before he was tossed for backhanding Matt Harpring with 9:48 left in the game after Fesenko scored on an offensive rebound.
Dec 26: Grizzlies 108, Pacers 105
The AP reports: Trailing by 17 points early, the Memphis Grizzlies refused to fold. O.J. Mayo scored 18 points, including two key free throws with a second left, and Memphis rallied past the Indiana Pacers 108-105 on Friday night to snap a four-game slide… Hakim Warrick paced Memphis with 21 points off the bench, one of seven Grizzlies in double figures. Darko Milicic scored a season-high 14 before leaving with an injury early in the second half. Marc Gasol matched Milicic’s 14 points, Rudy Gay finished with 13 and Mike Conley had 12 to go with three steals. Mayo added eight rebounds and a career-high seven assists. Marquis Daniels led the Pacers with a season-high 28 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter as Indiana tried to stay close. Danny Granger scored 26 points before colliding with teammate Jarrett Jack with 10:08 to play. Granger went to the locker room with a concussion and did not return… Roy Hibbert had 15 points for Indiana, hitting all seven of his shots before getting into foul trouble.
Dec 26: Hornets 88, Rockets 79
The AP reports: Chris Paul and his Hornets teammates had a lousy Christmas, so they took it out on the Houston Rockets. Paul had 26 points and 10 assists, and New Orleans snapped a two-game skid with an 88-79 victory over Houston on Friday night. David West added 23 points and Rasual Butler 13 for the Hornets, who took an early lead and never trailed, mindful of their dreadful, 88-68 loss in Orlando on Christmas Day… Yao Ming had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Houston, which dropped its second straight game. Tracy McGrady was held to 11 points, missing nine of his 11 shots from the field… Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 12 rebounds, including a crucial tip-in with 2:32 left and a late offensive rebound on a tip-out to Paul that helped seal the victory.
Dec 26: Pistons 90, Thunder 88
The AP reports: A week after passing up a chance at a winning shot against the Utah Jazz, Allen Iverson hit an off-balance runner with 0.2 seconds left to give the Detroit Pistons a 90-88 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night… Iverson led the Pistons with 22 points, and Tayshaun Prince added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Durant had 26 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder. The Pistons looked sluggish for most of the first three quarters. Oklahoma City shot 39 percent through three periods, but trailed only 66-63 heading into the fourth.
Dec 26: Wolves 120, Knicks 107
The AP reports: Kevin McHale turned to prayer, though it wasn’t really needed. The combination of Al Jefferson inside and some sizzling 3-point shooting was more than enough. The Timberwolves snapped a 13-game losing streak and won for the first time this season under McHale, getting a season-best 23 points from Rashad McCants in a 120-107 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night… Jefferson added 21 points and 15 rebounds in the Timberwolves’ first victory since beating Oklahoma City on Nov. 28. They had dropped their first eight games under McHale, who took over when Randy Wittman was fired Dec. 8… Sebastian Telfair finished with a season-high 20 points in his hometown and Randy Foye had 19 for the Wolves, who overran New York by using the Knicks’ primary weapon, the 3-pointer… Nate Robinson and Al Harrington each scored 26 points for the Knicks, who lost their fifth straight. Wilson Chandler scored 19, but New York allowed its highest point total ever against Minnesota.