Grizzlies build early lead and defeat Nets 101-77

marc gasol

The Memphis Grizzlies are adding a better scoring offense to complement one of the league’s best defenses.

Marc Gasol had 20 points and nine rebounds as the Grizzlies built a 30-point lead in the second half en route to a 101-77 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.

Gasol was 10 of 15 from the field, all of his points coming in the first half, as Memphis, which had seven players in double figures, won for the fourth time in the past five games.

It also marked the second straight game Memphis has topped the century mark after reaching 100 only twice in the 24 games before Wednesday’s 106-93 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

”One thing that we have had all season is our defense,” said Rudy Gay, one of three Grizzlies who finished with 11 points…

Mike Conley made six of seven shots, including 2 of 3 outside the arc, for 14 points, while Zach Randolph had 12 points and matched Gasol’s nine rebounds…

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 18 points, while Deron Williams scored 12, adding six assists before leaving late in the third quarter with a quad contusion…

Joe Johnson and Reggie Evans scored 11 points each, with Evans grabbing 10 rebounds.

— Reported by Clay Bailey of the Associated Press

James Harden scores 30, Rockets beat Hornets 100-82

James Harden

James Harden committed a season-high eight turnovers against the Hornets. He shrugged that off because he also handed out eight assists, one off his season high, as the Houston Rockets played their best game in almost three weeks.

Harden had 30 points and the Rockets broke out of their worst slump of the season by beating New Orleans 100-82 on Friday night.

”It was about making the easy play,” said Harden, selected to his first All-Star team Thursday. ”Sometimes I tried to do too much, but for the most part our team played great defensively and offensively for four quarters. We needed it a lot just for our confidence.”

The Rockets, who had lost eight of nine and trailed by double digits in 12 straight games, led almost all the way this time. Harden scored 10 points and Patrick Patterson had six during a 16-2 run early in the third quarter as Houston took control, going ahead 64-46…

Jeremy Lin had 13 points and eight assists for Houston, matching his assist total from the previous three games combined.

The Rockets outrebounded the Hornets 44-34 and made 11 of 21 3-pointers after barely hitting more than 30 percent during their skid. Houston limited the Hornets to 38.8 percent shooting, including a dismal 3 of 20 from 3-point range. The Rockets scored 20 fast-break points to nine for New Orleans…

Eric Gordon scored 20 points for New Orleans and Ryan Anderson added 19 off the bench, but point guard Greivis Vasquez had a season-low two points on 1-of-6 shooting and played barely more than 6 minutes in the second half.

— Reported by Guerry Smith of the Associated Press

Tony Parker gets stitches, scores 23, helps Spurs beat Mavs

Tony Parker

Tony Parker returned from a cut above the same eye he injured in a nightclub incident last summer and scored 23 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 113-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

Parker missed about a quarter in the first half when he took three stitches above his left eye after a collision with Elton Brand on a drive. He nearly lost the eye in June when shards of glass embedded in his cornea after he got caught in a bottle-throwing melee in New York.

Tim Duncan stayed home with a sore right knee, but DeJuan Blair made up for his absence by scoring a season-high 22 points.

Rodrigue Beaubois led the Mavericks with a season-high 19 points…

Parker’s head collided with Brand’s arm on a drive early in the first quarter, and no foul was called. Parker stayed down alone under the basket covering his left eye for about 20 seconds during a Dallas possession on the other end. Once play stopped, Parker had to be separated from the referees as he was led to the bench…

Nowitzki finished with 15, and Mayo had 14. Vince Carter scored 17 for Dallas…

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich missed his second straight game because of illness.

— Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press

D-Wade scores 29, Heat beat Pistons 110-88

dwyane wade

Dwyane Wade scored 29 points and sparked a pivotal run to help the Miami Heat earn their fourth victory in a row Friday by beating the Detroit Pistons 110-88.

The Heat got even for a loss at Detroit on Dec. 28. They improved to 18-3 at home, while the Pistons fell to 4-16 on the road.

After falling behind by nine points, the Heat outscored Detroit 26-4 during a seven-minute stretch in the second quarter to take a 60-47 lead. Wade scored 15 points during the spurt.

LeBron James had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, who shot 56 percent. Over the past two seasons, they’re 34-2 when shooting at least 50 percent.

Miami, last in the NBA in rebounds, also won the battle of the boards, 36-35.

Greg Monroe scored 31 points for the Pistons, who never got close in the second half.

One of the night’s biggest cheers came when a 50-year-old computer technician from McHenry, Ill., made a half-court shot to win $75,000 and a hug from James.

As part of a contest sponsored by James’ foundation, Michael Drysch sank a one-handed hook shot from midcourt between periods. James watched from the bench, and when the shot swished in, he happily sprinted at Drysch and embraced him, and both tumbled to the court.

— Reported by Steven Wine of the Associated Press

Kyrie Irving scores 35, Cavs beat Bucks

Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving knows how to celebrate good news.

A little over 24 hours after being selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star team in Houston, the Cavaliers’ dynamic point guard put on a show.

Irving scored 35 points and Cleveland rallied from a 20-point deficit in the third quarter to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 113-108 on Friday night.

The reigning rookie of the year scored 24 points in the second half, including 16 in the third when the Cavaliers got back in the game. Irving added eight points in the final 4:01 as Cleveland posted back-to-back wins for only the second time this season.

Coming off a 40-point performance against Boston on Tuesday, Irving hit 12 of 17 from the field and made all nine of his free throws. He missed one shot in nine attempts in the second half…

Cleveland, which trailed 79-59 midway through the third quarter, took a 96-95 lead on a 3-pointer by newly acquired Wayne Ellington with 6:31 to play. The basket was his first since joining the Cavaliers from Memphis on Tuesday, and it gave Cleveland the lead for good.

Ersan Ilyasova scored a season-high 30 points and Monta Ellis added 21, but the Bucks’ collapse ended their three-game winning streak. Even hitting a season-high 14 3-pointers in 28 attempts couldn’t save Milwaukee…

Tristan Thompson scored 18 points and Dion Waiters added 16 for the Cavaliers. Livingston scored 12 points. Speights had 10 points and had six rebounds in 18 minutes.

Jennings, who was left off the Eastern Conference All-Star team by coaches picking the reserves, scored 14 points for the Bucks, but was 5 of 19 from the field and was scoreless in the first half. He finished with 12 assists. Sanders had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Wizards keep improving, beat Timberwolves 114-101

John Wall

At the midpoint of their season, and with John Wall back in the starting lineup, the Washington Wizards finally lifted themselves off the bottom of the NBA.

Wall had 14 points and five assists in his first start of the season, and Washington finally hit double digits in wins Friday night with a 114-101 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Wizards have won four straight at home and no longer have the league’s worst record, their 10-31 record a half-game better than the Charlotte Bobcats’ 10-32.

”You’re not going to hear any good thing about your team or organization if you’re not winning games, and that’s all we’re trying to do – is just win,” Wall said. ”You don’t want to end up as the last team.”

Wall, who came off the bench for the first seven games after his return from a knee injury, had assists on the Wizards’ first two baskets in a game in which Washington never trailed. He wowed the crowd with a nice spin move for a layup late in the first half and went 6 for 10 from the field in 21 minutes, his playing time still limited after missing 33 games with a stress injury to his left knee cap..

The Wizards are 5-3 since Wall’s return after going 5-28 without him…

Jordan Crawford added 19 points, and Bradley Beal had 16 points and a career-high four blocks for the Wizards, who shot a season-high 58 percent. Beal had the best sequence for anyone not named Wall: The rookie chased down Luke Ridnour to block a fast-break layup, crashed into the front row, got up and hit a jumper at the other end to make the score 70-51 in the third…

Ricky Rubio had four points on 1-for-8 shooting, six assists, five rebounds and five turnovers, another trying day in a difficult week that included an apology to acting coach Terry Porter for getting upset over playing time in the team’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.

— Reported by Joseph White of the Associated Press

Korver scores 27, Hawks beat Celtics in 2OT

kyle korver

Kyle Korver scored 27 points and the Atlanta Hawks overcame a 27-point deficit in the first half to beat Boston 123-111 in double-overtime on Friday night, handing the Celtics their sixth straight loss.

Jeff Teague had 23 points for Atlanta before fouling out in the first overtime. Al Horford had 24 points and 13 rebounds. Josh Smith, who opened the second overtime with a three-point play, had 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 10 rebounds but fouled out in the second overtime as the Celtics were left with their longest losing streak in six years. Rajon Rondo had 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his fifth triple-double of the season.

Korver had all of his career-high eight 3-pointers in the second half, setting a franchise record, and five in the fourth quarter…

Paul Pierce, who had 12 points, missed a jumper at the end of the first overtime.

The Hawks outscored the Celtics 16-4 in the second overtime.

Jeff Green had 17 points for Boston. Courtney Lee had 16 points and Avery Bradley had 14.

Boston appeared headed for a rout when it led 48-21 in the second quarter. Atlanta trailed 57-38 at halftime following a modest recovery.

Hawks C Zaza Pachulia returned after missing one game with a sore right Achilles.

— Reported by Charles Odum of the Associated Press

Jrue Holiday thrilled with all-star selection

Jrue Holiday

Jrue Holiday said that he kept his composure at the Flyers game on Thursday when he found out that he had been named as one of the seven reserves for the Eastern Conference All-Star Team on Thursday.

But when he got home, well, it sounds like that was a different story.

“I was happy,” said Holiday, one of five first-time all stars named by coaches to Eastern Conference team. “Obviously I contained it until I got home and could express it and not embarrass myself in front of the rest of the world.

“But when I got home I was damn near jumping for joy,” Holiday said. “How many people get to play in the All-Star Game?”

— Reported by John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Luol Deng, Joakim Noah savor All-Star status

Luol Deng

The good vibes flowed following Friday’s morning shootaround as Luol Deng and Joakim Noah savored their All-Star status.

Coaches voted Deng to his second straight All-Star reserve selection, while Noah will make his first at the Feb. 17 game in Houston.

“People were coming up to me and saying I had a shot to make it, so it was pretty nerve-wracking,” Noah said. “It’s just an unbelievable honor. I found out (Thursday) night and still can’t believe it.”

The selection prompted a string of eloquent and emotional comments from Noah on his Twitter timeline.

“A lot of people helped me along the way, so there’s definitely a lot of people to thank,” Noah said. “Not only does it make me happy, but it makes a lot of people that were with me happy. A lot of people had to make sacrifices in order to get me where I’m at today, so I just wanted to thank them.” …

Deng agreed that making a second straight All-Star game is special.

— Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

Delonte West signs with Texas Legends in the D-League

Delonte West

The Texas Legends have acquired guard Delonte West. West, a former member of the Mavericks, will be making his way back to Dallas in an effort to once again reach the NBA.

West (6-4, 180, St. Joseph’s) was selected 24th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2004 NBA Draft. West played in Boston for three years averaging 12.25 pts, 3 reb, and 4.4 ast his third season. Following that, West was traded to Cleveland where he played for three years before returning to Boston for the 2010-11 season and then to Dallas where he averaged 9.5 pts, 2.3 reb, and 3.1 ast last season. West helped his team to post-season play in six of his eight seasons in the NBA.

With the acquisition of West, the Texas Legends currently have five former first-round picks on the roster. West also makes the seventh player on the current roster with NBA experience (Justin Dentmon, Melvin Ely, Luther Head, Rashad McCants, Sean Singletary, Delonte West, Sean Williams).