The AP reports: Despite getting his 24th career triple-double, LeBron James was more impressed by the Cleveland Cavaliers tying the NBA record for fewest turnovers. James had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Cavaliers to a 97-92 overtime victory against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night. Cleveland committed only two turnovers, setting a franchise record and matching the mark set by Milwaukee against Indiana on April 1, 2006… Ilgauskas finished with 21 points… James scored twice late in regulation to give Cleveland an 86-82 lead, but Brandon Roy, who led Portland with 24 points, hit four free throws in the final 34 seconds—the last two coming with 3.4 seconds left—to tie the game.
Murray shines off bench, Hawks beat Mavs 95-87
The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 24 points, and reserve Flip Murray had 19 in the Atlanta Hawks’ seventh straight victory, 95-87 over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night… Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points and 12 rebounds, but he and Terry combined to go just 2-for-10 in the fourth quarter. The Mavs finished 6-for-31 on 3-point attempts, including a combined 0-for-8 in the final period from Terry and Jason Kidd… Dallas was without two starters, swingman Josh Howard, who has a sore left ankle, and forward Erick Dampier, who has a swollen left knee and missed his first game of the season.
Lakers re-assign Sun Yue to D-League
The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned guard Sun Yue to the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League for the second time this season, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.
Sun, who became the 25th NBA player assigned to a D-League affiliate this season on March 6, played 4 games (4 starts), averaging 10.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.25 blocks in 36.0 minutes in his first stint with the D-Fenders.
Originally selected by the Lakers in the second round (40th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft, Sun signed with the Lakers the following summer (August 25, 2008) shortly after representing China as a member of the Men’s Olympic Basketball Team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Making his NBA debut on December 7 versus Milwaukee with four points on 2-of-3 shooting in five minutes, Sun has appeared in 10 games with the Lakers this season, totaling six points, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot in 28 minutes.
Gordon scores 26 points, Clippers beat Wizards
The AP reports: Chris Kaman is heavy and out of shape. His post presence is providing some much needed relief for the Los Angeles Clippers, though, albeit late in the season with no postseason to look forward to. Eric Gordon scored 15 of his 26 points in the third quarter, Baron Davis tied a career high with 20 assists, and the Clippers rallied to beat the lowly Washington Wizards 123-108 on Wednesday night. Kaman, sidelined for most of the season by a left foot injury, added 19 points in 21 1/2 minutes in his fifth game back for the Clippers… “Novak is like a video game. His shot is a beautiful thing to watch, and I am definitely surprised he is left open and unguarded so much,” said the Clippers’ Al Thornton, who finished with 22 points… Antawn Jamison led Washington with 24 points and brought the Wizards within two with 6:01 remaining. But that’s the closest they would get as Gordon slammed an alley-oop dunk, and Davis hit a jumper with 2 seconds remaining.
Richardson, O’Neal, Nash lead Suns over 76ers
The AP reports: Jason Richardson scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half, and Shaquille O’Neal had 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Suns to their third straight victory, 126-116 over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. Steve Nash added 24 points and 10 assists to help the Suns move within four games of idle Dallas for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The loss ended the 76ers’ winning streak at four games… Grant Hill added 21 points for the Suns, giving them four 20-point scorers for the second consecutive game… Andre Miller topped Philadelphia with 23 points and eight assists, and Thaddeus Young also had 23 points. Lou Williams had 19 points, Willie Green and Donyell Marshall 12 each, and Andre Iguodala 11.
Yao’s 31 points lead Rockets past Pistons in 2 OTs
The AP reports: The Houston Rockets turned to Yao Ming and finally pulled away from the undermanned Detroit Pistons. Yao scored 31 points—eight in the extra periods—and Ron Artest added 26 to lead the Rockets to a 106-101 double-overtime victory Wednesday night against the Pistons, who played without injured stars Richard Hamilton (groin), Allen Iverson (back) and Rasheed Wallace (calf). Aaron Brooks scored seven of his 14 points in the second extra period, helping the Rockets stay in third place in the Western Conference standings… Arron Afflalo scored 24 points, Rodney Stuckey added 21 points with 10 assists and Antonio McDyess grabbed 20 rebounds for the Pistons, who’ve lost three in a row.
Rose shines, Bulls beat Thunder to snap road skid
The AP reports: Derrick Rose didn’t know what he had to do, but his team needed him to do something. A perfect second half took care of what was ailing the Chicago Bulls. Rose scored 20 of his 25 points and didn’t miss a shot in the second half and the Bulls snapped a seven-game road losing streak by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-96 on Wednesday night… Russell Westbrook, the fourth overall pick in the draft, had 15 points and pulled the Thunder within 99-96 by driving past Rose for a layup in the final minute before Oklahoma City’s rally fell short. John Salmons added 20 points and Ben Gordon scored 18 for the Bulls. Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 28 points and Jeff Green had 18.
Hornets beat Timberwolves 94-93
The AP reports: Chris Paul and David West reminded the New Orleans Hornets of what a luxury it can be to have pair of All-Stars working together in crunch time. Paul capped a 26-point, 10-assist, five-steal performance by setting up West’s dunk with 12.6 seconds left that gave the New Orleans Hornets a 94-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night… Kevin Love had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, one night after getting 17 points and 19 rebounds in a loss at San Antonio… Rasual Butler had 14 points for New Orleans and Hilton Armstrong, starting at center for Tyson Chandler, had 12 points. Ryan Gomes had 17 points for Minnesota, while Rodney Carney added 12, Foye 11 and Telfair 10.
Anthony leads Nuggets from behind to beat Grizz
The AP reports: The road has been unkind to the Denver Nuggets since the All-Star break, and it looked like they were headed for trouble again versus the Memphis Grizzlies. But the Nuggets turned up the defensive intensity in time, overtook the Grizzlies in the final 2:35 and defeated Memphis 111-109 on Wednesday night. “It would have been a long plane ride home thinking about this loss,” said Carmelo Anthony, who led Denver with 35 points, including the go-ahead three-point play with 33.2 remaining… The Nuggets snapped a six-game road losing streak. Chauncey Billups added 18 points and 12 assists for Denver and J.R. Smith scored 21… Rudy Gay led Memphis with 30 points. O.J. Mayo matched Warrick’s 16 points, and Mike Conley had eight points and matched his season-high with 10 assists.
Howard nears triple-double, leads Magic past Bucks
The AP reports: Playing back-to-back road games and coming off a tough loss, the Orlando Magic could have fallen into a trap against a Milwaukee team that had just tripped up another Eastern Conference contender. Instead, Dwight Howard dominated in the first quarter and the Magic never really let the Bucks back into the game, cruising to a 106-80 victory Wednesday night… Orlando was coming off a deflating 97-93 loss at Cleveland, a game in which Howard scored only 13 points. That turned around right away Wednesday, as Howard scored 18 points in the first quarter on his way to 28 for the game. He added 12 rebounds, and had seven assists, falling three shy of a triple-double… Charlie Villanueva had 17 points for the Bucks, who are desperately trying to earn the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and were coming off a home victory over Boston.