The AP reports: Trailing Denver by 19 points, the Jazz were a mess—turning the ball over repeatedly and making just half of their foul shots until something sparked Utah just before halftime. Utah scored 17 straight points over the end of the second period and beginning of the third and rallied for a 97-91 victory over the Nuggets on Friday night… Deron Williams scored 12 of his 25 points in the third quarter and also had 11 assists, his 11th straight game with 10 or more… J.R. Smith led Denver with 27 points. Carmelo Anthony was in foul trouble much of the game and finished with 20. Chauncey Billups added 12 points for the Nuggets, who knew they blew a great chance to win a division game on the road.
Brooks’ career night carries Rockets over Suns
The AP reports: Forget Yao Ming vs. Shaquille O’Neal. Aaron Brooks and Steve Nash put on the real show in Houston on Friday night. Brooks scored a career-high 30 points and drove past O’Neal for the winning basket in the Rockets’ 116-112 win over the Phoenix Suns. Nash shook off a poor first half to score a season-high 32 points, but the Suns dropped their fourth straight road game. O’Neal scored 17 on his 37th birthday for Phoenix, which slipped three games behind Dallas in the race for the No. 8 playoff spot in the West… Nash went 1-for-10 from the field in the first half and said he was bothered by the sprained right ankle that kept him out three games. He went 13-for-17 with nine assists in the second half, single-handedly keeping Phoenix close.
Gooden sits as Spurs roll over Wizards
The AP reports: Drew Gooden left the Chicago Bulls and their losing record last month before spending a couple weeks in woeful Sacramento. Watching his first game with the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night, Gooden said he can get used to this kind of winning. Tony Parker scored 19 points, Michael Finley had 12 and the Spurs treated Gooden to a dominant performance in a 100-78 victory over the Washington Wizards while San Antonio’s newest power forward sat on the bench in street clothes… Ime Udoka scored 13 points and reserve George Hill had 12 for San Antonio. The Spurs are more likely to have their hands full Sunday against Phoenix, and Thursday when they host the Los Angeles Lakers in the final meeting of the West’s top two teams.
Gordon, Rose lead Bulls past Bucks 117-102
The AP reports: Ben Gordon got his shot going from the outside and Derrick Rose spent most of the night driving to the basket. The result was a 117-102 victory for the Chicago Bulls over the Milwaukee Bucks and sole possession of eighth place in the East… John Salmons added had 21 points for Chicago. Richard Jefferson led the Bucks with 27 points, Luc Mbah a Moute added a career-high 21 with 11 boards and Ramon Sessions had 20 points and 11 assists. Charlie Villanueva had 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Celtics beat Cavs at home to tighten East race
The AP reports: Paul Pierce scored 29 points, reserve Leon Powe had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Celtics beat Cleveland 105-94 to move within percentage points of the East-leading Cavaliers in the race for home-court advantage through the conference finals… Mo Williams scored 26 for Cleveland and LeBron James had 21, shooting just 5-of-15 from the field to go with 9-for-12 from the line. He spent the last 87 seconds of the game on the bench after the Cavaliers fell behind by 15 and couldn’t make a run.
Balanced Pistons beat Warriors for fourth straight
The AP reports: With an important game in the playoff race looming, the Detroit Pistons took care of business quickly Friday night. Richard Hamilton scored 22 points and Detroit beat the short-handed Golden State Warriors 108-91 for its fourth straight victory. Jason Maxiell had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Tayshaun Prince also scored 16 for Detroit, which got points from all 12 players. Rodney Stuckey had 14 points and eight assists… Jamal Crawford scored 25 points for Golden State, which lost for the fifth time in six games. Anthony Randolph added 17 in a career-high 47 minutes. His previous high was 28 minutes.
Wade scores 42 points as Heat beat Raptors
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade had 42 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and the Miami Heat beat Toronto 108-102 on Friday night, snapping a six-game losing streak against the Raptors… Michael Beasley scored 12 points and Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers and Chris Quinn had 10 as Miami won back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game streak from Jan. 24-28. The Heat had not beaten Toronto since a 92-89 home victory on April 3, 2007. Chris Bosh scored 34 points and Andrea Bargnani had 23 for Toronto, which has lost four straight.
Howard scores 26 as Magic top Nets 105-102
The AP reports: The Orlando Magic are getting back in a groove, and just in time. Dwight Howard had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and the Magic rallied to beat the New Jersey Nets 105-102 on Friday night. Up next: Sunday at Boston, which is second in the Eastern Conference and three games ahead of Orlando… Rashard Lewis added 21 points, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 13 for the Magic, who won their third straight game and fourth in their last five. Devin Harris had 25 points and nine assists, and Vince Carter had 19 points for the Nets, who went 1-for-8 over the last 6:16.
Bobcats beat Hawks 98-91 for 5th straight win
The AP reports: The Charlotte Bobcats are playing their best basketball of their brief history. The Atlanta Hawks are floundering, bickering and perhaps on the verge of collapse. Two teams going in vastly different directions were on display Friday night, with the Bobcats getting 21 points from Gerald Wallace and using a near-perfect first quarter to build a big lead and beat the dysfunctional Hawks 98-91 for their franchise record-tying fifth straight victory… Emeka Okafor added 17 points and 11 rebounds, Raymond Felton had 17 points and 10 assists, and Boris Diaw had 13 points and 13 assists as the fifth-year Bobcats matched their longest win streak set late last season—when they were long out of the postseason picture… Al Horford scored 15 points for the Hawks, who fell behind 36-21 after the first quarter, and saw their lead over Miami for in the race for home-court advantage in the first-round of the playoffs sliced to a half-game.
Glen Davis ejected after hard foul on Anderson Varejao
A flagrant-2 foul was called on Celtics power forward Glen Davis Friday night in Boston in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Early in the third quarter, Cavs forward/center Anderson Varejao had the ball and drove at the rim, coming alongside the left baseline.
As Varejao went up for his shot, Davis jumped with both his arms up, but brought both arms down, making contact with Varjao’s neck and shoulder area. There was enough of a follow-through motion for the refs to call it a flagrant-2.
I think the refs made the right call.
A few players from both teams rushed over to make sure no one started to fight, but nothing happened.
A flagrant-2 foul results in an ejection. So, Davis is gone from the game.
Doc Rivers became furious as the refs told him what was up. He must have not seen the replay.
And then pointless, silly technical fouls were called on LeBron James, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ray Allen for rushing over and sort of holding on to each other for a few seconds.
–Jeff