The AP reports: This time, Brandon Roy and the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t need any late-game heroics to beat the Toronto Raptors. Roy had 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Portland beat the Raptors 102-89 Saturday night, sweeping the season series for the first time since 2002-03. Greg Oden broke out of a slump with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Travis Outlaw added 12 points for the Blazers. Chris Bosh had 29 points and nine rebounds for Toronto, which had a two-game winning streak stopped. Jermaine O’Neal scored 17 points, Andrea Bargnani added 13, and Jose Calderon had 11 points and eight assists.
Dec 27: Pistons 87, Bucks 76
The AP reports: With Richard Hamilton sidelined, the Detroit Pistons abandoned their three-guard lineup and used a bigger starting unit that stifled the Milwaukee Bucks. Tayshaun Prince scored nine of his 19 points in the decisive third quarter and Allen Iverson added 18, lifting the Pistons to an 87-76 victory Saturday night. The Bucks had won three consecutive games, averaging 106 points during the streak. The Pistons, starting 6-foot-9 Amir Johnson in place of Hamilton, a slim 6-7 guard, held Milwaukee to 30 percent shooting… Johnson had eight points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, giving the Pistons a different defensive look from their usual lineup that consists of 6-11 Rasheed Wallace as their only big starter… Andrew Bogut had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee, which mainly rested its starters for the final 15 minutes after the game was decided. Michael Redd, the Bucks’ leading scorer, had four points and missed nine of 11 shots, including his last five.
Dec 27: Spurs 106, Grizzlies 103, 2OT
The AP reports: Tony Parker scored 32 points, hitting two of San Antonio’s three baskets in the second overtime, and Michael Finley blocked Memphis’ final shot as the Spurs pulled out 106-103 victory Saturday night… Kurt Thomas, who scored the Spurs’ first basket of the second overtime, added a free throw for the last point with 0.5 seconds left on the clock. Tim Duncan scored 29 points for the Spurs before fouling out in the first overtime and Manu Ginobili scored 20.
InsideHoops.com note: OJ Mayo shot 12-of-22 for 29 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Dec 27: Rockets 120, Jazz 115, 2OT
The AP reports: The Houston Rockets acquired Ron Artest to win games like this. Artest scored 10 of his 28 points in the second overtime and the Rockets recovered from blowing a 16-point lead in the second half to beat the Utah Jazz 120-115 on Saturday night. Yao Ming had 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who led 59-43 early in the third quarter, then went 3-for-18 from the field in the fourth to fuel Utah’s comeback… Ronnie Brewer scored 23 and Deron Williams had 14 points and 11 assists for the Jazz, who played without their top three scorers and rebounders—Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Paul Millsap—for the second straight game… “We came back in the second half, but couldn’t finish the game,” said Andrei Kirilenko, who scored 20.
Dec 27: Magic 118, Wolves 94
The AP reports: Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu made sure there would be no letdown for the Orlando Magic. Turkoglu scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, Nelson returned with an injured toe to score 12 in the final frame, and the Magic slowly pulled away to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-94 on Saturday night. Rashard Lewis added 24 points, Nelson 20 and Dwight Howard 17 for the Magic, who won their seventh straight and 11th in 12 games—all against the Western Conference. The last time Orlando won seven straight was March 31-April 15, 2006, when the team won eight in a row… Rashad McCants scored 21 points for Minnesota, which ended a 13-game losing streak Friday in New York. Al Jefferson had 16 points and Ryan Gomes 14 for the Timberwolves, who have lost nine straight at home.
Dec 27: Hawks 129, Bulls 117
The AP reports: After holding 14 of their last 15 opponents under 100 points, the Atlanta Hawks expected a low-scoring game against Chicago. When that plan failed, the Hawks seemed to enjoy a rare opportunity to change their style. Joe Johnson scored a season-high 41 points, Josh Smith also set a season high with 24, and the Hawks withstood Ben Gordon’s 3-point barrage to beat the Bulls 129-117 on Saturday night. The Bulls lost despite shooting 54.4 percent from the field and matching their scoring high for the season only one night after a 90-77 loss at Miami… Ben Gordon scored 33 points and was 6-of-8 behind the arc to pass Scottie Pippen and become the Bulls’ career leader in 3-pointers. Rookie Derrick Rose added a career-high 27 points.
Dec 27: Wizards 104, Thunder 95
The AP reports: The Washington Wizards didn’t care that they beat a team with only three wins. They were just happy they won at all. The Wizards beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-95 on Saturday night in a matchup of teams with the two worst records in the NBA. They broke an eight-game losing streak, their longest since 2001, with just their fifth win against 23 losses. Oklahoma City fell to 3-28… Antawn Jamison tied his season high with 29 points. Andray Blatche had 19 points and a career-high 15 rebounds… Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Green had 23 points.
Dec 27: Nets 114, Bobcats 103, OT
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.
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.