The AP reports: The hometown kid had quite the homecoming—with a little help from Carmelo Anthony. Chauncey Billups made a triumphant return to the Nuggets with 15 points, Anthony scored 28 and Denver beat the Dallas Mavericks 108-105 on Friday night… Jason Kidd finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Mavericks… Gerald Green scored all of his 13 points in the final period, Dirk Nowitzki finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon Bass had 12 points and 10 boards.
Nov 7: Kings 121, Wolves 109
The AP reports: Kevin Martin decided to play and scored 26 points, and the Kings welcomed back starting center Brad Miller and never trailed in a 121-109 victory Friday night. Martin said he told Kings coach Reggie Theus he wouldn’t be playing following the morning shootaround. Still, Martin proved as difficult to stop as normal, shooting 9-of-23 from the field, 6-of-7 from the free throw line and adding five rebounds… John Salmons scored 23 points for the Kings, Beno Udrih had 15 and Spencer Hawes 13. Mikki Moore had 12 points and Miller contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks… So did Kevin Love, who had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves in his first NBA start, yet couldn’t stop the Timberwolves from dropping their fourth straight game… Mike Miller scored 16 points, Sebastian Telfair had 15 and seven assists, while Al Jefferson had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Nov 7: Jazz 104, Thunder 97
The AP reports: Jerry Sloan became the first NBA coach to win 1,000 games with one team, getting 16 points and 12 rebounds from Andrei Kirilenko in the Utah Jazz’s 104-97 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. Utah fans chanted “Jerry Sloan!” and “Jer-ry! Jer-ry!” at the end in honor of the coach, who is 1,000-596 with the Jazz. Brevin Knight had 11 assists, Carlos Boozer finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, and the Jazz held on despite letting a 31-point lead slip to eight in the fourth quarter… Kevin Durant scored 24 and Jeff Green had 22 points for the Thunder, who were swept by Utah last season when they were the Seattle SuperSonics.
Nov 7: Bulls 100, Suns 83
The AP reports: Ben Gordon issued a warning to the rest of the NBA after teammate Derrick Rose showed off a dizzying array of moves Friday night—the talented rookie is only going to get better. Rose had 18 points and six assists and Gordon scored 23 in the Chicago Bulls’ 100-83 victory over the Phoenix Suns… The Suns played without Shaquille O’Neal, who got the night off as part of a plan to rest him periodically throughout the season… Amare Stoudemire, coming off a 49-point performance against Indiana on Wednesday, finished with 26 points and seven rebounds for the Suns… Steve Nash played only 24 minutes and finished with six points and five assists.
Nov 7: Heat 99, Spurs 83
The AP reports: Tony Parker’s encore to 55 was two to four. That’s how many weeks San Antonio is preparing to be without the NBA’s leading scorer after he sprained his left ankle early in a 99-83 loss to Miami on Friday night. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said the ankle is “pretty swollen.” Tim Duncan found solace that it wasn’t worse. Dwyane Wade, who had 33 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, pitied that “another great player” went down… “I don’t know what it is,” said Duncan, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds but sat most of the fourth quarter… Rookie Michael Beasley added 20 points for Miami and briefly left the game with what the Heat described as a left shin contusion. He later returned to the bench, and the team said X-rays were negative. Roger Mason scored 18 points and Ime Udoka had 14 off the bench in trying to rally the Spurs with Parker out.
Nov 7: Hawks 110, Raptors 92
The AP reports: Mike Bibby scored all of his 19 points in the first half, making four 3-pointers during an 18-4 run that broke open the game, and the unbeaten Hawks routed the Toronto Raptors 110-92 on Friday night. Bibby added 12 assists for Atlanta (4-0). The Hawks are off to their best start since 1997, when they won their first 11 games… Chris Bosh led Toronto (3-2) with 26 points. Jose Calderon, the Raptors’ second-leading scorer, had only six points on 2-of-10 shooting, but finished with 12 assists… Flip Murray added 16 points for Atlanta. Maurice Evans scored 15 and Marvin Williams 14. The points were season highs for Bibby, Murray, Evans and Williams.
Nov 7: Celtics 101, Bucks 89
The AP reports: For the second straight game, the defending NBA champions trailed early then won by a big margin, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 101-89 behind 18 points and 10 rebounds from Paul Pierce on Friday night… Richard Jefferson scored 20 points and Charlie Villanueva added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Milwaukee. Garnett had 16 points for Boston and Kendrick Perkins had seven blocks in 24 minutes. The last Celtic to get more in a game was Kevin McHale, who had eight against Sacramento on Jan. 9, 1987… Boston had 28 assists, 17 turnovers and 13 steals. Milwaukee finished with 22 turnovers and 17 assists.
Nov 7: Nets 103, Pistons 96
The AP reports: Allen Iverson’s first game with Detroit turned into the best night of Devin Harris’ career. Harris scored a career-high 38 points Friday night, outplaying Iverson in the second half and leading the New Jersey Nets to a 103-96 victory over the Pistons… Vince Carter and Josh Boone each scored 18 for New Jersey, which got its first home win after two losses. Boone also pulled down 14 rebounds. Iverson had 24 points and six assists after finally getting to suit up… Richard Hamilton scored 22 points, while Tayshaun Prince added 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Nov 7: Cavs 111, Pacers 107
The AP reports: LeBron James got plenty of help on offense, then sealed the victory with a spectacular play on defense. James scored 27 points, Anderson Varejao added 10 of his career-high 18 in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied to beat the Indiana Pacers 111-107 on Friday night… Mo Williams, a key offseason acquisition from Milwaukee, finished with 21 points for Cleveland, which trailed throughout most of the first three periods, then scored 40 points in the fourth quarter. Danny Granger tied his season high with 33 points for Indiana. He scored 21 in the first half… Pacers rookie center Roy Hibbert had 11 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes, but fouled out with 9:08 to play. Marquis Daniels added 17.
Nov 7: Bobcats 92, Hornets 89
The AP reports: D.J. Augustin, the ninth pick in the draft and for now Felton’s backup, spearheaded Charlotte’s comeback Friday night, keying a fourth-quarter rally as the Bobcats spoiled Paul’s homecoming in a 92-89 victory over the New Orleans Hornets… Felton and Jason Richardson scored 20 points apiece for the Bobcats, who made 29 of 31 free throws and got a big contribution from the bench. Morrison was 3-of-5 on 3-pointers and scored nine points, getting feeds from Augustin… Chris Paul, who grew up 90 minutes away and bought 500 tickets for friends and family, recovered from a scoreless first half to have 20 points, 10 assists and six steals.