The 2012-13 Basketball Season Is Here

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Crawford scores 30 as Clips beat Rockets 117-109



HOUSTON (AP) The Los Angeles Clippers rarely lose when Jamal Crawford leads the team in scoring.

Crawford insisted it has very little to do with him after his latest such game - one the Clippers played without Chris Paul.

Crawford scored a season-high 30 points, including 12 straight to start the fourth quarter, and the Clippers looked just fine without Paul in a 117-109 win over the struggling Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

The Clippers won their second game in a row despite missing their star point guard, who is day to day with a bruised right kneecap.

Los Angeles used a big third quarter to take the lead, and Crawford extended the advantage to 20 by outscoring Houston 12-7 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Clippers improved to 11-1 this season when the 12-year veteran Crawford leads the team in scoring. Crawford seemed surprised when he learned of that statistic.

"It's everybody honestly,'' he said. "I've got the easy job just scoring, but Grant, Blake, all those guys put me in a position to score ... I just have to make the shots, they're doing all the hard work.''

James Harden had 23 points for the Rockets, whose four-game losing streak is a season worst.

Los Angeles opened the second half with a 10-0 run to take a 68-59 lead with about nine minutes left in the third quarter. Eric Bledsoe, starting in place of Paul, scored the last five points in that span, ending it with a 3-pointer. Houston missed four shots and had a turnover as the Clippers built their lead.

"Willie did a great job for us in the third, and then Jamal obviously got going in the fourth to take over the game,'' Los Angeles coach Vinny Del Negro said.

The Rockets finally found some offense when Chandler Parsons scored their first points of the second half on a layup with 8 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. But the Clippers didn't let up, and Willie Green soon got hot. He scored eight points in less than a minute thanks in part to two turnovers by Omer Asik, extending the lead to 81-65.

His last three points in that span came when he was fouled on a two-handed dunk, bringing the entire Los Angeles bench to its feet, and then made the free throw.

Grant Hill was called for a foul on Toney Douglas late in the third quarter and Blake Griffin received a technical after jawing with officials following the call. Griffin was immediately pulled from the game and received an earful from coach Del Negro when he got to the bench.

"I think we just have to control ourselves a little bit more,'' Del Negro said. "We can't be wasting points. We got a few technicals tonight. I got one on a difficult call against us. We just have to do a better job.''

Los Angeles entered the fourth quarter leading 90-77 after shooting 60 percent to just 38.9 percent by the Rockets in the third.

"We couldn't establish much defensively,'' Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "We played one side of the court, on the offensive end, in the third quarter. We just gave in in the third quarter. We didn't have what we needed to have.''

Bledsoe and Griffin added 19 points apiece for the Clippers, and Matt Barnes had 18. Bledsoe's points were a season high and Green also had a season high with 15 points.

Crawford said the win was a perfect example of the way they want to play.

"That's what it's about. We do it collectively,'' he said. "We all pull for each other and we're all in it together and that's how we win.''

Crawford had a spectacular run to start the fourth quarter where he made five straight shots, including a pair of 3-pointers to push the lead to 102-82. Houston called a timeout after his last bucket in that run and DeAndre Jordan dashed off the bench and met him for a celebratory jump and bump near center court.

The Rockets went on a 10-2 run later in the fourth quarter to pull to 108-96. But The Clippers responded with two 3-pointers sandwiched around a basket by Jeremy Lin to thwart the comeback attempt.

Harden was disappointed that the Rockets didn't get back on track in their one home game before four straight on the road.

"You can't do that, especially coming off a three-game road trip, a three-game losing streak,'' he said. "We've got to be better, especially on the defensive end. We've got to guard in order to win games. It's simple.''

The Clippers were up by one point in the second quarter when Lamar Odom received his third foul. Del Negro received a technical for arguing the call and seconds later Odom was also giving a technical for arguing. Harden made just one of the two free throws, but Morris connected on a 3-pointer a few seconds later to give Houston a 39-36 lead.

Houston trailed by two about a minute later before using a 13-4 run to go on top 52-45 about 3 1/2 minutes before halftime. Los Angeles outscored the Rockets 13-7 for the rest of the quarter to cut the lead to 59-58 at halftime.

Parsons finished with 17 points and Lin added 12 points with 10 assists.

NOTES: Tuesday was Hill's 1,000th career game, making him the 20th active player to reach the mark. ... Houston Texans stars Arian Foster and Andre Johnson watched the game from courtside seats. Foster received a nice ovation from the crowd as he walked alongside the court to his seat in the third quarter. The Texans lost to New England in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday.

 

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Irving scores 31 to lead Cavs over Trail Blazers



PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) The first matchup between Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard turned into a huge night for the reigning Rookie of the Year.

Irving scored 31 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers 93-88 on Wednesday to snap a four-game losing streak.

"When he's aggressive, he's pushing the ball and he's in attack mode,'' Cleveland coach Byron Scott said of Irving. "I think our guys feed off of that.''

Tristan Thompson added 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavaliers.

Nicolas Batum had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers, who erased a 19-point second-quarter deficit and briefly took the lead. Wesley Matthews added 17 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 15.

"I thought Cleveland, obviously, in the first half played harder,'' Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "But we fought.''

Lillard finished with 13 points. Portland's rookie point guard is averaging 18.1 a game, but he entered the fourth quarter with only three on 0-for-3 shooting. He got going in the final period, tying the score at 75 with a 3-pointer and giving the Blazers an 86-85 lead by hitting a 20-footer with 2:07 left.

Irving took over from there, though. He made a pull-up jumper, a turnaround bank shot and a couple of free throws as Portland wilted.

"We obviously knew they were going to get back in the game eventually,'' Irving said. "It was bound to happen, but we just did a good job of keeping our composure.''

Tyler Zeller had 11 points and nine rebounds for Cleveland, which was playing the fourth game of a five-game Western Conference road trip. The Cavs had lost eight of 10 overall, including 124-118 to Sacramento on Monday.

Portland has lost four straight by a total of 19 points. The Blazers started slow and spent long stretches trying to dig out of holes, possibly the consequence of going overtime with the Nuggets on Tuesday night in a 115-111 loss in Denver's high altitude.

"There's no excuses,'' Matthews said. "They played better than us for a half and we couldn't get out of the hole.''

Irving led the way in the first quarter, shooting 6 of 9 while Cleveland led by as many as 11. The Cavs' lead hit its apex at 51-32 in the second quarter after Irving fed Thompson for a dunk. Portland had 12 turnovers, shot 34 percent in the first half and trailed by 17 at halftime.

Portland came out of the break more composed and made a run, with back-to-back jumpers from Aldridge, a 3-pointer from Matthews and a ferocious dunk from J.J. Hickson to cut the lead to 55-46.

Portland managed to hang around and entered the final quarter still trailing by nine. The Blazers outscored Cleveland by four in the final quarter.

NOTES: Cleveland has won 12 of the last 18 games in the series but Portland had won the past four, including 118-117 in two overtimes on Dec. 1. Irving missed that game with a broken finger. ... Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who grew up in Portland, was in attendance.

 

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Thunder snap Nuggets' win streak, 117-97



OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Not even halfway through the first quarter, Russell Westbrook had already provided a showcase of his All-Star array of talents.

Pushing the pace to earn free throws, getting inside for a layup, popping a mid-range jumper, he had done it all. And the Denver Nuggets were never able to answer.

Westbrook scored half of his 32 points in the opening quarter and the Oklahoma City Thunder went wire-to-wire for a 117-97 victory Wednesday night, snapping Denver's six-game winning streak.

"What can you do?'' All-Star teammate Kevin Durant said. "He's shooting the jump shot. If you pressure him, then he goes to the rim. It's like a nightmare when he's making that jump shot.

"So, hopefully he continues to keep making it. ... These last few games, he's been really good at scoring the basketball and taking the pressure off everybody else.''

Westbrook's monster first quarter followed a season-best 36 points in Oklahoma City's last game Monday night at Phoenix. And this time, he needed only three quarters to do his damage.

The Thunder pulled their starters with a 25-point edge heading into the fourth quarter. It was only the second wire-to-wire win of the season for Oklahoma City, which has a league-best 31-8 record.

Denver was riding its longest winning streak of the season, but needed overtime to beat Portland only a night earlier and never could match Oklahoma City's energy.

"There's always those three or four or five games a year that you can't get it going, and tonight we couldn't get it going,'' coach George Karl said. "And you're playing maybe the best team in basketball.''

Durant and Kevin Martin each scored 20 points for the Thunder. Durant also matched his career best with five steals.

Kosta Koufos had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead the Nuggets, who fell to 3-6 this season in the second game of a back-to-back set.

"We knew these guys were coming on a back-to-back, playing overtime last night, so we just wanted to get into them and make them make quick decisions with the ball,'' Durant said.

Westbrook hit six of his first eight shots and had 16 points in the first 10 minutes, with the Thunder continuously pulling away. Oklahoma City scored the first seven points of the game and also had a pair of 8-0 spurts in the first quarter while getting out to a 34-18 lead.

"I come into the game confident, honestly, and I just come out and take the shots that's given to me,'' Westbrook said.

It wasn't until after Nick Collison's two-handed dunk stretched the advantage to 45-23 in the first 3 minutes of the second quarter before Karl finally spent a timeout. The Nuggets never got closer than 17 after that.

"We didn't have a good offensive game, we didn't have a good defensive game, we didn't have a good energy game. They seemed to be the hungry team from the very beginning,'' Karl said.

"Their studs got into the game at a high level very early and scored a lot of points. We never got into our flow.''

Denver had won after trailing in the fourth quarter or overtime in its previous four games, but dug too big of a hole to mount a comeback this time.

The Nuggets scored 11 straight points immediately after Oklahoma City pulled Martin, its top reserve, and put him on the bench alongside the starters. That still only cut the deficit to 101-84.

It was the fifth straight win for Oklahoma City in its only home game between sweeping a three-game West Coast road and heading back out for six more away from Chesapeake Energy Arena.

"We're greedy,'' Durant said. "In this league, you've got to be greedy. Just as quickly as you can win four or five in a row, you can lose four or five. You never can be complacent.''

JaVale McGee had a couple of highlight-reel dunks among 15 points for Denver. Andre Iguodala scored 12 and Danilo Gallinari 11. The Nuggets had 21 turnovers, one shy of their worst total of the season.

The Northwest Division rivals will play again Sunday in Denver.

Reserve Wilson Chandler, who hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in the Nuggets' overtime win against Portland on Tuesday night, did not play.

Serge Ibaka returned to the Oklahoma City lineup after missing the past two games with a chest contusion and had five points, six rebounds and five blocks in 26 minutes.

NOTES: Asked before the game who should be the Nuggets' All-Star candidates, Karl said backup point guard Andre Miller has been the team's MVP so far. ... Oklahoma City corralled an offensive rebound on nine of its first 16 missed shots. ... The Thunder scored 67 points in the first half. Their season-high for first-half scoring was 68 against Houston on Dec. 29. ... Oklahoma City reserve Nick Collison sprained his right ankle in the first half and did not return.

 

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James eclipses 20K points, Heat top Warriors 92-75



OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley took a moment in the locker room late Wednesday night to give LeBron James the game ball and recognize his latest record.

Players shouted and huddled in the center of the room. Then, as Spoelstra said, "Everybody took a shot at him - a punch, a jab, an elbow, whatever they could get in before he started hitting back.''

Just a small sampling of the hurt James has put on the rest of the NBA for the last decade.

James became the youngest player in league history to score 20,000 points and also surpassed 5,000 assists on a milestone night, leading the Heat to a 92-75 victory over the undermanned Golden State Warriors.

On a road trip that has had more bad news than good, James rewrote the headlines and the record books. He finished with 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in just 30 minutes to grab his latest slice of history.

"It means everything,'' James said. "It means a lot. First of all, like I continue to say, it means I've been able to be healthy. To be out on the floor and do what I love to do, I love the game of basketball and I try to give everything to the game. And hopefully it continues to give back to me.''

James eclipsed both marks before halftime, helped Miami go ahead by 34 points in the third quarter and allowed Spoelstra to rest his starters - without debate this time - for the fourth. Dwyane Wade added 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Mario Chalmers scored 15 for the Heat, who had lost three of their last four away from home.

David Lee had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Jarrett Jack scored 16 in place of Stephen Curry, who sprained his twice surgically repaired right ankle during Golden State's morning practice. The team said X-rays were negative, and Warriors coach Mark Jackson said he doesn't expect Curry to be out long.

The Warriors, who upset the Heat 97-95 in Miami on Dec. 12, lost consecutive games for only the third time this season. With center Andrew Bogut already out indefinitely recovering from left ankle surgery, Curry's absence turned out to be too much to overcome against the defending NBA champions.

"Disappointing, but we faced a team that remembered what took place in South Beach and came with a mindset to make a point, individually and collectively,'' Jackson said. "That's what great players do.''

James and Wade just overwhelmed the Warriors from the start.

Wade lobbed an alley-oop from halfcourt that James finished with two hands early in the first quarter. James hit Wade slicing down the lane for a dunk moments later for his 5,000th career assist, and James made a 3-pointer after falling hard on his right elbow a play earlier to give the Heat a 23-14 lead.

James, who made 11 of 20 shots from the floor, surpassed the scoring mark when he dribbled from the wing and pulled up in the lane to make an off-balance jumper with 2:45 remaining in the second quarter to give him 20,001 career points. He needed 18 points entering the game to become the 38th NBA player to reach the milestone.

James said he knew before the shot he was a point away from the milestone.

"The best part about it is I was in a rhythm, too, so it wasn't one of those forced shots,'' he said. "I was able to get the switch on David Lee and get to the elbow and make a shot. It's pretty cool.''

Previously, the youngest player to score 20,000 points was Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who got there when he was 29 years, 122 days old. James was 28 years, 17 days on Wednesday.

"He probably would've had it sooner if he didn't decide to come down here to South Beach,'' Wade said. "It's just a testament to him as a player.''

James already was the youngest player in league history to win Rookie of the Year, record a triple-double, score 1,000 points, score 10,000 points and win MVP honors at an All-Star game. Only Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain (29 years, 134 days) and Michael Jordan (29 years, 326 days) reached the latest milestone before turning 30.

James also is the 13th player with 20,000 points and 5,000 assists. The only active players to reach both marks are Bryant and Boston's Kevin Garnett.

"That's a big-time moment,'' Spoelstra said. "He's a special guy. He's a special player. He's a once-in-a-generational type of player.''

With the long-awaited record out of the way, James and Wade switched roles and opened the second half almost the same way the duo began the first.

Wade tossed an alley-oop just inside halfcourt to James while two Warriors defenders watched the three-time NBA MVP soar for the slam, part of a scintillating 26-6 surge filled with highlights to open the third quarter and put the Heat ahead 78-44.

In a 104-97 loss at Utah on Monday, Spoelstra sat Wade and played Chris Bosh for just 40 seconds in the fourth quarter in a decision that had been critiqued and questioned for the past two days by fans and national media. The Heat sliced a 19-point deficit to two without both before falling short.

This time, the Big Three watched the final 12 minutes smiling from the bench.

"Hopefully,'' Spoelstra said, "we can put to rest everything that happened the other night.''

NOTES: In terms of games played, James is the seventh-fastest to join the 20,000 club. Wednesday was his 726th regular-season game. Chamberlain needed only 499 games to score 20,000 points. ... The Warriors fell to 13-3 against the Eastern Conference this season. The two other losses came against Orlando. ... Heat backup F Shane Battier returned after missing two games with a hamstring injury. He had two rebounds and finished 0 for 3 from 3-point range in 10 minutes.

 

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Clippers cruise to 90-77 win over Timberwolves



MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Los Angeles Clippers didn't have much left in the tank at the end of a three-game road trip that was played entirely without star point guard Chris Paul.

Against the injury-depleted Minnesota Timberwolves, they didn't need much.

Jamal Crawford scored 22 points, Blake Griffin added 20 and the Clippers hardly broke a sweat in cruising to a 90-77 victory over the free-falling Timberwolves on Thursday night.

Lamar Odom grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out six assists, and the Clippers outscored Minnesota's bench 45-23 to overcome Paul's third straight missed game because of a knee injury.

"It was a bad game for us and to still get a win and finish off a road trip 3-0 is great,'' Griffin said. "We needed these three wins, especially with CP out. Other guys stepped up and did a great job.''

Ronny Turiaf had 11 points - his first double-digit scoring game since March 21, 2011 - and the Clippers had a 50-30 advantage on points in the paint.

Luke Ridnour scored 21 points and Ricky Rubio had four points and six assists in his first start of the season for the Timberwolves, who lost leading scorer and rebounder Nikola Pekovic to a bruised right quadriceps in the third quarter.

The Timberwolves shot just 35.7 percent and missed 15 of their 19 3-pointers in losing their fifth straight game.

"It's tough, but we have two ways to do it,'' Rubio said. "One is complaining because we have the injuries. I don't think that's the way. The way is to be a man. I think we have to step up. Everybody has to know his new role. Every game it's changing and that's hard to do. But we are here and we're going to do it.''

Even without their MVP candidate out there to steer the ship over the last few games, the Clippers have been humming right along. Backup Eric Bledsoe clearly has been watching how Paul goes about his business because the third-year Kentucky point guard has played with a maturity and explosiveness that has allowed the Clippers to not miss a beat.

Bledsoe picked up two quick fouls in the first 3 minutes on Thursday night, but that was no problem for the deepest team in the league. Coach Vinny Del Negro went to super-sub Crawford, who scored 12 points in the first half to help Los Angeles muddle through an uninspired start.

"We should come into every arena feeling we should get the W,'' Caron Butler said at the morning shootaround. "That's not being cocky or overconfident. That's having enough confidence in our ability and ourselves and the personnel we have out there and the system that we run.''

The Clippers looked a little too overconfident early in the game, seemingly playing on cruise control against a team they knew was undermanned and overwhelmed. Los Angeles turned the ball over 17 times in the first three quarters and coasted offensively to allow the Wolves to hang around.

Minnesota trailed by just five going into the fourth quarter, but the Clippers simply wore down the Timberwolves with their depth. Bledsoe scored only two points, but Crawford's 3-pointer with 5 minutes to go gave Los Angeles a 13-point lead and the short-handed Wolves simply faded away.

"We want the starters to be comfortable enough that when they come out of the game they don't have to worry,'' Crawford said. "I think when they come out of the game we should extend the lead and they will be fresher down the season because of it.''

Pekovic was injured while getting tangled with Griffin under the basket in the third quarter and Alexey Shved rolled his left ankle midway through the final period, the latest in an incredible pile of injuries for the Wolves this season. Kevin Love is out for two months with a right hand that is broken for the second time this season, Brandon Roy may not play at all this season with recurring knee problems, Chase Budinger is out until March with a knee injury and Josh Howard and Malcolm Lee are both lost for the season with injuries.

Head coach Rick Adelman missed his sixth straight game while tending to his sick wife.

"It's hard,'' acting head coach Terry Porter said. "It's really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel but we have to keep working towards getting better and whoever we have we just have to come out and play hard.''


NOTES: Paul and Griffin were voted starters for the Western Conference in the All-Star game. ... The Timberwolves held a moment of silence for Minnesota Lynx COO Conrad Smith, who died after a long battle with cancer on Wednesday night. Smith also worked for the Timberwolves, Twins and North Stars over the years. "Simply put, Conrad is irreplaceable,'' Timberwolves and Lynx president Chris Wright said. ... The Wolves agreed to terms with F Mickael Gelabale of France, who planned to join the team on Friday. ... Turiaf, a 38 percent free throw shooter this season, drew jeers when he airballed a freebie in the fourth quarter.

 

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LeBron's Heat hold off Kobe's Lakers 99-90



LOS ANGELES (AP) For a few exciting minutes in the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers resembled the championship-caliber dynamo everybody expected this season, making a big run and surging past the Miami Heat.

And then LeBron James calmly demonstrated why the Heat are the defending NBA champions and the Lakers are in 11th place in the Western Conference.

James had 39 points and eight assists, Dwyane Wade added 27 points on his 31st birthday and the Heat held off the Lakers 99-90 Thursday night, scoring the final nine points to finish their six-game road trip in style.

"We closed out the trip the right way, and we want to build from it,'' James said. "We wanted to do much better, of course, after the way we started, losing to Indiana and Portland.''

They finished up just fine at Staples Center, getting their second win in their last eight games here against the Lakers.

Ray Allen scored seven of his nine points in the final 5 minutes as the Heat repelled a late charge by the Lakers, who lost for the seventh time in nine games. The Lakers challenged the champs, but James closed out the Heat's sixth road game in 10 days with a flurry of clutch baskets and solid defensive play, often against Bryant.

"I thought we played well enough to beat them,'' Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "That's a championship team. They turned on all the juices, so it's a good measuring stick. That's what they do, and we have to get better. We've got to get smoother.''

Bryant scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for Los Angeles, but later lamented his lack of aggression in the first three quarters. Dwight Howard had 13 points and 16 rebounds, but missed two key free throws with 1:51 left while Miami pulled away, capping the All-Star starting center's 5-for-13 effort at the line.

Miami held a narrow lead for most of the first three quarters until Bryant hit two 3-pointers and two jumpers during a 14-3 Lakers run to an 84-81 lead in the fourth quarter.

Allen put the Heat back ahead with a 3-pointer with 4:55 to play, but Bryant tied it with his third 3-pointer of the quarter with 2:33 left. After Wade hit a jumper, Howard missed two free throws - airballing the first - and Allen hit a high-arching jumper in the paint before James iced it with a short bank shot with 49 seconds left.

"On the road, when things don't always go your way, you don't have your momentum and you don't have the confidence of your home crowd, you have to just find different ways to grind,'' Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "This is a perfect example of that. We never really got into a great flow offensively until late in the fourth quarter.''

Metta World Peace scored 16 points for the Lakers, who committed 20 turnovers and didn't score in the final 2 1/2 minutes. Yet they largely saw a solid effort against the mighty Heat is cause for optimism in Hollywood.

"It's not much of a setback,'' Bryant said. "They played very well. They obviously have a familiarity, been playing together, and they know where they want to be in their spots. They executed down the stretch. LeBron made some tough shots.''

Pau Gasol had 12 points and four rebounds in his return from a five-game absence with a concussion for the Lakers, who had hoped to build on consecutive victories following a six-game losing streak that knocked them well out of the West playoff picture.

James and Wade got little help until Allen's late flurry, but they didn't need it. Chris Bosh had just seven points and six rebounds in 35 minutes for Miami.

"LeBron is going to get his points, but if we control Dwyane and Chris Bosh, we have a better chance of winning,'' Howard said. "Tonight, D-Wade, he had it going on the offensive end.''

Bryant scored at least 20 points in his 23rd consecutive game, but the NBA's leading scorer missed 14 of his first 17 shots.

The game featured four of the 10 starters in next month's All-Star game, with Bryant edging James by roughly 7,800 votes as the top vote-getter in the final results announced earlier in the day. Wade and Howard also will start in Houston.

Bryant is headed to his 15th All-Star game in 17 NBA seasons, starting a record 15 consecutive times, while Howard will be a seven-time All-Star.

Earl Clark stayed in the Lakers' starting lineup on his 25th birthday, but Gasol played well off the bench in his first game since Denver's JaVale McGee elbowed him in the face Jan. 6.

NOTES: The Lakers visit Miami on Feb. 10 in the final stop of their seven-game road trip while the Grammy Awards take over Staples Center. Los Angeles hasn't won at American Airlines Arena since Feb. 10, 2008. ... Bryant scored at least 20 points in 62 straight games from December 2005 to April 2006. ... Mark Wahlberg, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Queen Latifah, Ellen Pompeo, director Ron Howard and Los Angeles Kings players Dustin Penner, Drew Doughty and Trevor Lewis watched from courtside.

 

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Fields scores 18 as Raptors beat struggling Lakers



TORONTO (AP) A worn-down Kobe Bryant called it a "sub-par'' performance. For the Los Angeles Lakers, it was the latest in a string of similar efforts by a struggling team.

Landry Fields had a season-high 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors sent the Lakers to their fifth straight road loss, 108-103 on Sunday.

Bryant scored 26 points and Pau Gasol had 25 for the Lakers, whose road skid is their longest in six years. Dwight Howard was ejected after drawing his second technical foul with 1:18 left in the first half.

The Lakers fell behind by 15 points midway through the first quarter and lost for the eighth time in 10 games.

"We've got a lot of issues,'' coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Offensively the ball sticks and we don't take very good shots. Defensively, ups and downs, we forget guys.''

Jose Calderon had 22 points and nine assists while Ed Davis had 18 points and eight rebounds for Toronto. Alan Anderson added 14 points and eight assists as the Raptors ended a four-game losing streak against the Lakers.

"That was one of the most complete games we've had all year, top to bottom,'' Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.

Bryant made 10 of 32 shots, including 3 of 12 on 3-pointers, and complained the "heavy legs'' had dulled his shooting effort.

"I've just got to rest my legs,'' he said. "My legs are a little tired. My shots are just short. That's on me. I'll take this loss on me, gladly. There were a lot of easy shots, a lot of them, that I should have put down.

"My offense was sub-par in terms of missing easy shots,'' he said. "I've got to do a better job of putting that ball in the hole when the opportunity presents itself.''

Steve Nash scored 16 points and Earl Clark had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the poor-shooting Lakers.

"I didn't feel like we were ready to play,'' Nash said. "We cut
too many corners at too many different times in the game and had too big a hole to climb out of.

"We're just not finding any consistent level out of our group,'' he said.

Howard got his first technical for arguing after a missed jump shot with 4:43 left in the first quarter. The star center was tossed after he and Anderson were called on a double technical when they got tangled up after a free throw. Howard finished with five points in 17 minutes.

Howard left without speaking to reporters, but Bryant said he was upset by the costly ejection.

"I really don't agree with that one at all,'' Bryant said. "What's a player supposed to do? A guy cuts in front when he's trying to walk back up the court. An official told me he should just walk away. I said, "Which direction? Should he just turn around a just walk to the bench?'''

Clark said Los Angeles struggled to defend the paint without Howard's presence inside.

"When he's gone, it's just a layup special,'' Clark said.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Kyle Lowry and layups by Terrence Ross and Anderson gave Toronto a 95-76 lead with 7:29 left, forcing the Lakers to call timeout.

Los Angeles responded with a 3 by Nash and, after a layup by Fields, a pair of 3-pointers by Bryant and a layup by Antawn Jamison made it 97-87 with 5:22 remaining.

Bryant hit a 3 with 1:35 left, cutting it to 103-97, but Amir Johnson rebounded Anderson's miss and scored a layup to make it an eight-point game with 1:02 left.

Gasol returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench for the first time in his Lakers career in Thursday's loss to Miami. Gasol had sat out the previous five games with a concussion after being accidentally elbowed in the face by Denver's JaVale McGee.

It was a slow start for the Lakers, who missed 12 of their first 15 shots and were down 19-4 with 5:50 left in the first. Bryant missed his first six shots and made just one of eight in the opening quarter as Toronto led 29-20.

"We started off awful, without any energy,'' D'Antoni said.

Gasol scored 10 points and Bryant had nine in the third, but the Raptors got 10 points from Fields and six each from Calderon and Davis to take an 83-70 edge into the fourth.

NOTES: Raptors C Andrea Bargnani (right elbow) has resumed working with a basketball, while rookie C Jonas Valanciunas (broken right ring finger) is lifting weights, Casey said. ... Nash made his first visit to Toronto since passing on a contract offer from the Raptors to sign with Los Angeles last summer. ... This was the first game of a three-game road trip for the Lakers, who will also visit Chicago and Memphis. ... Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban attended the game.

 

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Nuggets snap Thunder's win streak with OT victory



DENVER (AP) Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook teamed up on another scoring spree for Oklahoma City. In a tightly contested game, though, Kenneth Faried's driving layup made the difference for Denver.

Faried scored the go-ahead layup in overtime, and the Nuggets overcame 30-plus point performances from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to beat the Thunder 121-118 Sunday night, snapping Oklahoma City's six-game winning streak.

Corey Brewer scored 26 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Nuggets, who reversed a 20-point loss to the Thunder last Wednesday. Danilo Gallinari added 18 points and Faried finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Brewer also set up Faried with a pass on his decisive drive to the basket.

"He gave me the ball and said, "Go to work,''' Faried said. "They weren't going to come double me, and I said "I'm going to score on this.' There were no ifs, ands or buts about it. I was going to score.''

Faried's driving layup gave the Nuggets a one-point lead they would not relinquish with 46.5 seconds remaining in overtime.

"He made a big-time play,'' said Nuggets guard Ty Lawson, who finished with 11 points and nine assists. "He took two dribbles, and the little jump-hook he'd been working on, he hit.''

The Thunder, who beat Dallas in overtime Friday night behind a career-high 52 points from Durant, lost for the first time in five overtime games this season. They got 37 points from Durant and 36 from Westbrook.

"They're great players,'' Faried said. "That's what they're going to do. We've just got to neutralize the players around them, because once they really get involved, then here come the blowouts and the tough losses.''

Westbrook said the Nuggets deserved credit for their play.

"I think they did a good job coming in playing aggressive,'' he said. "I think we were just a step late. They made some open 3s, but we still had a chance to win.''

The game was a difficult one emotionally as well for Thunder coach Scott Brooks, whose 79-year-old mother, Lee, died on Saturday. In a statement released by the club earlier, Brooks thanked friends, family and the team for their support and said his mom would have wanted him to coach Sunday night's game.

"I do so to honor her memory and all that she meant to me as a mother and as an invaluable role model,'' he said.

The Nuggets took a 101-90 lead after Lawson scored on a putback with 6:40 remaining. But the Thunder managed to pull to 103-96 after Durant made a 3-pointer with 4:17 left to play.

Andre Miller answered with a layup and Brewer made a pair of free throws to rebuild the Nuggets' lead to 107-96 with 3:04 remaining.

Oklahoma responded with a stunning 10-0 run culminating in successive 3-pointers by Durant and Kevin Martin, pulling to within 107-106 with 1:26 left to play.

After Gallinari made two free throws, Westbrook, playing the second half on a tender left ankle he injured earlier in the game, hit a 3-pointer to even the score at 109-all with 22.9 seconds remaining.

Maneuvering for a last-second shot, Lawson failed to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded ending regulation, and the game went into overtime.

After Durant, who made 20 of 21 from the free throw line, missed a long jumper, Faried missed two free throws with 10.6 seconds left. As the Thunder were going for the go-ahead shot, Nick Collison was called for an illegal screen, turning the ball over to the Nuggets.

The Thunder quickly fouled Miller, and he made both free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining. The Nuggets then fouled Durant, who made both free throws to pull the Thunder to within a point with 4.9 seconds left.

On the inbounds, the Thunder fouled Wilson Chandler, who made both free throws with 4.5 seconds left to give the Nuggets a three-point cushion. Durant tried for a tying 3-pointer at the final buzzer but it rimmed out.

"I think we gave ourselves a chance to win by going into overtime. We just couldn't finish,'' Durant said. "I missed a free throw, a jump shot. I can't do that.''

Down by a point at the break, the Thunder got a boost when Durant hit his first 3-pointer of the game and Serge Ibaka followed with a basket to give Oklahoma City a 64-61 lead midway through the third quarter. The Nuggets scored the next seven points, starting with a 3-pointer by Gallinari and the game stayed tight with Denver taking an 81-79 lead into the fourth quarter after Corey Brewer made 1 of 2 free throws with .04 seconds remaining in the third.

The third quarter was marked by some chippy play on both sides. Kendrick Perkins was called for a flagrant foul when he swung an elbow that caught Faried in the head as they fought for a rebound.

Denver assistant John Welch was called for a technical for his protests from the bench on a goal-tending call against JaVale McGee, which resulted in a basket for Durant.

The teams were tied at 25-all after the first quarter and Denver nudged in front 51-50 at the half when Lawson made one of two free throws near the end of the second quarter.

NOTES: A missed free throw by Durant with 1:44 to go in OT ended his streak of 50 consecutive free throws. ... The Nuggets improved to 3-0 in overtime games this season. ... Oklahoma City is now 1-1 on its season-high six-game road trip that continues Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers. ... Durant scored 30 or more points in a career-best fourth consecutive game. ... The Thunder are 20-5 this season when Westbrook and Durant each score at least 20 points. ... The Nuggets avoided a third consecutive loss, which would have matched a season high. ... Denver coach George Karl moved past Larry Brown into sixth place on the all-time win list with 1,099.

 

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Grizzlies win 106-93, Lakers lose 4th straight



MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) A team meeting didn't help stop the losing, and this season just keeps spinning away from the Lakers.

Darrell Arthur scored a season-high 20 points and Mike Conley added 19 as the Memphis Grizzlies beat Los Angeles 106-93 Wednesday night, handing the Lakers their fourth straight loss and 10th in 12 games.

"I do think they play as hard as they can play, and that's what's scary,'' coach Mike D'Antoni said of his Lakers, who are now 2-10 in January. "I mean I don't know how we can play harder or blame something else. We just didn't play well.''

Kobe Bryant said he felt comfortable with what he said in a team meeting before the morning shootaround. He said he doesn't know if his message to Dwight Howard got across. When asked if he hoped it did, Bryant simply answered with a seemingly sarcastic "No.'' And Bryant said this season certainly is getting up there when asked if it was his toughest in the NBA.

"That Rudy T (Tomjanovich) one was a pretty hard one, too,'' Bryant said.

That was 2004-05, when the Lakers last missed the playoffs when Tomjanovich was coach part of a 34-48 season.

These Lakers are 17-25 after losing their seventh consecutive road game. D'Antoni had talked before the game about having an All-Star team with players not having learned their pecking order. Then Howard missed the second half after aggravating his sore shoulder just before halftime. D'Antoni said the center will be re-evaluated in Los Angeles.

Memphis got to celebrate a big win, a day after trading three reserves to Cleveland. That meant, even with the signing of D-League player Chris Johnson, Memphis only dressed 10 players before clinching the season series over the Lakers with one game left in Los Angeles on April 5.

"It was just a great team win,'' Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said.

Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen added 12 points apiece as Memphis improved to 12-0 when scoring at least 100 points. Randolph also grabbed 10 rebounds. The Grizzlies scored a season-high 60 points in the paint, compared to 34 for the Lakers with Howard out the second half.

Bryant scored 29 points for the Lakers, Metta World Peace added 15, Pau Gasol 13 and Earl Clark 11.

Los Angeles came in as the NBA's fifth-best scoring team, averaging 102.6 points. But it was the Grizzlies topping 100 points for the first time since Jan. 11 against the Spurs, and they scored their most points since getting 113 against Sacramento on Jan. 7.

Pau Gasol, coming off the bench again, believes defense remains the Lakers' biggest problem.

"We make these teams look a lot better offensively than they really are,'' the Lakers forward said. "That's something that's pretty negative. Pretty alarming.''

The Grizzlies had a short bench after trading three players to the Cavaliers on Tuesday, only getting Jon Leuer back in a move freeing up Memphis from the luxury tax. But the paperwork hadn't cleared on the physicals of the trio going to Cleveland in time to have Leuer available against the Lakers.

Then Marc Gasol, Randolph, Hamed Haddadi and Jerryd Bayless all picked up two fouls each in the first quarter. That forced Hollins to rotate his Grizzlies to keep them fresh, and rookie Tony Wroten, who has gotten most of his playing time in the D-League in Reno this season, had a career-best nine points by halftime.

"When we are faced with adversity, we show that we can win,'' Allen said. "When adversity comes, when guys get hurt, we pull together.''

The Lakers started quickly, scoring the first six points of the game and forced four turnovers. They looked like they had listened to D'Antoni's plea for better defense.

But they last led 30-28 on a 15-footer by Pau Gasol with 9 minutes left in the second quarter. Conley answered with a 9-foot runner to tie it up, and that started a 22-5 run as the Grizzlies took the lead for good. Conley capped the spurt with a fast-break layup with 4:25 left in the first half for a 50-35lead.

Both teams shot better than 50 percent in the first half, but the Grizzlies led 59-50 at halftime. They led by as much as 21 in the second half and finished with a 27-3 edge on second-chance points. They outrebounded the Lakers 52-34, including 16 offensive rebounds.

"It's just the same thing over again,'' Lakers forward Earl Clark said. "We broke down defensively. They went on a run, and we continue to just go downhill.''

Meanwhile, Howard was 0 of 4 from the floor and headed to the locker room with 2:21 left in the first half, flexing his right shoulder. He had been probable with a torn labrum and had a very physical first half against Gasol and Haddadi.

The Lakers got within 61-58 on a 14-footer by Bryant with 8:57 left in the third. That was as close as they would get as their woes worsened when Steve Nash, who came in a perfect 26 of 26 at the free throw line this season, missed his second attempt of the night with 3:07 left in the third.

Notes: Gay tied Pau Gasol as the Grizzlies' franchise leader in games played with 476 ... D'Antoni, told at least he didn't have to worry about coaching the All-Star game this season, joked, "just barely missed it by 30 games.'' ... Memphis had gone six straight games since last topping 100 points, and the Grizzlies needed overtime to do that against the Spurs. ... Memphis

 

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Curry, Lee lead Warriors past Thunder 104-99



OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Stephen Curry banked in an off-balance shot while getting fouled by Russell Westbrook to start a three-point play, falling to his knees and shaking his shoulders to the sellout crowd.

Not quite the shimmy Mark Jackson displayed during his playing days - still plenty good enough to please the Golden State coach.

Curry had 31 points and seven assists, and the Warriors punctuated the season's midpoint by outlasting the NBA-best Oklahoma City Thunder 104-99 in style Wednesday night.

"The way he's playing,'' Jackson said, "dance all you want.''

On the eve of the announcement for All-Star reserves, Golden State's top two candidates made a lasting impression.

Curry matched Kevin Durant's spectacular scores all game, stole a pass from the Thunder's leading man in the final seconds and hit a pair of free throws to seal the Warriors' third straight victory. David Lee had 22 points and 12 rebounds, helped Golden State outrebound Oklahoma City's lengthy frontline 40-39 and made some big plays late.

The Warriors, with one playoff appearance since 1994, are 26-15 and own the fifth-best record in the Western Conference with another 41 games to play.

"I'm sure we're surprising people,'' Curry said.

Even Jackson, who doubles as a preacher, said he always had faith his team could win but "I get my praise and worship on because I didn't think it'd be this good,'' especially with center Andrew Bogut still sidelined indefinitely while recovering from left ankle surgery.

Durant had 33 points, nine assists and five rebounds, and Kevin Martin scored 16 points for the Thunder, who blew an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter a night after running away with a win at the Los Angeles Clippers. Oklahoma City (33-10) had won seven of eight but still remains at the top of the NBA standings.

"We could have been much better defensively,'' Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "They made a lot of plays inside the paint but they got a lot of points off of our turnovers, too. We didn't make enough plays down the stretch and they did. They deserved to win this game.''

Once again, the Warriors showed they're no fluke out West this season.

Lee found Carl Landry slicing through the lane for a dunk, Klay Thompson hit a running hook as part of his 19 points and Landry put back his own miss to give Golden State a 97-94 lead with 2:25 remaining.

Kendrick Perkins tipped in a rebound on the other end before Jarrett Jack swished in a high-arching shot over Durant near the top of the key to put the Warriors ahead by three again. Durant answered back with a pair of free throws, only to watch Lee's layup extend Golden State's lead once more.

Durant hit one of two free throws to slice Golden State's lead to 101-99, then Curry missed an open 3-pointer to give the Thunder a chance with 17.5 seconds to play.

Durant caught the inbounds pass on the right side and tried to slip a quick pass to Perkins in the paint. Instead, Curry intercepted and was fouled, making both free throws to put the Warriors ahead by four with 12.4 seconds left.

"The design was to get me a shot coming off toward the corner but they had two on the ball and they left Perk,'' Durant said. "I've just got to make a better read. I thought he was going to dive. I've got to hold onto that ball. That's all on me. I can't put Perk in that position.''

Curry also outplayed Westbrook, who is likely headed for an All-Star selection. Westbrook had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists while shooting 3 of 16 from the floor, including 0 of 5 from beyond the arc.

Golden State hasn't had an All-Star since Latrell Sprewell in 1997. That drought might end Thursday when the NBA announces the reserves, who are voted on by coaches.

"He had my vote,'' Brooks said of Curry.

Even with all of Oklahoma City's length and quickness, Curry often made the game seem like his own layup line.

He sliced and shook through the lane to convert three straight layups, capping the brief burst with a no-look reverse off his left hand. The Warriors were outshot 60 to 47 percent in the first quarter

Durant stayed on the offensive and pushed the pace. He got past Landry for an uncontested dunk after the Warriors forward tweaked his ankle preparing to defend Durant, who also made a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws during a 10-3 run that put the Thunder ahead 45-38 midway through the second quarter.

Durant and Curry continued to dazzle in the second half, each with a spectacular score on one end only to have the other come back even stronger. At one point, the 6-foot-9 Durant covered the diminutive point guard, chasing him around screens all over the perimeter.

No matter.

Curry kept on coming and so did the Warriors, who went up 72-68 on his three-point play, which Curry celebrated with a shimmy similar to the one Jackson often showcased as an NBA point guard. Curry said he hadn't practiced the move, nor could he recall exactly what he did in the moment.

"It's truly genuine,'' he said.

So might be Golden State's play this season.

NOTES: The Warriors are the only team to beat the Thunder, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers this season. ... Oklahoma City is 6-3 on the second night of back-to-back games this season. ... The Thunder are 2-2 on their season-long six-game trip.

 

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Hunter 2-0 as coach after Suns beat Clippers


PHOENIX (AP) The Phoenix Suns are 2-0 under Lindsey Hunter, and the Los Angeles Clippers dearly miss Chris Paul.

Goran Dragic scored 19 of his 24 points in the first half and the Suns held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 93-88 on Thursday night, giving Hunter his second victory in two nights as interim coach after he replaced the fired Alvin Gentry.

Marcin Gortat added 15 points, including two free throws with 23.3 seconds left. Luis Scola and Markieff Morris had 14 apiece for the Suns, who have won consecutive games for the first time since a season-high, four-game winning streak ended on Dec. 19. Dragic also had eight assists.

The Clippers, who lost their third straight, were without Paul for the fifth time in seven games because of a bruised right kneecap. The team is 3-2 without him, and he's expected to miss two more games.

Jamal Crawford led Los Angeles with 21 points. Eric Bledsoe scored 15 and Blake Griffin had 12. Griffin said he reinjured his left ankle early in the game but still played 36 minutes.

"Our offense was stagnant,'' Griffin said. "Our defense wasn't great. We did a poor job and it starts with me. I have to do a better job of setting the tone early and being a leader out there, especially with Chris not out there.''

The Clippers shot just under 40 percent for the game, 33 percent (7 for 21) in the fourth quarter.

"Our focus is to create a defensive mentality, to create a defensive presence,'' Hunter said. "Our guys are working hard to do it. It's a difficult thing to just change like that. To see every last guy really buying into it and realizing that regardless of how you shoot the ball, if you can defend you always have a chance to win a game, and our guys have been phenomenal in that area.''

Phoenix improved to 15-28 and pulled out of the cellar in the Western Conference, one-half game ahead of New Orleans.

"When you change a coach, you always get a little bit of a reaction from everybody,'' Scola said. "Everybody wants to play a little bit harder and everybody wants to do a little bit more. This is just a critical situation and everybody gives a little bit more of themselves. Our challenge is to maintain this.''

The Clippers slipped to 32-12, 1 1/2 games behind West leaders Oklahoma City and San Antonio. The three-game losing streak is Los Angeles' second-longest of the season.

The Suns, who won at Sacramento on Wednesday night, scored six in a row to go up 86-79 on Gortat's layup on a pass from Dragic with three minutes left. But the Clippers reeled off the next six points.

Bledsoe blocked Dragic's shot and Crawford sank a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the lead to 86-85 with 26 seconds remaining.

After Gortat's two free throws with 23 seconds left put Phoenix up three, Crawford was fouled on a drive to the basket, narrowly missing a chance at a game-tying, three-point play. Instead, Crawford, an 88 percent free-throw shooter this season, missed one of two from the line to leave the Clippers down two.

Phoenix got the inbounds pass to Shannon Brown, who was fouled on what officials ruled was a clear path to the basket. Brown made both free throws to make it 90-86 with 15.4 seconds left and the Suns retained possession. One free throw by Morris and two by Dragic wrapped up the Suns' scoring.

Hunter became the fourth coach in Suns history to win his first two games. The other three - Gentry, Scott Skiles and Jerry Colangelo - also did it as midseason replacements.

The wins came despite a rocky change of power. Earlier in the day, Elston Turner confirmed he has left the organization after being passed over in favor of Hunter, who was director of player development and had never coached before. Dan Majerle also left as an assistant coach after being passed over for the interim job.

Dragic scored the final nine Suns points in the first half, the last two on free throws after coach Vinny Del Negro and Crawford were called for technicals with 0.3 seconds left to put the Suns up 50-46 at the break.

Crawford scored seven straight points, the last two on a drive, to put Los Angeles ahead 62-59 with 4:17 left in the third quarter. Phoenix finished the quarter with a 6-2 spurt to lead 68-66 entering the fourth.

The fourth quarter has usually been kind to the Clippers. Not on this night.

"We are very comfortable in the fourth quarter,'' Crawford said. "There has been a little bit of slippage but we have to know exactly where we want to go in the fourth quarter and what we want to do. I think that is where we were at previously and I think we will be able to get back to that.''

NOTES: Suns C Jermaine O'Neal missed his second game in a row because of an irregular heartbeat. .. The Clippers lost four straight from Nov. 21 to Nov. 26., but had gone 24-5 since then. ... Ex-Sun Grant Hill got a warm reception from the crowd when he entered late in the first quarter for the Clippers. ... The Suns have won 11 of their last 12 games against the Clippers in Phoenix. They had won 10 straight before losing in their last meeting on Dec. 23. ... Four NBA interim coaches have won their first two games this season.

 

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Anthony's 28 points lead Knicks over Celts, 89-86


BOSTON (AP) Carmelo Anthony's ill feelings toward Kevin Garnett didn't last long. His streak of 20-point games goes on.

In their first meeting since a verbal clash led to Anthony's one-game suspension, New York's All-Star forward scored 28 points and the Knicks ended an 11-game losing streak in Boston with an 89-86 victory over the Celtics on Thursday night.

"No grudges between me and KG. Whatever happened, happened,'' Anthony said. "We spoke about it and it's over.''

Did Garnett agree?

"Yeah,'' he said simply, then stood and walked out of the losing locker room.

Anthony scored at least 20 points for the 27th straight game, third most in franchise history behind Richie Guerin's 29 and Patrick Ewing's 28.

"He responded exactly like he was supposed to,'' Knicks center Tyson Chandler said. "The best way to get back is by getting a victory, especially in a place where we haven't won in a long time.''

Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, his fourth triple-double of the season. Paul Pierce added 22 points. Garnett had only eight points but finished with a game-high 12 rebounds as Boston lost its fifth straight game.

There were 17 lead changes in the game but none in the fourth quarter.

"When you need buckets, when the game is tight, you can't turn the ball over,'' Pierce said. "That's what we did down the stretch.''

The Celtics trailed 86-84 after Rondo hit two free throws with 2:58 to play. Then J.R. Smith sank his only 3-pointer after missing five and Rondo made a short jumper with 40 seconds remaining. But Boston turned the ball over on two of its last three possessions.

Anthony was booed frequently but he showed no sign of hostility toward Garnett. At one point, Anthony even extended his hand to a fallen Garnett and helped the Celtic to his feet.

"He fell. I helped him up,'' Anthony said. "I don't hold anything against a guy like that.''

The win came 17 days after they jawed at each other during Boston's 102-96 victory in New York. After that game, Anthony walked toward the Celtics locker room before security personnel stepped in and sent him back toward the Knicks' side.

Comcast SportsNet New England posted a video on its website showing Anthony waiting near Boston's team bus after the game, with coach Mike Woodson and New York City police nearby.

The NBA suspended Anthony for the next game, an 81-76 loss at Indiana.

In the first half Thursday, Anthony was booed nearly every time he touched the ball and cheered when he was called for fouls as fans reacted to the last meeting between the star forwards. One of the biggest cheers came when Garnett blocked Anthony's layup attempt with 3:15 left in the second quarter.

"I'm just trying to block everything out and do what I have to do to win the game,'' Anthony said. "This whole night was satisfying. To win in this building was a long time coming.''

The Celtics took their last lead, 66-65, on a 3-pointer by Jeff Green with 2:22 left in the third quarter. Then Chandler put the Knicks ahead with a three-point play and they scored the last seven points of the period, taking a 72-66 lead.

"We gave them a 10-point lead (80-70),'' Rondo said. "You're fighting back the entire fourth quarter.''

The Knicks led 84-76 before the Celtics cut it to two on a basket by Garnett and two by Rondo. Amare Stoudemire's tip made it 86-82 with 3:24 left and the Celtics never caught up, even after Jason Kidd missed a 3-pointer for the Knicks with 14 seconds remaining.

Boston's last chance ended when Pierce lost the ball out of bounds as he was receiving a pass with 7.1 seconds left.

"The play was broken up and I tried to flash to the ball,'' he said. "Really (I) didn't get a good hand on it.''

The Knicks' defense was solid most of the night.

"What we did defensively was great,'' Stoudemire said. "Garnett didn't score well. Paul didn't really have a huge game scoring.''

But Celtics coach Doc Rivers was pleased with his team's effort.

"They know with that effort you're going to win most nights,'' he said.

The Knicks led 50-48 at halftime but trailed 60-59 with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Then they outscored the Celtics 13-6, with Anthony scoring six points.

The loss dropped the Celtics to 20-22.

"We're two games under .500,'' Pierce said. There's "still a lot of season left so we believe we can climb back in this division race.''

For now, the Knicks (26-14) lead that by one game over Brooklyn.

"I expected more hostility from the crowd and it wasn't as bad as I thought,'' Stoudemire said. "It's a rivalry game and we want to go into the All-Star break with a nice division lead.''

Notes: Chandler was chosen to the Eastern Conference All-Star team on Thursday, the first selection for last year's Defensive Player of the Year. Anthony, Garnett and Rondo were all voted to start, but East coaches passed on Pierce.

 

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DeRozan lifts Raptors over Magic at buzzer, 97-95


ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey believes the next step for his team is to work on developing its identity, preferably one seeded in toughness.

He's hoping a four-game season sweep of the Magic can serve as the first step in that mission.

After watching one of their best efforts of the season slip away the night before in an overtime loss at Miami, the Raptors fought off a late Orlando charge and got a fadeaway jumper from DeMar DeRozan at the buzzer to secure a 97-95 victory over the Magic on Thursday night.

DeRozan led Toronto with 22 points, followed by Amir Johnson's 21 points and 10 rebounds. It was Johnson's sixth double-double of the season.

The sweep was the Raptors' first over Orlando since 2006-07.

"The coaches drew up a good play,'' said DeRozan, who scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, missing just one of his eight shots in the final 12 minutes. "I just tried to get to my shot. Usually we run it going to my right, but that was the first time we ran it going to my left.

"I knew if I got a good shot off, I had a chance at it going in.''

Pumping his fist along with DeRozan after the shot went through, Casey said later that he got the response he was looking for from his team.

"I did, I really did,'' Casey said. "Down the stretch everybody's questioned our toughness and how tough we are. I've seen resolve and toughness the last couple of weeks. And for anybody who doesn't feel like we're in this to win it, they are totally wrong.''

It was a wild offensive night, featuring 12 lead changes, 12 players reaching double figures and several big baskets on both ends.

But for the Magic, it clearly was not the perfect way to begin the second half of their season.

They dropped their fourth game in a row and have now lost 15 of their last 17 overall. They've also lost eight straight games to teams with losing records.

Nikola Vucevic led Orlando with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Arron Afflalo added 16 points and Glen Davis finished with 15.

"I just think the basketball gods are against us right now,'' guard J.J. Redick said. "They've turned their backs on us. We need to get back in their good graces. Tonight was a first step, if a loss can be a step in the right direction, because we competed the whole game.''

After three of their previous four games went to overtime, the Raptors found themselves in another close one.

Offense went through the center position for most of the night, with Vucevic and Johnson as the go-to options. Then, the guards took over.

The Raptors carved out a 75-66 lead entering the final period, taking advantage of 12 Magic turnovers in the first three quarters.

Davis skied for a rebound and found a cutting Jameer Nelson for a layup to cap a 14-4 run and give the Magic their only lead of the second half, 84-83, with 5:19 to play in the game.

Defense tightened but the Magic committed only two turnovers the rest of the way.

One of them, a five-second count as they tried to throw the ball in, was followed by a jumper by DeRozan and layup by Alan Anderson that stretched the Raptors' advantage to 91-86.

The Magic then got a little lucky when Redick was fouled on a 3-point make and completed a four-point play to tie it at 93-all with just 53 seconds remaining.

DeRozan hit a step-back jumper on the other end to put Toronto back in front, but that was quickly answered by a short jumper off a rebound by E'Twuan Moore to tie it back up.

The Raptors ran the clock down to under 10 seconds before Davis reached in and fouled Johnson, leaving Toronto with just 4.3 seconds, and setting up DeRozan's game-winner.

"I thought there were multiple times throughout the course of the game where we got multiple stops in a row and that's what we want to focus on, is being able to get stops on demand,'' Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "That's the basketball we need to see every night.''

In what was a pretty even first half that featured 10 lead changes, the Raptors took a one-point lead into the locker room. Vucevic and Johnson carried their teams with 14 points apiece in the half.

Vucevic lived around the rim, getting several baskets off put backs and tip-ins. Johnson scored from all over after being ignited by an early dunk.

Casey said he hopes his team feels the excitement that followed him off the court on Thursday.

"These guys are competing their butts off, have been every game,'' he said. "Whether it's my fault, or whoever's fault it is, they have been competing. That's one thing you can't question.

"They're competing to win and tonight's another example.''

Notes: The Raptors earned just their fifth win on the road this season. ...Davis received his fourth technical of the season late in the first quarter. ...The Magic fell to 1-15 when forcing 10 or fewer turnovers this season.

 

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Wizards top Timberwolves 114-101 in 1st Wall start



WASHINGTON (AP) 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.

"I think I'm still trying to get in basketball shape,'' Wall said. "And it's still tough, but I think I'm getting closer and closer.''

The Wizards are 5-3 since Wall's return after going 5-28 without him. He's one of several Wizards players who missed chunks of games in the first months of the season because of injuries, giving coach Randy Wittman an appreciation for a record that still doesn't look very good.

"If you had told me we'd play half of them without our top players, I might say "Give me 10-31,''' the coach said.

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.

The Timberwolves, meanwhile, are starting to look like the early-season Wizards, with too many injuries, ugly losses and even a star player recovering from a knee injury. Minnesota has lost six straight on the road and eight of nine overall.

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.

With head coach Rick Adelman away tending to his sick wife, Porter and Rubio met Thursday to clear the air.

"I don't think it ever was really an issue,'' Porter said. "He was frustrated like any player would be who wants to be playing the fourth quarter.''

Rubio had been on a strict limit of 28 minutes per game since returning last month from reconstructive left knee surgery, but he played 31 minutes Friday night because the game went for a while without a whistle in the fourth quarter.

"I'm still missing the power of my legs,'' Rubio said. "But I feel good, but it's hard to find my rhythm during the season.''

Derrick Williams had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Andrei Kirilenko scored 17 points for the Timberwolves, who are missing Kevin Love, Brandon Roy, Malcolm Lee, Chase Budinger, Nikola Pekovic and Alexey Shved.

The Wizards know the feeling.

"We need to build up like a good team,'' Washington forward Nene said. "And to be good we need to lose, we need to learn.''

"So we did it,'' he added with a laugh.

Notes: Washington's 60 first-half points tied a season-high. ... The Wizards used their 15th starting lineup of the season. ... Wolves C Greg Stiemsma committed two fouls in 9 seconds in the first quarter, and then picked up another quick one in the second quarter. He played only 18 minutes - but he finished with a career-high six assists.

 

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Irving scores 35 as Cavs rally for 113-108 win



CLEVELAND (AP) 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.

"The last couple of games have been fun,'' Irving said. "Even at practice, we just know when we're going to be focused to dial it up and get that attitude.''

Irving is also following instructions from Cavaliers coach Byron Scott.

"Coach told me to be aggressive and I'll continue to be aggressive,'' he said.

"He's a hell of a young player,'' Scott said. "When we drafted him we knew that. When we got him at practice we knew we had really struck gold because I didn't think he was as good as he was until we had him in training camp. Then we were really excited. We said this kid is a lot better than we thought.''

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.

"In the second, third and fourth quarters, we gave them 30-plus points,'' Bucks interim coach Jim Boylan said. "They kind of had their way with us. They played well and deserved to win the game.''

Following Ellington's basket, a 3-pointer by Daniel Gibson, a breakaway layup by Shaun Livingston and a foul shot by Marreese Speights helped Cleveland build a 102-95 lead.

Ellis' 3-pointer cut the margin to 102-98, but Irving's basket gave Cleveland a six-point lead. Baskets by Brandon Jennings and Larry Sanders made it 104-102, but Speights, also acquired in the deal with Memphis, hit a basket and a foul shot to put the Cavaliers ahead 107-102 with 1:06 remaining.

Ilysaova's basket made it a three-point game, but Irving added a jumper and four free throws to put it away.

Milwaukee, which led 59-50 at halftime, hit its first four shots of the third quarter, including another 3-pointer by Ilyasova and Jennings' first basket of the game. That led to a quick timeout by Scott, but lead reached 79-59 midway through the period before the Cavaliers cut the margin to 90-81 by the end of the period thanks mostly to Irving, who hit 5 of 6 from the field.

The Cavaliers trimmed the lead to 90-87 early in the fourth quarter and outscored the Bucks 32-18 in the period. Scott went with a combination of Luke Walton, Gibson, Livingston, Speights and Ellington for most of the quarter.

"It's pretty simple,'' Scott said. "I told my guys to thank the second unit. They won the game for us.''

"We started aggressively, but we kind of gave up the game,'' Ilyasova said. "Their second unit hustled and we gave up a lot of easy buckets.''

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.

The Bucks are 6-3 under Boylan, who replaced Scott Skiles on Jan. 8.

Trailing 31-30 early in the second quarter, Ilyasova hit three 3-pointers in 1:29 to help the Bucks build a 41-33 lead. The margin reached 11 points and the Bucks were ahead 59-50 at halftime. Milwaukee scored 38 points in the quarter - a season high for any period this season - and hit 15 of 24 from the field.

NOTES: Milwaukee hasn't had a player in the All-Star Game since 2004 when Michael Redd made the team. ... The Bucks host Golden State on Saturday night. ... Milwaukee is 17-10 against Eastern Conference teams. ... .. Cleveland G C.J. Miles, who had been battling the flu, dressed, but didn't play. ... Cleveland is 2-9 against the Central Division. ... The Cavaliers play at Toronto on Saturday.

 

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Korver has 27 as Hawks top Celtics 123-111 in 2 OT



ATLANTA (AP) Kyle Korver said the Hawks owed the Celtics a big comeback.

This one was really big.

Korver scored 27 points, most on 3-pointers, and Atlanta 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.

Boston's biggest lead came in the second quarter. Korver remembered the Hawks led by 19 points, also in the second period, before the Celtics rallied for an 89-81 win in Atlanta on Jan. 5.

"We had a good example of how to come back from what they did to us the last time,'' Korver said.

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

The Celtics (20-23) fell three games under .500.

"It's definitely a tough pill to swallow,'' said Paul Pierce. "We've got to have some sort of discipline. That's the key word for us. It is cause for concern. We've got to come in with the mindset to play for 48 minutes.''

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.

"We had a chance to put this game away, man. We didn't do that,'' Garnett said. "We gave a team life. You can't do that.

"Korver came out, obviously got hot, and we couldn't turn it off.''

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

"When you make some shots, all of a sudden you get better screens and you get better passes,'' Korver said.

Korver's eighth 3, with 2:26 remaining in regulation, cut Boston's lead to 98-96. Horford's two free throws with 1 minute remaining tied the game at 98-all to set up the first overtime.

With the game tied at 105-all in the first overtime, Courtney Lee's steal from Horford set up Lee's two free throws to give Boston the lead, but Smith tied the game with a jam.

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

"It seems we let our foot up off the gas,'' Rondo said. "We have to stay positive and continue to move forward and try to dig our way out of this hole.''

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.

"The most important part is how we didn't lay down in the second half,'' Smith said.

"We didn't get discouraged. We came out in the second half and played outstanding. ... We applied a little pressure and took the fight to them in the second half.''

Atlanta trailed 57-38 at halftime following a modest recovery.

The Hawks' comeback gained strength as they outscored the Celtics 21-2 to open the second half, including a 19-0 run for a 59-all tie. Korver had three 3-pointers in the run.

The comeback was Atlanta's biggest since at least the 2000-01 season, according to STATS LLC.

"This is probably one of the most amazing comebacks I've been associated with,'' said Hawks coach Larry Drew, who said he was including his years as a player and a coach.

It was Atlanta's third straight win following four losses in five games.

"This was a very gutsy win for us,'' Drew said. "It shows what we're made of. It shows we have the ability to persevere.''

The Hawks led 80-77 after Korver's fifth 3-pointer, but the Celtics regained the lead on back-to-back baskets by Pierce and Courtney Lee.

Horford started after missing one game with a sore left calf, and Devin Harris had 14 points in a backup role after missing two games with a sprained left ankle.

NOTES: Milwaukee also rallied from 27 points this season to beat Chicago 93-92 on Nov. 23, 2012. ... The Celtics' last six-game losing streak was April 4-15, 2007 ... The 10 points were a season low for first-quarter points for the Hawks. ... Korver extended his streak of games with at least one 3-pointer to 37, the longest of career and longest active streak in the NBA. ... Hawks C Zaza Pachulia returned after missing one game with a sore right Achilles.

 

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Blazers rebound to beat Clippers 101-100



PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Nicolas Batum held on to the game ball long after the confetti celebrating Portland's victory stopped falling from the rafters of the Rose Garden.

Batum had 20 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists - for his second triple-double in three games - and the Trail Blazers edged the Los Angeles Clippers 101-100 on Saturday night.

Batum had his first career triple-double on Monday in Portland's 98-95 loss to Washington. He had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

But that one didn't quite mean as much.

"It's a better taste when you win the game,'' he said following the victory, the ball sitting in front of his locker.

It was the fourth straight loss for the Clippers, who played without guard Chris Paul for the third consecutive game with a bruised right kneecap.

The game was the first of a back-to-back between the two teams, who meet again in Los Angeles on Sunday night.

The Clippers trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half but they reclaimed the lead in the fourth quarter and held off the Blazers until Wesley Matthews pulled Portland within 100-99 with a layup and free throw.

J.J. Hickson made a pair of foul shots to give the Blazers back the lead with 45 seconds left and Jamal Crawford missed a 19-foot jumper for the Clippers with 0.9 seconds left for the final margin.

"I'll take that shot 10 out of 10 and I'll make it nine out of 10,'' Crawford said.

Batum grabbed the rebound of Crawford's final shot and encircled the ball tightly with both arms. He wouldn't even relinquish his hold when rookie Damian Lillard embraced him.

"I can't promise a triple-double every week, but I try to do something and help the team to win every game,'' Batum said.

Blake Griffin had 24 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Clippers, just shy of his third career triple-double.

"Tough pill to swallow,'' Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We had an opportunity to steal this one and we couldn't convert down the stretch.''

The Clippers are 3-3 in the six total games Paul has missed because of his kneecap. Del Negro said it was unclear when Paul might return.

Asked if Los Angeles missed him against the Blazers, Del Negro said simply: "Chris is our closer.''

Eric Bledsoe once again started in the All-Star guard's place.

There also was uncertainty before the game about whether Griffin would play because of a sore left ankle. He tweaked it early in the Clippers' 93-88 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.

Portland was coming off a 100-80 victory Wednesday night over the Indiana Pacers that snapped a six-game losing streak.

The Blazers' victory against the Pacers also snapped a four-game losing streak at the Rose Garden. Forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points against Indiana and the next day was selected as an All-Star Game reserve. He will join Paul and Griffin on the West team for the game on Feb. 17 in Houston.

The Clippers pulled ahead 15-9 early, but Portland pulled in front briefly after Lillard's 3-pointer and Jared Jeffries' dunk made it 16-15. Portland reclaimed the lead to go into the second quarter ahead 25-22.

Aldridge's layup and free throw put the Blazers ahead 33-25. But the Rose Garden crowd stood when rookie Will Barton threw down Ronnie Price's fast-break lob to make it 38-25.

Portland maintained a 51-45 advantage at the break.

The Clippers came out with more urgency to start in the second half and Caron Butler's 3-pointer narrowed Portland's lead to 59-52. But Los Angeles really began to close the gap late in the third quarter when Crawford's 3-pointer pulled them within 80-74.

Hill's 3-pointer and Matt Barnes' layup pulled the Clippers within 84-83 with 8:54 left in the game. Crawford hit a pair of free throws to give Los Angeles

its first lead since the first quarter, but it was short-lived and Batum hit a 3-pointer for the Blazers.

Portland clung to a narrow lead until Matt Barnes' tip-in, Griffin's hook and Crawford's short jumper gave the Clippers a 94-89 lead with 4:46 left.

Lillard, who hit a key 3-pointer that helped the Blazers make up ground in the final minutes, finished with 20 points. Matthews added 18.

Crawford had 19 points off the bench for the Clippers.

Notes: The Clippers have been without guard Chauncey Billups since Dec. 5 because of tendinitis in his left foot. Billups, Del Negro said, is improving, although there is still no timetable for his return. ... Del Negro said he thought Clippers sixth man Jamal Crawford - who played for the Blazers last year -should have made the All-Star team. Crawford is averaging 16.7 points and playing starter's minutes (29.3 per game) with the Clippers. "Obviously I'm biased,'' Del Negro said. "Jamal has been fantastic for us.''

 

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Holiday scores 35, leads 76ers over Knicks



PHILADELPHIA (AP) Jrue Holiday showed a couple of his All-Star teammates he belongs.

Holiday scored a career-high 35 points, Nick Young had 20 and the Philadelphia 76ers cruised to a 97-80 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday night.

Holiday, who at 22 became the youngest Sixers player selected to an All-Star team this week, shot 16 of 25, and had six assists and five rebounds. He'll be playing with New York's Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler on the East squad.

"We played well against a good team,'' Holiday said. "We came off really aggressive offensively and played well defensively.''

Anthony was impressed.

"Holiday is an All-Star for a reason. He kept it rolling,'' Anthony said.

Evan Turner also added 20 points for the Sixers, who led from the start and beat the Knicks for the first time in four tries and second in eight games.

The victory should make coach Doug Collins feel better. He left the bench in the third quarter and was diagnosed with a sinus infection and blocked nasal passage.

"Great game for us,'' assistant coach Michael Curry said. "We've been on them to play 48 minutes. We stayed with the things we wanted to do throughout the game.''

Anthony needed 28 shots to get 25 points. He has 28 straight 20-point games, tied with Patrick Ewing for second-longest streak in franchise history. Richie Guerin did it 29 games in a row in 1961-62.

"We just didn't have it,'' Anthony said. "They played extremely well. We didn't make shots. We didn't defend. We didn't move the ball.''

It was a great day for hoops at the Wells Fargo Center. In a game that tipped off eight hours earlier, Villanova knocked off No. 3 Syracuse 75-71 in overtime for its second victory over a top 5 team in five days.

The Atlantic Division-leading Knicks, who are second in the Eastern Conference, have lost five of eight.

Amare Stoudemire had 20 points for New York. Jason Kidd, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith combined to go 0 for 17. Kidd had zero assists in 15 minutes.

The Sixers opened an eight-game homestand, their longest since 1986, with only their third win in 11 games. They're 8-19 since a 10-6 start.

Holiday took control right from the start. He scored eight points in the first three-plus minutes as the Sixers jumped out to a 12-2 lead and never let up.

Holiday hit a 3-pointer to make it 46-36 late in the second. After baskets by Raymond Felton and Chandler, Holiday scored on a driving layup and made a free throw to complete a 3-point play.

Another basket by Holiday was followed by Turner's dunk off an alley-oop pass from Young that made it 53-41 going into the half.

"It's been a while since we came out and took care of business early,'' Holiday said. "We made them work.''

Holiday got things started in the third quarter with a jumper, and Young hit a 20-footer and a 3-pointer to give Philadelphia a 60-43 lead. A 14-4 run put the Sixers up 67-45 and the lead stretched to 29 points at one point.

The Knicks missed 12 straight shots in a span of 7:22 in the third.

Notes: Sixers guard Jason Richardson (left knee) missed his third straight game. Young started in his place. Spencer Hawes replaced Lavoy Allen in the lineup. ... A sellout crowd of 20,540 included plenty of Knicks fans. ... Sixers rookie Arnett Moultrie saw his first action since Jan. 8. ... Knicks guard Raymond Felton returned to the lineup after missing 12 games with a broken right finger. He had eight points. ... Felton hadn't played since Christmas Day against the Los Angeles Lakers. ... The Sixers are 10-4 when scoring 100 or more. ... Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, the 2007 NL MVP, sat courtside and got a loud ovation shown on the video screen. ... Kidd remains 13 assists shy of 12,000.

 

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Harden, Asik lead Rockets past Nets



HOUSTON (AP) Jeremy Lin said the Houston Rockets just needed to see what they were doing wrong in order to fix it.

James Harden scored 29 points, Chandler Parsons added 16 points and a career-high 11 assists and the Rockets dominated inside to beat Brooklyn 119-106 on Saturday night for their 12th consecutive win over the Nets.

Omer Asik had 20 points and 16 rebounds for Houston, which outrebounded the Nets 50-31 and outscored Brooklyn 60-24 in the paint. Houston had 31 assists on 43 field goals and committed only 11 turnovers, the team's lowest total in three weeks.

The Rockets dropped seven in a row from Jan. 9-19, and Lin said a lengthy film session on Thursday helped them correct their mistakes.

"We weren't doing what we were supposed to do,'' Lin said. "The coaches showed us a few days ago what we can look like. That was a nice reminder to all of us.''

Nets star Deron Williams scored 27 points, but cooled off after a 20-point first quarter. He was ejected with 1:07 left after arguing a call with referee David Jones and didn't speak to the media after the game.

The individual duel between Lin and Williams became a backstory as the Rockets pulled away.

Lin had his breakout game against Williams last Feb. 4, scoring 25 points and launching "Linsanity'' in a 99-92 victory for the New York Knicks. Williams scored 38 points the next time they met at Madison Square Garden, leading the Nets to a 100-92 win.

Houston nabbed Lin in the offseason, and Raymond Felton replaced Lin in the Knicks' lineup. Williams said before the season that he thought Felton was the better point guard.

Lin downplayed the matchup with Williams and deflected another round of questions about his rise to stardom in New York last year.

"That's well beyond me,'' Lin said with an easy smile. "I'm well past that.''

But Williams seemed pretty determined at the beginning of the game, scoring Brooklyn's first nine points, and 17 of its first 22. He started 7 for 7 and just beat the first-quarter buzzer with his fourth 3-pointer to put Brooklyn up 29-28.

He went 3 for 8 over the final three quarters, as the Rockets swarmed him with multiple players.

"We were just trying to make it difficult (on Williams),'' Lin said. "We had extra guys coming in to protect on when he would drive. We just tried to load on him really fast.''

Brook Lopez scored 21 points and Joe Johnson added 13 for Brooklyn, which trailed by as much as 18 in the first half.

"We dug a hole because we weren't defending well or we couldn't put the ball in the basket,'' Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo said.

The Rockets had 17 assists on their first 20 field goals. Parsons had eight assists by himself in the first half, matching his career high for a game.

"Our spacing was unbelievable,'' Parsons said. "It allowed more guys to penetrate, it allowed more guys to have open shots and we really moved the ball great.''

Williams didn't score with Parsons guarding him in the second quarter, and Lopez went 1 for 7 in the first half. Houston outrebounded Brooklyn 27-15 and outscored the Nets 32-6 in the paint to lead 62-49 at the break.

Lin was back on Williams in the third, and the Rockets stayed comfortably in front. Brooklyn played better defense toward the end of the quarter and cut the deficit to 89-80. Williams missed a 3-point try and Carlos Delfino finished a fast break with a dunk early in the fourth to restore Houston's double-digit lead.

Lin sank his first two 3-pointers of the game to put Houston over 100 points for just the third time in six games. Harden converted a three-point play and drove for a reverse layup to give the Rockets a 113-98 advantage with four minutes left.

NOTES: The Rockets reinstated suspended rookie forward Royce White before the game. He's due to report to Rio Grande Valley, the team's developmental league affiliate, on Feb. 11. White, the 16th overall pick in the last draft, has been inactive all season while he worked on an arrangement with the team to balance his acknowledged anxiety disorder with the demands of the NBA schedule. ... Williams is the first Houston opponent to score 20points in a quarter since Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 in the fourth quarter of a 117-110 Dallas victory last April. ... Harden missed a free throw, snapping a streak of 36 straight successful foul shots.

 

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Kobe leads Lakers past Oklahoma City 105-96



LOS ANGELES (AP) After every plot twist and dramatic turn in the Los Angeles Lakers' soap opera of a season, perhaps their stars' latest identity switches shouldn't be all that shocking.

Kobe Bryant made all the big passes. Steve Nash scored important points down the stretch. Pau Gasol excelled off the bench as the new-look Lakers calmly maintained a fourth-quarter lead on the mighty Oklahoma City Thunder.

Bryant had 21 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds, Nash added seven of his 17 points in the final 5 1/2 minutes, and the Lakers held off the NBA-leading Thunder 105-96 Sunday.

Gasol scored 16 points in a reserve role as the Lakers picked up the most impressive victory of their thoroughly unimpressive season, coolly maintaining a small lead down the stretch of their second straight win after a four-game skid.

With Bryant taking on a playmaking role, Nash stepping up his offensive game and Dwight Howard preaching togetherness, the 19-25 Lakers are cautiously optimistic their latest reboot will work - and even the Thunder were impressed.

"We're doing a good job right now of just being real with each other and holding each other accountable,'' said Bryant, who had 14 assists and fell one rebound shy of a triple-double in each of the past two games. "That makes a huge difference. I'm trying to evolve and find out what we need as a ballclub.''

So is everybody else with the Lakers, who had lost nine of their last 11 against the defending Western Conference champion Thunder, including four of five in the clubs' second-round playoff series last spring and a blowout loss at Staples Center 16 days ago. The Lakers have strung together two solid games at home since a clear-the-air team meeting in Memphis last week.

"We've found something that works, that's for sure, and something we can feel good about,'' said Gasol, who played 36 minutes. "I think the way we are playing, we can be very successful.''

Kevin Durant scored 35 points and Russell Westbrook had 17 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds for the road-weary Thunder, who finished their longest trip of the season at 3-3. Durant could sense the Lakers' desperation in their fourth-quarter effort.

"The whole arena felt that way,'' the three-time NBA scoring champion said. "They needed a win. It was a must-win for them, and they came out and performed well. They were hitting shots, and they were doing a good job of protecting the paint. We missed some good shots as well. As a group, we all have to do our roles better. Every individual has to play their role to a T for us to win games, but we'll be fine.''

Bryant and Westbrook briefly tangled in the third quarter in an exchange that earned a technical foul for Kobe. Both All-Star guards entered the fourth quarter needing just one rebound for a triple-double, but neither got it.

Westbrook missed his first eight shots and 12 of his first 13 before finding a rhythm, but the Lakers didn't wilt down the stretch.

"The thought the execution at the end of the game by our team definitely could have been better,'' Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "It's something that we're pretty good at, but a lot of that had to do with their team. They're a physical team, and they were moving us around a little bit towards the end.''

Los Angeles took the lead with 6:15 to play on a jumper by Metta World Peace, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Lakers nursed a small advantage in the final minutes, going up 101-95 on Gasol's driving layup with 1:09 to play.

Bryant then hit a tough 19-foot jumper with 37 seconds left, and Westbrook couldn't answer. Durant didn't have a field goal in the final 6:39, scoring just seven points in the fourth quarter of Oklahoma City's third loss in 11 games.

Oklahoma City routed the Lakers earlier this month, with Durant scoring 42 points and Westbrook adding 27 while Los Angeles played without Howard and Gasol.

Howard had just eight points and 10 rebounds this time out while fighting foul trouble and missing eight of his 10 free throws. Bryant and Nash led a passionate effort by the Lakers, whose season-long missteps and embarrassments have left them well out of the playoff picture heading into the second half of the season.

"I'm very excited to see our progress,'' Howard said. "We're going to continue to work, continue to talk to each other. The biggest difference is we're holding each other accountable for everything. We had a great talk in Memphis, and it's carried over.''

NOTES: The clubs conclude their season series in Oklahoma City on March 5. ... Lakers owner Jerry Buss celebrated his 79th birthday. The Basketball Hall of Famer hasn't attended a game this season while dealing with health concerns. ... Derek Fisher, the five-time champion Lakers guard who finished last season with the Thunder, watched from a courtside seat. Denzel Washington, Jay-Z, Alessandro Nivola, Horace Grant and baseball stars Matt Kemp, Vernon Wells and Michael Young also sat courtside.