The 2012-13 Basketball Season Is Here

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Harden scores 30, Rockets beat Hornets 100-96


HOUSTON (AP) -- James Harden is getting used to his role as the go-to guy in Houston.

Harden scored 30 points, Omer Asik added 15 points and 12 rebounds, and the Rockets held off the New Orleans Hornets 100-96 on Wednesday night.

Greivis Vasquez scored a career-high 24 for the Hornets, despite hurting his left ankle in the third quarter and briefly leaving the game. Anthony Davis had only eight points on 2-for-7 shooting.

Harden went 10 for 20 from the field but only 1 of 7 from 3-point range in his third 30-point game since joining the Rockets in a blockbuster trade with Oklahoma City on Oct. 27.

"It's taken seven games for me to just be the man, and know what to expect and know how to handle every situation," Harden said. "There are going to be games where, I don't know. There are going to be a lot of experiences that I learn from, so I'm just taking it one game at a time."

The Rockets outscored New Orleans 39-18 in the second quarter to build a big lead, but the Hornets played better defense in the second half to close the gap. Houston shot 58 percent (14 of 24) from the field and hit six 3-pointers in the second period.

"When you have a quarter like that, it's hard to rebound," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said. "But I thought the guys on our team showed a lot of guts and character, getting back in the game."

The Hornets couldn't quite come all the way back. Chandler Parsons sank a pivotal 3-pointer and fadeaway jumper late to help Houston win for the second time in five home games. The Rockets also built big leads in the first two games of the season, against Detroit and Atlanta, and had to fend off late rallies to win in much the same way.

"We can't keep getting these double-digit leads in the first half and give them away," Parsons said. "We've got to come out there in the third quarter with energy and not allow that."

The Rockets took the floor while first-round draft pick Royce White remained absent from the team. The 6-foot-8 White called the team "inconsistent" in its efforts to help him cope with his anxiety disorder and fear of flying, and he sent out a series of often critical tweets throughout the day.

The team has said nothing publicly beyond a statement that said White was "unavailable" and that it would support him going forward.

After a slow start, the Rockets hardly seemed distracted.

Reserves Marcus Morris and Toney Douglas both hit a pair of 3s early in the second quarter as the Rockets surged to a 47-38 lead. Houston started 7 for 10 from the field overall in the quarter. Morris stayed on the floor when the starters returned, and scored on consecutive drives to stretch the lead to 52-40.

Harden, the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year, liked what he saw from the Houston bench.

"They lifted us up," Harden said. "Toney and Carlos (Delfino) and Marcus Morris really did a good job, coming in and bringing that energy."

New Orleans defended the perimeter better in the third quarter and trimmed the deficit to six. Vasquez, fourth in the NBA in assists coming into the game, twisted his left ankle on a drive late in the third quarter. He came out of the game and limped to the locker room.

Houston led 85-76 after three, then gave away four turnovers in the first 4 minutes of the final quarter. Vasquez returned and guarded Harden, who swished a jumper from the top of the key for a 95-88 lead with just over 4 minutes to go.

The 6-foot-9 Al-Farouq Aminu switched to guard Harden after that, and Harden passed to Parsons for a 3-pointer with 3:27 remaining.

Vasquez then sank a pair of 3s to fuel a quick 8-0 Hornets run that cut the gap to 98-96 with less than 2 minutes to play. Parsons just beat the shot clock with an awkward fadeaway jumper to put Houston up by four.

Aminu and Vasquez missed 3-pointers in the final 5 seconds, and Houston held on.

Notes: Houston coach Kevin McHale missed his third straight game since taking an indefinite leave to address a family matter in Minnesota. Assistant coach Kelvin Sampson said the team still has no timetable for McHale's return. ... Former Rockets center Ralph Sampson was honored at midcourt during a timeout in the second quarter. Sampson, the top overall pick in the 1983 draft who guided Houston to the 1986 NBA Finals, was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in September. ... The Rockets' 39 second-quarter points and 64 first-half points were season highs.

 

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Clippers beat Heat 107-100 for 4th straight win



LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In their toughest test yet of this young NBA season, the Los Angeles Clippers measured themselves against the Miami Heat and liked how they stacked up.

Blake Griffin and Chris Paul had double-doubles, with Paul keying a third-quarter spurt that helped carry the Clippers to a 107-100 victory on Wednesday night. They have wins over Memphis, the Lakers, San Antonio and now the defending NBA champions in their first eight games.

"These wins are good, but we're playing at home and we expect to win," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said.

Griffin had 20 points and 14 rebounds and Paul had 16 points and 10 assists to lead five players in double figures in the Clippers' fourth straight win. Jamal Crawford added 22 points off the bench.

"We can even be better," Griffin said. "We can't rest on a win like that."

Obviously Griffin has been listening to Paul, who cautions an even-keeled approach.

"It's early, very early," Paul said. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves. Just keep playing the right way every night."

LeBron James scored 30 points for the defending NBA champions, who lost their fifth in a row against the Clippers in Los Angeles. Ray Allen added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, as the Heat dropped to 2-2 on their current six-game trip.

"Tonight was not a good game for us," Dwyane Wade said. "We have some good moments, but we have to put a full game together on the road. The important thing right now is to figure out how we can get better."

Wade was held to six points - well below his 18.4-point average - playing with a sprained left foot that kept him out of the morning shootaround.

"I had some shots that I normally make that I wasn't able to hit, but I just tried to help as much as I could and do my job as a leader on the floor," he said. "We did a pretty good job until the end of the third before Chris Paul went off and kind of separated the game for us. They're playing with a lot more confidence, and obviously they've got more depth."

The Clippers were clinging to a 72-70 lead in the third when Paul switched from distributor to scorer, running off 13 straight points and extending their lead to 85-74 going into the fourth. The Clippers hit five 3-pointers in building the game's first double-digit lead after neither team led by more than six points in the first half.

"He makes things happen and that's why I've always felt that he's the best point guard in the game," James said.

Wade was called for a technical after tangling with Ryan Hollins and then he missed a jumper over Hollins on Miami's last shot of the third.

The Clippers' roll continued into the fourth, with Eric Bledsoe scoring their first eight points for a 93-76 lead. Griffin and Paul were on the bench, giving the second unit its chance to dominate the offense against Miami's starters. Bledsoe finished with 12 points and Caron Butler had 15.

"That's the first time I've been able to sit on the bench and almost be a fan," Griffin said. "It's fun to watch."

Griffin and Paul returned after Miami cut its deficit to 104-93 with 3:47 remaining. But it was only for insurance as the Heat failed to make a serious run in the closing minutes.

"The road just gets tougher," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "That's a good team. We view them as legit competitors for the title."'

Miami led 54-52 at halftime. James wasted no time asserting himself with a driving dunk 12 seconds into the game. The Clippers answered with eight straight points, the biggest run either team managed in the half.

Both teams put on a riveting display of dunks, 3-point shooting and power moves. The crowd cheered when Bledsoe blocked Wade on his way to the basket and then Norris Cole airballed a 3-pointer after the Heat recovered the ball.

"I turned it over so I just tried to get the ball back," Bledsoe said.

NOTES: Both teams had 19 turnovers. ... Wade hurt his foot in the third quarter of Monday's game at Houston when he stepped on teammate Chris Bosh. Against the Clippers, Wade stumbled out of bounds in the fourth quarter and went down after getting caught on one of the referees. ... Crawford has 164 points off the bench, making him the highest scoring reserve in the league this season. ... The Heat are 13-12 on the road all-time against the Clippers. ... The teams meet once more this season in Miami.

 

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Clippers vs Heat highlights

LeBron scores 30 but Blake's double double leads Clippers to victory.

 

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Celtics vs Jazz highlights

Pierce has 23 points to lead Celtics to victory

 

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Despite crutches, D'Antoni takes over the Lakers


EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -- Mike D'Antoni circled the court 2 feet at a time, moving smoothly on crutches while his Los Angeles Lakers went through drills orchestrated by his assistant coach and brother, Dan.

Although D'Antoni's surgically replaced knee is slowing him down a bit, he couldn't wait any longer to get the Lakers rolling.

D'Antoni formally took over the Lakers on Thursday, four days after the slow-starting club hired him to replace Mike Brown. The former Knicks and Suns coach is still on crutches and pain medication after surgery earlier this month, but thinks he'll soon be back to normal while he attempts to transform the Lakers into his vision of an up-tempo, high-scoring team.

"I'm really happy to be here - excited," D'Antoni said. "(We're) starting to put stuff in now. Might take a little bit, but ... we're built to win this year. This is not a five-year project. We have a window, and we're going to try to get through it."

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak welcomed D'Antoni after practice at a news conference packed with dozens of media members. Given his limited mobility, D'Antoni isn't likely to make his sideline debut until Sunday night against Houston, with interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff probably manning the bench again Friday night against Phoenix.

"This is a great city to have an up-tempo, exciting game that has a legitimate shot to win a championship," D'Antoni said. "I can't ask for anything more."

D'Antoni's affable charm immediately worked on the Lakers, who praised their new coach's demeanor during their first few hours together. The coach acknowledged few qualms about taking over the star-studded roster that got off to a 1-4 start to the season, speaking instead of the limitless possibilities of the Lakers' talent within his creative style of coaching.

D'Antoni said he rooted for Jerry West's Lakers while growing up in 1960s West Virginia, and he won't have any problem transferring his allegiances after trying to beat L.A. for so many years in Phoenix. The coach also realizes his up-tempo style of play will mesh nicely with the Lakers' heritage under Magic Johnson - who has already criticized D'Antoni's hire.

"We would love to be able to play Showtime-type basketball," D'Antoni said. "Now, they might have done it the best that you can do it. We would like to get some place close to that. I think that would be awesome."

Los Angeles has gone 2-1 under Bickerstaff since Brown's firing, and the veteran coach was in practice Thursday along with Brown's entire staff. They finished their workout with a huddle around D'Antoni, followed by a one-word cheer: "Championship!"

D'Antoni isn't likely to have much trouble meshing with Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant. Nash became a two-time NBA MVP running D'Antoni's offense in Phoenix, while Bryant has played for D'Antoni on the U.S. national team. The coach also recalls the 12-year-old Bryant hanging out at his games in the Italian league.

"He can come over and cuss me out in Italian, and you guys might not even know it," D'Antoni said.

D'Antoni also has ties to Howard, who has been on U.S. national teams with D'Antoni on the coaching staff, and backup forward Jordan Hill, who briefly played for the coach in New York.

How quickly that familiarity translates into wins will decide how quickly D'Antoni is comfortable in his new job. His greatest task might be forming a bond with Howard, the defense-minded center who will be the Lakers' top star for many more years if he re-signs with the club next summer.

Howard was intrigued by his first practice under D'Antoni, but realizes the process takes time.

"We can't just expect for him to come in and we have one day of practice, and then the next day we're scoring 150 points," Howard said. "I don't think it works like that."

D'Antoni ran his first practice without his top two point guards: Nash is still out with a small fracture in his leg, while Steve Blake missed the Lakers' last game with a minor abdominal strain. D'Antoni is excited for his reunion with Nash, but he's also thrilled by his first chance to coach Blake, a player he identified as an ideal fit for his system a decade ago.

"He said we should be scoring 110 points a game, or something like that," said Bryant, who isn't worried about how the veteran Lakers will play defense. "How many defensive players do you need on one team? At some point, you just throw the ball out there and let us figure things out on our own, which is really what we do best, and that's what we're going to do."

Kupchak also shed more light on the Lakers' decision to choose D'Antoni over 11-time champion coach Phil Jackson, who seemed interested in a third stint on Los Angeles' bench. Kupchak and Lakers owner Jim Buss wanted to see more aggression and freedom for the Lakers, identifying D'Antoni as their top choice early in their search, but strongly considered Jackson after the Lakers crowd's chants of "We want Phil!" last weekend.

"We just felt there was so much public support that we felt it might be difficult not to hire him," Kupchak said. "My feeling (before Saturday's meeting with Jackson) was that he didn't want to coach any more, and when he left two years ago, he felt he stayed a year too long. We gradually got to the position where we could do what we think is right for the team. It took us a couple of days to sort through that, and we knew there would be a ridiculous amount of criticism for making this decision, but it was clearly and only a basketball decision."

 

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Poor bench play undermining Lakers, other teams around the NBA


The pace of the NBA season has slowed from last year’s post-lockout sprint, but that doesn’t make the full 82-game campaign any less of a slog. Weeks grow heavy with games on games on games, and coaches are forced to dig deep into their rotations to relieve weary starters. Even if we evaluate every game in a vacuum, reserves are inevitably counted on to buoy team performance through extended minutes and have the potential to preserve a favorable margin or erase the starting lineup’s good work.

Elite talent may be paramount in the NBA, but it’s still crucial that quality teams can go deep into their rotations without a momentum-killing drop-off. Depth matters a great deal, as even title contenders are bound to the limitations of their second-unit players. So today we look at some of the teams for which those requisite reserves create unspeakable problems — those unlucky franchises for whom a lack of depth is a serious concern.


Los Angeles Lakers

I suspect that you may have heard these worries before. The Lakers’ bench has some players who are useful in very select contexts, but as a unit they are so resolutely ineffective that they stand to cause Los Angeles problems all season. A few coaching tweaks (such as using shooting guard Jodie Meeks more consistently, moving forward Antawn Jamison off the wing and shifting big man Jordan Hill out of lineups with center Dwight Howard) could make the situation a bit more palatable, but with this many below-average players in the rotation, some of the issues are unavoidable.

Even through some early hiccups, the Lakers’ starters — with point guard Steve Blake standing in for the injured Steve Nash — have performed quite well. But there’s a valley in production between L.A.’s top-four players and the rest of the roster, one that frankly could wind up barring the Lakers’ entry into the ranks of top-tier contenders. The only realistic hope is that a healthy Howard and/or Nash can help bridge the ravine between starters and reserves in order to make a more presentable net product, but that also puts a bigger burden on two of the heaviest lifters. Nash will need every minute of rest he can get over the course of this regular season, and Howard may have quite a way to go before he’s fully able to bear the kind of defensive responsibility he shouldered in Orlando — much less the largely dead weight of L.A.’s subs. Jamison can be better, Blake will make for a better regular than Darius Morris and forward Devin Ebanks certainly can’t play any worse. But the ceiling for the Lakers’ second line is just making its minutes manageable — a stark contrast from the high hopes of their star-studded first unit.


Cleveland Cavaliers

Teams like the Cavaliers are often done injustice by generalization, as if their 2-6 record suggests a plague in every area of their basketball operation. With the Cavs, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The starting five of Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Alonzo Gee, Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao has actually rated as one of the best high-usage lineups in the NBA, posting early efficiency marks that would trump the top units of even the mightiest contenders. That group has bested opponents by nearly 17 points per 100 possessions, scored at the equivalent rate of the NBA’s best offense and defended at a top-10 level.

But the instability of that lineup obscures its overall performance. If coach Byron Scott removes Irving from the mix, Cleveland’s offense plummets by an unbelievable 30 points per 100 possessions. If he subs out Varejao, then the defense dips significantly and the Cavs’ rebounding rates collapse. If he takes both off the court, then the earth opens up and swallows the Quicken Loans Arena whole. Minutes without Irving and Varejao are downright apocalyptic for the Cavs, largely because those two make the rest of the starting five look better from a statistical standpoint than it really is, leaving the team with no other means to elevate the play of one of the NBA’s worst benches.

Some of the reason for that is explainable and expected (the limitations of Donald Sloan, Samardo Samuels and Luke Walton), but other areas of Cleveland’s reserve struggles are hardly so (Jon Leuer’s inability to find his shot, C.J. Miles’ implosion). Regardless, there’s enough negative influence at work in the rest of the Cavs’ roster to undo all the good the starters accomplish and then some, resulting in the third-worst net rating in the league. It takes a truly special level of ineptitude to make a fantastic, highly used lineup look this bad, but what can I say — the Cavs’ bench is full of miracle workers.


Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers live in a harrowing reality in which Sasha Pavlovic — he of 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds per game — is legitimately one of their best bench players. Such is the way of it when Nolan Smith, Ronnie Price and Jared Jeffries all find a place in a team’s rotation, forcing the Blazers to arrange themselves in a way that helps mitigate the meager contributions of the second unit.

That said, credit coach Terry Stotts for refusing to use his bench as a functional second unit. Virtually all of Portland’s lineups are a starter-reserve hybrid, relying on Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews to smooth over the rougher patches of the subs. It’s worked in some cases (rookie center Meyers Leonard rotates in seamlessly for J.J. Hickson), but failed miserably in others. Aldridge’s relatively inefficient season certainly doesn’t help matters, but otherwise the challenges of offsetting such inferior playmaking (Price) and decision-making (Smith) are often far too great. Portland’s starting five has some talented players, but just lacks the firepower to adequately overcome a flock of second-unit albatrosses.


Indiana Pacers

Lumping in the Pacers with this bunch may be slightly unfair considering the strain that losing leading scorer Danny Granger has had on Indiana’s entire rotation. But their inclusion seems justifiable given the struggles of Gerald Green, Sam Young and Lance Stephenson, both in and out of the starting lineup.

The Pacers had one of the worst benches a season ago, and to general manager Kevin Pritchard’s credit, numerous changes were made in order to theoretically make the subs more reliable. Green was signed as a sixth-man scorer, the kind of dynamic shooter-slasher hybrid that the Pacers missed so badly in last season’s playoffs. Point guard D.J. Augustin was poached from Charlotte, set to replace Darren Collison, who had been dealt to Dallas for reserve center Ian Mahinmi.

But none of those moves has been able to provide much value to coach Frank Vogel, who was forced to give up his best reserve in Collison for a trio that regularly underwhelms. Green’s scoring should eventually get back on track, and Mahinmi is simply a passable role player made to look less useful by his surroundings. But Augustin’s play provides some real cause for concern. The Pacers don’t appear to be equipped to create the kinds of perimeter looks for Augustin that would validate his upgrade over Collison in three-point shooting, and Augustin is otherwise limited as a creator. In July, dropping Collison in a sign-and-trade for Mahinmi seemed a bit questionable, but potentially harmless. But after seeing Augustin’s misfit with Pacers lineups unable to benefit from his presence or access his talents (much less entirely cover for his defensive weaknesses), it’s hard to consider the deal to be anything other than a stifling blunder.

But, hey, Tyler Hansbrough’s been playing fairly well, so the Pacers have that going for them.

 

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Up-tempo Lakers race to 114-102 win over Phoenix


LOS ANGELES (AP) Mike D'Antoni spoke to the Los Angeles Lakers before the game and then retired to the training room, getting treatment on his surgically replaced knee. After a few more words at halftime, D'Antoni went to the players' lounge to watch the second half.

Although it's not the easiest way to take charge of an NBA team, the Lakers are pretty sure their new coach was pleased by what he saw from a short distance.

Kobe Bryant had 31 points, Metta World Peace hit five 3-pointers while scoring 22 points, and the Lakers played D'Antoni's style of up-tempo basketball in a 114-102 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

Dwight Howard had 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Lakers improved to 3-1 under interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff, who filled in because D'Antoni wasn't quite ready for sideline duty while recovering from surgery earlier this month. The Lakers don't have D'Antoni's offense figured out after just one practice, but they played with an aggression and urgency they had lacked during their early season stumbles.

The result was more than Phoenix could handle.

"That really is his offense, for us to kind of read each other and react to each other, kind of go out there and play on the fly,'' Bryant said. "He has certain things that he wants to put in that gives us some framework to try to get some easy opportunities, but for the most part, he wants us to go out there and play.''

Even though it happened against the defensively questionable Suns, the Lakers quickly lived up to D'Antoni's bold Thursday prediction about their offensive capabilities: "If we're not scoring 110, 115 points, we need to talk.''

Los Angeles took charge of an entertaining game with a 17-2 run spanning the final two quarters led by Bryant and Jordan Hill. The Lakers surpassed 100 points with 9:26 to play on a three-point play by Howard, who is widely expected to thrive in a pick-and-roll offense.

While World Peace relished his 3-point attempts, Pau Gasol scored 12 points on a series of spot-up jumpers in the first quarter before finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

"Not as many post-ups,'' Gasol said in describing the offense. "More transition and quicker shots, I guess. Also against a team that plays that pace, it helps your offense, let's say. ... We played pretty simple basketball and just played off each other.''

D'Antoni is still on crutches after surgery earlier this month, but he's expected to debut on the Lakers' bench Sunday night against Houston. Bickerstaff pledged to run elements of the new coach's offensive sets against the Suns, who still follow many of D'Antoni's tenets under coach Alvin Gentry.

The night was a pleasure for Bickerstaff, who joined fired coach Mike Brown's staff in September and then agreed to preside over the transition period.

The veteran coach's .750 winning percentage with the Lakers "will get me a Popsicle,'' Bickerstaff said.

"I (think) it would be a footnote, and it would be something that's in history that maybe my grandkids can talk about,'' added Bickerstaff, who hasn't said whether D'Antoni will keep him around. "It's all fun, and that's what life is about. Don't take yourself too seriously, and enjoy the ride.''

Goran Dragic scored 22 points for the Suns, who have lost three of four.

Luis Scola scored 18 points, while Michael Beasley added 14 points and a career-high nine assists. The game is Phoenix's only road contest in a six-game stretch through Thanksgiving, but the Suns must rush home to face defending champion Miami on Saturday night.

"That team is in another area as to where we are and where we're trying to get to,'' Gentry said. "They've got much bigger fish to fry, and we've got to get ourselves to the point where we become significant again. And the only way to do that is to be consistent.''

Steve Nash missed his seventh straight game for the Lakers with a small fracture in his left leg, keeping him out of his first potential matchup with the franchise with which he spent the past eight seasons, winning two NBA MVP awards and reaching two Western Conference finals with D'Antoni on the bench.

During the third quarter, the Lakers announced Nash will miss at least another week before getting re-examined next weekend. The Lakers are in the midst of a heavy slate of games, meaning the point guard is likely to miss 12 straight games before the Lakers' next projection on his return.

The results of D'Antoni's arrival seemed obvious from the opening quarter, when the Lakers scored 35 points and ran the court with an urgency they haven't consistently shown in years. Both teams traded significant runs in the second quarter, with the Lakers taking a 62-57 lead at halftime after closing with a 12-2 surge.

"We gave ourselves a chance, but we had a lot of unforced turnovers,'' said Jermaine O'Neal, who scored 12 points. "They capitalized on the turnovers that we had in that one spurt in the third, and they scored in transition. That was the difference-maker.''

NOTES: The Suns have trailed by double digits in nine of their 10 games this season. ... Eddie Murphy, Andy Garcia, Los Angeles Kings forwards Jarret Stoll and Trevor Lewis, and "2 Broke Girls'' stars Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs attended the game.

 

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Blazers outlast Rockets for 119-117 OT victory


PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Two of Neil Olshey's biggest offseason moves are paying off in a big way for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Batum tied a career high with 35 points, Lillard sparked a late comeback and the Blazers beat the Houston Rockets 119-117 in overtime Friday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 29 points for Portland, including a tiebreaking free throw and key turnaround jumper in the extra session. Lillard scored 16 of the Trail Blazers' last 21 points and finished with a career-high 27.

"He played great,'' Aldridge said of Lillard, the 6-foot-3 point guard who was the sixth overall pick in this year's draft out of Weber State. "He had ice in his veins. Took big shots, made big shots.''

Olshey became Portland's general manager in June. He drafted Lillard and Illinois big man Meyers Leonard in the first round, then re-signed the talented but inconsistent Batum to a $44 million contract.

Batum is averaging 20.8 points and 6.3 rebounds and is shooting 48 percent from the field. Lillard is averaging 19.3 points, 6.4 assists and looks like a candidate for NBA Rookie of the Year.

James Harden had 29 points for the Rockets, who led by as many as 15 before falling behind in the final quarter. Chandler Parsons added 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Portland won its second consecutive game while narrowly avoiding a fourth straight loss at the Rose Garden.

"One thing that has been evident with our team is that we compete until the end,'' Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "For a long stretch of the game it wasn't going how we wanted it, but when it mattered, we played pretty well.''

Lillard made a tying 3-pointer with 3:25 left in overtime. After Omer Asik hit two foul shots for Houston, Lillard connected on another jumper to tie it at 116.

Houston committed a turnover on the other end and Aldridge went 1 for 2 at the line before making a turnaround jumper to extend the lead to 119-116 with 36.8 seconds left.

Harden made a free throw with 1.4 seconds to go but Houston couldn't corral his intentional miss, and the game ended.

"Sometimes you have to tip your hat and say, "Batum, those are great shots,' and "Lillard, those are great shots.''' said Kelvin Sampson, who is coaching Houston while Kevin McHale is away from the team to tend to a personal matter.

The Rockets were kicking off a three-game West Coast road swing after going 2-1 at home despite some off-the-court distractions.

McHale has been away since Saturday. Royce White, a first-round draft pick, is feuding with the team over how it has accommodated his anxiety disorder, and is not with the team either.

The Blazers, who snapped a four-game losing streak with a 103-86 victory over Sacramento on Wednesday, leaned heavily on Batum's outside shooting and Aldridge under the basket until Lillard took over with 4:29 left in regulation and Portland trailing 103-98. The 6-foot-3 point guard hit six free throws, a 3-pointer, a driving layup and then put the Blazers up 111-108 with a jumper after faking Jeremy Lin up in the air.

Marcus Morris then nailed a 3-pointer for Houston with 10 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

The Blazers have struggled defensively all season, allowing 100 points or more in six of their first nine games. They entered having allowed opponents to shoot 49.6 percent.

Mindful of Portland's defensive deficiencies, the Rockets pushed the ball in transition. The Rockets had a 17-1 fast-break point advantage in the first half and they shot 55 percent before the break.

Houston led 51-35 in the first half and was up 13 in third quarter. But Batum scored 14 points in the period, including nine in a row.

"He had serious momentum going with him, and everything he was throwing up was going in,'' Parsons said. "If we look back at the film, that was pretty good "D.' That's just how it goes sometimes.''

NOTES: Portland beat the Rockets 95-85 in overtime on Nov. 3 in Houston. Aldridge had 27 points and 11 rebounds in that game. ... Harden is averaging 32.3 points in four road games this season. . Batum had 35 points against San Antonio on Nov. 10. Originally credited with 33, he was later awarded a basket, which had been given to Wesley Matthews.

 

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Grizzlies hand Knicks first loss, 105-95


MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) The Memphis Grizzlies ended the New York Knicks' unbeaten start and put themselves on top of the NBA standings.

Zach Randolph had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Marc Gasol added 24 points and Memphis handed the Knicks their first loss of the season with a 105-95 victory on Friday night. At 7-1, the Grizzlies own the league's best record for the first time in franchise history.

"Sounds good,'' Memphis guard Mike Conley said. "I think we are playing well right now, obviously. We have played some very good teams in the past week. (We) are just going to try and keep it going.''

With the 10-point win, the Grizzlies defeated the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder - last season's NBA finalists - and the previously undefeated Knicks by double digits this week.

Rudy Gay scored 17 points and blocked four shots, and Conley added 16 points and eight assists as Memphis won its seventh straight.

"The confidence is something that we have always had,'' Gay said. "I don't think it is (any) different as what we always have been. We are just playing basketball. We are getting better, that's all it is.

"We are just doing it at a higher level.''

Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points for New York, which was trying to start 7-0 for the first time since the 1993-94 team that reached the NBA Finals. Raymond Felton scored 18 points and handed out five assists. Rasheed Wallace scored 13 points, shooting 6 of 10.

The game got away from New York in the third quarter, when the Knicks seemed to lose their composure during a Memphis rally, and complained about calls and drew technical fouls, including one on Knicks coach Mike Woodson.

"Our guys are competitive They want to win,'' Woodson said. "We are on a six-game winning streak. We didn't want that streak to break. But it did, so we have to start a new streak.''

The Knicks shot 51 percent for the game, but Memphis had 12 offensive rebounds, leading to a 22-12 advantage in second-chance points.

Memphis led by as many as 21 in the third quarter and still held a 19-point lead in the early stages of the final period.

The Knicks answered with a 12-3 rally and appeared poised to make a comeback reminiscent of Thursday night's win at San Antonio, when New York outscored the Spurs 27-11 in the final 7:14 for a 104-100 victory.

But New York never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

The game started getting testy in the second quarter as the Grizzlies' Jerryd Bayless and New York's J.R. Smith got into it, earning double technicals. Gay got a tech when he disagreed with a no-call on a dunk attempt.

And through all that, Wallace was mouthing with everyone from the Grizzlies bench to the officials to the fans.

"That's part of my game,'' Wallace said. "I like to talk trash. That's what I do. But the thing about it is, I talk trash, and I can back it up. Then I like to have fun with the fans. They're jabbing at me, so I like to throw jabs at them. It's all in fun though.''

Memphis led 54-49 at the break, both teams shooting well. The Knicks hit at a 57 percent clip, while Memphis connected on 54 percent. Conley had 13 for Memphis, while Anthony had 14 for the Knicks.

Wallace already had matched his season high with 10 points before intermission.

Memphis opened the second half with a 23-7 spurt. Gasol had eight in the run, and the Knicks continued picking up technical fouls.

The Grizzlies' rally built the advantage to 77-56 when Tony Allen converted a three-point play after Smith was called for a flagrant foul on Allen's drive. That was just one of the things that caused the Knicks play to go awry in the period.

"There in the third quarter, we tried to do it individually instead of just moving the ball,'' guard Jason Kidd said. "Guys got great looks and they didn't go in. .Emotion is part of the game. For the whole team, this is a test we can learn from.''

New York cut into the margin slightly, but Memphis still carried an 85-67 lead into the fourth after outscoring the Knicks 31-18 in the period.

The Knicks started a comeback to open the fourth period, outscoring Memphis 12-3 in the early stages of the period.

That got New York within 91-81 with 6:18 left on Felton's jumper in the lane.

"The third quarter got away from us,'' Anthony said. "Techs, they made some shots. We missed some shots. They got the momentum, kind of slowed the game down. We made a run and cut it to eight, but they already had the momentum going, so we were just in an uphill battle from there.''

But several Knick players noted that the battle and the roughhouse game is just the first round of the series between the two teams.

"One thing we're saying,'' Wallace said, "They've got to come to the Garden.''

NOTES: Memphis has won 15 straight regular-season home games. Memphis' last loss during the regular season at home was last March 16 to Toronto in overtime. . Smith came into the game leading the league in 3-point shooting on 14 of 19. He ended the night 0 for 3 from outside the arc. . The Knicks finished their three-game road trip at 2-1. . Wallace's 13 points and 24 minutes were season highs in both categories.

 

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Warriors dominate paint in 106-98 win over Wolves


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Mark Jackson's Golden State Warriors have started flexing their muscles and picking up steam after being pushed around in a loss to Denver last weekend.

Rick Adelman's "magnificent nine'' Minnesota Timberwolves have finally started to wear down after a spirited start to the season and desperately need the break they have coming up.

David Lee had 18 points and 13 rebounds and the Warriors dominated inside during a 106-98 victory over the Timberwolves on Friday night.

Carl Landry added 15 points and seven boards and Stephen Curry had 17 points and six assists for the Warriors (5-4), who outscored Minnesota 58-22 in the paint.

After the Nuggets owned them inside in a double-overtime win on Saturday, the Warriors have responded with two decisive performances in the paint in wins over the Hawks and Wolves.

"We talked about it losing to Denver a couple of games ago because they outrebounded us and they dominated us,'' Jackson said. "So we made the adjustments and fortunately the last two games we've been doing a good job of securing the basketball, closing out defensive possessions.''

Alexey Shved had 22 points and seven assists and Derrick Williams had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves (5-4), who are starting to succumb to the injuries that have ravaged them early this season. Now they have four much-needed days off to try to recuperate.

"We're running out of gas a little bit,'' said Andrei Kirilenko, who had 18 points, six rebounds and four blocks.

The Wolves have been playing with just nine players for the last three games. Nikola Pekovic (sprained left ankle), J.J. Barea (sprained left foot) and Brandon Roy (sore right knee) are out for the short term. Kevin Love (right hand) and Ricky Rubio (left knee) aren't expected to make their season debuts until December and Chase Budinger (left knee) is out for three to four months.

Harrison Barnes had 18 points and nine rebounds and the Warriors outrebounded Minnesota 50-34. Golden State led 90-76 with eight minutes to play, but the scrappy Wolves clawed back in it, just as they've done all season.

Shved's runner cut it to 92-89 with four minutes to go, but the short-handed Wolves just didn't have enough in the tank to finish it off.

Lee hit a short jumper and Charles Jenkins and Barnes both scored on easy drives to close it out. It was a nice win for the Warriors to start a tough three-game road trip that includes games at Oklahoma City and Dallas.

Without Pekovic out there to clog the paint, the Warriors attacked the rim relentlessly and pounded the Wolves on the glass. During one possession in the third quarter, the Warriors had three offensive rebounds before Barnes converted a tough layup for a 67-60 lead. And they just kept coming.

Lee with a dunk, Klay Thompson with an easy layup off a screen, Jarrett Jack with a pull-up jumper just outside the lane. Suddenly it was 80-64 and the Warriors were rolling against a Timberwolves team that entered the game leading the NBA in scoring defense.

"We've got to be a grinding ballclub,'' Jack said. "It's not always going to be a shirt and tie. ... We've got to be a team that's going to be able to grit our teeth.''

With six of his top seven players out, Adelman has been forced to elevate the minutes of role players, and it's starting to take its toll.

"We're playing with guys that are support players around our team and they're playing big minutes,'' Adelman said. "We didn't react the way we needed to.''

Desperate for healthy bodies, the Wolves signed Josh Howard on Thursday.

He grabbed a rebound and knocked down a baseline jumper in his first 27 seconds on the court, then added a steal and another long two in a six-minute stint. It was exactly what Adelman was looking for, some competent wing play to allow a little bit of rest for Kirilenko, who played 88 minutes the previous two games.

Howard cooled off considerably in the second half, finishing with six points on 3-of-10 shooting.

The Wolves will get no sympathy from Golden State, which is missing center Andrew Bogut and swingman Brandon Rush.

"Nobody's going to take any pity on you, any mercy on you because you're not at full strength,'' Jack said.

NOTES: During a video in the first quarter, Kirilenko told the story of how he got the nickname AK47. He said he originally had No. 13 when he came to the Jazz, but gave it up to Jackson, who now coaches the Warriors. Jazz teammate and former University of Minnesota star Quincy Lewis told Kirilenko about the gun, so Kirilenko chose the No. 47 and the nickname was born. ... Former Wolves, Pistons and Wizards coach Flip Saunders watched a game from the seats at Target Center for the first time since he was fired by Minnesota in 2005. ... The Warriors improved to 4-0 when Jack, who scored 13 points, reaches double figures.

 

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Holiday leads Sixers past Jazz 99-93


PHILADELPHIA (AP) This time, the Philadelphia 76ers put together a solid performance at home.

Jrue Holiday scored 26 points and the Sixers snapped a three-game home losing streak with a 99-93 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.

Jason Richardson added 20 points for Philadelphia, which was coming off an embarrassing loss to Detroit. Thaddeus Young scored 14 and Nick Young finished with 12.

The Sixers (5-4) dropped the first two games of a five-game homestand to Milwaukee and the previously winless Pistons. They set a dubious mark against Detroit by shooting 29.8 percent from the field, the worst showing by any pro team in Philly since the Sixers' arena opened in 1996.

"That one hurt,'' Holiday said. "I know all of us here, even though Detroit isn't a bad team, you never want to be the one to have them get their first win. Knowing that, we didn't come out and play.''

Paul Millsap led the Jazz (4-6) with 22 points. DeMarre Carroll added a career-high 17 points and Al Jefferson had 15.

"We knew they were going to come out with a lot of intensity,'' said Mo Williams, who had 12 points for Utah despite playing with an injured right thumb. "It was no surprise to us. We just fell short at the end.''

Williams said he injured the thumb on his shooting hand on the first play of the game when it got tangled in Holiday's jersey.

The Jazz fell to 1-6 on the road, with the back end of consecutive games coming up Saturday at Washington.

"This team has a lot of pride,'' Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. "I never question that.''

Philadelphia put together a 13-2 run to take an 84-73 lead midway through the fourth quarter. But Utah responded with a 9-2 spurt to pull within four with 2:53 left, making the most of aggressive play in the low post by Jefferson and Derrick Favors.

Holiday then converted a layup and Thaddeus Young hit a jumper for an eight-point cushion and the Sixers pulled away for a much-needed home win.

Before the game, injured Sixers center Andrew Bynum said he had suffered a "setback'' in his return from a knee injury. Bynum said he now has swelling and a bone bruise on both knees and his target date of Dec. 10 for basketball activities is in limbo.

Bynum said he is still hoping for that December date, with one to four weeks of basketball-related activity to follow, pushing his much-anticipated Philadelphia debut to as late as mid-January.

That news didn't shake the Sixers, who still have home games coming up against Cleveland on Friday and Toronto on Tuesday.

Entering play on Friday, Philadelphia was 29th in the league in shooting percentage (40.1 percent) as well as scoring with an average of 88 points per game. It shot 46 percent (40 for 87) against Utah while beating its season scoring average.

"Anytime you get a win against a good team, it's huge,'' Richardson said. "You don't want teams coming in and feeling like they can beat you.''

The Sixers led by as many as 12 points in the first half and took a 52-43 advantage into the locker room.

NOTES: The Sixers were 9 for 10 from the free-throw line. ... Carroll knocked down all six of his field-goal attempts, including one 3-pointer, and all four of his free throws. . Millsap was 2 for 4 from beyond the arc, pushing his season 3-point total to 10 for 17.

 

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Hawks beat Kings 112-96


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The Atlanta Hawks' challenging West Coast road trip was made more difficult by a flu virus that spread throughout the team.

It also made this victory even more significant.

Kyle Korver scored 22 points, reserve Lou Williams had 21 and the Hawks beat Sacramento 112-96 on Friday night for their ninth consecutive win against the Kings.

Al Horford had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta after missing the last game with the flu bug. Horford watched the Hawks lose to Golden State on Wednesday while lying in bed in the team hotel.

"This trip has been a little frustrating, but we felt winning tonight and going home with a 2-2 record solidified this trip,'' Horford said. "I was sluggish tonight and it took a while for me to get going, but I tried to bring as much energy as I could. This was a very solid win for us.''

Atlanta shot 55 percent, including an 8-for-15 performance from beyond the arc, while recording a season-high point total. The Hawks outrebounded the Kings 42-37 and had 24 assists.

"We can be a real up-and-down team, we know that,'' Atlanta coach Larry Drew said. "We preach moving the basketball. We emphasize sharing the basketball and we did a really good job of that. Guys were finding each other all over the place and when we play like that we're a fun team to watch.''

The struggling Kings were outscored by 14 in both the first and third quarters. They held a players-only meeting after their fourth consecutive loss.

"We just put it all on the table. We talked about what we needed to do and what it's going to take to help this team get better,'' center DeMarcus Cousins said. "We were all in a bad mood.''

Josh Smith had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Jeff Teague scored 13 of his 15 points in the first quarter for Atlanta, which starts a stretch Monday of seven of eight games at home.

The Hawks carried an 86-70 lead into the fourth quarter and maintained at least an 11-point advantage the rest of the way.

"This was a strange trip with everyone getting sick,'' Williams said. "We had guys not playing, guys playing sick, but we persevered and got through it. We wanted to break even on this trip before we headed back to Atlanta to get prepared for our homestand.''

Korver went 5 for 5 from 3-point range. He also had seven rebounds and a rare two-handed dunk on a breakaway.

"I was open and my teammates were finding me,'' he said. "I struggled early in the season, but I've been in a good rhythm lately and my shot is starting to feel right.''

Jason Thompson had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings. Marcus Thornton had 17 points, Tyreke Evans finished with 14 and Aaron Brooks scored 13.

Cousins returned after he was suspended the previous two games for a verbal altercation with San Antonio TV analyst Sean Elliott. Cousins, who was whistled for a technical foul in the third quarter, had nine points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, but missed 11 of 15 shots.

"He was rusty, he has been out of rhythm for two games,'' Kings coach Keith Smart said. "Sometimes you come back and you're probably being hard on yourself, trying to get out of a slump. We're having a very rough time and it's not fun for anyone.''

Ahead by 12 points, Smith had a dunk, Horford hit two free throws, and Ivan Johnson scored from close range, increasing the lead to 98-80 with 7:55 left in the fourth.

The Hawks squandered a big second-quarter lead, but came out strong in the third, outscoring Sacramento 28-14.

Korver played a key role in a 9-0 run in the third. He began the spurt with a 3-pointer and finished it off with a long jumper, putting the Hawks ahead 81-69 with just over three minutes left in the period.

Sparked by their second unit, the Kings got going with a season-best 36-point second quarter. Brooks was the catalyst, making three 3-pointers and scoring 13 points in helping cut the margin from 18 early in the period to 58-56 by halftime.

NOTES: Evans, who entered the game 1 of 11 on 3-pointers, hit his first attempt in the opening quarter. ... Drew was a starting guard for the first Sacramento Kings team that relocated from Kansas City for the 1985-86 season. ... Kings small forward James Johnson was wearing glasses for the first time this season. The glasses didn't help the poor-shooting Johnson, who was 1 for 7 from the field. ... In a shooting slump the previous five games, the Hawks shot 58 percent in the first quarter and led 34-20 after one.

 

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Thunder roll past Hornets, 110-95


NEW ORLEANS (AP) When Kevin Durant gazed across the court at the New Orleans Hornets, a young team full of potential and stars in the making like Anthony Davis, it reminded him of what the Oklahoma City Thunder were like a few years ago.

When the Hornets saw Durant slam down an alley-oop lob to punctuate a fast break and give the Thunder a 30-point first-half lead, it reminded them of how far they still have to go to match the NBA's elite.

Durant and Kevin Martin each scored 27 points, and the Thunder rolled to their sixth victory in seven games, 110-95 over New Orleans on Friday night.

"We know what it takes to win on the road and we really respect our opponent. These guys remind me so much of us a few years back with the talent they have and the coach they have,'' Durant said. "I wanted to ignite my team, not by scoring the ball or rebounding or getting assists. I was just trying to inspire them by my hard work and playing with a good intensity level.''

Serge Ibaka scored 15 for Oklahoma City, which shot 54 percent (40 of 74) and built a lead as large as 34 in the second half, allowing the starters to rest for the entire fourth quarter. Thabo Sefolosha scored 11 points, while Russell Westbrook had 10 points and 12 of the Thunder's 31 assists.

Westbrook made only three of 11 shots, but coach Scott Brooks raved about the guard's hustle and unselfishness.

"It was one of his better games. On both ends of the floor he was disruptive,'' Brooks said. "When he plays like that, it puts a lot of pressure on the opponent, a lot of pressure on their point guard to run the offense.''

Westbrook, meanwhile, downplayed his role as a scorer, even though that's what he has been the past couple seasons.

"It's not about me scoring a certain amount of points. That's not the issue,'' Westbrook said. "Our problem is we need to win games and that's all I try to do. ... When I go to the basket, a lot of guys are collapsing on me and guys are open, and my job is to make sure they get the ball on time and on target.''

Oklahoma City made 14 3-pointers, with Martin hitting six of 11 and Durant going 4 of 5.

Ryan Anderson scored 15 points for New Orleans, which dropped its second straight. Anthony Davis tied a career high with 11 rebounds to go with eight points, but hit only four of 14 shots.

"They pretty much ran away in the first half,'' Anderson said. "They made a lot of shots and we didn't answer fast enough. This is the NBA, where the greatest players in the world play and on any given night a player can have a night like Kevin Martin had. He couldn't miss.''

The defensive-minded Hornets entered the game giving up 90.5 points per contest, the third-lowest average in the league, but Oklahoma City scored 66 in the first half on 64 percent shooting (23 of 36), including 8 of 13 from 3-point range.

The Thunder scored the first seven points and never looked back, going up by as much as 20 in the opening quarter on consecutive 3s by Martin.

Martin wound up hitting five of seven 3-point attempts in the first half and by halftime led all scorers with 22 points.

"We were just playing well as a team. The ball was just moving to me,'' Martin said. "I just played my normal game. If the shot's there, take it.''

Although the Hornets appeared outclassed, they kept working, which seemed to get under the skin of some Thunder players.

Westbrook and Greivis Vasquez were assessed double technical fouls at the end of the half, and Durant and Kendrick Perkins walked toward halfcourt to have words with Hornets players including Davis. Monty Williams also strode toward center court and angrily told Durant and Perkins not to talk to his players.

The teams then headed to the locker rooms without further incident, and Hornets fans lustily booed Thunder players as they disappeared into the tunnel.

Westbrook said he had no idea what happened or why technicals were called. Williams said it was just a little misunderstanding.

"We thought they said something. They thought we said something. It happens,'' Williams said. ""When you have guys like Russell and Greivis out there competing like that, things will happen. We're men. But you also have to be man enough to admit that we do goofy things when we compete. ... So we were just out there kind of yelling back and forth. Basically they were just kicking our butts.''

Notes: Hornets G Matt Carroll, acquired in a trade that sent Hakim Warrick to Charlotte on Tuesday, still has not reported to New Orleans, which has played twice since the deal. Hornets general manager Dell Demps stopped short of saying the Hornets intend to buy Carroll out, but said the player and team have an agreement that has excused Carroll from showing up for now. ... The Hornets announced earlier in the day a multiyear contract extension for Demps. ... The Thunder, who had lost its previous game Wednesday at Memphis, improved to 3-0 in games played after a loss. Last season Oklahoma City was 15-3 in games played after a loss.

 

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Redick leads Orlando past Detroit 110-106


AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) The Orlando Magic can shoot after all.

J.J. Redick scored 23 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 42.8 seconds left, and the Magic rallied to beat the Detroit Pistons 110-106 on Friday night.

Arron Afflalo scored 19 and Jameer Nelson added 13 points and 10 assists for Orlando, which had each of its starters score in double figures. Glen Davis had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Nikola Vucevic finished with 11 points and 13 boards.

"This is great for our team,'' Davis said. "Our young guys played really well, and Nik finished strong.''

The Magic began the day averaging just 88 points a game, with only the Indiana Pacers below them. But they got 66 in the second half against the lowly Pistons.

"That's a great team win,'' Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn said. "The key was making stops in the second half, because that was why we were able to get so many good looks at the offensive end.''

Orlando shot 55.8 percent from the floor in the second half, scoring 39 points in the fourth quarter alone.

"If you give up 39 points in a fourth quarter and 110 points in a game, you aren't going to win,'' Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. "Our offense did enough to win - you should win a game when you shoot 54 percent and score 106 points, but we didn't guard anyone.''

Greg Monroe had 23 points for Detroit, which has dropped nine of its first 10 games. The Pistons were coming off a 94-76 victory at Philadelphia on Wednesday night that snapped a franchise-worst 0-8 start.

Detroit had six players score in double figures, including each of its starters. Tayshaun Prince had 18 points, Kyle Singler scored 14 and Brandon Knight contributed 10 points and 12 assists.

The teams traded baskets and the lead for most of the fourth quarter, but the Magic kept getting to the offensive boards and built a 101-97 advantage with 1:25 to go.

"As a leader, I knew I had to do more,'' said Davis, who finished with six offensive rebounds. "In order to win, I had to get every rebound and be in every play. I did not want to lose this game.''

Jason Maxiell's three-point play made it a one-point game, and Singler hit two free throws to put Detroit up 102-101 with 47.7 seconds to go.

Redick then came off a screen to hit a 3, and Afflalo tied up Monroe to force a turnover at the other end.

"I just misread the play,'' said Singler, who was making his first career start. "I knew that there was going to be a screen, but I thought he was going the other way. By the time I could react, I got hit with the screen.''

Davis made it a four-point game with a baby hook in the lane, and Redick clinched the game from the line.

Detroit led 50-44 at the half, then expanded the advantage early in the third by exploiting Prince's matchup with Afflalo. Prince dominated his former teammate in the post, scoring 10 points in the first four minutes of the half.

"Even when that was going on, we knew how this game was going to go,'' Frank said. "We were hitting baskets, but we weren't getting any stops. You could tell it was turning into a shootout, and that's not the type of game this team is going to win.''

The Pistons built a 13-point lead, but Orlando rallied after Nelson gave a spirited pep talk during a timeout.

"We had to get more aggressive and do everything harder on defense,'' Nelson said after the game. "These guys know that I can lead, because they've seen the way I play, and I've been in the league long enough to know how to do it.''

The Magic closed to 75-71 at the end of the third, and tied it at 85 on Redick's 3-pointer with 8:16 to play.

Afflalo was still guarding Prince down the stretch, but the Pistons never went back to him in the post.

"We scored 106 points, so I don't think our offense was the problem,'' Frank said. "If we're thinking about offense after a game like that, we've lost our focus.''

NOTES: Nelson (hamstring) returned after missing Orlando's last six games. ... Corey Maggette made his home debut for Detroit, scoring seven points in 14 minutes. He missed the first eight games of the season with a leg injury before scoring nine points Wednesday in Philadelphia. ... Singler moved into the starting lineup, with struggling Rodney Stuckey coming off the bench. Stuckey finished with nine points in 21 minutes after a poor first half.

 

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West, Hill lead Pacers over Mavs, 103-83


INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indiana Pacers' offense finally matched their impressive defense.

The result was their biggest win over the Dallas Mavericks in 15 years.

David West and George Hill each scored 15 points to help the Pacers beat the Mavericks 103-83 on Friday night. It was the largest margin of victory for the Pacers in the series since a 104-80 win on March 26, 1997.

West and Hill, the Pacers' top two scorers, had combined for 5-for-19 shooting and 10 points in Wednesday's loss to Milwaukee. On Friday, the Pacers shot 47 percent from the field in their first blowout win of the season. They had gone six games without scoring at least 100 points.

Hill said much of their success against Dallas came from subtle changes by coach Frank Vogel.

"Coach challenged us that we needed to change immediately,'' Hill said. "He came in with different types of offensive sets that kind of helps us as athletes, who we are on this team, young and athletic. It kind of helped us and challenged us to make plays for others and not just ourselves. I like the direction that we're going.''

Vogel said there was a lot to dislike about the way the offense had been performing.

"I didn't like being 30th (last) in scoring and 30th in field goal offense,'' Vogel said. "I didn't like guys standing around. I didn't like the speed in which we were running our offense. I didn't like the lack of physicality in our screening. There was a lot to not like. So changes were needed.''

Those changes resulted in Indiana's second-best offensive output of the season. Roy Hibbert and Sam Young scored 14 points apiece for the Pacers, who had lost two straight before beating the Mavericks and their former coach, Rick Carlisle.

Vogel said the Pacers needed a win to keep a positive outlook. Indiana (4-6) improved to 3-1 at home.

"We talked about re-establishing a belief in ourselves as a basketball team, belief in ourselves individually that we're capable to do great things and continuing to believe in our teammates that are struggling,'' Vogel said. "It's an important element in getting yourself out of a rut and getting a team out of a rut it to continue to trust that we have good players on this team that when the ball's moving and we're sharing it that we're going to be pretty good.''

O.J. Mayo led the Mavericks (5-5) with 19 points. Vince Carter and former Pacer Darren Collison both dropped in 10 points for Dallas.

Dallas led 49-48 at halftime even though Indiana shot 54 percent. The Pacers made just 6 of 14 free throws in the first half and were outrebounded 22-15.

Dallas fell apart after that, being outscored 28-18 in the third quarter.

"The game got away from us,'' Carlisle said. "A lot of guys got hot. Collectively, I think their collective will was stronger than ours. After a really encouraging first half and a couple minutes in the third quarter, it just went the other way.''

Lance Stephenson's layup early in the second half tied the game at 51, and Hibbert's free throw put the Pacers ahead. Indiana expanded the lead to 59-54 on a 3-pointer by Stephenson.

A 3-pointer by Young pushed the Pacers ahead 70-59 with 4:02 left in the third quarter. Stephenson hit another 3 to make it 75-61 with 2:39 left in the third quarter. Indiana led 76-67 at the end of the period.

Stephenson scored 10 points in the third quarter as the Pacers held the Mavericks to 28 percent shooting in the period.

A three-point play by Gerald Green gave the Pacers an 83-69 lead and a 3-pointer by Young pushed Indiana's lead out to 18 points.

"We put ourselves in good position to win the game in the first half, then we come out and we couldn't stop anything in the second half,'' Mavericks forward Shawn Marion said. "I don't know why we are doing these things. We can't seem to sustain anything. We are continuing to have lapses, mental lapses.''

Pacers forward Paul George said he hopes the strong performance is the start of a trend. Indiana entered the season as one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference, but the Pacers have struggled to score without Danny Granger, a former All-Star who is out with an injured left knee.

"We don't want to look too far ahead,'' George said. "We still have a lot of work to do. It's a good start. It looks like we're starting to get things together. We haven't lost hope. We're fine.''

Notes: Two other former Pacers, Troy Murphy and Dahntay Jones, played for the Mavericks. . Marion started for Dallas after being listed as questionable with a strained MCL. He had missed five straight games. He scored two points in 25 minutes. . Stephenson got his fourth consecutive start. . Former Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien is an assistant for the Mavericks. . WWE wrestler The Miz attended the game. He was promoting the Survivor Series, which will take place Sunday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. . Ian Mahinmi, who was traded from Dallas in the offseason, scored seven points and committed four fouls in 12:30 for the Pacers.

 

[fastbreak]

Lakers vs Suns highlights

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar unveiled his statue before Lakers defeat Suns

 

[fastbreak]

Trail Blazers vs Rockets highlights

Nicholas Batum with 35 points and rookie Damian Lillard lead Trail Blazers past Rockets in OT.

 

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Report: Lakers eye deal for Josh Smith?

By Ben Golliver

With two All-Star caliber players added this summer and a new coach hired this week, the Lakers are sure to be the subject of countless rumors between now and February’s trade deadline.

ESPN.com reports that the Lakers have identified one free-agent to be as a possible target: Hawks forward Josh Smith, who would hypothetically be acquired in exchange for Lakers big man Pau Gasol.

Chatter about a Pau Gasol-to-Atlanta [trade] simply won’t go away.

Sources say that the Hawks, at present, have no interest in parting with Josh Smith and Kyle Korver for Gasol. Or even Smith and lesser parts for Gasol. Positions can obviously change between now and the Feb. 21 trade deadline, but sources maintain that Atlanta has not been enticed in the least by the prospect of parting with the 26-year-old Smith — even as he heads into unrestricted free agency — for the 32-year-old Gasol. The Hawks, for the record, have also been telling interested teams that they value Smith and what he offers as a hybrid forward in an Eastern Conference that’s generally been getting smaller.

It’s likewise true, sources said, that the Lakers have had internal discussions for months about pursuing Smith, not only for his athletic gifts but also knowing that J-Smoove is one of free agent-to-be Dwight Howard’s closest friends in the game. But if that’s really who L.A. wants, there will have to be another team or two recruited into the deal to satisfy Atlanta’s demands.

It’s very difficult to imagine a direct deal between these two teams unfolding. More than basketball, the hang-up is financial and direction.

This summer, new Hawks GM Danny Ferry unloaded more than $104.9 million in future salary by trading Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams. His resulting strategy was very obvious: find good value players on short-term teams and set up a maximally flexible cap position heading into this summer, when only Al Horford and Lou Williams will have big dollar commitments on the books going forward.

Why tear it down simply to add a 32-year-old Gasol to the mix, especially when he is on the books for $19.3 million in 2013-14? And would it really make sense to commit a combined $31 million, more than half the salary cap, to a pair of post players in Gasol and Horford? Not really.

The new collective bargaining agreement is making massive contracts like Gasol’s rarer. It’s also forcing teams to operate in a more stringent environment to build around their star players. Gasol, still one of the league’s better big men, is a few years removed from his peak and likely headed downward numbers-wise from here on out. His contract doesn’t reflect that; his contract suggests he’s a top-five player in the NBA.

That doesn’t mean a trade here won’t happen, it would just require an extra team that is willing to take on Gasol and has flexible assets — expiring contracts, good value players, draft picks — to satisfy the Hawks’ plan. Indeed, if Ferry doesn’t see Smith in his long-term plans, he would do well to move him at the deadline and let another team take care of Smith’s next contract, somewhat like the Thunder approached their trade of James Harden earlier this fall. If Ferry has the choice between getting something good in February or potentially losing Smith, a fringe All-Star candidate, for nothing in free agency, that’s an easy choice.

One final wrinkle is that neither player has gotten off to a good start. Gasol is averaging 14.0 points and 9.9 rebounds and shooting just 42.5 percent through nine games, well below his career scoring and shooting numbers. How Gasol adapts to new coach Mike D’Antoni’s system will also draw scrutiny here over the next month or two. Smith, who has aired some unhappiness with the Hawks in the past, is averaging 15.6 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 41.3 percent through seven games. All of those numbers are down from last season. There’s reason to believe that a change of scenery would benefit both players, but Ferry’s goals and interests will likely dictate this process.

 

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Streaking Grizzlies beat Bobcats 94-87


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Mike Conley scored 20 points and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Charlotte Bobcats 94-87 on Saturday night for their eighth consecutive victory.

Zach Randolph added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and three other players scored in double figures for the Grizzlies, who own the NBA's best record at 8-1. Rudy Gay had 16 points and Marc Gasol and Tony Allen scored 12 apiece.

Memphis led by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Byron Mullens scored 18 points and Kemba Walker added 17 for the Bobcats, who cut the Grizzlies' lead to five points three times in the final period, the last at 92-87 on Bismack Biyombo's dunk with 13 seconds remaining.

Charlotte had won three straight.

Memphis, which ended the New York Knicks' undefeated run on Friday night, increased a nine-point halftime lead to 77-60 on Randolph's layup with 10:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.

But Walker scored 11 consecutive points over the next 3 1/2 minutes to get the Bobcats back in the game. His layup with 6:54 left got Charlotte within six at 77-71.

Despite their own shooting problems - 38.8 percent from the field - the Grizzlies ran the lead back out to double digits again, with Quincy Poindexter's layup with 2:39 left making it 88-77. But Ramon Sessions hit a pair of layups and rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist followed with a basket to cut Memphis' lead to 88-83 with 47 seconds remaining.

Charlotte pulled within five points twice more in the final 30 seconds, but couldn't complete the comeback.

Memphis opened a 47-31 lead on Allen's jumper with 1:02 left in the second quarter.

The Bobcats then closed out the first half with a 7-0 run. Mullens had a three-point play, Ben Gordon drove for a layup off a steal and Walker hit a pair of free throws.

Charlotte had a chance to extend the second-quarter run but Mullens missed a long 3-pointer off a steal at the buzzer.

NOTES: Gordon returned after missing the last two games for what team officials said were "personal reasons.'' He was 4 for 10 from the field and finished with 10 points. He did not score in the final two quarters. ... F Hakim Warrick, acquired in a trade with New Orleans for G Matt Carroll, made his debut with the Bobcats. He came into the game late in the third quarter, and finished with five points and four rebounds in just under 10 minutes. ... The Grizzlies' win over Charlotte was their last road game for nearly two weeks. Memphis will play its next five games at home, beginning Monday against the Denver Nuggets.

 

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Griffin, Crawford lead Clippers over Bulls 101-80


LOS ANGELES (AP) The Chicago Bulls had a difficult time running with the Los Angeles Clippers, who had plenty left in reserve for the fourth quarter - particularly Blake Griffin.

Griffin scored 12 of his 26 points in the final six minutes and grabbed 10 rebounds, helping the Clippers rout the Bulls 101-80 on Saturday night for their fifth straight victory.

"It's just about getting the ball in the right spot and doing what we work on,'' said Griffin, who was 11 for 18 from the field. "I missed a lot of them, but my teammates gave me the confidence to keep shooting. Thankfully, some of them dropped.''

Reserve Jamal Crawford scored 17 of his 22 points in the second quarter for the Clippers, who lead the Pacific Division with a 7-2 mark. It's their best record after nine games since 2005-06, when they won nine of their first 11, finished 47-35 and came within one victory of the Western Conference finals.

Five of the Clippers' six wins have come against teams that were in the playoffs last season, including the Lakers, Spurs and world champion Miami Heat on Wednesday. Both of their losses came against clubs which failed to make the postseason - Golden State and Cleveland.

"We'd be in really good shape right now if it was a 10-game season,'' said Chris Paul, who had 10 assists and eight points. "We couldn't ask for more out of ourselves, but we just have to keep remembering that it's a long season. We have a big road trip coming up that starts in San Antonio, which is a tough place to play''

The Clippers' reserves outscored the starters 35-18 in the first half and 53-48 for the game. Crawford, who signed with Los Angeles as a free agent in July after spending last season with Portland, leads the team with 20.7 points per game and has scored 20 or more in six of his first nine contests.

Crawford was traded to the Bulls on draft day in June 2000 by Cleveland in exchange for Chris Mihm and cash. The 13-year veteran spent his first four NBA seasons in Chicago and went through two coaching transitions, playing for Tim Floyd, Bill Cartwright and Scott Skiles - but never making the playoffs during that stretch. The Clippers are his sixth pro team.

"It was a tough time, especially since a couple of years before that they had the 1998 team with Michael Jordan and those guys. So to follow that up was impossible,'' Crawford said. "My first year there we didn't have many veterans and were the youngest team in the league. But those years were important for me. It was a learning experience and something I'll always cherish because they gave me my start in the NBA. I'll always have a love for the Chicago Bulls.''

The Bulls, who blew an 18-point lead in their previous game on Wednesday at Phoenix before beating the Suns 112-106 in overtime, got 22 points and 12 rebounds from Carlos Boozer on the second leg of their annual circus road trip. Luol Deng and Richard Hamilton each had 14 points.

"I think we took a couple of steps back tonight. We got outscrapped and we got out-competed,'' Joakim Noah said. "They're too athletic. And when they get out on the break, that's their strength. They were denying everything with their switching and we didn't finish well around the rim.''

Noah, who has been urged by Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau to take more shots, was 0 for 6 from the field and finished with four points in 30 minutes. It was the 6-foot-11 center's worst shooting effort in 339 NBA regular-season games, including six occasions when he was 0 for 4.

"Holding Noah scoreless from the field, we did a great job as a team,'' Griffin said. "Our rotations were good, and we made sure everyone was accounted for. We gave Carlos Boozer too many easy ones, especially on offensive rebound putbacks and stuff like that. But as long as Boozer has 22 and we're up by 20, we'll live with that.''

Crawford led Los Angeles to a 53-40 halftime lead with 17 points, including three free throws with 1:31 left in the second quarter after Kirk Hinrich fouled him on a fadeaway 3-point attempt near the Clippers' bench.

Los Angeles opened the second half with a 7-0 run and extended its lead to 71-48 on Griffin's 21-footer with 5:04 left in the third quarter. The Bulls narrowed the gap to 87-74 with two baskets off offensive rebounds and a 3-pointer by Marco Belinelli with 6:14 left in the game.

But Griffin put the Clippers back in control with two free throws, a fast-break layup and another layup - all in a 58-second span. For good measure, the two-time All-Star connected three straight times on perimeter jumpers from 18 feet and out during a 70-second stretch to make it 99-80 with 2:07 to play.

"This one's hard to let go,'' Boozer said. "We didn't have enough juice. They're a very good team and they protect the rim very well. And they got their hands on a lot of loose balls.''

NOTES: The Clippers came in with an average of 40.9 points from their bench. ... The victory put Vinny Del Negro one game over .500 in the regular season for the first time since he took over as Clippers head coach at the start of the 2010-11 campaign. He is 79-78 with Los Angeles, after guiding Chicago to back-to-back .500 seasons and two playoff berths. The Bulls are 117-40 since firing Del Negro and replacing him with Thibodeau.