Denver 124, Golden State 120
OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 28 (AP) -- Shots were flying, both teams were running and defense appeared to be an afterthought for long stretches of the game.
If that seems to be the type of game a great open-court player like Allen Iverson would prefer, think again. Even Iverson would have liked a few more walk-it-up-the court possessions than there were in Denver's 124-120 victory over Golden State on Friday night.
"No, it's not fun playing them,'' Iverson said. "I don't know why you all think it would be fun. It's fun for the fans, but it's not fun for the guys trying to defend the way they play. They just keep coming at you all game.''
Iverson performed just fine playing at the Warriors' preferred frenetic pace, scoring 39 points, including a late jumper that gave the Nuggets the lead for good. Carmelo Anthony added 30 to help Denver win the fast-paced, offensive showcase everyone expected when two of the NBA's top three scoring teams face off.
"I like to run up and down the court, but they make it outrageous,'' Iverson said. "They might run even too much for me, especially on the defensive end. It has to be fun to play that style, but to defend it isn't too nice.''
Stephen Jackson matched his season high with 32 points despite shooting 9-for-27, and Baron Davis added 29 points and 13 assists for the Warriors, but they couldn't quite match the performance from Denver's dynamic duo and lost for the second time in six games.
With both teams preferring an up-tempo style that features quick shots and plenty of fast breaks, Denver hit the 100-point mark on Linas Kleiza's 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining in the third quarter.
Don Nelson's Warriors nearly hit the century mark before the fourth quarter as well, settling for 97 after Jackson hit a 3-pointer that beat the third-quarter buzzer. Davis' 3-pointer on the opening possession of the fourth cut Denver's lead to 102-100.
"They're wild and crazy,'' Nuggets coach George Karl said. "That's how they play. I like it because I think sometimes the basketball world thinks you can only play one way. There's a lot of ways to play in basketball and Nellie is one of the best at innovating a style that fits his team. We're a little wild and crazy, too.''
The Warriors, who trailed by 11 points early, kept fighting back but never led after the first quarter. They made their final charge after falling behind by six with less than 3 minutes to go. Davis fed Andris Biedrins for a layup, blocked Anthony's shot to set up a fast-break basket by Monta Ellis and then scored inside to tie it at 118.
Iverson then hit a pull-up jumper to put Denver back in front for good at 120-118 with 1:12 remaining. Anthony Carter stole a pass from Davis at the other end, leading to a pair of free throws by Anthony that made it a four-point game with 53 seconds remaining.
Davis hit a tough shot at the other end and then Golden State forced Anthony into a miss as the shot clock expired, giving the Warriors one last chance with 21 seconds remaining. But Jackson missed a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining.
"My team relied on me to win tonight and I didn't play well,'' Jackson said. "Point blank I've got to shoot better. We have to work too hard and I've got to play a lot better and the shots I take I've got to shoot better.''
Marcus Camby hit two free throws to make it a four-point game. Camby finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds.
"I thought this would be a game where you pretty much throw the defense out the door, which was pretty much the case,'' Camby said. "Both teams were pretty much scoring at will. It came down to whoever made plays down the stretch.''
The difference turned out to be Denver's ability to get to the foul line in the fourth quarter and Golden State losing its outside shooting touch. Iverson made nine of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter as Denver shot 14-of-16 to thwart any comeback attempt by Golden State.
The Warriors missed eight of their final nine 3-point attempts after their long-range shooting kept them in the game early when they made 13 of their first 27 attempts.
Denver managed to come within one point of matching its season high despite having only 13 assists on the night. It's only the second time this decade a team has scored at least 120 points with so few assists.
"Obviously we couldn't control their two best players,'' Nelson said. "When they score 124 points and only have 13 assists, that tells you that they are doing a lot of one-on-one stuff and the greatness of those two players made it very difficult for us.''
source : NBA.com
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Warriors’ Five-Game Home Win Streak Ends
Blazers Beat Timberwolves For 12th Straight Win
Blazers 109, Timberwolves 98 (F)
PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 28 (AP) -- Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan was being cautious, saving guard Brandon Roy for when the team needed him.
With two fouls, Roy sat the entire second quarter Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Then he went on to steer the Blazers to a 109-98 victory for Portland's league-leading 12th consecutive win.
Roy finished with 22 points.
The streak matches Portland's best run since winning 12 in a row during the 2001-02 season, the team's second-longest stretch. Portland's longest streak was 16 games in the 1990-91 season.
"The streak is great, but right now we're doing our best to win basketball games and protect our home court," Roy said. "Tonight was our chance to do that against a team some said we might overlook.
"That is not how this team is playing. Right now we're focused."
Al Jefferson had 22 points for Minnesota, which has the league's worst record at 4-24. The Timberwolves fell to 1-14 on the road.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers. Jarrett Jack added 14 points and was among six Blazers in double figures.
Portland, the youngest team in the NBA, started its streak with a Dec. 3 victory at Memphis after going 5-12 to start the season. Nine of the team's 12 wins have come at the Rose Garden, where the Blazers are 14-3 overall.
The Blazers next host the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night.
Portland was coming off an 89-79 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Christmas. The Timberwolves were defeated 105-101 by Golden State on Wednesday night.
Portland led by as many a nine points early, but the Timberwolves went ahead briefly in the second quarter, when Antoine Walker's layup made it 31-30.
Jack put Portland back ahead 44-42 with a pair of free throws. That was the start of a 13-4 run to make it 55-46 at the half.
Roy, last season's Rookie of the Year who was averaging 23 points a game during the streak, had a pair of fouls when McMillan sat him for the second quarter. He returned to start the second half.
"The game was close," McMillan said of the decision to hold Roy out. "It was a learning experience."
Minnesota closed the gap early in the second half, narrowing it to 60-59 on Ryan Gomes' 3-pointer. Gomes finished with 16 points, while Rashad McCants had 21.
Portland went up 78-69 on Jack's layup at the end of the third quarter. Roy opened the fourth with six straight points, kicking off an 11-3 run that ended when his jumper made it 89-72 -- and the game fell out of reach for the Timberwolves.
"They lost nine out of 10 leading up to this 12-game winning streak. That should tell you right there it's confidence. All of the sudden boom, boom, boom. It filters down," Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman said.
Roy scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, prompting fans to chant "M-V-P! M-V-P!" He has scored 20-plus points in nine of the Blazers' games during the streak, and he has been named the NBA's player of the week twice during the span.
Over the 12 games, Roy is averaging 22.9 points a game.
The Blazers have won four straight against the Timberwolves at the Rose Garden.
"I was anxious to see how we would respond in this position, as a favorite against a team with a poorer record. I was interested in our approach," McMillan said. "Games like this can be dangerous but all season I have felt that this team doesn't let down and overlook our opponents."
source : NBA.com
Suns Get First Sub-100-Point Win
Phoenix 94, L.A. Clippers 88
PHOENIX, Dec. 28 (AP) -- Yes, it can be done. The Phoenix Suns can win without their usual triple-digit deluge.
Amare Stoudemire scored 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting and the Suns won for the first time this season with less than 100 points, pulling away over the final 1 1/2 minutes to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 94-88 Friday night.
The Suns had been 0-5 when scoring under 100.
"I thought we just gutted it out,'' Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We just weren't really sharp.''
The sluggish victory followed a 108-88 blowout of the Clippers in Los Angeles on Thursday night, marking the first consecutive victories for Phoenix since Dec. 7. Stoudemire had 30 points and 15 rebounds on Thursday.
"We played a lot better than we did last night, which is good for us,'' the Clippers' Chris Kaman said. "Still, it's never fun to lose a game.''
Grant Hill added 22 points and eight assists for the Suns. He scored 10 in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter. Hill took a shot in the chin from Corey Maggette's elbow, resulting in a cut that required six stitches after the game.
Shawn Marion had 18 points and Steve Nash 10 points and 10 assists for the Suns, who won their 21st game, tops in the Western Conference. Phoenix tied a franchise record with 16 blocked shots, four by Brian Skinner and three apiece by Stoudemire and Hill.
"All we need to do is put our mind to it,'' Stoudemire said. "From athleticism to intelligence, we've got it all. Everybody's smart basketball players, we just need to do it. We're on the right track.''
Kaman had 22 points and 20 rebounds for the severely depleted Clippers. Sam Cassell, back in the starting lineup, added 21 points.
"Scoring's never going to be a problem. If I get the minutes, I'm going to score the basketball and get my team basically open shots,'' Cassell said. "We had a chance. That's all you can expect on the road. This game went down to the wire. They showed why they're a good team.''
Cassell's 3-pointer with 1:35 to play cut Phoenix's lead to 87-86. Stoudemire scored inside to make it 89-86, then Kaman put up an air ball on a hook shot.
Stoudemire made a 19-footer as the shot clock expired to put Phoenix ahead 91-86 with 40 seconds to go.
The Suns led virtually the entire game. The Clippers, who stayed close despite shooting 35 percent, had a pair of one-point leads in the third quarter.
Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy liked the defensive effort.
"Overall, we played a lot of things the way we want to play them,'' he said.
Phoenix was up by as many a 36 Thursday night, and they were off to a fast start in this one, too.
Playing their third game in four nights, the Suns led by as many as 14 in the second quarter but were up just 66-65 entering the fourth. Hill scored the Suns' last two points of the third quarter and first seven of the fourth. His three-point play after Boris Diaw's soaring block of Al Thornton's layup put Phoenix ahead 73-67. Diaw followed with a 17-footer and it was 75-67 9:15 from the finish.
Another three-point play by Hill, to the vehement displeasure of Cassell, gave the Suns a 79-69 lead with 7:36 to go. But Los Angeles went on a 14-6 surge to cut the lead to 85-83 on Cassell's turnaround 14-footer with 2:11 left.
After misfiring on several opportunities, the Clippers got their first lead of the game at 63-62 when Kaman made an 18-footer with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Hill's inside basket on a pass from Skinner put Phoenix ahead 66-65 after three quarters.
Phoenix, the NBA's highest-scoring team, scored 15 points in the third quarter, shooting 7-for-22.
source : NBA.com
Bulls?New Coach Debuts with a Win Over Bucks
Chicago 103, Milwaukee 99
CHICAGO, Dec. 28 (AP) -- Jim Boylan's debut as interim head coach of the Chicago Bulls was a winner because of a major change he made soon after getting the job.
Boylan asked Ben Gordon to give up his starter's role and come off the bench to give the stumbling team an offensive lift.
Gordon, the NBA Sixth Man of the Year during the 2004-05 season, prefers to be on the floor at the start of the game, but made the switch to help the team. He scored 19 of his 31 points in the final quarter Friday night as the Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 103-99.
Boylan, promoted from an assistant's job Thursday to replace the fired Scott Skiles, wasn't surprised by Gordon's performance.
"I didn't want to make any predictions before the game, but I thought he would (respond) because that is the kind of guy Ben is. He told me he would do it, that I could count on him,'' Boylan said. "He came through. I have to applaud him for accepting this role.''
Gordon's big final quarter included 10-of-11 from the free throw line. He said he needed some extra time early in the game to get loose.
"It took me a while to kind of get warm but after a few trips up and down I found my groove,'' he said. "It worked for us and hopefully it will continue to work in the future.''
Luol Deng added 28 for Chicago. Michael Redd paced the Bucks with 34.
Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak was ejected with 1:18 left after picking up his second technical foul when he angrily came on the floor toward official Derrick Collins during a timeout.
The blowup came seconds after Deng's follow shot had put the Bulls up 95-91. Moments earlier, Chicago had been awarded possession after a loose ball scramble. A replay appeared to show the ball went off Chicago's Kirk Hinrich as he was hitting the floor. And Krystkowiak was livid.
"No question it was our ball. Hinrich hit the ball out of bounds. I saw it live and I saw it on tape a number of times,'' Krystkowiak said. "I felt it was our ball and I obviously reacted. ... I would like to go back in time and rewind it, but in the heat of the moment that's what it was. It's rough. We had a six-point lead going into the fourth quarter. I would be lying if I didn't say it stings.''
Gordon made two free throws after the technicals on Krystkowiak to put Chicago up 97-91 and the Bulls hung on, thanks to some shaky free throw shooting from Milwaukee.
Boylan acknowledged some butterflies before his first game as a head coach - albeit an interim one - because it was something he'd waited for during a 14-season stint in the league, mostly as an assistant.
"I feel a certain calmness, too. I've been chasing this for a long time and for it to finally get here, I think I'd be foolish to let my emotions get the best of me,'' said the 52-year-old Boylan.
But when asked after the game about the experience, Boylan had to stop to compose himself as his voice cracked.
"It's funny being out there. I coached the team in the summer, but obviously it's quite different,'' he said. "It was an emotional thing. My family is here.''
Boylan also showed his sense of humor when asked how he did coaching in the frenetic atmosphere.
"I'm a little bit rusty. I have to polish up my delivery and make sure I'm doing everything right out there,'' he said. "I'm a work in progress, too.''
Redd made two of three free throws after he was fouled on a long attempt with 24 seconds left to make it 98-95. After two more free throws by Gordon, Redd again was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made two to cut it to 100-97 with 14 seconds to play.
Milwaukee was only 7-for-15 from the line for the game and missed seven free throws in the final quarter. The Bulls had a whopping advantage, hitting 29 of 33 free throws.
Mo Williams had 15 assists and 11 points for the Bucks, while Andrew Bogut added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Deng shot 12-for-18 from the field and had 10 rebounds.
Redd had seven points, including a 3-pointer, and a nice pass to Bogut for a dunk, as the Bucks opened the second half on a 15-6 run to go up 62-52.
Milwaukee led 76-70 after three quarters. But the Bulls stayed close and finally pulled even on Gordon's three-point play with 7:38 left at 82.
source : NBA.com
Pistons Beat Pacers For 7th Straight Victory
Pistons 114, Pacers 101
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Dec. 28 (AP) -- Jarvis Hayes can't imagine that food poisoning helped his game Friday night.
He doesn't have a better explanation, though.
Hayes, who has been sick since Detroit's flight back from New Jersey on Wednesday, scored 13 points in the second quarter to help the Pistons post their seventh straight victory, 114-101, over the Indiana Pacers.
"I'm not sure what caused that - it's the best shooting game I've had all month,'' he said. "I got an easy layup when I first got into the game, and it all went right from there.''
Hayes scored 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the first five minutes of the quarter as Detroit moved out to a 20-point lead. He got sick again at halftime and didn't return to the game, but it didn't matter.
"He was hitting everything, so we wanted to keep getting him the ball,'' Chauncey Billups said. "We don't care who is knocking down shots - we're going with the hot guy.''
The Pistons scored a season-high 40 points in the period, and had 69 in the second and third quarters combined.
"When we get it going, we're as good as any team out there,'' Billups said. "We were making the extra pass tonight, and that was getting us a lot of good looks.''
Richard Hamilton led Detroit with 23 points, nine assists and four steals, while Tayshaun Prince scored 15 points and Billups had 14.
"That was one of Rip's best all-around games,'' Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "We've stressed to him that when he's that active defensively, he's more efficient shooting-wise. He gets a feel of everything.''
The Pacers have the unenviable task of facing the streaking Pistons again on Saturday. Detroit has won 14 of 16, while Indiana has lost three of four.
"Obviously, this is a tough matchup for us,'' said Indiana coach Jim O'Brien. "Prince is tough for any team to defend, and he got the best of Michael (Dunleavy) tonight, and Rip certainly got the best of Danny (Granger).''
Jermaine O'Neal, playing on a sore knee, led the Pacers with 25 and Troy Murphy scored 12, but no other Indiana starter reached double figures. The Pacers committed 13 turnovers in the first half, including four by Dunleavy.
"They are a superior basketball team, and you can't give them extra opportunities by turning the ball over,'' O'Brien said. "Those were really unforced errors.''
Detroit led 64-41 at the half, and only O'Neal's 12 points in the third quarter kept Indiana from being routed.
"You can't give up 40 points in a quarter and expect to be in the game,'' Murphy said. "They're great, but we don't want to think this was our best effort tonight. Hopefully, we can give them our best tomorrow.''
Hamilton's 13 points in the period made it 93-70 going into the fourth, and the Pacers never threatened in a sloppy final period.
source : NBA.com
Nets?Big Three Lead Way to Win Over Wizards
New Jersey 109, Washington 106
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Dec. 28 (AP) -- The Nets "Big Three'' helped New Jersey pull out a rare home win.
Richard Jefferson scored 26 points, Vince Carter added 24 and Jason Kidd had 20 points and 12 assists, leading the New Jersey Nets to a 109-106 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
Kidd fell two rebounds short of his 95th career triple-double as New Jersey earned only its fourth win in the last 14 home games. The Nets are 7-11 overall at the Izod Center.
"Vince really carried us early and Jason was pretty consistent throughout the game by hitting some shots early and pushing the ball the way he normally does,'' Jefferson said. "I was able to get going a little bit in the second half and that allowed us to get a win.''
Rookie Sean Williams had 14 points, including a pair of clutch dunks in the fourth quarter, and 10 rebounds for his first double-double. Bostjan Nachbar had 12 points.
Caron Butler led all scorers with 28 for the Wizards. Antawn Jamison had 27 points and 13 rebounds. Nick Young had 15 points, Brendan Haywood 13 points and Roger Mason Jr. 12.
The Nets took charge down the stretch with six straight points, starting with a dunk by Williams. After Mason missed a 3-pointer at the other end, Williams slammed home another, with Carter assisting on both.
"They were making sure they had two guys on me,'' Carter said. "I told Sean to dive for the basket and look, instead of diving just to take somebody with you. If he wasn't getting the ball, he was sucking guys in, getting other guys shots.''
Butler then turned the ball over on a bad pass and Kidd made a pair of free throws to put the Nets up 107-100.
"We just didn't play smart down the stretch,'' Jamison said. "We didn't get stops when we needed to and we did not get the quality shots we needed. This was a winnable game. We just didn't find a way to get it done and they did all the correct things to win the game.''
Kidd and Carter each had 10 points to pace the Nets to a 30-27 lead after one period.
Kidd was 4-for-6 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers in a strong bounce-back quarter. Kidd went 0-for-8 Wednesday in the Nets' 101-83 home loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Carter maintained focus despite an elbow to the face early in the quarter from Butler that had the Nets guard repeatedly blinking his left eye.
Butler led the Wizards with 12.
Washington closed out the half on a 15-8 run to take a 59-53 lead into the locker room. Butler got the run going with a 21-foot basket and Jamison, who had 10 points in the quarter, followed with a layup and a jumper to trigger the spurt.
New Jersey battled back to take an 87-86 lead after three quarters as Jefferson got untracked. After scoring only five points in the first half, Jefferson had 21 in the quarter, shooting 6-for-9 from the field.
source : NBA.com
Jackson Now 7th All-Time with 938th Win
L.A. Lakers 123, Utah 109
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 28 (AP) -- Phil Jackson pulled even with Red Auerbach in regular-season victories, 5 1/2 seasons after tying the Boston Celtics coach for the most NBA championships won.
Kobe Bryant had 31 points and seven assists before sitting out the fourth quarter and the Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 123-109 Friday night, giving Jackson his 938th career win and a share of seventh place on the career list.
"The longer you stay here, the more wins you're going to accumulate,'' Jackson said modestly. "But I've never really followed that stuff, you know? I think the night that made the most sense to me, in terms of numbers of wins, was when I got my 500th and Bill Fitch was coaching on the other side. He was my college coach, and he came over and shook my hand after the game.''
As fate would have it, Jackson will get a chance to pass Auerbach when the Lakers host the Celtics on Sunday night in the 177th regular-season meeting of the NBA's greatest rivalry. They've faced each other 10 times in the finals, with Boston winning the first eight and the Lakers prevailing in 1985 and 1987.
Jackson, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sept. 7, has won nine league titles as a coach. Three of them came with the Lakers and the other six with the Chicago Bulls - who won 72 games with Jackson at the helm in 1995-96.
"Fortunately, I've had really good teams and they've accumulated a lot more wins in a short period of time. But still and all, it's really just longevity and it speaks for hanging in there,'' Jackson said.
Auerbach's final season as an NBA coach coincided with Utah coach Jerry Sloan's rookie season as an NBA player with the Baltimore Bullets. But he found it difficult to compare Auerbach and Jackson.
"They didn't have the same people. If they coached all the same guys, maybe you could compare them. But they've both been blessed with great players, and that gives you a chance every night,'' said Sloan, whose 1,051 victories are fourth on the career list. "Phil's always done a great job coaching his teams. It's one thing to have great players, but it's another to be able to coach them and win with them.''
Lakers special assistant coach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's career scoring leader, agreed with Sloan.
"Their eras are so different, it's difficult to make a comparison,'' Abdul-Jabbar said. "Phil coached in an entirely different era, and I really don't think it translates. It's kind of like comparing somebody like Joe Torre to Connie Mack.
"Phil always seems to get good mileage out of good players,'' he added. "It involves a lot of patience, and you've got to be lucky enough to find players with the right chemistry. I think a lot of coaches who could have that kind of talent might not have done as well. You'll never know, but I think that has a lot to do with it.''
Carlos Boozer led Utah with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Reserve guard Gordon Giricek, banished to the locker room by Sloan during a timeout in the second quarter of Utah's 98-92 loss at Charlotte on Dec. 19, rejoined his teammates after spending the last three games back in Salt Lake City. He spent the entire game on the bench.
Asked if Giricek's three-game absence could be classified as a suspension, Sloan said: "I guess you could call it that, but there was no fine involved. We just had a little verbal exchange that got a little bit too far out of hand. It's not a big deal, really. We're going to go about our business and see what happens. He's here and I'm here, and that's the way life is.''
The Lakers enjoyed their highest-scoring first half of the season, taking a 75-48 lead with 21 points from Bryant and 13 by Lamar Odom. Andrew Bynum scored eight points in the first 6:20 - including a pair of alley-oop dunks set up by Bryant and Derek Fisher - but went to the bench less than a minute later after picking up his second foul.
Kwame Brown, sidelined the previous 19 games because of ankle and knee sprains, played for the first time since Nov. 18 and was the first player off the Lakers' bench. He replaced Bynum with 5:28 left in the opening quarter, and Los Angeles outscored Utah 19-7 over the next 4 minutes to pull ahead 37-21.
From then on, it was no contest. The Lakers took their biggest lead, 91-57, on a layup by Trevor Ariza with 6:57 left in the third quarter and coasted to their fourth straight victory. They shot 54.4 percent from the field, raising their record to 9-0 when shooting at least 50 percent.
"They beat us about every way you can,'' Sloan said. "They came out and destroyed us that first half. They were so good defensively, we couldn't get anything. We started to think we could beat them one-on-one, and we just didn't have much of a chance to do that, either.''
source : NBA.com
Sixers Beat Kings, Win Third Straight
Philadelphia 92, Sacramento 80
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 28 (AP) -- Things are going so well right now for the Philadelphia 76ers that they are winning even when they aren't playing well.
Samuel Dalembert had 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for the 76ers, who pulled away in the fourth quarter of a sloppy game for their third straight victory, a 92-80 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Tied after three quarters with the slumping Kings, the 76ers scored seven straight points to build a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter and never trailed again.
Andre Iguodala ignited a 10-0 run with a spectacular dunk off a fastbreak, a driving layup and added a 3-pointer as the 76ers went ahead 88-73 with 3:05 remaining to record their eighth win in 11 games since a Dec. 5 loss at home to Boston.
"Getting this was big, it was an ugly game but we got the win,'' said 76ers point guard Andre Miller, who made all three shots in the fourth quarter and finished with 18 points.
Iguodala scored nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter when Philadelphia held a 29-17 edge. The victory, which improves the 76ers to 6-7 on the road, was the first game of a six-game trip that concludes Jan. 6 in Denver.
"This was very important for us confidence-wise, it was a game we were capable of winning and we had to take care of it and get it done,'' Dalembert said.
Ex-76ers forward John Salmons scored 22 points for the Kings, who have lost three straight games at Arco Arena since coming home from a successful five-game road trip. Beno Udrih had 19 points and six assists and Brad Miller added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
"I didn't think we were terrible on defense, we just turned the ball over a lot (23 times) and they converted, that was the difference in the game,'' Salmons said.
For the injury-plagued Kings, it was another game without a key player. Ron Artest has a chipped bone in his right elbow and was a late scratch for the game. Starting point guard Mike Bibby has yet to play this season and leading scorer Kevin Martin has been out the past 11 games with a strained right groin.
Artest, who took part in the Kings' morning shootaround and attended the game in street clothes, had an X-ray of the elbow on Friday and will be reevaluated before Sunday's game against Phoenix. The Kings are 2-7 in games Artest has missed this season.
"You have to take advantage of that anytime you have a player like that out,'' Andre Miller said. "That's just how it works sometimes, but it doesn't change the game. You know the other team is going to play harder.''
Kings coach Reggie Theus said missing three-fifths of his starting lineup was a factor, but so were the turnovers.
"Wow, you could probably start this off by talking about being undermanned, but even with that said I don't accept 23 turnovers,'' Theus said. "Regardless of how undermanned you are and things of that nature, you've got to take care of the basketball - it's ridiculous.''
Mikki Moore and Brad Miller, who combined for 49 points in Dec. 14 victory in Philadelphia, were practically invisible in the first half, getting six points between them. Moore finished with six points and six rebounds.
"Anytime you get your butt kicked you look back and see how you can do things differently,'' Dalembert said. "My focus was not inside the paint. When you play against a shooter like (Brad) Miller he has to be your focus. So when he went outside I went with him.''
Scoring repeatedly inside, Dalembert had 14 points and seven rebounds in the opening half when the 76ers led 50-46.
source : NBA.com
Kapono Helps Raptors Soar Over Spurs
Toronto 83, San Antonio 73
SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 28 (AP) -- An hour before Friday's game against the San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell was asked whether a nearly weeklong layoff might cause his team to be a bit rusty.
Mitchell was unequivocal in his response.
"Why would I worry about it? There's nothing I can do about it,'' he said. "I actually think we needed it.''
After the Raptors stomped the Spurs 83-73 Friday night, Mitchell might have realized just how right he was.
Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak and handed the Spurs just their second home loss of the season.
"They're a good basketball team. They're the defending world champs. And we beat them on this floor,'' Mitchell said.
Jason Kapono scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and Kris Humphries added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Toronto. Jose Calderon also contributed 14 points.
Michael Finley led the Spurs with 20 points and Tony Parker added 15. Tim Duncan scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
The Spurs shot as poorly as they have all season (23-of-72, 32 percent) and gave the ball up 19 times as they struggled without super sub Manu Ginobili, who is out with a sprained left index finger.
"We got shots that we usually knock out, and they didn't go out tonight,'' Duncan said.
The Spurs' 73 points were their fewest this season.
"To hold that great a team to 73 points is pretty good defense,'' Kapono said. "To finish out such a quality team, it says a lot about this team and that's something we need to build on.''
Chris Bosh, coming off a career-high 42 points in the Raptors' loss to Phoenix on Saturday, scored 10. Andrea Bargnani added 11 for Toronto.
The Raptors went ahead for good after Kapono's 3-pointer with 1:10 left in the first quarter broke a 16-all tie.
"This place is not an easy place to win in,'' Bosh said. "It's the toughest we played all year.''
Having clawed their way back to a 59-56 deficit heading into the final 12 minutes after trailing by as many as 17 earlier, things started to unravel for the Spurs about halfway through the quarter.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was ejected with 5:59 left as he screamed at officials after no foul was called on a play, and Duncan and former Raptor Matt Bonner, who is in his second season with San Antonio, got technicals shortly thereafter.
Bonner scored 10 points for the Spurs.
"It could have sparked the (Spurs) team,'' Kapono said of the technicals. "We wanted to make sure we held them down and that's what we did.''
Kapono's 3-pointer gave Toronto a 73-62 lead with 4:29 to play. Calderon's layup with 1:44 to go, followed by a jumper from Humphries, made it 83-68 and put the game well out of reach.
The Raptors built a comfortable lead in the first half against the misfiring Spurs, who were just 10-of-34 (29 percent) from the field midway through the game. Parker only got his first basket of the night with 1:34 left in the second quarter.
The Raptors, off a 10-4 run keyed by Bargnani, went up 40-24 with 2:25 to go in the half. Their red jerseys seemed to be everywhere as they pestered San Antonio and outscored the Spurs 25-16 in the second quarter for a 44-32 lead at the break.
Things looked up for San Antonio in the third quarter. But it was more a function of the Raptors' poor shooting than the Spurs improving theirs. Toronto hit just five of 20 shots in the third. The Spurs didn't fare much better, sinking eight of 21.
But behind Finley, Duncan and Parker, the Spurs went on a 17-4 burst that brought them within 53-49 with 2:48 remaining in the period. A crowd-energizing 3-pointer from Bonner got San Antonio within 57-56 with less than 30 seconds on the clock.
source : NBA.com
Sans McGrady, Houston Gets Balanced Scoring
Houston 103, Memphis 83
MEMPHIS, Tenn., Dec. 28 (AP) -- Even without Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets were able to easily take care of the struggling Memphis Grizzlies.
For the first time this season, the Rockets won without having one of their regular starters in the lineup as Yao scored 22 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked five shots, and Luis Scola scored a career-high 22 points in a 103-83 victory over Memphis on Friday night.
"I think we need to build a solid team, and be able to win with whatever we have,'' Scola said of playing without McGrady, the league's 10th-best scorer at 22.8 a game. "If we want to do something big, we need to be solid. We need to have four or five people step up.''
McGrady is sitting out about a week to rest his sore left knee, and entering Friday night's game, the Rockets were 0-6 when a starter was missing, including 0-3 without McGrady.
Shane Battier scored 18 points, going 3-for-4 from outside the 3-point arc for Houston. Scola, the 6-foot-9 rookie out of Argentina, was 11-for-17 from the floor.
The Rockets made up for the loss of McGrady's offense with balanced scoring as six players finished in double figures. Bonzi Wells, Rafer Alston and Aaron Brooks added 10 points each.
Yao said a win without McGrady may help turn around the struggling team. Houston entered having lost four of five.
"(McGrady) is hurt some days, and we have to know how to win without him,'' Yao said. "I think everybody played with their full effort and played with discipline and with a passion.''
Pau Gasol led Memphis with 23 points, but the Grizzlies struggled from the field, shooting 36 percent. Darko Milicic scored 12 and Mike Miller added 11 for the Grizzlies, who lost for the 11th time in the last 13 games.
"The shooting was hard to open up,'' Memphis coach Marc Iavaroni said. "We were turning down open shots. It wasn't good for the shooting muscles. When you have a shot, you have to take it. We have no confidence.''
The Grizzlies never threatened after Houston opened a double-digit lead in the third period. Scola's 10 points in the final quarter helped keep Memphis at bay. The struggles are starting to show on the Grizzlies. The team seems to be pressing more as the losses continue to mount.
"The sooner we can turn this around the better because, otherwise, the load just keeps getting heavier and heavier,'' Gasol said.
"I know it looks hard to say right now, but we go on a 10-, 11-game win streak, and we're right back in the mix of things,'' Miller said.
Houston led 50-43 at halftime behind Yao's 10 points. Gasol scored 12 for Memphis.
The Grizzlies' poor shooting started early, as they missed 17 of their 23 first-quarter shots, and they were still under 30 percent early in the second quarter. That helped the Rockets build a 12-point lead. Yao missed only one of his six first-half shots before foul troubles midway through the second period sent him to the bench.
Without the 7-foot-6 center's presence in the middle, the Grizzlies were able to put a dent in the double-digit deficit with 10 straight points.
Rudy Gay, the Grizzlies' leading scorer, was scoreless in the half. He finished with eight points, missing 10 of his 13 shots from the field.
Houston extended the lead to 78-65 entering the fourth, as Alston, Yao and Battier provided the offensive punch.
"I thought we did a great job in the second half when (the Grizzlies) were trying to front-in, and we attacked the other side,'' Houston coach Rick Adelman said. "We got really good opportunities from other people.''
"It's just the growth of our team that the more guys that we get involved, and the more they mature and get a sense of what they can do, it's just going to help us in the long run.''
source : NBA.com
Magic Make Van Gundy A Winner In Return
Orlando 121, Miami 114
MIAMI, Dec. 28 (AP) -- Stan Van Gundy had seen this all before from Dwyane Wade.
Jumpers that swish with the game on the line. Forcing turnovers. Setting up teammates for big shots.
Van Gundy enjoyed it when he coached Wade and the Miami Heat. He even enjoyed it again Friday night, albeit from the Orlando Magic's end of the court.
Dwight Howard had 29 points and 21 rebounds, Hedo Turkoglu capped his 22-point night by hitting a huge 3-pointer with 11 seconds left and the Magic survived some late-game Miami heroics to beat the Heat 121-114 on Friday night -- giving Van Gundy a victory in his return to South Florida.
"I am just happy to walk out of here with a win,'' said Van Gundy, Pat Riley's former protege who resigned as Heat coach in December 2005 and hadn't been back for a game before Friday night.
Wade matched a career high with 48 points, 20 of them coming in the fourth quarter and all of them in regulation for Miami, which fell to 8-22. He was 16-for-21 from the floor, plus added 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Somehow, it wasn't enough.
"It's a little demoralizing to play my most complete game yet and to really have a feeling that we were going to win this ballgame,'' Wade said. "To lose it in overtime, it hurts.''
Van Gundy ordered the Magic to trap Wade constantly in overtime, and it worked. Wade didn't get a shot off in the extra 5 minutes.
"You can tell Pat and Dwyane, right off the bat next game, we're trapping him the minute he walks out of the locker room,'' Van Gundy said.
He was laughing when he said that.
The Heat found nothing worth laughing about.
Daequan Cook sent the game to overtime with a long 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in regulation on an assist by Wade, then tied the game again on another 3 with 1:18 left for Miami. But Turkoglu scored the next five points, sealing Orlando's seventh straight win in the series between the Sunshine State rivals.
Rashard Lewis scored 17 points, while Keith Bogans and Carlos Arroyo each had 13 for Orlando.
"It's the good thing about our team,'' Turkoglu said. "No matter what happens, we stick together until the end.''
Ricky Davis and Udonis Haslem each scored 17 for Miami, which played without center Shaquille O'Neal and point guard Jason Williams. Dorell Wright scored 14 points and Cook finished with 11 for the Heat.
Orlando led 84-79 after Evans' three-point play with 9:52 left in regulation, a score set up by a turnover by Wade. So he went to work, as if to make up for the mistake.
He scored eight straight points to stake Miami to an 87-84 lead and, after Lewis made a free throw following a technical against Haslem, Wade found Wright for a dunk that gave Miami a four-point lead. Cook then added a 3-pointer, putting Miami ahead 92-85 and capping a 13-1, 3 1/2-minute run.
Orlando wasn't fazed. Lewis made a 3-pointer, Howard added a three-point play 41 seconds later, and suddenly the Magic were within one. And when Wade stretched the margin back to 98-91, Orlando came back again -- with Lewis' 3-pointer after Orlando controlled a missed free throw by Howard playing a huge role.
"One rebound in regulation is probably what it comes down to,'' Riley said.
Miami had four players log at least 42 minutes, largely because the Heat are wracked by injuries.
O'Neal missed his first game of the season with left hip bursitis and Williams was sidelined by a sore left knee. Miami also played without backup point guard Chris Quinn (sprained ankle), and the Heat aren't sure if any of those three will be ready to play Saturday night in Washington.
That depleted roster didn't hurt Miami in the early going.
The Heat led by as many as nine in the first half, before taking a 54-50 lead into intermission.
Miami stretched the lead to 10 shortly after halftime, but Orlando used a 19-6 run late in the third quarter to erase the deficit and take a five-point lead.
And in the wild fourth quarter, Orlando simply had a little bit more.
"It was kind of fun,'' Arroyo said.
source : NBA.com
Hot Hornets Flying Under Radar
New Orleans 99, Charlotte 85
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 28 (AP) -- With so many powerful teams in the Western Conference, the New Orleans Hornets get little attention.
After their fourth straight blowout win Friday night, it may be time to take notice.
David West had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the Hornets' latest dominating performance, a 99-85 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Quietly coming into the game with the third-best record in the West, the Hornets quickly put away the sleepwalking Bobcats with alley-oop dunks, energized defense and balanced scoring.
Tyson Chandler had 17 points and 17 rebounds, and Chris Paul had 17 points and 11 assists for the Hornets, who made their fourth trip to Charlotte since bolting the city for New Orleans nearly six years ago.
And their current streak of four wins by 80 points is giving the Hornets hope they can contend in the difficult West.
"We can't worry about who's the hottest story,'' Paul said. "The (Trail) Blazers are getting a lot of attention right now. We've just got to keep winning.''
The fourth-year Bobcats, who came into the season thinking they could reach the playoffs for the first time, were never in the game in their third straight loss and fell seven games under .500.
Jason Richardson scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half, Nazr Mohammed added 15 points and 14 rebounds and Gerald Wallace scored 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting for the Bobcats, who again appeared off kilter under first-year coach Sam Vincent.
"We're not aggressive. We're too laid back,'' said Wallace, who played 47 minutes a night before Charlotte visits Orlando. "We're not a good enough team to play like that.''
At times, the Bobcats didn't even have a home-court advantage.
Paul, who grew up 80 miles away in Winston-Salem and starred at Wake Forest, secured almost 500 tickets for family, friends and college acquaintances.
With thousands of Wake Forest supporters in town for Saturday's Meineke Bowl, Paul was perhaps the most popular guy in town. He was seen running through a hallway about 90 minutes before tipoff, late for a meeting with Wake Forest boosters.
About an hour before the game, Paul was in the locker room yelling into his cell phone, "The tickets will be at will call!"
The packed pregame schedule didn't affect Paul or the Hornets early against Charlotte, which has been plagued by slow starts all season.
New Orleans scored on three alley-oop dunks in building a 23-10 lead, with Paul pushing the ball up the floor at every opportunity.
"We wanted to jump on them,'' coach Byron Scott said. "We knew they hadn't been playing particularly well and we've been playing pretty well.''
The Bobcats tied a season low with 14 first-quarter points and fell behind 53-31 when Paul blew past former college rival Raymond Felton for a three-point play with six seconds left in the first half.
Down by 19 at halftime, fans booed the Bobcats off the floor -- minus the Connecticut football fans in town for the bowl game who were chanting for their team during the Hornets' dominance.
"The urgency to start the quarter, to start the game, just isn't there right now,'' Vincent said.
Chandler kept the Bobcats at bay in the third quarter by scoring 10 points, including a thunderous dunk off a nifty feed from Paul.
After the Bobcats got within 11 with under 4 minutes left, West went to work inside for two buckets and two free throws to end the spurt.
It was just like how San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix put away teams.
"Hopefully, sooner or later you start to get a little bit of notice,'' Scott said. "We want to just keep playing the way we're playing.''
source : NBA.com
