The 2012-13 Basketball Season Is Here

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Ellis' last-second 3 lifts Bucks over Rockets



HOUSTON (AP) The Milwaukee Bucks are learning how to pull out the close ones.

Monta Ellis sank an off-balance 3-pointer just before the final buzzer to give the Milwaukee Bucks a 110-107 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Ellis scored 27 points and handed out 13 assists, Ersan Ilyasova added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the Bucks won in Houston for the second straight season.

Milwaukee went down to the wire again after beating Dallas 95-90 on Tuesday and losing the previous three games by no more than three points. The Bucks and Rockets were tied 105-all when Larry Sanders tipped in Ellis' miss. James Harden tied it again on a driving layup with 35 seconds left.

Ellis rebounded Ilyasova's miss with 23 seconds left, giving the Bucks one last chance to win it in regulation. Ellis then took a pass from Brandon Jennings and threw up the game-winner off one foot. The ball rattled around the rim before dropping in, and by then, Ellis was running to the locker room.

"I just threw it up,'' Ellis said. "The buzzer went off when it was rolling around the rim. Wasn't any need for me to come back out.''

The referees reviewed the shot and confirmed that it beat the buzzer. Jennings thought he delivered the pass too late for Ellis to get it off in time.

"But I'm kind of glad I made my move early,'' Jennings said. "I didn't have anything, so I just kicked it out to him and he hit a one-legged 3-point shot for the win.''

James Harden scored 25 points, Chandler Parsons added 20 and Omer Asik grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds for Houston, which led by 17 points in the first quarter.

"It was a bad loss,'' Parsons said. "There's no way around it. There is no way we should have lost that game.''

Mike Dunleavy had 16 points and new acquisition J.J. Redick added 14 for Milwaukee. Dunleavy thinks the Bucks learned from the late-game mistakes they made in the close losses over the past week.

"It kind of wakes you up,'' Dunleavy said. "Sometimes, you can feel bad for yourself, bad for the team for a little bit. But eventually you come around on it, and say, "All right, enough of this, we've got to get wins.'''

Jeremy Lin had 10 points and seven assists and Donatas Motiejunas scored 13 in his first start for Houston.

The Rockets made 12 of their first 13 shots and Lin had one of the early highlights, spinning a behind-the-back pass to Parsons for an easy dunk. Houston had 10 assists on its first 12 baskets, but after Asik finished an alley-oop from Parsons with a dunk, Houston went scoreless for almost three minutes.

"We just didn't have the same spacing, pace, that we had in the beginning,'' Lin said.

Jennings hit consecutive 3s and Dunleavy scored on three layups as Milwaukee mounted a 21-6 run to cut the deficit to two. It was close the rest of the way, and the lead changed hands 13 times in all until the Bucks made more plays down the stretch to win it.

"We're just getting stops and we're just countering on the offensive end,'' Jennings said of the late-game execution. "We're just getting easier buckets and we're taking our time more.''

Harden played with a wrap on his left knee after he bumped into Ellis in the first half. Ellis scored seven points early in the third quarter to help Milwaukee build a seven-point lead. The Rockets quickly rallied, and Asik completed a three-point play to put Houston ahead 70-68 with five minutes left in the third quarter.

Dunleavy twisted his right ankle in the last minute of the third quarter and hobbled to the locker room. He returned with just under 10 minutes left in the game and the Rockets leading 88-84.

Houston continued to misfire from 3-point range early in the final quarter and Redick's 3-pointer near the six-minute mark put Milwaukee up 99-96. Houston went 7 for 23 from 3-point range, but blamed this loss on its poor defense at the end. The Bucks outscored the Rockets 11-2 over the final three minutes.

"Defense was not very good tonight,'' Parsons said. "Bad game overall.''


NOTES: Bucks C Ekpe Udoh sprained his right ankle in the first quarter and did not return. ... Ellis had six steals and leads the NBA with eight games this season with at least five. ... Rookie Thomas Robinson, acquired in a trade with Sacramento last week, had a basket, a rebound, an assist and three fouls in his Houston debut. ... Asik has 26 double-doubles and 39 games with double-digit rebounds this season.

 

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Suns end Spurs' 18-game home streak, 105-101 in OT



SAN ANTONIO (AP) After a 25-day, nine-game road trip, the San Antonio Spurs were glad to be back in their own building, relaxed and ready to add to their 18-game home winning streak.

Maybe too relaxed.

Jermaine O'Neal had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Wesley Johnson hit a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime and the Phoenix Suns rallied to upend San Antonio 105-101, stunning a raucous crowd that had begun celebrating midway through the third quarter only to exit in silence.

Tony Parker had 22 points to lead San Antonio, which had not lost at home since Nov. 19 against the Los Angeles Clippers. Tim Duncan had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and DeJuan Blair and Kawhi Leonard added 15 points apiece.

Luis Scola added 15 points and Goran Dragic had 13 points and 13 assists for Phoenix, which snapped a six-game losing streak against the Spurs.

"We are all very upset, especially after the performance we had on the road,'' San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili said. "Coming back home and losing the first one is hard, but it happens. We got relaxed after such a long road trip, but this is what happens in the NBA when you do not play your best.''

After going 7-2 on the road trip due to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, the league-leading Spurs (45-14) appeared to have the game well in hand following a strong third quarter by Parker.

Amid cries of "MVP,'' Parker had 10 points in the period as San Antonio extended its lead to double digits. His assist to Duncan with 10 minutes left in the third gave the Spurs a 56-45 lead and his 10-foot jumper put them up 69-58.

Leonard's 3 with 1.1 seconds gave San Antonio a 77-67 lead entering the fourth.

Trailing by 11 points with 11:29 left in the game, the Suns rallied behind O'Neal. The veteran center had 13 points and five rebounds as Phoenix (20-39) outscored San Antonio 33-23 in the fourth.

"For us, we're obviously not in the playoff run, but it's about trying to be a better team,'' O'Neal said. "Games like these are what build character and put us in the right direction. That's what we're trying to do.''

The Suns pulled within 97-95 with less than a minute remaining on Marcus Morris' 3. Parker attempted to keep the Spurs ahead, tossing in a floater, a jump shot and feeding Duncan for a jumper that gave San Antonio a 99-97 lead with 11 seconds left.

Ginobili made one of two free throws with 3.7 seconds left to make it 100-97. O'Neal rebounded Ginobili's second free throw attempt, firing a pass down court to Johnson, whose 3 at the buzzer tied the game at 100 and sent it to overtime.

"Overall we made a lot of mental errors,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Especially on that last play on the free throw line when Johnson went all the way down the court and he wasn't picked up. That cost us the game.''

Johnson's 3 seemed to stun the Spurs even more so than the fans.

"I think we were kind of surprised that Manu missed that last free throw, but they made a great play,'' Parker said. "Wesley made a big 3.''

San Antonio went 0 for 10 in overtime, its only points in the extra period coming when Parker made 1 of 2 free throws.

"I think they missed some shots they normally make, so defensively we did some things great that worked great for us,'' Phoenix coach Lindsey Hunter said.

The teams combined to go 0 for 14 to open overtime. Marcin Gortat's tip follow was the first basket of overtime, giving Phoenix a 102-101 lead with 1:07left.

NOTES: After three weeks on the road, the Spurs were finally able to honor Parker as the NBA Player of the Month for January, doing so prior to the game. ... San Antonio observed a moment of silence in honor of Dr. Jerry Buss, the Los Angeles Lakers owner who died Feb. 18. ... The Spurs have won 64 games overall on its rodeo road trips, which began in 2003. ... A video highlighting the Spurs' recent road trip played prior to the game to Phillip Phillips' "Home.'' ... Dragic and reigning MVP LeBron James of Miami are the only players leading their team in points, assists, steals and free throw attempts. ... Scola, Gortat and Markieff Morris have played all 58 games for Phoenix, with Gortat starting each.

 

[godiva]

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Knicks overcome Curry's 54 to beat Warriors



NEW YORK (AP) Stephen Curry rose for another jumper, and by then even the Knicks probably figured it would go in.

Curry had hardly missed in a scintillating second half of the NBA's most electric performance this season, the crowd cheering even before the ball left his hands.

This time, Raymond Felton jumped with him, making the play New York needed to finally withstand Curry.

Felton's blocked shot led to J.R. Smith's tiebreaking basket with 1:10 left, and the Knicks overcame Curry's NBA season-high 54 points to beat the Golden State Warriors 109-105 on Wednesday night.

Curry was 18 of 28 from the field, finishing one shy of the NBA record with 11 3-pointers in 13 attempts, in a performance that had the crowd hanging on his every shot. But the Knicks and Felton finally stopped him with 1:28 to play and the score tied at 105.

"My main thing is to keep playing. Like I said, once a guy gets it going like that, there's nothing I can really do. I've still got to stay in my mindset, still play my game, and I was still able to come up with some big plays at the end,'' Felton said. "We all came up with some big plays to get that win.''

Carmelo Anthony followed Smith's basket with another one and the Knicks hung on to spoil former Knicks star and Warriors coach Mark Jackson's homecoming.

Anthony finished with 35 points and Smith had 26.

"We made the defensive stops we needed to make down the stretch,'' Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.

Playing all 48 minutes, Curry finished with seven assists and six rebounds while passing his previous career best of 42 points, and Kevin Durant's 52-point performance that had been the best in the NBA this season.

"I felt good all night. Obviously played the whole game, so was just trying to keep my legs underneath me on the offensive end, and you know, just stick to the game on the defensive end,'' Curry said. "Once I started seeing that 3-ball go down in transition, all sorts of spots on the floor, I knew it was going to be a good night.''

But he had little help without All-Star forward David Lee, who was suspended one game for his role in an altercation Tuesday night in Indiana.

Tyson Chandler had 16 points and a career-best 28 rebounds for the Knicks, who won their second straight after a season-high, four-game losing streak. Amare Stoudemire had 14 points and Anthony added eight assists on the day the Knicks learned they could be without reserve forward Rasheed Wallace for the rest of the season because he needs surgery to repair a broken bone in his left foot.

Strutting all over the court whenever one of his 3s swished easily through the nets, Curry easily blew past the 38 points he scored Tuesday in Indiana, which had been his best of the season. That was spoiled when he was fined $35,000 for his role in the skirmish, which was essentially getting thrown to the ground by Roy Hibbert when he tried to intervene.

This performance - the most points by an NBA player in a loss since Kobe Bryant had 58 in a loss to Charlotte on Dec. 29, 2006 - was spoiled along with Jackson's trip back to his old home because of a few mistakes down the stretch.

Curry threw away a pass on the break with 3:13 left, and Jarrett Jack was called for a travel following Smith's go-ahead basket.

Plus, Klay Thompson finished 3 of 13 from the field, missing two straight from deep in the final minute.

Jackson, who grew up in Brooklyn and starred at St. John's before being drafted by the Knicks in 1987, didn't get a chance to coach here last season as an NBA rookie on the bench because of the lockout. He brought his wife, Desiree, to a road game for the first time this season, had his mother in the stands, and got a chance to see people he remembered from playing here years earlier.

He said he hadn't gotten to look ahead much to the game because of the schedule, but clearly enjoyed being back in Madison Square Garden once the day did arrive.

"This is a special place and it was part of my dreams as a kid,'' he said.

His night turned into Curry's, fans cheering even before the ball left his hand in the second half.

"We were short-handed and we needed a performance like that to have a chance,'' Jackson said. "He put on a clinic. Knocked down shots. Made plays. Carried us. Led us in rebounding. He did it all. I've seen a lot of great performances in this building and his goes up there. I've seen a lot. I've seen a lot, but that shooting performance was a thing of beauty.''

The Knicks, who hadn't played since Sunday, looked ready to blow the Warriors out early, taking a 25-11 lead that the Warriors trimmed to 27-18 at the end of the first period before surging ahead behind Curry.

He scored 12 straight Golden State points, cutting it to 35-34 with his third 3-pointer of the second quarter. He followed Richard Jefferson's 3 with another one, giving the Warriors a 40-37 advantage. The Knicks recovered and went back ahead by nine late in the period before Curry answered with six consecutive points, and New York's lead was 58-55 at the break.

"He's a special young player with a very unique talent,'' Chandler said. "We ran everything at him. He just got hot. There was some shots that he couldn't have seen the rim.''

Curry's drive gave the Warriors a two-point lead three minutes into the third quarter, but he didn't score again until hitting a turnaround 3 from 27 feet with 5 seconds left in the period, giving him 38 points again and cutting New York's lead to 84-81.

Already without Andrew Bogut because of a back injury, the Warriors had little size without Lee. Their lineup at one point in the second quarter had nobody taller than 6-foot-9 and Chandler simply climbed over them all night.

He came in leading the league with 4.4 offensive rebounds per game, and grabbed 13 boards in the first quarter alone.

Notes: Chandler was also the last NBA player to grab 13 rebounds in one quarter, hauling in 14 in the third quarter for Dallas on Dec. 1, 2010. ... Wallace, who hasn't played since December, will have surgery this week and the expected recovery time is eight weeks. Woodson said he didn't plan to waive the 38-year-old forward and create a roster spot, instead hoping he could be able to play in the postseason. ... Kenyon Martin, signed last week in part because of the uncertainty around Wallace, made his Knicks debut and was scoreless in 5 first-half minutes.

 

[godiva]

www.nba.com

here only have plagarised stuff. nothing original

 

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Knicks vs Warriors highlights

Stephen Curry has 54 points but his Warriors still lose to the Knicks.

 

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Clippers end Pacers streak with 99-91 win



INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Los Angeles Clippers took advantage of Roy Hibbert's suspension Thursday night.

Between Blake Griffin's dunks and Chris Paul's drives, the Clippers' stars dominated the middle, forced Indiana into an uncharacteristically sloppy game and beat the Pacers at their own physical game inside, too.

It was the perfect recipe for getting past one of the NBA's hottest teams.

Paul scored 29 points, one short of his season high, and Griffin finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds as the Clippers held off Indiana's frenetic late charge for a 99-91 victory.

"I watch the Pacers a lot. (David) West is like my brother, and they have been beating teams real bad lately, especially here at home,'' Paul said. "So I think this is a good win for us. I think every night we are going into different arenas and the other team knows they are in for a dogfight. I think we're becoming like a San Antonio or a Miami or any of the other top teams.''

On paper, it looked like any other night for the Clippers (42-18).

They dominated in the paint, outscoring Indiana 50-32. Griffin finished with at least 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists in his eighth straight game and, of course, added a couple of more dunks to his highlight reel.

Paul, second in the league in assists per game, had eight more on a night he went 11 of 18 from the field, 6 of 6 from the free-throw line and grabbed six rebounds. And Jamal Crawford scored 23 points in 27 minutes off the bench.

Los Angeles (42-18) won its third straight and this time beat one of the NBA's best home teams on its own court.

But from the looks of it, it was a tough night, too.

Trey Thompkins sat out with a bruised left knee. Grant Hill kept an ice pack on his sore lower back all night and never made it into the game.

Eric Bledsoe played just 13 minutes, icing his sore left calf most of the night, and Matt Barnes had ice packs on both his knees when he wasn't playing, too.

And that list didn't even count two starters who got dinged during the game - center DeAndre Jordan, who left early in the third quarter with a bloody nose, and Griffin, who briefly pulled his shooting sleeve down so trainers could check his right elbow after he was fouled in the third quarter and crashed hard to the floor.

"It's not great,'' said Griffin, who has been dealing with a bursa sac problem in the elbow. "I got it drained a couple weeks ago, right after the All-Star break, so I'm sure it will puff right back up.''

Whether it was because the Pacers were without Hibbert or it was just an off night, Indiana didn't look anything like the team that had won five straight by an average margin of 23.8 points.

Instead, the Pacers (36-22) held the lead just four times all night - never by more than two points - and couldn't keep the lead for more than one defensive possession.

David West finished with 22 points and six rebounds, All-Star Paul George had 20 points and five assists and Danny Granger played his best game since returning from a left knee injury last weekend. Granger finished with a season-high 12 points in 19 minutes on 5-of-10 shooting.

What went wrong?

The Pacers' defense allowed Los Angeles to shoot 48.8 percent from the field and their imprecise passing led to 20 turnovers.

The biggest reason may have been the absence of Hibbert, who drew a one-game suspension for starting a shoving match in Tuesday night's victory over Golden State.

"Roy Hibbert makes a big difference in our team,'' Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Everybody says he's having a bad year, but he's having a good year. We have the No. 1 defense in the league and he's a big part of it.''

That much was evident on Thursday at every key turn in the game.

The Clippers used three 13-3 spurts - one in the second quarter, one late in the third and again to start the fourth - to seize control. When the final flurry ended, the Clippers had a commanding 89-72 lead with 7:06 to play.

Indiana charged back with two 3-pointers from George and another from George Hill. And when George made two free throws with 2:45 to go, the Pacers were within 91-87.

But Paul refused to let the Pacers get any closer. He scored the final eight points for the Clippers, making a 16-foot fadeaway, driving in for two layups and making two free throws to earn the praise of the Pacers coach.

"Best point guard in the universe right now,'' Vogel said.

Notes: Granger's nine points in the first half topped his scoring total (seven) for the entire season. Thursday was only his third game back. ... The Clippers have won four straight road games including one against the Lakers in the same building the Clippers call home. ... These teams will meet for the second and final time April 1 and the Clippers will be trying to pull off their first season sweep of Indiana since 2003-04. ... Pacers coach Frank Vogel needs two wins for No. 100 in his career.

 

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Kobe scores 33 in Lakers' latest win over Wolves



LOS ANGELES (AP) Starting with Kobe Bryant's soaring dunk over Nikola Pekovic on their second possession, the Los Angeles Lakers jumped to a big lead against a woeful opponent and never fumbled it away while moving to the brink of a .500 record.

After the Lakers' tumultuous season, such simple achievements qualify as serious progress toward a playoff spot.

Bryant scored 33 points and Antawn Jamison added 17 in the Lakers' 21st consecutive victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, 116-94 on Thursday night.

The Lakers (29-30) have won 12 of 17 and five of seven while moving within two games of Houston for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with their longest stretch of solid play this year. They're getting steady leadership from Bryant, who has reasserted himself as a scorer after working as a setup man for several weeks.

"I've been in attack mode since the break. It's go time,'' Bryant said. "We're getting a little closer, and we're starting to get in more of a striking distance where you start watching (the playoff race).''

Bryant and Jodie Meeks each hit four of Los Angeles' 16 3-pointers, and Meeks finished with 16 points. Bryant had 22 points in a strong first half for the Lakers, focused on scoring while the Timberwolves overcompensated defensively for the low-post absence of Andrei Kirilenko, who has a strained right calf, and Pekovic, who left early with an abdominal strain.

Frequently guarded by Los Angeles native Derrick Williams, Bryant catalyzed a solid all-around game by the Lakers, who finally appeared to become a cohesive team in February. Bryant and Steve Nash sat out the fourth quarter for the Lakers, who will have a chance to get back to .500 for the first time since Dec. 28 when they host Atlanta on Sunday night.

"We've had enough time together where we've turned a corner and we're making improvement instead of continually taking steps back,'' said Nash, who had 10 points and seven assists. "I think that improvement has been a long time coming, but it's only the beginning. We really need to continue to improve.''

J.J. Barea scored 20 points and Luke Ridnour added 19 for the short-handed Timberwolves, who have lost four straight and 20 of 24. Ricky Rubio had 13 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, but thanks to its latest injury woes, Minnesota never threated to get its first road win over the Lakers since Dec. 2, 2005.

"It's been horrendous. I've never seen anything like this,'' Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said. "And it's not just getting injuries, but when the guys do start trickling back, they haven't played together, so we've got no rhythm as a team. We're just trying to fit people in. It's been really frustrating, but I give our guys credit. They're still trying to fight through it. After a while, it gets really old, but the schedule doesn't stop. You've got to keep playing.''

Los Angeles' mastery of Minnesota is the NBA's longest active winning streak in any matchup. The Lakers never trailed the undermanned Wolves in the latest meeting, cruising to their 13th straight home win over Minnesota.

The Lakers haven't lost to Minnesota since March 6, 2007.

Starting with Bryant's poster-worthy slam over Pekovic, the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history played the entire half with particular fire. Los Angeles' veteran legs appeared rejuvenated by two days off, and the Lakers took a 10-point halftime lead on nearly 53 percent shooting with eight 3-pointers.

"Man, it's tough. I don't think anybody in here has ever lost like this before,'' Williams said. "I mean, we've had only nine or 10 players all season, and it takes a toll on you every single night - especially against the Lakers, who have a couple of guys that come off the bench who could start on a lot of teams in the NBA.''

Barea kept Minnesota close with 13 points on a series of strong drives to the hoop, but the Wolves' lack of inside depth was obvious. Rubio also responded well to his benching late in Tuesday's overtime loss at Phoenix.


NOTES: Los Angeles finished one 3-pointer shy of tying its franchise record for a regulation game, most recently matched Nov. 30 against Denver. ... Kevin Love attended the game, but the former UCLA star hasn't played since Jan. 3 due to a broken bone in his right hand. ... Zach Galifianakis, Will Arnett, Adam Carolla, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Los Angeles Galaxy players Robbie Keane and Mike Magee watched from courtside.

 

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Noah's triple-double too much for 76ers



CHICAGO (AP) Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau needed just three words to sum up Joakim Noah's big night on Thursday.

"He was spectacular,'' Thibodeau said.

Noah had 23 points, 21 rebounds and a career-high 11 blocks for his third career triple-double and the Chicago Bulls ended a two-game losing streak with a 93-82 victory over Philadelphia.

"His will from the start of the game until the end was just incredible,'' Thibodeau said. "He was everywhere - blocked shots, switching, guarding everyone. Big-time multiple efforts.''

Noah also tied the Bulls record for blocks in a regulation game, previously set by Artis Gilmore in 1977.

"He was amazing,'' Bulls forward Carlos Boozer said. "(But) we needed everybody to step up and we did. It was impressive.''

Boozer added 21 points and 12 rebounds while Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng had 15 and 12 points, respectively, as the Bulls completed a three-game regular season series sweep.

But Noah was quick to shrug off superlatives.

"It feels good, it feels really good to play well and win,'' he said. "It was a good win for us and hopefully we can build on it.''

But Sixers coach Doug Collins wasn't as reticent.

"Noah is so lively and he's so active and he's just on the move all the time,'' he said. "If you don't get your body on him, he's just going to be nightmares around the rim. He's got a great motor.''

Jrue Holiday paced the Sixers with 22 points, Spencer Hawes added 20 points and 15 rebounds while Evan Turner had 12 points.

The loss was Philadelphia's season-high seventh in a row.

"If we made more shots, we would have won,'' Hawes said. "On defense we played well enough, they just made more plays than we did.''

The Sixers rallied from a 16-point third-quarter deficit to get within four points at 75-71 on Hawes' dunk.

But Nate Robinson hit a jumper and added a 3-pointer following a Noah block - his ninth of the game - to push Chicago's lead to 80-71.

Noah added a 3-point play with 4:32 to play to restore a double-digit lead at 83-71. Philadelphia never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Boozer opened with eight points and Deng added six as Chicago had a 19-16 first-quarter lead less than nine minutes into the game.

Boozer and Turner each had 10 as the Bulls led 23-22 by the close of the quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Chicago's Noah had back-to-back inside scores, hit a free throw and forced a turnover in a 55-second span as the Bulls went ahead 30-26.

Hinrich fired a perfect pass to Deng late in the quarter and the Bulls forward converted a 3-point play with 3.4 seconds left as the Bulls opened a 45-39 halftime lead.

Holiday had seven points in the quarter and closed the half with a game-high 13 points.

Hinrich scored his first points of the game early in the third quarter with a pair of jumpers as the Bulls maintained an eight-point lead. Chicago opened an 11-point lead as Noah's 3-point play that gave the Bulls a 53-42 lead.

The Bulls missed eight straight 3-point tries before Hinrich's long-distance shot gave them a 64-48 lead.

The Sixers found their shooting touch and trimmed the deficit to 68-62 on two Hawes' free throws with 50 seconds left.

"We were very competitive,'' Collins said. "(But) the Bulls front line was tremendous ... Between Noah and Boozer they had 44 points and 33 rebounds and Noah's 11 blocks and those guys were 18 for 21 from the foul line. That ended up being the difference in the game.''


NOTES: Bulls star Derrick Rose still hasn't said when he'll come back and Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said Chicago was proceeding correctly with Rose's slow return. "The Chicago Bulls have a tremendous investment in Derrick Rose, you want to make sure this young guy is going to be ready to go. ... With both teams struggling recently, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said it was important to maintain continuity even if there's a temptation to shake things up. "I think the preparation part is very, very important,'' he said. I don't think you can allow that to slip at all.'' ... Hinrich made his second straight appearance since missing three games with a right elbow injury. ... Bulls guard Richard Hamilton sat out Thursday's game with back spasms and Marco Belinelli started in his place.

 

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Bulls vs 76ers highlights

Joakim Noah has a triple double to lead the Bulls to victory.

 

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Kobe, Lakers hold off Hawks to get back to .500



LOS ANGELES (AP) Kobe Bryant drove past Josh Smith and rose up with the athleticism of a player half his age, throwing down an arena-rocking, one-handed dunk. A few possessions later, Bryant drove right at Smith and willed a layup over the taller defender for the Los Angeles Lakers' winning points.

For a .500 team, the Lakers are looking pretty good lately. Bryant is the biggest reason why.

Bryant scored 11 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and hit the go-ahead layup with 9 seconds left, leading the Lakers back to .500 for the first time in more than two months with a 99-98 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night.

Steve Blake stole Smith's final pass in the waning seconds for the Lakers (30-30), who blew a 16-point lead in the second half before Bryant scored their last six points.

After Bryant scored the Lakers' final basket while driving directly at Smith, Blake swiped Smith's desperation pass from underneath Los Angeles' basket. Bryant threw the ball high in the air to run out the clock on Los Angeles' seventh straight home victory over the Hawks since 2006.

"I just had to attack,'' Bryant said. "I wanted to attack and just go right at them. Take the game to them. Be aggressive. Be physical. And it worked out.''

Steve Nash had 15 points and 10 assists, while Dwight Howard added 11 points and 15 rebounds in the Lakers' 13th win in 18 games. Los Angeles hung on for a quality win over the Hawks, a near-certain playoff team with ample motivation to knock off the high-profile Lakers.

Kobe wouldn't allow it, making one big play after another down the stretch. Afterward, he repeatedly compared himself to a fine wine - only getting better with age.

"It was more of a message to my team here, to kind of have that will, that hunger, to push through it by any means necessary,'' he said. "It's just a challenge. I wouldn't even really categorize it as fun. The fun comes in the challenge, and we're up for it.''

The Lakers hadn't been at .500 since Dec. 28, when they followed a win over Portland with six consecutive losses. They've spent the past six weeks digging themselves out of the latest hole in their rut-filled season, culminating in a lengthy stretch of recent solid play despite the absence of injured 7-footer Pau Gasol.

If the Lakers manage to upset Oklahoma City on Tuesday night, they would have their first winning record since Nov. 20, when they beat Brooklyn in coach Mike D'Antoni's debut to go 6-5.

Al Horford scored 24 points and Smith had 19 for the Hawks, who had won four straight before consecutive road losses to the Suns and Lakers. Atlanta hasn't beaten the Lakers anywhere since March 31, 2010.

Smith relished his matchup with Bryant, even if he got the short end of it.

"He's been doing it for a long time, so you have to respect what he brings to the table,'' Smith said. "He's an assassin. He wants that moment. But from a defensive standpoint, I love taking a challenge like that and try to step up and try to make it tough for him. It was kind of like a tug-of-war match. We were going back and forth, and they made one more play than we did to win the game. I live for moments like this.''

Bryant put the Lakers up 96-95 with 2:18 to play on that ferocious dunk. After turnovers by both teams, Jeff Teague reclaimed the lead for Atlanta with 45 seconds left on a floating layup in traffic.

After Bryant hit two free throws, Horford put the Hawks back ahead with a dunk on a backdoor pass from Smith with 26.7 seconds left. But Bryant drove around Horford and right into Smith at the rim, willing the ball over his defense.

"There's a reason why he's the best player in the game,'' Horford said of Bryant. "He did what he usually does, and we didn't do a good enough job on him. It's disappointing. We thought we worked hard and put ourselves in a position to win. We just had too many mistakes down the stretch.''

Devin Harris scored 12 of his 16 points in a three-minute spree late in the third quarter while Atlanta erased Los Angeles' big lead.


NOTES: The Hawks finish their trip Monday night in Denver. ... Atlanta coach Larry Drew was able to attend his son's final UCLA home game on Saturday thanks to the fortunate coincidence in the Hawks' schedule. Drew considers Los Angeles home after playing for the Clippers and Lakers, followed by a lengthy stint as a Lakers assistant coach in the 1990s prior to Phil Jackson's arrival. ... Novak Djokovic visited the Lakers' locker room with fellow tennis player Justin Gimelstob before the game. One day after winning the Dubai Championships halfway around the globe, Djokovic spoke at length with Howard, who claims he won a school tennis tournament as a kid.

 

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Heat rally past Knicks, win 14th straight



NEW YORK (AP) LeBron James stretched his arm above the rim, soaring high on a shaky knee and turning his steal into a finishing dunk as Carmelo Anthony hung his head near midcourt.

The Heat took the Knicks' best shot, but it wasn't good enough to beat the defending champs.

Nothing is right now.

James had 29 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, and Miami tied a franchise record with its 14th straight victory, rallying for a 99-93 victory at New York on Sunday.

"We feel like this is one of our better wins of the season, even under the circumstances that we went through tonight, a little adversity being down double digits,'' James said.

Dwyane Wade added 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Heat, who had to overcome a 16-point deficit to beat the Knicks for the first time in three tries this season. Chris Bosh bounced back from a dismal first half to finish with 16 points and Shane Battier hit all four 3-point attempts to score 12.

The Heat won their sixth straight on the road by controlling the final minutes against a team that had a pair of 20-point victories over them this season and looked ready to run them out of the building again.

But James shook off a third-quarter leg injury and was back in top form by the finish, putting it away by coming up with a steal and throwing down a dunk with 23 seconds left.

"Obviously, it's great to win games, period. But when you're on a win streak, you've got to find many different ways to win ballgames and we've had comebacks in the last seconds, we've had double-overtime games, but this was probably the most thrilling one,'' Wade said. "It was the most challenging. For a team who beat us twice, they handled us twice and they were up 16 in the first half, for us to have the resilience to come back, find a way fight out this win, it was great.''

Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points for the Knicks, who had won three in a row. Jason Kidd emerged from a lengthy slump to finish with 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists. J.R. Smith had 13 points and 12 rebounds, but shot 5 of 18 from the field.

"I think we are disappointed because we had an opportunity to win a ballgame here at home against the champs,'' Kidd said. "So it's something we can look at and get better at with those mistakes, especially later in the game.''

The Heat matched their 14 straight wins during the 2004-05 season and finally beat one of their closest pursuers in the Eastern Conference after dropping their first four against the Knicks and Indiana Pacers.

James landed awkwardly when he was fouled trying to catch a lob pass in the third quarter and was trying afterward to loosen his left knee or leg. He looked fine in the closing minutes, making key plays on both ends of the floor.

"His motor is limitless. I don't want to take that for granted. I don't just want to assume that he can play 40-plus minutes, but he had to do it on both ends,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Couldn't get him out in the fourth quarter and if I would have tried, he probably would have strangled me.

"He was strong and was at his strongest after 40 minutes of basketball.''

Bosh tied it at 87 and Wade's basket with 4:29 left gave Miami the lead for good. James then blocked Tyson Chandler at the rim and hustled down the floor to put back a Miami miss, making it 91-87.

The Knicks twice were within two, but James scored on a drive the second time. Bosh followed with a jumper for a 97-91 advantage, and after two free throws by Raymond Felton, James ended the Knicks' final hopes when he stepped in front of a pass headed toward Anthony and broke in alone for the slam.

"They kind of walked us down towards the end,'' Anthony said. "We made some mistakes, turned the ball over, and then that turnover was probably just the icing on the cake right there.''

James said he felt the knee a little bit during the game, but expected to be in uniform Monday at Minnesota.

The Knicks beat Miami here by 20 in their season opener and won again in Miami in early December by 20, even while playing without Anthony because of a cut on his finger that required stitches.

This looked headed for another blowout.

Kidd missed his 14 3-point attempts in the last three games and had been in a 7-for-49 slump behind the arc since Feb. 1, finally losing his starting job before Friday's victory at Washington.

But he made a 3 early in the second quarter, then hit three more in the period. The Knicks rattled off eight points in a row to make it 59-43, their only concern coming when Anthony went to the locker room before the half ended with what the team said was pain in his ribs. He was back when the second half started and said the injury didn't bother him.

The Knicks' two victories over the Heat came during their 18-5 start, when they seemed championship capable. But they are just 17-16 since, and Miami's a far different team now than it was in December.

Bosh had eight quick points in the third quarter after a two-point, 1-of-6 first half. Miami scored the last six of the period, cutting it to 77-73 on Battier's 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds to go.

Miami finally caught up at 79-all when James nailed his second straight 3-pointer, stomping his feet forcefully as he walked away following the second with 10:04 to play.

NOTES: Juwan Howard was inactive, a day after the Heat re-signed the 40-year-old forward who finished last season with them. "To be honest, it felt a little bit strange not having him with us,'' Spoelstra said. "It makes sense, it feels right.'' ... Knicks coach Mike Woodson said forward Kenyon Martin will be with the Knicks beyond the expiration of his first 10-day contract.

 

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Thunder holds off Clippers to win 108-104



LOS ANGELES (AP) With Oklahoma City trying to hold off another marquee team, Russell Westbrook took charge - in the huddle. He urged his Thunder teammates to keep their composure, set screens and play defense.

They listened and turned away a late rally by the Los Angeles Clippers to win 108-104 on Sunday in a matchup of Western Conference contenders.

"It was a good road win for us in a playoff-type atmosphere,'' said Westbrook, who had 29 points and 10 assists. "We did a good job of keeping their crowd out of the game.''

Kevin Durant poured in 35 points and Serge Ibaka had 16 as Oklahoma City ended a three-game road skid, bouncing back less than 48 hours after losing at Denver. They also completed a season sweep of the Clippers, who are chasing the Thunder and NBA-best San Antonio in the West.

"We weren't in a panic mode,'' Westbrook said. "We just wanted to win.''

Chris Paul scored 26 points and Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford added 20 points apiece for the Clippers, whose four-game winning streak ended in their third loss to the Thunder this season. Paul made all nine of his free throws to help his team go 19 for 22 from the line.

"We came up short, and it seemed like every time something happened, we just couldn't get over the hump,'' Paul said. "They got the timely calls when they needed them, but they played a pretty good game.''

The referees were busy for much of the day, with the Clippers called for 26 fouls to the Thunder's 22 in a physical game that featured double technicals on Caron Butler and Kendrick Perkins for their verbal exchange and Ibaka's flagrant-1 foul on Griffin.

"It's always going to be a tough, chippy game any time we play them because we're both pretty physical teams with physical bigs, so there's a lot of pushing and all that down low,'' Griffin said. "I guess it's tough to officiate and know what to call and what not to, but they seemed to know today what to call.''

The Clippers had four players in foul trouble in the second half: Griffin, Butler, Lamar Odom and Matt Barnes. Griffin fouled out with 59 seconds left. They went 9 for 24 from 3-point range and had 21 turnovers, including 16 in the first half - their most in a half this season.

"That's embarrassing. That's crazy. That's not like us,'' Paul said. "In the first half, they just did a good job of mucking the lane up. Every time I came down court, I saw a wall. They basically trapped me into ball screens. In the second half, we brought L.O. in and we went small, which opened the court up. And once we opened the court up, we could get into the lane and make plays and fire up shots.''

Los Angeles came in trailing the Thunder by a half-game for second in the West, but played from behind nearly the entire game. The Clippers trimmed a 19-point deficit to 82-73 at the end of the third. Odom hit a 3-pointer and Paul completed a three-point play to give them the momentum and get the crowd back into the game.

"There's no such thing as moral victories to us,'' Griffin said. "We've been in this situation before, but we don't want to put ourselves in that situation. We've got to be better from start to finish to beat a team like this.''

The Clippers outscored the Thunder 12-5 to open the fourth. Paul had six points, including a driving layup and a floater in the lane over Durant. Griffin then fed Crawford in the right corner for a 3-pointer that left the Clippers trailing 91-90.

The Thunder responded with six straight points, but Los Angeles rallied again. Barnes hit back-to-back 3-pointers on offensive rebounds to get the Clippers within three. Ibaka chopped Griffin in the right hip before Barnes' second 3 went in, with Griffin collapsing to the court and Ibaka receiving the flagrant.

"It's basketball, man,'' Griffin said. "Sometimes you take things a little too far, but I wasn't provoking (Ibaka) or anything like that.''

Said Thunder coach Scott Brooks: "It was a scrum and both were battling for position.''

A video review confirmed the call and Griffin went to the line, missing the first and making the second. The Clippers retained possession and Crawford hit a 3-pointer to give them their first lead of the game at 100-99 with 1:30 to play.

"He told us to keep playing,'' Durant said of Westbrook. "Everyone in the huddle was calm. We had a tough stretch but it was about how we bounced back.''

The Thunder scored nine of the final 13 points.

Brooks credited Westbrook for instilling calm in the late going.

"His leadership is getting better year by year and it should be,'' he said. "Tonight was a classic example of what he's done. He's an emotional guy, but he keeps everything together.''

The Thunder reached its first double-digit lead in the second during a 12-2 run that made it 53-37. Durant and Thabo Sefolosha hit back-to-back 3-pointers en route to a 54-41 lead at the break.

"We were moving the ball and doing a good job of closing the paint up,'' Durant said. "We eliminated some of these big-time plays.''

Besides the turnovers, the Clippers were just 2 of 11 from 3-point range, missing four straight to close the second quarter.

NOTES: The Thunder improved to 13-3 in games played after a loss. ... The Clippers fell to 23-7 at home. ... Griffin has 10 straight games with 16-plus points, seven-plus rebounds and two-plus assists, the longest such streak in the league this season.

 

[godiva]

NBA.com : Lakers to sell Kobe

Dead moron clones lol : Genesimmon, Athena, Vincent, emoer, Bubbletea, Boba Fett, Scorpian, Sun Wu Kong, ShaoKahn, PaulStanley, Illinois, Visitors, Yewcharkuay, Orneeku, hotcrossbun, Kanngi, Mamapundek, Danude.

free then slowly add, hahahaha

 

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Thunder hold off Lakers' charge, 122-105



OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Desperately trying to fight their way into the playoffs during an injury-marred season, the Los Angeles Lakers watched as Kobe Bryant grimaced, grabbed his right elbow and headed to the locker room.

They got no sympathy from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Russell Westbrook had 37 points and 10 rebounds, Kevin Durant scored 26, and Oklahoma City held off a second-half charge to beat the improving Lakers 122-105 on Tuesday night.

Bryant was able to score 30 points after returning from the injury, but a late rally fizzled as the Thunder scored the final 12 points of the game.

"Kobe didn't look hurt to me,'' Durant said. "We're not going to feel sorry for them. If they're out there playing, then they can play. Kobe looked fine. Dwight (Howard) looked fine.

"We know they're a resilient team. They've been fighting hard all year. They made some shots in that second half.''

But Oklahoma City was the only one to connect when it counted the most.

The Thunder led from start to finish, letting their 18-point lead get whittled down to five midway through the fourth quarter. Serge Ibaka, who dodged a suspension after delivering a low blow against Blake Griffin in Oklahoma City's previous game, hit a 3-pointer and Westbrook had a two-handed slam in the Thunder's closing run.

"They're a championship-caliber team, so they're never going to give up and they kept fighting and cut it to five,'' Durant said. "I think we did a really good job of staying composed throughout that little run that they made and we made some big shots.''

Steve Nash matched his season's best with 20 points as the Lakers fell back below .500 after reaching the mark for the first time since December. His 3-pointer got Los Angeles as close as 110-105 with 6:14 remaining, but his team didn't score again.

L.A. fell to 1-11 in road games against the teams that currently occupy the eight Western Conference playoff spots and is now 2 1/2 games behind eighth-place Utah.

"You can always try to find positive things with anything,'' Bryant said. "But for us right now, we've got to get some wins.''

Bryant said he took a shot to the "button'' on the end of his elbow and had to figure out a way to adjust his shooting mechanics to deal with what the team called an ulnar nerve contusion.

"Every time you try to bend your elbow or extend it, there's a little resistance and there's a lot of pain,'' Bryant said.

For a team that has already spent parts of this season without Howard, Nash and Pau Gasol - all of them All-Stars - the news wasn't all that bad for the Lakers.

"I'm going to keep playing,'' Bryant said. "This is the critical part of the season.''

Oklahoma City tied an NBA record with two turnovers. Milwaukee set the record in a game against Indiana on April 1, 2006, and Cleveland tied it in an overtime game against Portland on March 19, 2009.

In recent years, the Thunder have been among the worst teams in the league in turnovers, with Westbrook and Durant among the league leaders in most miscues.

"I think we've done a great job of just learning and trying to get better at it each and every game. Not really focusing on it but just making the right decisions,'' said Westbrook, who traveled to commit one of the two.

After Nash's 3-pointer got the Lakers within five, Nash and Metta World Peace each missed 3s during a string of four straight empty possessions with L.A. down by six. Ibaka then connected on a 3-pointer from the right corner to help the Thunder start pulling away.

World Peace finished with 16 points and Dwight Howard had six points and 16 rebounds before fouling out with 2:24 remaining.

By the time Bryant went out less than 4 minutes into the game, the Thunder had already delivered an opening 7-0 burst while Los Angeles missed its first 10 shots from the field.

Bryant air-balled his first shot from 3-point range and was grabbing at the elbow, even crossing up arms with Durant after the ball had been stolen away by Durant. Bryant was able to return about 4 1/2 minutes later, making his first shot a left-handed hook. He dribbled predominantly with his left hand and even snagged one rebound by cradling it in his left arm.

But he wouldn't join an injured list that includes Gasol, out two to four more weeks with a foot injury, and reserve Jordan Hill, out for the season after hip surgery.

Oklahoma City also closed the first half with seven straight points to go up 71-55 after Durant's step-back jumper. It was the highest scoring first half of the season for Oklahoma City.

Notes: Durant got his 13th technical foul of the season, three shy of an automatic one-game suspension. Durant, who was on the bench at the time, drew the technical after saying something to referee Joe Crawford as Derek Fisher returned to the sideline for a timeout after getting his own technical from referee Kevin Fehr. Fisher was arguing a personal foul called against Kendrick Perkins. ... Oklahoma City has not played a home game decided by less than 10 points since Dec. 28. The Thunder's last 12 wins at Chesapeake Energy Arena have been by at least 16 points - and an average of 24.6 points. Their two losses were by 17 to Brooklyn and 10 to Miami. ... The NBA announced Tuesday that both teams will play preseason games overseas in the fall. Oklahoma City will face Fenerbahce in Istanbul and Philadelphia in Manchester, England. The Lakers will play Golden State twice, in Beijing and Shanghai.

 

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Lawson's 24 points lead Nuggets, 120-113



SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The Denver Nuggets have proved they can win regularly at home. The lingering question: Can they do it on the road?

Ty Lawson had 24 points and Danilo Gallinari added 23 for the Nuggets as they won their sixth straight game, defeating the Sacramento Kings 120-113 on Tuesday night.

The deep and talented Nuggets used a 36-point third quarter to build a lead against the Kings that they never relinquished in winning their season-best third straight road game. They scored 70 second-half points when they shot nearly 64 percent.

The Nuggets, who have won seven of eight games overall, began the season with an unbalanced schedule that featured numerous away games. They had two three-game road losing streaks in that stretch and own a 14-19 road record overall.

"Early in the season we lost some leads on the road in the fourth quarter, and we lost some tough games lately,'' Denver coach George Karl said. "But we're a young team and young teams will do that. But we are maturing and finding our identity a little better.''

That identity has become a very difficult team to defeat at the Pepsi Center. The streaking Nuggets have won 11 in a row at home, where they own a 26-3 record, which ties Miami for the best mark in the NBA.

Denver has been a tough team to beat anywhere for the Kings, who dropped their third straight to the Nuggets this season and eighth straight overall.

"You have to be perfect against a team like that,'' Kings coach Keith Smart said. "That team can do big things and they have the guys that can make plays. I thought we had a chance to pull this out, but we needed to be pretty close to perfect to do that.''

It was another typical night of balanced scoring for the Nuggets.

Despite being in foul trouble and playing only 21 minutes, Kenneth Faried had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Andre Miller scored 16 points and had seven assists, and Kosta Koufos had 15 points and eight rebounds for Denver. Lawson and Andre Iguodala also both had seven assists.

A veteran guard, Miller owns a home and spends some of his summer time in Sacramento, where he has several relatives living in the area. He gave those relatives something to cheer about in the fourth quarter when he was the key for Denver maintaining its lead.

Miller continually penetrated and got to the basket for easy looks, scoring 12 points in the period. His back-to-back layups gave Denver a 10-2 run for a 12-point lead with 3:17 left.

"That's kind of how this team is. You never know who's going to grab the steering wheel and who's going to drive us home,'' Karl said, referring to Miller's big fourth-quarter effort. "I think it's a pretty versatile asset to have.''

Marcus Thornton continued his torrid scoring of late, making five 3-pointers and getting 32 points for the Kings, who have lost eight of their last 10 games. They own the worst record in the Western Conference.

Isaiah Thomas had 23 points, Jason Thompson had 18 and John Salmons scored 11.

The Denver interior defense helped make it a difficult evening for Kings leading scorer DeMarcus Cousins. He missed 11 of 12 shots, was 6 of 10 from the free throw line, and finished with eight points, 13 rebounds and a career-high five blocks.

The tempermental Cousins got into a battle of words with Gallinari and both players were saying similar things about each other afterward.

"He said some disrespectful things and I had some things to say back,'' Cousins said.

Denver extended the lead to 10 points or more several times in the fourth period, but behind the shooting of Thornton, the Kings didn't fold. A 3-pointer by Salmons midway through the quarter Sacramento to 101-95.

"They had a good run in the fourth, but we were able to force some turnovers and get some easy baskets and hold them off,'' Miller said.

Lawson scored 12 points and Koufos had nine in the third quarter, when the Nuggets took the lead for good and entered the fourth with an 86-79 advantage. The Nuggets outscored Sacramento 36-29 in the third period and led by as many as 14 points.

Tied at the half, the Nuggets got their offense going early in the third quarter with a 14-3 run. Lawson 3-pointer gave Denver a 64-53 lead.

Thompson made all seven shots and scored 14 points for the Kings, who kept the Denver running game in check during a 50-50 first half.

Thornton scored 12 points for the Kings and Faried had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets in the half.

Off the court, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced last week that 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov and billionaire Ron Burkle made an offer to the NBA to purchase the Kings. At a city council meeting Tuesday night, Sacramento City Manager John Shirey said he intends to bring a financing term sheet for a new downtown sports arena to a vote at the council's March 26 meeting.

Seattle hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer signed an agreement in January to buy the Kings from the Maloof family, the majority owners.

The NBA board of governors is expected to vote in mid-April on the fate of the Kings.

Notes: Fat Lever, the Kings Director of Player Development and radio analyst, spent six seasons with the Nuggets (1984-90) and obviously made an impact. Lever remains the Nuggets' all-time steals leader and ranks second in career assists. ... Cousins missed all five shots and had two fouls in the game's opening seven minutes. He went scoreless in the first half, but did collect seven rebounds and had three blocks. ... Faried picked up his fourth foul at 10:06 of the third quarter and went to the bench. ... Thornton made two 3s and Thomas had another in a 50-second span in the third quarter for the Kings.

 

[fastbreak]

Pierce helps Celtics top slumping 76ers 109-101



PHILADELPHIA (AP) So much for Boston's grim outlook once Rajon Rondo was lost for the season.

Avery Bradley has followed the trusted blueprint of dogged defense and impact scoring to help push the Celtics up the standings.

Bradley scored a season-high 22 points, and Paul Pierce had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 109-101 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

Kevin Garnett scored 18 points to help the Celtics improve to 12-4 since Rondo was lost with a torn knee ligament. The Celtics entered in seventh place, but were no more than two games behind the next three teams ahead in the standings. Bradley was 10 of 15 and chipped in seven rebounds and five assists, the kind of numbers needed for the Celtics to slip into a coveted top-four spot for the playoffs.

"My teammates have confidence in me and I have confidence in myself,'' Bradley said. "When I have an open shot, I have to take it. That's how we play on this team. It helps us when I do that.''

Led by Pierce, the Celtics controlled the game and used a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to seal the win. Last May, these two teams went to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. On Wednesday, the Sixers lost for the ninth time in 10 games and are well out of the playoff race.

Jrue Holiday had 18 points and 10 assists for the Sixers, and Thaddeus Young had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Evan Turner scored 18 points.

"We kept competing, trying to bring effort,'' Turner said. "But it's rough. They hit 3s and made some tough shots.''

The Sixers beat the Celtics twice this season after stretching the Celtics to seven games in last year's playoff series. But the Sixers are a team in free-fall because of injuries and a roster ill-equipped to handle the losses of postseason standouts Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams.

There was some mild concern late in the fourth period when Holiday, their All-Star point guard, was hurt. Holiday grabbed his right ankle and hobbled back on defense after an awkward drive. He hopped on one foot after a steal attempt went nowhere, but did stay in the game.

Nothing much went right for the Sixers.

"We just missed too many easy shots,'' said Royal Ivey, who scored 10 points.

Like so many teams over the last 15 years, the Sixers had no real answer for Pierce. He hit his first four 3-point attempts, each one more crushing than the last. When the Sixers went on a mini-run to close within eight, Pierce and Jason Terry connected on consecutive 3s to build a comfortable lead.

Pierce had averaged 21.8 points over 54 career games against the 76ers.

At one point in the first half, both teams were 15 of 32 from the field. The Celtics found other ways to separate themselves from the Sixers: Boston went to the free-throw line and made 3s. The Sixers missed 9 of 11 3-point attempts in the first half and were 0 for 3 from the free-throw line.

The Sixers finished 5 of 21 on 3s and 14 of 18 on foul shots They did score 64 points in the paint.

But they only made 41 of a whopping 100 shots from the floor. The Celtics shot a solid 5 percent in the third (11 of 20) and 53 percent (10 of 19) in the fourth to methodically build to a 15-point lead.

"It was who could score the most. That's not the way we want to play the game,'' Garnett said.

Boston got sloppy at the end of the third quarter and had three turnovers in the final 90 seconds. That helped the Sixers score six straight points and slice the lead to five. Jordan Crawford opened the fourth period with a pair of 3-pointers that made it 91-76 and the Celtics never let up from there.

Crawford's points and production off the bench were needed for a veteran team with another game Wednesday night at Indiana. He scored 12 points and fellow reserve Jeff Green added 16. Pierce's perfection helped the Celtics go 11 of 19 from 3-point range.

"That's the new us in a lot of ways, the ball finds the open guy,'' coach Doc Rivers said. "It's simple, but it's hard to do unless you buy in. Everyone has bought in.''

NOTES: Injured 76ers C Andrew Bynum (knees) was re-examined in New York on Tuesday by Dr. David Altchek. GM Tony DiLeo said surgery remained an option. ... Sixers G Nick Young (sprained left ankle) did not play. ... The 76ers will play two preseason games in Europe. They'll play Uxue Bilbao on Oct. 6 in Bilbao, Spain, and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Oct. 8 in Manchester, England.

 

[fastbreak]

76ers vs Celtics highlights

Avery Bradley has 22 points to lead the Celtics over the 76ers.

 

[fastbreak]

Bryant, Lakers roar back against Hornets, 108-102



NEW ORLEANS (AP) No matter how bad this season may look by the Lakers' lofty standards, it should be obvious by now that Kobe Bryant isn't remotely close to giving up.

Bryant scored 13 of his 42 points during a 20-0 run in the last 6:22 of the fourth quarter, and Los Angeles overcame a 25-point deficit to fend off the New Orleans Hornets, 108-102 on Wednesday night.

The vintage performance featured about every shot in Bryant's extensive repertoire, from off-balance jumpers angling way from the hoop, to quick-strike transition 3-pointers, to driving layups as he was fouled. He also kept his teammates involved with 12 assists, and by the time the stirring comeback was complete, the Lakers had not only staved off potential embarrassment, but also emerged increasingly confident about their playoff chances.

"I believed we were going to win it the whole time,'' Bryant said. "The most important thing for me was to bring my teammates along with me. I had to force the game upon them a little bit and change the momentum and get everybody believing we could do this together.''

The Hornets were still ahead by 21 in the final minute of the third quarter when Greivis Vasquez's 3-pointer made it 93-72, and even after the Lakers had whittled their deficit to 12, the Hornets went up 102-88 on Robin Lopez's dunk with 6:47 to go. But the Hornets would not score again, and Bryant, who also had 12 assists, began to take over with help from Jodie Meeks, who hit two of his five 3-pointers during the final surge to finish with 19points.

"This game brought us closer together as a team,'' said Dwight Howard, who had 20 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks, including a key rejection of Lopez's attempted game-tying shot in the final 30 seconds.

"This is what it takes when you're playing for the playoffs and then when you're in the playoffs, fighting through games like this and it just shows our character. We had a tough one last night, we started out on a bad note tonight, but instead of giving up, we kept fighting until the end.''

Bryant, who injured his right elbow in a loss at Oklahoma City on Tuesday night but played through it to score 30, scored 25 points in the second half in New Orleans. He had 18 in the final quarter as the Lakers (31-31) pulled back to .500 and remained within 1 1/2 games of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Bryant's driving layup with 1:34 left tied it at 102. He then pulled up for a 10-foot fade to put the Lakers ahead with 36 seconds left.

"It's tough games like this that really strengthen the bond between us players and that's really what the playoffs is about,'' Bryant said. "You have adversity. It's about who's going to stick together and who's not going to break.''

Metta World Peace added 11 points for the Lakers, many of whom lingered in the locker room after the game, along with coach Mike D'Antoni, to watch Dallas hold on to beat Houston - another result that helped Los Angeles.

"It was a big win tonight and it will be a nice ride home,'' D'Antoni said. "Then Friday you have to play another game (against Toronto).''

Eric Gordon scored 18 for New Orleans but missed all five shots in the fourth quarter. Vasquez had 15 points and 12 assists, but missed all six of his shots in the final period. Ryan Anderson scored 14, while Lopez had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Hornets coach Monty Williams was at a loss to explain why the Hornets completely came apart during the final minutes, winding up with only nine points in the final period while giving up 33.

"We just couldn't execute, and once it started to roll that way it's hard to stop that momentum,'' Williams said. "We gave up 33 when we needed to get stops and that is hard to swallow and that is all on my shoulders. There is nobody else to look at but me.''

Anthony Davis added 13 points for New Orleans but played less than a minute of the fourth quarter because of Williams' decision to leave Anderson in the entire period.

"Ryan was knocking down shots,'' Williams said. "He spaces the floor so much that it gives Greivis and Eric room to operate. So, that's a call I made.''

Al-Farouq Aminu had 12 points and 16 rebounds, and Austin Rivers had 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, but did not play in the second half after breaking a bone in his right hand. Team officials say he'll miss 4-6 weeks.

The Lakers came in with a nine-game regular season winning streak against New Orleans, but when Howard's rim-rattling dunk put Los Angeles ahead 8-4, that was the largest lead the Lakers would have until the final seconds.

After the first quarter ended in a tie at 28, the Hornets then turned in their best single quarter in the entire season.

New Orleans scored 39 points in the second quarter, giving them a season-high 67 points at the half.

Rivers, playing more aggressively and confidently than usual, opened the period with a driving layup that ignited a 7-0 run that included Anderson's 3. Later, Rivers spun into the lane and pulled up for a short jumper, then added two more floaters in what turned into a 27-6 run. Gordon hit three 3s during the spurt.

Aminu's free throws capped the run, which gave New Orleans its largest lead at 63-38.

Bryant settled the Lakers down by taking the ball inside and getting to the foul line, scoring six straight. He finished the quarter with a driving layup as he was fouled to give him 17 points and pull Los Angeles to 67-48 at halftime.

Notes: The Hornets have not beaten the Lakers in the regular season since March 29, 2010, in New Orleans. ... Vasquez has 23 double-doubles this season. ... Those sitting courtside included actor Robert DeNiro (who sat next to Hornets owner Tom Benson), Baltimore Ravens receiver Jacoby Jones, Saints coach Sean Payton and new Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Earlier in the day, Jones, a New Orleans native, represented the Ravens when the club donated a pair of Harley Davidson motorcycles to the New Orleans Police Department in an expression of gratitude for the security protection the club received during Super Bowl week.

 

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Green's layup completes rally, Celtics beat Pacers



INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indiana Pacers lost the lead, then lost sight of Jeff Green.

Kevin Garnett found Green all alone under the basket for a layup with 0.5 seconds remaining to finish off a fourth-quarter comeback from 14 points down, and the Boston Celtics beat the Pacers 83-81 on Wednesday night.

"Happy it went in,'' Green said. "Great pass by Garnett. Great execution by us. Good draw up by Doc (Rivers).

"We have found ways to win. The trust is there now. Guys are giving what Doc wants. We are finding a way.''

Garnett led the Celtics with 18 points and 10 rebounds and dragged Boston back after they trailed most of the final three quarters. Green had 11 points off the bench.

Paul George scored 16 points for the Pacers, who had all five starters in double figures. David West added 11 points and 16 rebounds, and George Hill finished with 14 points.

Center Roy Hibbert had his 14th double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Lance Stephenson returned to the starting lineup with Danny Granger back down with a sore knee and chipped in 12 points. West's double-double was also his 14th of the season.

The Celtics' final two baskets both came off busted defensive assignments. Avery Bradley was left all alone under the basket to tie the game at 81 off an assist from Garnett. The same happened on Green's layup.

"We just didn't talk and didn't communicate,'' George said about the final play.

Jason Terry scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter.

"We got stops, we got easy transition points,'' Green said. "Guys made some tough shots. Paul made a couple threes. Jet made a 3. Garnett down low.

"Other guys are stepping up.''

The Pacers (38-23) were 4 for 20 in the fourth quarter and didn't score a single point in the last 4:35 of the game after George had followed two 3-pointers by Hill and a fast-break dunk with a 3 of his own to put the Pacers up 81-72.

"I just didn't think we had a good rhythm all night,'' West said. "We thought we did a good job defensively, having them under control. We just weren't able to respond on the offensive end with plays.

"As a group we just didn't have that rhythm. We were careless with the ball and we just didn't make some plays we were supposed to make.''

The first quarter was the Garnett against Hibbert show. Garnett knocked down three consecutive jumpers, including his first 3-pointer of the season, to score the first seven Boston points. The Celtics couldn't match Hibbert's size and allowed him to score 12 points and grab seven rebounds in the first quarter. He had his 14th double-double of the season by halftime, but was a non-factor down the stretch.

Outside of Garnett, the Celtics (33-27) struggled from the field and shot just 34.8 percent in the opening 12 minutes. Meanwhile, the Pacers got out in transition for easy buckets, including West's baseline jumper and George's layup to finish on a 9-2 run for a 27-19 lead.

The second quarter was much more physical and rugged until the Pacers finished the half with another spurt. George had two breakaway dunks, including one off a full-court football pass from Hill, but a defensive breakdown allowed Paul Pierce to finish a buzzer-beating layup to cut the Pacers' lead to 49-42 at halftime.

Stephenson brought the third-quarter energy during a 12-5 run that gave Indiana its biggest lead of the game at 63-49. He pushed the ball for a layup off a steal, got another lay-in off dribble-drive penetration and threw down a one-hand dunk off a baseline feed from West.

The Celtics came out of a timeout with a 6-0 run capped by Pierce's layup. Ian Mahinmi's fadeaway jumper off an offensive rebound gave the Pacers a 68-58 lead heading into the final quarter.

"We were flat tonight and they got into us,'' Rivers said. "Indiana was great and pushed us around the floor in the first half. I thought we responded well in the second half; we just hang around.

"That's what we've been doing all year, just hanging around and we stole the game.''

Boston tied a season high with its third consecutive road win. Garnett was 7 for 10 from the field while the rest of Celtics went 27 for 73 (37.0 percent).


Notes: Vogel said Granger's knee hasn't caused him pain while playing, but has been sore afterward and the team doesn't want to push it. He could have played if it was a playoff game. "We're looking at it as being precautionary, understanding it's still a long season, there's still a lot of time left,'' Vogel said before the game. "We want him to get back to 100 percent and this is the best way to do it. (He) did not push through when there's above average soreness. We're looking at it as it's hopefully going to be a short-term thing.''