Wednesday’s NBA Summaries

AP
Published: November 20, 2008

Scores from Wednesday night’s NBA action.

Hawks 91, Wizards 87

ATLANTA (AP) - Marvin Williams hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 26 seconds left and the Atlanta Hawks overcame Caron Butler’s 32-point effort to beat the Washington Wizards 91-87.

Willams had 21 points and set a career high with 14 rebounds to help the Hawks snap a four-game losing streak.

Mike Bibby led the Hawks with 25 points, including 15 in the third quarter.

Pistons 96, Cavaliers 89

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - The Allen Iverson-led Detroit Pistons have cooled off two of the NBA’s best teams in less than a week.

Iverson had 23 points and Rasheed Wallace added 21, leading a fourth-quarter surge that gave the Pistons a 96-89 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

LeBron James had led Cleveland to an eight-game winning streak, the longest in the NBA, but he made just eight of 21 shots and scored 25 points.

The Pistons handed the Los Angeles Lakers their only defeat, beating them 106-95 Friday night on the road.

Raptors 101, Heat 95

MIAMI (AP) - Andrea Bargnani scored a season-high 25 points, Jermaine O’Neal finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors overcame a huge night by Dwyane Wade to beat the Miami Heat 101-95.

Anthony Parker scored 19 points, and Chris Bosh added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who blew a 17-point, late-third-quarter lead but ultimately scrambled to beat Miami for the second time in four days.

Wade had season highs of 40 points and 11 assists for Miami, his fifth time scoring 30 or better in his last nine outings.

Clippers 108, Thunder 88

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Cuttino Mobley scored 12 of his season-high 23 points during a 23-4 third-quarter run that carried the Los Angeles Clippers to a 108-88 victory over Oklahoma City in a matchup between one-win teams Wednesday night.

Mobley added a career-high seven steals for the Clippers (2-9), who outscored the Thunder 30-16 in the third period. Mobley helped Los Angeles turn a four-point deficit into a 15-point lead and the Clippers weren’t threatened after that.

Chris Kaman scored a season-high 25 points and added 14 rebounds for Los Angeles, and Al Thornton scored 20 points. Kevin Durant had 18 points for the Thunder (1-11).

Kings 105, Hornets 96

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - John Salmons scored 29 points and Bobby Jackson had all eight of his points in the final 5:10 to help the injury-depleted Sacramento Kings surprise the New Orleans Hornets 105-96 on Wednesday night.

Jackson hit a 3-pointer to give the Kings the lead for good at 90-88. He followed with a baseline jumper and a steal that led to Salmons’ layup, then finished off the Hornets with another 3-pointer that made it 99-91 with 3:08 left.

Sacramento played without leading scorer Kevin Martin, who missed his sixth consecutive game because of a sprained ankle, and starting forward Mikki Moore. The Kings had been 1-5 away from home, losing four of those games by 15 points or more, and were playing their second game on the road in two nights.

Chris Paul led New Orleans with 20 points and 15 assists. The Hornets, coming off three days of rest, fell to .500 (5-5) for the first time since the end of the 2006-07 season.

Timberwolves 102, 76ers 96

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Al Jefferson wouldn’t allow his Minnesota Timberwolves to collapse in the fourth quarter again.

Jefferson scored six of his 25 points in the final 3½ minutes to lift Minnesota to a 102-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, snapping an eight-game losing streak.

Elton Brand had 19 points and 13 rebounds for Philadelphia, which missed eight free throws and lost for the first time in four games.

Mavericks 96, Rockets 86

HOUSTON (AP) - The Dallas Mavericks didn’t need Josh Howard as much as the Houston Rockets missed Yao Ming on Wednesday night.

Jason Terry scored 31 points, and Dirk Nowitzki added 24 points and 12 rebounds in the Mavericks’ 96-86 victory over the Rockets.

Howard, the Mavs’ second-leading scorer, was inactive because of a left ankle injury, while Yao, Houston’s top scorer, missed the game because of a sore left foot.

The Mavericks made the better adjustment to their loss, leading most of the game, outrebounding Houston 46-40 and holding the Rockets to one of their worst shooting performances of the season.

Jason Kidd had eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Mavs, who’ve won three in a row and 11 of the last 14 meetings with their in-state division rivals.

Tracy McGrady scored 16 points and Ron Artest added 14 for the Rockets, who shot 37 percent (29 of 78) from the field, including 6-for-25 from 3-point range. McGrady and Artest, both nursing injuries, each went 5-for-14 from the field.

Nuggets 91, Spurs 81

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Chauncey Billups scored 22 points, Carmelo Anthony added 21 and the surging Denver Nuggets cruised to a 91-81 victory over the injury-riddled San Antonio Spurs.

Kenyon Martin added 18 points and Nene had 16 to round out a balanced attack by the Nuggets (8-4), who have won four straight and seven of eight. Denver improved to 5-1 since Billups joined the lineup following a blockbuster trade that sent Allen Iverson to Detroit.

The Nuggets also played strong defense, holding Tim Duncan to 12 points while snapping San Antonio’s three-game winning streak.

Jazz 105, Bucks 94

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - C.J. Miles scored a season-high 25 points, Carlos Boozer added 20 points and 11 rebounds before leaving because of a strained quadriceps, and the Utah Jazz rallied to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 105-94.

Andrei Kirilenko, who had to play point guard at times for the depleted Jazz, had 16 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four blocks to help the Jazz stay undefeated at home and extend their mastery of the Bucks to eight straight games.

Richard Jefferson scored 25 points, and Andrew Bogut had 16 points and 20 rebounds for Milwaukee.

Trail Blazers 116, Bulls 74

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Greg Oden had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in his home debut for Portland and the Trail Blazers built a 30-point, first-half lead in a 116-74 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Oden, sidelined all of last season by a knee injury after being drafted first overall, entered the game to a standing ovation with 4:28 left in the first quarter, and dunked 21 seconds later. The 7-footer had his third double-double in four games after missing six of Portland’s first seven games because of foot injury.

Brandon Roy scored 20 points to help Portland improve to 6-2 in its last eight and 7-5 overall. Chicago has lost four of its last six to fall to 5-7.

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