NBA Capsules
December 24th, 2009 Posted in NBA basketball newsSACRAMENTO, Calif -LeBron James had 34 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers held the Sacramento Kings scoreless in overtime to pick up a 117-104 win Wednesday night.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas hit three 3-pointers in the extra session and finished with 25 points as the Cavaliers beat the Kings for the seventh straight time. Mo Williams returned from a bruised knee to score 21 of his 27 points after halftime.
James scored 26 points in the first half but it was his defense in the fourth quarter and overtime against rookie Tyreke Evans that proved to be the difference. The Kings missed all seven shots and turned the ball over twice in OT.
Evans finished with 28 points, but made only one of eight shots in the fourth and overtime as the Cavaliers put James on him in a sign of respect.
Nuggets 124, Hawks 104
DENVER – Reserve J.R. Smith scored a season-high 41 points, hitting 10 3-pointers to power the Nuggets to the win.
Carmelo Anthony added 24 points and rookie Ty Lawson, starting in place of the injured Chauncey Billups (groin), had 16, helping Denver win its sixth in a row at home.
The victory was the first for Denver this season while missing an injured starter. The Nuggets entered 0-5 with Billups missing two of the losses and Kenyon Martin three.
Jamal Crawford scored 24 points and Al Horford had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta, which lost for only the second time in its past nine games.
Thunder 117, Suns 113
PHOENIX – Kevin Durant scored 38 points, including a key jumper from behind the key with 14.4 seconds left, and Oklahoma City ended its nine-game losing streak to Phoenix.
It was the Thunders first win over the Suns since Feb. 14, 2007. It also was their 14th victory of the season, a figure they did not reach until Feb. 28 last season in their 59th game.
Durant, who scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, gave Oklahoma City a 115-111 lead with his final field goal.
Russell Westbrook added 19 points for the Thunder.
Amare Stoudemire had a season-high 35 points and 14 rebounds for the Suns. Steve Nash had 24 points and 12 assists.
Magic 102, Rockets 87
ORLANDO, Fla. – Dwight Howard had 20 rebounds and 13 points to lead Orlando to the easy win.
Howard outmuscled a Rockets team lacking size and strength in the middle with Yao Ming injured. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year blocked four shots and showed how dominant he can be even on a night he didnt have his best offensive game.
Jameer Nelson added 15 points in his first start since Nov. 16, helping the Magic win for the fifth time in six games ahead of a big Christmas Day matchup against the Boston Celtics.
Carl Landry had 20 points and Aaron Brooks finished with 17 for Houston.
Trail Blazers 98, Spurs 94
SAN ANTONIO – Jerryd Bayless scored a career-high 31 points in his first start for injured All-Star Brandon Roy, leading the hobbled Trail Blazers to their third straight win.
Portland played without Roy and center Joel Przybilla, who ruptured a tendon in his right leg in a win against Dallas on Tuesday. Roy has a sore left shoulder and is day to day.
Tim Duncan had 24 points for the Spurs, who have struggled against stiff competition this season. San Antonio is 2-10 against teams with winning records.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points for Portland.
Heat 80, Jazz 70
MIAMI – Dwyane Wade scored 29 points and Miami held Utah to its lowest offensive output of the season.
Udonis Haslem added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, who improved to 11-1 against Utah since the start of the 2004-05 season. Quentin Richardson scored 11 for Miami, which also had its lowest score of the year, one point shy of the 81 it managed in a win over New Jersey last month.
Deron Williams scored 18 points and Carlos Boozer scored 14 – 12 of those in the opening minutes – for the Jazz, who actually outshot Miami by a slim margin, 37.5 percent to 36. But the Jazz had 21 turnovers, which Miami turned into 28 points.
Utahs previous season-low in scoring was 77 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 9. The Jazz are 0-5 when scoring under 90 points this season.
Raptors 94, Pistons 64
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Andrea Bargnani scored 21 points, Hedo Turkoglu added 11 points and a season-best 11 assists and Toronto clamped down on the short-handed Pistons.
Detroit shot 28 percent from the floor and matched its lowest point total since the shot clock was implemented for the 1954-55 season.
The Pistons, who have lost six straight, were without Ben Gordon (ankle), Richard Hamilton (hamstring) and Tayshaun Prince (back). Charlie Villanueva went 0 of 7 from the field trying to play through a foot injury.
Jarrett Jack added 14 points for Toronto, and Chris Bosh had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Reserve Will Bynum had 12 points for Detroit, which scored 64 points against San Antonio on Feb. 21, 1999, and Utah on March 3, 2005.
Hornets 108, Warriors 102
NEW ORLEANS – Chris Paul scored 20 points and New Orleans handed Golden State its seventh straight loss.
Emeka Okafor had 10 points and 14 rebounds for New Orleans, which trailed late in the third quarter before surging ahead for good with a 13-2 run. David West scored 14 points and Peja Stojakovic had 13.
Monta Ellis scored 35 and Corey Maggette had 22 points and 10 rebounds for undermanned Golden State, which used only seven players because of injuries. Stephen Curry added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Wizards 109, Bucks 97
MILWAUKEE – Antawn Jamison had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Earl Boykins scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, leading Washington to the victory.
Caron Butler finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards, and Gilbert Arenas had 18 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with a bruised left thigh.
Michael Redd scored a season-high 32 points for the Bucks, who have lost 12 of 16.
Milwaukee trailed for more than 32 minutes before scoring the first nine points of the fourth quarter, taking an 84-81 lead on jumpers by Charlie Bell and Kurt Thomas.
But Washington responded with a 9-0 run by Butler, Jamison and Boykins and took a 93-86 lead.
Timberwolves 103, Nets 99
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Al Jefferson scored a season-high 27 points and Minnesota got a favorable videotape review in the final minute of the matchup between the NBAs worst teams.
Jonny Flynn added 22 points and Kevin Love had 13 points and 16 rebounds as Minnesota (6-24) swept the two-game season series and sent New Jersey (2-27) to its eighth straight loss.
The key moment for Minnesota came with 25.6 seconds to play when the officials reversed a ruling that said the ball went out of bounds off the leg of Wolves swingman Corey Brewer.
Brewer, who added 17 points, was fouled on the ensuing inbound play and hit two free throws to give Minnesota a 101-97 lead.
Devin Harris led New Jersey with 23 points.
