National Basketball Association Capsules for Tuesday.
November 27th, 2008 Posted in NBA basketball newsNational Basketball Association Capsules for Tuesday.
CLEVELAND 119, NEW YORK 101
NEW YORK Before the game, fans at Madison Square Garden greeted LeBron James warmly. Once the game began, the New York Knicks were more than hospitable to James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James scored 26 points as the Cavaliers handed the Knicks their worst home loss of the season, a 119-101 drubbing.
Delonte West added 16 points for Cleveland, which never trailed and shot 52 percent (48-of-91).
Wally Szczerbiak chipped in 15 for the Cavaliers, who are off to their best start since the 1988-89 season.
Quentin Richardson scored 22 points for the Knicks, who played their third game since trading Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph on Friday. Tim Thomas, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers for Randolph added 16 points.
Al Harrington also made his debut and had a rough night, scoring 13 points on 5-of-16 from the floor.
Thomas and Harrington were acquired as part of team president Donnie Walshs efforts to clear enough salary cap room for the Knicks to sign James when he and several other prominent players become free agents in 2010.
That cleared more than $27 million off the cap for New York, which hopes that two years from now its fans are cheering for James as a member of the home team the way they did for him in the pre-game introductions.
In this one, Cleveland took control while James enjoyed the action from the bench. After opening a 12-point lead after the first quarter, the Cavaliers scored the first eight points of the second quarter and outscored the Knicks, 21-9, while James took a break.
James scored 50 in his last visit here in early March of last season, but the only time he had to show any signs of taking over was in the third. The Knicks opened the quarter with a 10-2 run and were within 69-48 following a jumper by Richardson.
James rattled off 11 points in the final eight-plus minutes, highlighted by a dunk with 4:10 remaining and a long
three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left that put Cleveland in front 95-66 through three periods.
WASHINGTON 124, GOLDEN STATE 100
WASHINGTON Caron Butler scored 35 points and Antawn Jamison added 25 as the Washington Wizards helped interim head coach Ed Tapscott win his debut, 124-100, over the Golden State Warriors.
Andray Blatche scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench for the Wizards, who fired Eddie Jordan on Monday after a 1-10 start.
Ten players scored for Washington, which snapped a five-game skid in emphatic fashion.
Corey Maggette scored 17 points for Golden State.
PHOENIX 99, OKLAHOMA CITY 98
OKLAHOMA CITY Steve Nash scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and dished to Matt Barnes for a 3-point basket with 21 seconds left that gave the Phoenix Suns a 99-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder led 95-89 but Phoenix cut the gap to one when Nash hit a basket and a 3-point shot.
Chris Wilcox missed a shot from the lane, but Russell Westbrook grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He hit 1-of-2 to make it 96-94 with less 58 seconds left.
Nash then drilled a jumper from the side to tie the game.
After Wilcox gave the Thunder a 98-96 lead, Nash found Barnes, who drilled a 3-pointer to put Phoenix up one with 21 seconds left. It was Nashs 15th assist.
The Thunder missed two chances to tie the game and the ball went out of bounds. Phoenix inbounded and the Thunder failed to foul as the time ran down and out. The Suns outscored Oklahoma City 29-17 in the final quarter.
Kevin Durant led the way for the Thunder with 29 points. Wilcox came off the bench to score 18 points and Westbrook added 15.
DALLAS 109, INDIANA 106
DALLAS Jason Terry scored 29 points off the bench and Jason Kidd hit a pair of huge
3-pointers in the closing minutes to lead the Mavericks to a 109-106 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Terry was 12-of-20 from the field and added five assists and four rebounds. He scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, including eight of Dallas last 12.
Kidd hit a 3-pointer to pull the Mavs within 99-97 with 2:26 to play. After a jumper by Terry tied the game, Kidd hit another three to give Dallas the lead for good, 102-99.
Danny Granger scored 22 points and Troy Murphy added 21 for Indiana.
LA LAKERS 120, NEW JERSEY 93
LOS ANGELES Pau Gasol scored 26 points to lead six players in double figures as the Los Angeles Lakers posted a 120-93 rout against the New Jersey Nets.
Gasol made 9-of-12 shots from the field and all eight free throws while grabbing eight rebounds for the Lakers, who cruised to their fifth straight victory.
Andrew Bynum had 15 points and Kobe Bryant scored 12 before sitting out the entire fourth quarter with the game well in hand. Jordan Farmar added 18 points, Lamar Odom had 13 while Sasha Vujacic scored 10 and made a pair of 3-pointers.
Devin Harris poured in 21 points and rookie Brook Lopez contributed 17 points and snagged 10 rebounds for the Nets, who lost for the second time in six games.
