Sundays National Basketball Association Capsules
December 29th, 2008 Posted in NBA basketball newsCLEVELAND 93, MIAMI 86
CLEVELAND The Cleveland Cavaliers survived a scare to remain undefeated on their home floor.
After looking lethargic and out of sync for more than three quarters, the Cavs got their second wind just in time to upend the Miami Heat, 93-86.
LeBron James finished with 33 points, nine assists and six boards for Cleveland, which improved to 15-0 at Quicken Loans Arena to remain the only team in the NBA not to lose at home this season.
Michael Beasleys 18-footer extended Miamis lead to 75-67 with eight minutes on the clock, but Cleveland stormed back with a 17-2 rally to take command. Delonte Wests 3-pointer cut the deficit to one at the 6:15 mark. After James split two foul shots, Mo Williams gave the Cavaliers the lead for good with a 19-footer following a Miami turnover.
Dwyane Wade carried the Heat with 29 points and eight assists as Miamis four-game winning streak was snapped.
DENVER 117, NY KNICKS 110
NEW YORK Carmelo Anthony returned to the lineup and scored 32 points as the Denver Nuggets opened a four-game road trip with a 117-110 victory over the New York Knicks.
J.R. Smith added 16 points and Chauncey Billups contributed 14 for the Denver, which improved to 20-11 and equaled the second-best 31-game start in franchise history and reached 20 wins before January for the third time.
The Nuggets reached those marks as Anthony came back from a three-game absence and reached 30 points for the third time.
Nate Robinson led the Knicks with 20 points and David Lee collected 19 and 11 for New York, which shot 46 percent (38-of-83), including 12-of-33 from three-point range.
Coming off Fridays embarrassing 120-107 home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Knicks lost their sixth straight.
NEW ORLEANS 105, INDIANA 103
INDIANAPOLIS David West hit a jumper with 2.5 seconds remaining to lift the New Orleans Hornets to a 105-103 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Chris Paul scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and collected 12 assists, five rebounds and three steals for the Hornets, who topped the century mark in scoring for the first time since December 10.
After Paul gave the Hornets a 103-101 lead with a jumper with 30 seconds remaining, Danny Granger drew a foul and hit both free throws to tie the game with 27 seconds left.
New Orleans worked the clock down before West curled underneath the basket and came out on the left side, draining a 17-foot jumper to clinch the victory.
BOSTON 108, SACRAMENTO 63
SACRAMENTO, California The Boston Celtics used their stifling defense to ensure a two-game losing streak would not extend to three.
Kevin Garnett scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in just 23 minutes as the Celtics suffocated the Sacramento Kings, 108-63, at Arco Arena.
After losing the first two games on a four-game, West Coast trip – including a fourth-quarter collapse against the Warriors on Friday – the Celtics took control early and never looked back against the Kings.
Garnett joined the demolition with six quick points as the Celtics opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run to remove any doubt. With just under eight minutes left in the quarter, Boston had doubled the Kings output at 72-36.
Garnetts completed the assault with a three-point play that made it 80-42 with 4:23 left in the third. The 7-footer made his way to the bench moments after scoring 13 in the quarter to put this one comfortably away.
LA LAKERS 130, GOLDEN STATE 113
LOS ANGELES Kobe Bryant scored 31 points as the Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 130-113 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Bryant, who was 9-of-15 from the field and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, was one of six Lakers to reach double figures. Derek Fisher finished with 19 points and Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol added 13 apiece.
Sasha Vujacic poured in 17 points and fellow reserve Trevor Ariza had 11 for Los Angeles, which has won four straight contests.
Jamal Crawford chipped in 22 points and Andris Biedrins grabbed 17 rebounds to pace the Warriors, who have lost eight of their last 10 games.
DALLAS 98, LA CLIPPERS 76
LOS ANGELES Even without Dirk Nowitzki, the Dallas Mavericks were too much for the Los Angeles Clippers as they rolled to a 98-76 rout.
Josh Howard picked up the slack for the All-Star, posting 29 points, nine boards and seven assists for the Mavericks, who never trailed. It was the third consecutive game – and fifth time this season – that the Clippers have not had a lead at any point in the game.
Nowitzki was serving a one-game suspension for committing a flagrant-2 foul in the fourth quarter of Fridays loss to the Utah Jazz, as he hit Utah forward Matt Harpring in the mouth in frustration. He was ejected from the game, but didnt receive word of the suspension until Saturday.
The Mavericks didnt miss him. Howard had 15 points before halftime to carry the load and Dallas got contributions from everywhere, including a combined 31 points from reserves Jose Juan Barea and Brandon Bass.
It didnt help the Clippers that they couldnt score for the first five minutes of the game, allowing Dallas to grab a 9-0 lead.
