Mondays National Basketball Association Capsules
December 30th, 2008 Posted in NBA basketball newsGOLDEN STATE 117, TORONTO 111
OAKLAND, California Stephen Jackson scored 30 points and Marco Belinelli added 23 and six assists as the Golden State Warriors held on for a 117-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Kelenna Azubuike scored 18 points off the bench for Golden State, which shot 50 percent (38-of-76) from the floor, including 12-of-24 from the arc.
The Warriors led by as many as 13 in the fourth quarter before a 9-2 run cut the Raptors deficit to 106-104 with 3:28 left to play. However, Toronto missed its next six shots and Golden State went 5-of-6 from the foul line down the stretch to seal the win.
Chris Bosh had 30 points and 14 rebounds and Jose Calderon added 21 and 16 assists to lead the Raptors, who ended a season-long, six-game road trip at 2-4.
DETROIT 88, ORLANDO 82
AUBURN HILLS, Michigan The NBAs finest dont faze the Detroit Pistons this season.
Antonio McDyess scored nine of his 11 points in the fourth quarter to lead Detroit to an 88-82 victory over streaking Orlando, which had its winning streak snapped at seven.
Earlier this season, the Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Lakers, Cavaliers and Magic have lost a combined total of 16 games this season.
Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 19 points and Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace contributed 16 apiece to a balanced attack. Rashard Lewis scored 23 points and Dwight Howard added 18 – all but one in the second half – and 18 rebounds.
The Pistons were without starting small forward Richard Hamilton, who missed his second straight game with a left groin strain. Hamilton is second on the team in scoring with a 17.2 average.
UTAH 112, PHILADELPHIA 95
SALT LAKE CITY The Utah Jazz welcomed back Mehmet Okur to the lineup – but it was the return of vintage Deron Williams that carried the team to an easy victory.
The star point guard – hobbled for the entire season with a sprained left ankle – has gradually been building back to full strength over the last few weeks and may have come up with his best offensive performance in this one.
He posted 27 points and six assists, carrying an explosive Jazz attack as they routed the Philadelphia 76ers, 112-95.
Okur – who had missed the last three games due to recurring back spasms – provided a lift in his return, going for 19 points and 10 boards.
After a sluggish start by both squads, the Jazz took control late in the first half and spent the rest of the night slowly building on their lead, never allowing the Sixers to put together any kind of rally. Most of that was due to Williams.
Utilizing his full arsenal – in particular, an explosive drive to the basket and a pull-up jumper that he perfected the last two seasons but has struggled to regain on a bum ankle this campaign – Williams essentially took over when he needed to.
With the Jazz nursing a one-point lead late in the second quarter, Williams provided a bit of breathing room with a driving layup to extend the lead to three.
Less than a minute later, he buried a 22-footer and Andrei Kirilenko added a layup to push the advantage to 46-39. Williams closed Utahs first-half scoring by himself, dropping in another layup and burying one of his four 3-pointers with eight seconds left as the Jazz took control for good.
CHICAGO 100, NEW JERSEY 87
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey Even the Chicago Bulls can make the New Jersey Nets look bad on their home floor.
The Bulls – one of the worst road teams in the NBA – marched into the IZOD Center and added to the Nets misery on their home court, riding a late fourth-quarter rally to a 100-87 victory.
With the win, the Bulls finally salvaged a win on the last night of their four-game road trip, improving to just 4-14 away from home in the process.
The Nets, meanwhile, slipped to just 5-12 at home. They are the first team in NBA history to be five games under .500 at home and five games over .500 on the road at any point in any season.
After blowing a big early lead, Chicago was able to withstand the Nets comeback thanks to a hot shooting effort down the stretch. Josh Boones dunk with just under five minutes to play tied things up at 86-86, but star rookie Derrick Rose answered on the other end with a 19-footer.
That bucket was a catalyst for a 14-0 run to give the Bulls control for good. Ben Gordon – one of the leagues top 3-point shooters – was right on target in this one, burying a pair from the arc within 70 seconds of each other, including a dagger at the 1:46 mark to push the lead to 97-86.
It was an all-backcourt showing for both squads. Rose and Gordon combined for 45 points and 15 assists on 17-of-29 shooting, while Nets guards Devin Harris and Vince Carter teamed to score 56.
ATLANTA 109, DENVER 91
ATLANTA Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks ended their season-long, eight-game homestand with a nice win over a quality opponent. They also rewrote their own record book along the way.
Johnson poured in 25 points and Mike Bibby added 20 and nine assists, leading the Hawks to a 109-91 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Al Horford recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds and reserve Ronald Murray added 13 points for Atlanta (20-10), which finished its homestand at 7-1 and hit the 20-win plateau before a new year for the first time since the 1987-88 campaign.
Atlanta separated itself from Denver with a 9-1 spurt midway through the third period before putting away the game in the fourth.
The Nuggets clung to a 66-65 on two free throws by Carmelo Anthony with 6:30 remaining in the frame before Marvin Williams put Atlanta up for good with a pair of free throws 13 seconds later.
Bibby extended the lead to 72-67 with a long 3-pointer before reserve Zaza Pachulia capped the run with a layup with 3:05 remaining.
Atlanta broke open the game in the fourth, leading by as many as 21 on a pair of free throws by Williams with 2:03 remaining.
WASHINGTON 89, HOUSTON 87
HOUSTON Victories have been few and far between for the Washington Wizards this season – but for the first time, theyve managed to win two in a row.
The Wizards staged a 9-0 run late in the fourth quarter, then overcame a nearly disastrous turnover on their final possession to survive the Houston Rockets on the road with an 89-87 triumph.
With Houston down by four with 32 seconds remaining, Tracy McGrady – trying to make up for a miserable shooting night – pulled up from 20 feet and buried a clutch jumper to pull the Rockets within two. On the defensive end, they got it done to give themselves a chance, as Ron Artest picked up his second steal.
But Yao Ming misfired from nine feet out as the Wizards survived for their first two-game winning streak following Saturdays victory over Oklahoma City.
All-Star forward Antawn Jamison carried the load, going for 30 points and 12 boards for his 17th double-double of the season.
Artest led the Rockets with 20 points – including 11 in the fourth quarter – while McGrady netted 15 on just 6-of-17 shooting. Yao was 4-of-14 from the floor and collected 12 points and eight boards. Houston has lost three of four.
PHOENIX 110, OKLAHOMA CITY 102
OKLAHOMA CITY With their leader and floor general out of commission, the Phoenix Suns had to settle for a slew of role players and another future Hall of Famer.
Two-time league MVP Steve Nash left the game late in the first quarter with back spasms and did not return, but the Suns found just enough from the rest of their lineup to outlast the Oklahoma City Thunder, 110-102.
Shaquille ONeal came up big with 28 points and 12 boards to lead six players in double figures for Phoenix, which had trouble putting the woeful Thunder away thanks in large part to their rookie point guard Russell Westbrook, who dropped in a career-high 31 points.
The Suns nursed a five-point lead through three quarters, but their bench came through in the final frame to help put away the game.
Recently signed backup point guard Dee Brown – playing his first game as a member of the Suns – opened up the fourth with a 3-pointer. Leandro Barbosa swiped Earl Watson on the other end and Jared Dudley buried a layup to extend the lead into double digits.
Matt Barnes knocked down back-to-back jumpers later in the quarter and Grant Hill connected from the arc as the Suns built a 104-89 advantage that proved insurmountable for the Thunder.
MINNESOTA 108, MEMPHIS 98
MINNEAPOLIS Al Jefferson scored a season-high 38 points, including nine in overtime, as the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped their nine-game home skid with a 108-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Timberwolves last won at the Target Center when they posted a 102-96 triumph over the Philadelphia 76ers on November 19.
Minnesota rookie forward Kevin Love scored 17 points – just three shy of his career high – and guard Kevin Ollie added 14 and helped seal the game in the extra period by going 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Rookie guard O.J. Mayo led Memphis with 23 points, including nine in the fourth quarter – highlighted by the game-tying shot.
After the teams each nailed a pair of free throws to start overtime, Jefferson scored the Timberwolves next seven points en route to a 98-93 lead with 2:05 left. The bucket was followed by Minnesotas parade to the free-throw line that protected the win.
Mayos performance came against the team that drafted him. He was part of the draft-day trade that sent Love to Minnesota.
