Fridays National Basketball Association Capsules
February 28th, 2009 Posted in NBA basketball newsPHOENIX 133, TORONTO 113
PHOENIX With one former MVP on the sidelines, another stepped up for the Phoenix Suns.
Shaquille ONeal scored a season-high 45 points on 20-of-25 shooting and added 11 rebounds to lead the Suns to a 133-113 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Louis Amundson added a career-high 20 points off the bench and Matt Barnes had 18 for Phoenix, which was playing its second straight game without Steve Nash due to an ankle injury.
Coming off an embarrassing, 132-106 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, the Suns turned to their big man and ask him to put them on his back. As he has so many times during his career, ONeal delivered.
The 15-time All-Star put on his most impressive display since joining Phoenix last season. ONeal scored 23 points in the first half to help the Suns keep pace and then put on a dunking exhibition en route to 13 points over a six-minute stretch in the fourth quarter to help them pull away.
CLEVELAND 97, SAN ANTONIO 86
SAN ANTONIO LeBron James had 30 points and 14 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers blew past a very shorthanded San Antonio Spurs club, 97-86.
James scored 15 of his points in the first quarter and did not play after the third quarter as Cleveland bounced back from a tough, 93-74, loss at Houston on Thursday.
Delonte West added 17 points for the Cavaliers, who went on a 15-4 run to end the third and build a 77-56 cushion.
Tony Parker was one of four players to score 11 points for San Antonio, which played without both Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.
DENVER 90, LA LAKERS 79
DENVER A poor shooting night from Carmelo Anthony still was better than what the Los Angeles Lakers had to offer. Of course, Los Angeles didnt have Chris Andersen.
Andersen collected 11 points, 12 rebounds and a career high-tying seven blocks as the Denver Nuggets survived Anthonys struggles en route to a 90-79 victory over the ice-cold Lakers, who had their seven-game winning streak snapped.
Los Angeles posted a season-low in points by shooting a frigid 29 percent (27-of-92) from the floor, which included a 10-of-31 effort from Kobe Bryant, who managed to scored 29 points despite missing all six of his 3-pointers.
Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith scored 22 points apiece for the Nuggets, who topped the Lakers for the first time since April 9, 2007.
They didnt get much help offensively from Anthony, who shot 4-of-17 from the field and committed five turnovers. Anthony did contribute 11 rebounds, having the chance to corral many misses by Los Angeles.
What the Nuggets were missing in pure firepower by Anthony, they made up for thanks to the hustle of Andersen, who was an efficient 3-of-4 from the field off the bench. He had four offensive rebounds, two assists, one steal and five fouls to his credit.
DETROIT 93, ORLANDO 85
ORLANDO, Florida Richard Hamilton got his wish, found his shot and helped the Detroit Pistons put an end to an embarrassing three-week stretch.
In his return to the starting lineup, Hamilton dropped in 31 points as the Pistons snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 93-85 road upset over the Orlando Magic.
The veteran sharpshooter had been relegated to coming off the bench for the last two months and had recently expressed his displeasure at the results – a 4-12 record over the last 16 contests. But that changed Friday, as Hamilton was re-inserted into the lineup by head coach Michael Curry.
The result this time was the teams first win since February 7. Hamilton helped the Pistons erase an eight-point, halftime deficit in the third quarter, pulling up for an 18-footer to spark a 12-4 run and capping the spurt with an assist on Jason Maxiells dunk to tie the game at 55-55.
With Orlando surging back in the final session, pulling to within one at the 8:26 mark, Hamilton answered with a jumper and a layup to extend the lead as the Pistons held on.
BOSTON 104, INDIANA 99
BOSTON Stephon Marbury got a rousing ovation in his Boston Celtics debut, but it was Ray Allen who stole the show.
Allen scored 30 points and knocked down six 3-pointers as the Celtics used a big run in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 104-99 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Paul Pierce added 16 points and Rajon Rondo matched a career high with 17 assists – nine in the third quarter – for Boston, which was returning home after winning four of six games on a West Coast swing.
Marbury, whose contract was finally bought out by the New York Knicks earlier this week after a contentious run with his hometown team, signed with the Celtics earlier in the day and made his debut in the final seconds of the first quarter. He earned a standing ovation from the fans when he was introduced.
Marbury had a shaky start, turning the ball over twice in five minutes between the first and second quarters, but returned at the beginning of the fourth and scored six points during a 15-4 Boston run. He finished with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting with two assists and three turnovers in 12 minutes.
PHILADELPHIA 108, NEW YORK 103
NEW YORK Andre Miller scored 25 points and Thaddeus Young added 23 as the Philadelphia 76ers started fast and held off a furious rally by the New York Knicks en route to a 108-103 victory.
Samuel Dalembert had 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Sixers, who swept the Knicks in the season series for the first time since 1985-86, when they took all six matchups.
Philadelphia took a 29-11 lead after the first quarter, during which New York looked dazed and confused. The Knicks did not attempt their first shot of the game until nearly three minutes had come off the clock, committing four straight turnovers.
Facing a 17-point deficit at halftime, New York made a second-half charge, outscoring Philadelphia, 34-23, in the third quarter and by one point in the final period.
But the Knicks could not fully emerge from that early hole, cutting their deficit to two points on a pair of occasions, including with 2:17 left, when Nate Robinson converted a floater to make it 101-99.
Miller, who entered the paint at will all night, then sealed the win on the next two possessions, when New York could not get the big defensive stop or rebound – the story of the game and season for the Knicks.
ATLANTA 91, MIAMI 83
ATLANTA The Atlanta Hawks were happy to back at home Friday night. Theyd like to stay there come the opening round of the playoffs.
In a possible first-round playoff preview, the Hawks outlasted the Miami Heat, 91-83, to extend their lead to 2 1/2 games for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
Miami has been trying to climb into the top four but hasnt been able to get past Atlanta – due in large part to the fact that the team hasnt won back-to-back games since late January. That trend continued on Friday and the Hawks retained the upper hand.
It was a welcome reprieve for Atlanta, which recently concluded a six-game road trip with three straight losses before returning home for this one. Al Horford registered 21 points and a career-high 22 boards to lead the way as the Hawks took control of the season series, 2-1, with their Southeast Division rivals.
Joe Johnson added 24 points to lead five Hawks players in double figures.
NEW ORLEANS 95, MILWAUKEE 94
NEW ORLEANS On the verge of an embarrassing defeat, Tyson Chandlers long arms came to the rescue.
Chandler tipped in David Wests missed jumper with 3.3 seconds left to give the New Orleans Hornets a 95-94 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
West finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds and Chris Paul dished out 20 assists for the Hornets, who have won three straight since Chandler returned from a 16-game absence.
After Charlie Bells 3-pointer gave the Bucks a 94-93 lead with 10 seconds left, Paul took the inbounds pass and drove up court before lobbing a pass to West in the lane. The All-Star forward stepped back and took a fallaway jumper that glanced off the rim.
Chandler tracked the rebound, leaping over a crowd of players and tipping the ball back up with his left hand for the winning basket.
New Orleans led, 89-72, after Peja Stojakovics layup with 4:00 to play, but the pesky Bucks refused to quit.
Knocking down six 3-pointers during the spurt, Milwaukee used a 22-4 run to pull into the lead. Bell led the charge with three 3-pointers and 11 points during the spurt, finishing with 21 points off the bench.
DALLAS 110, OKLAHOMA CITY 108 (OT)
DALLAS Hard to figure what was more painful for the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday – the loss of Kevin Durant or the manner in which they lost to the Dallas Mavericks.
In a topsy-turvy game, the Mavericks rallied from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter and blew a five-point lead in the final minute of regulation before finally outlasting the Thunder, 110-108, as Dirk Nowitzki erupted for 41 points.
Nowitzki, who had 10 points in a fourth-quarter surge that brought Dallas back from the edge of doom, connected for five straight points in overtime to make it 103-99 with 1:38 left.
Russell Westbrook cut the gap in half with a baseline drive.
Nowitzki then found Jason Kidd in the corner. Kidd hit his second 3-point basket of overtime to make it 106-101 with 20 seconds left. The overtime baskets were Kidds only hoops of the game after going 0-of-6 in regulation.
After a basket by Westbrook, Kidd hit a pair of free throws with 10.8 seconds left to seemingly seal the game.
However, James Singleton fouled Jeff Green, who was attempting a 3-point shot with 7.1 seconds left. Green, who had 28 points, hit the trifecta from the line to make it 108-106.
Kidd, who scored all 10 of his points in overtime, then hit another pair of foul shots to seal it. Finally.
WASHINGTON 113, CHICAGO 90
WASHINGTON While it appears that President Barack Obama is bringing some serious change to the nations capital, his team, the Chicago Bulls, are still slumping.
Antawn Jamison scored 27 points to lead eight players in double figures as the lowly Washington Wizards posted a 113-90 victory over Chicago.
Although it was just a midseason game between a pair of clubs with records under .500, the contest had a buzz as Obama attended an NBA game for the first time since he was sworn in as the nations 44th president.
A native of Chicago, Obama was in attendance to watch his favored Bulls. However, it was a disappointing showing by his team, which lost for the third time in four games.
Despite a handful of moves at the trade deadline to shake things up, Chicago appeared flat early, scoring 18 points on 7-of-21 shooting in the first half.
MINNESOTA 102, PORTLAND 82
MINNEAPOLIS After back-to-back setbacks against fellow Western Conference playoff contenders, the Portland Trail Blazers got the benefit of taking on a struggling, injury-riddled Minnesota Timberwolves squad.
The Blazers capitalized, snapping a two-game skid with a 102-82 rout – a pivotal win as they try to cut into the Denver Nuggets Northwest Division lead.
Portland fell at Houston and San Antonio this week, but found Minnesota to be a much friendlier road atmosphere. The Blazers erupted in the third quarter, staging a 16-2 run to seize control for good.
Brandon Roy scored 19 points and Rudy Fernandez added 18 off the bench.
CHARLOTTE 112, GOLDEN STATE 109
OAKLAND, California Boris Diaw scored 22 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left as the Charlotte Bobcats escaped with a thrilling 112-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Stephen Jacksons fallaway put the Warriors on top, 107-106, with 28 seconds remaining.
Emeka Okafor was fouled on the other end and missed the first foul shot before tying the score by making the second.
In an odd decision, Diaw elected to foul Jackson off the inbounds pass and Golden States captain made both free throws to give his team a 109-107 lead.
Diaw made up for the lapse in judgment by drilling a 3-pointer, giving the Bobcats a 110-109 edge.
After a timeout, Jackson threw away the inbounds pass and Raymond Felton made a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
SACRAMENTO 98, LA CLIPPERS 86
SACRAMENTO, California For a team unfamiliar with letdowns, the Los Angeles Clippers clinically defined the term.
Coming in with a two-game winning streak and having stunned the defending champion Boston Celtics in their most recent outing, the Clippers were trounced and bounced all around Arco Arena in a 98-86 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
The Kings seemingly cant beat anyone but the Clippers. They are 13-47 this season but own a 3-0 mark against the Clippers.
Kevin Martin led the Kings with 20 points, Bobby Jackson added 19 and Andres Nocioni came off the bench for 17.
Sacramento closed the first quarter with a 10-0 run to take a 27-18 lead, and that was that.
A layup by Rashad McCants built the gap to 44-25 in the second quarter as the Kings took advantage of a Clipper team that was without rookie guard Eric Gordon (bruised left shoulder). Al Thornton played but was bothered by a sore foot.
Still, Sacramento made the Clippers ride from the penthouse to the cellar swift and efficient, upping its edge to 72-50 at one point in the third quarter.
