Tuesdays National Basketball Association Capsules
March 25th, 2009 Posted in NBA basketball newsCHICAGO 99, DETROIT 91
CHICAGO Kirk Hinrich scored 24 points filling in for the injured Derrick Rose, and the Chicago Bulls beat Detroit, 99-91, to pull within a game of the seventh-place Pistons in the Eastern Conference.
Ben Gordon scored 19, Tyrus Thomas had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Joakim Noah scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Bulls earned their fifth win in six games. More importantly, they now lead Charlotte by two games and Milwaukee by two in the race for the Eastern Conferences final playoff spot and are right behind seventh-place Detroit, which has lost five of six.
Tayshaun Prince and Will Bynum scored 20 each for the Pistons, who clearly miss injured stars Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton.
LA LAKERS 107, OKLAHOMA CITY 89
OKLAHOMA CITY Kobe Bryant scored 19 points before taking the fourth quarter off, and the Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 107-89 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers led from start to finish for the ninth time this season and closed within one game of idle Cleveland for the best record in the NBA.
Lamar Odom scored 18 points before fouling out and Pau Gasol had 14 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for Los Angeles. All of the Lakers starters spent the final 8 minutes on the bench, getting some needed rest two games into a seven-game road trip.
Kevin Durant scored 24 points to lead Oklahoma City, which had all five starters reach double figures.
SAN ANTONIO 107, GOLDEN STATE 106
SAN ANTONIO Tony Parker scored 30 points and the Spurs finally won a close finish in San Antonio, beating the Golden State Warriors 107-106.
Roger Mason scored 24 and sank the go-ahead jumper with 23.8 seconds left as the Spurs dodged a rare three-game skid after last-minute losses against Boston and Houston last week.
The Spurs didnt buckle down the stretch this time, but it was close. Monta Ellis had two chances to win it for Golden State but missed a jumper with 5.9 seconds left, then watched his running 3-pointer as time expired clank off the front of the rim.
Ellis led the Warriors with 27 points and Stephen Jackson had 18.
UTAH 99, HOUSTON 86
SALT LAKE CITY Ronnie Brewer scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and the Utah Jazz ended Houstons four-game winning streak, beating the Rockets, 99-86.
The Jazz pulled within one-half game of Denver for the Northwest Division lead and knocked the Rockets back to second in the Southwest.
Deron Williams had 19 points and 12 assists for the Jazz, who blocked a season-high 12 shots to help compensate for a poor night on the boards, getting outrebounded 52-42.
Aaron Brooks scored 20 points and Yao Ming added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets.
