TORONTO 113, SACRAMENTO 97

TORONTO Chris Bosh scored 31 points and Andrea Bargnani added 24 as the Toronto Raptors used a huge third quarter to cruise past the Sacramento Kings, 113-97.

Toronto led 56-53 at halftime in a back-and-forth opening 24 minutes before outscoring Sacramento, 31-21, in the third. The Raptors led by as many as 22 in the second half to win their second straight contest after a seven-game losing streak.

The return of point guard Jose Calderon has sparked the Raptors – who defeated Chicago, 114-94, on Friday – in his first action after missing six in a row. The Spaniard has been battling a strained hamstring since the beginning of January but recorded 16 points and eight assists without committing a turnover against Sacramento.

The Kings futility against the Eastern Conference continued as they fell to 0-18 this season against foes from the East.

John Salmons scored 21 points and Francisco Garcia added 18 off the bench for Sacramento, which has lost five straight and 11 of 13

BOSTON 124, DALLAS 100

BOSTON The Boston Celtics are getting back in the habit of blowing out their competition and ruling the roost in the Eastern Conference. The Dallas Mavericks were the latest victim.

Ray Allen scored 20 of his 23 points in a lopsided first half as the Celtics cruised to a 124-100 victory over the Mavericks.

Kevin Garnett and reserve Eddie House each scored 23 points for Boston, which used a 74-point first half to claim its eighth straight victory. The hot streak has made the Celtics recent 2-7 slide seem like a distant memory.

House hit 7-of-11 from beyond the arc for Boston, which made 13 of its first 18 3-point attempts. Boston improved to an Eastern-Conference best 37-9.

Rajon Rondo added 13 points, 11 assists and fell three rebounds shy of his second career triple-double.

Jason Terry scored 27 off the bench for Dallas, which finished its four-game road trip at 2-2.

LA LAKERS 99, SAN ANTONIO 85

LOS ANGELES Kobe Bryant scored 22 points and Trevor Ariza added 17 to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 99-85 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Andrew Bynum added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who made more free throws (28) than the Spurs attempted (16).

Tony Parker scored 19 points for San Antonio, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

PHOENIX 104, ATLANTA 99

ATLANTA Shaquille ONeal collected 19 points and 11 rebounds and Amare Stoudemire added 23 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 104-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Steve Nash added 14 points and 13 assists for the Suns, who snapped a three-game slide.

Josh Smith included a pair of monstrous dunks among his 19 points and Joe Johnson recorded 15 and 13 assists for the Hawks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

DENVER 117, UTAH 97

DENVER Nene led all players with 28 points while J.R. Smith and Chauncey Billups each scored 22, leading the Denver Nuggets to a convincing 117-97 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Five different players scored in double figures as Denver won for the ninth time in its last 12 games. Denver (29-15) cemented its firm lead over Utah (25-20) in the Northwest Division standings.

The Nuggets fell behind just once in the game at 9-8 early in the first quarter but then went on a 17-7 run to open up a 25-16 lead and never trailed again.

The Nuggets had lost four consecutive games to the Jazz, who along with Portland figure to be Denvers main competition for the Northwest Division title. But the rested Nuggets were ready for this one.

Denver, which hadnt played since a 118-99 win over Sacramento last Tuesday, led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter to improve to 18-6 at home on the season. Denvers 18 home wins are the second most in the Western Conference.

Utah, which lost to Cleveland at home Saturday night, suffered its third consecutive loss for the second time this season. The Jazz also lost three straight from November 11-15.

Williams had 15 points and 10 assists for Utah, which fell to 8-15 on the road and continued to play without forward Carlos Boozer (quadriceps, left knee). Forward Andrei Kirilenko (right ankle) also sat out.

HOUSTON 108, DETROIT 105

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan Ron Artest scored 24 points and Tracy McGrady added 15 in their return to the lineup as the Houston Rockets defeated the Detroit Pistons, 108-105.

Luis Scola chipped in 21 points and Rafer Alston had 14 with 10 assists for the Rockets, who played without All-Star center Yao Ming but still had six players score in double figures.

Richard Hamilton finished with 27 points and Rasheed Wallace collected 22 and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who have lost seven of their last nine contests.

Detroit had a chance to tie it on the games final possession but 3-pointers from Wallace and Arron Afflalo were errant.

INDIANA 98, CHARLOTTE 93

INDIANAPOLIS Danny Granger scored 27 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 98-93 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

Troy Murphy collected 11 points and 14 rebounds and Jeff Foster grabbed 13 boards for the Pacers, who have won four of their last six games.

Mike Dunleavy and reserve T.J. Ford finished with 13 points apiece and Marquis Daniels chipped in 11 off the bench for Indiana.

Raja Bell and Boris Diaw each had 18 points and Emeka Okafor added 14 for the Bobcats, who had won five of their previous six contests.

MINNESOTA 109, CHICAGO 108 (OT)

MINNEAPOLIS Al Jefferson scored a season-high 39 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame a 16-point deficit en route to a 109-108 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls.

Randy Foye banked a driving layup high off the glass with 41 seconds left and the Bulls missed several opportunities in the final seconds as Minnesota won for the ninth time in its last 11 games.

The Timberwolves were held without a field goal for the first 6:39 of the game, missing their first 11 attempts as the Bulls opened a 20-4 advantage.

Kevin Love scored 14 of his season-high 19 points in the fourth quarter and overtime while grabbing 15 rebounds as Minnesota battled back to take its first lead midway through the third.

Minnesota closed regulation on a 9-2 run and Jeffersons tip-in with 23 seconds left tied the game, 97-97, and sent the game into overtime.

Ben Gordon led six players in double figures for Chicago with 23 while Luol Deng added 22. Joakim Noah, who battled with Jefferson all night in the paint, set a career high with seven blocks while collecting 14 points and 10 boards.

GOLDEN STATE 107, LA CLIPPERS 92

OAKLAND, California Corey Maggette scored 20 points off the bench and Kelenna Azubuike added 16 and nine rebounds as the Golden State Warriors pounded the Los Angeles Clippers, 107-92.

Anthony Morrow scored 17 points for Golden State, which was coming off consecutive buzzer-beating losses to Oklahoma City and Cleveland.

The Warriors made sure this one was over well before the final horn, taking a 28-18 lead after one quarter and expanding it to 84-64 entering the fourth.

Rookie Eric Gordon scored 21 points and Al Thornton added 17 for the Clippers, who shot 38 percent (33-of-87) from the floor.

Posted on January 26th, 2009 by admin
Filed under: NBA basketball news