CLEVELAND 93, TORONTO 76

TORONTO Despite struggling with his shot early on, All-Star LeBron James still helped the Cleveland Cavaliers ruin Shawn Marions debut with the Toronto Raptors.

James scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out nine assists as the Cavaliers posted a 93-76 victory over the Raptors.

In his first game with his new team, Marion collected 10 points with six boards and six assists. Marion was traded by the Miami Heat on Friday for center Jermaine ONeal.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas finished with 22 points and Mo Williams chipped in 17 for Cleveland, which has won six of its last eight contests.

Joey Graham registered 15 points, Jose Calderon had 13 and Andrea Bargnani added 11 for the Raptors, who failed to record a third straight win.

James, who missed his first four shots, had just four points in the first half as the Cavaliers took a 47-41 lead into the break.

But James began to heat up after the intermission and Cleveland cruised from there. The 24-year-old had a chance to post his fourth triple-double of the season and 21st career but with the Cavaliers holding a 91-69 advantage, he left the game with 3:11 to play.

Anderson Varejao pulled down 14 rebounds and Wally Szczerbiak poured in 11 points off the bench for Cleveland.

DENVER 101, PHILADELPHIA 89

PHILADELPHIA Chauncey Billups scored 22 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 101-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Billups scored 17 of his points in the third quarter when Denver seized control of the game.

Philadelphia led, 47-37, at the half, but the 76ers struggled offensively after the break while Billups and the Nuggets were just getting warmed up.

Denver scored almost as many points in the third (34) as it did in the entire first half. The Nuggets outscored the 76ers, 34-21, in the period, including a 24-4 run out of the locker room that turned the 10-point deficit into a 61-51 lead with 5:04 to play.

The 76ers had almost as much trouble scoring in the fourth, as they did not record their first field goal until there was 7:40 to play.

Andre Miller scored 17 points for the 76ers before leaving the game with just over seven minutes left in the third quarter with a right calf strain.

DALLAS 113, NEW JERSEY 98

DALLAS Devin Harris second trip back to his old home didnt go much better than the first.

In his second reunion with the Dallas Mavericks on his former home floor, Harris struggled throughout the night and, more tellingly, his team was run out of the gym by Jason Kidd en route to a 113-98 triumph for the Mavs.

The two point guards were traded for each other last February and met head-to-head at the American Airlines Center just two weeks later. Dallas came away with an easy 20-point victory.

This one was more of the same – for the second half, at least. The Nets held a three-point edge at halftime, but the Mavericks roared ahead in the third quarter to take control for good. With New Jersey holding a two-point edge, Kidds 3-pointer kicked off an explosive, 8 1/2-minute stretch to close the quarter as Dallas opened up a 22-point advantage.

Kidd found Howard for a jumper with just under eight minutes to play to give the Mavericks the lead for good – but they werent satisfied with just sliding by. They got more and more aggressive as the quarter moved along, pulling ahead by double digits as Howard knocked down two free throws and connected from the arc.

Kidd took his backcourt counterpart to the hole on consecutive possessions, drawing contact and draining two free throws the first time and finishing strong with a layup 30 seconds later. He capped his big period with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 90-70.

NEW ORLEANS 117, ORLANDO 85

NEW ORLEANS The New Orleans Hornets benefited from another great effort from their All-Star point guard against the Orlando Magic, who are still trying to adapt to playing without theirs.

Chris Paul recorded 36 points and 10 assists as the Hornets cruised to a 117-85 triumph over the Magic.

Rasual Butler scored 15 points and David West added 14 to help New Orleans win its second straight contest in the wake of learning Tyson Chandler failed his physical with the Oklahoma City Thunder, who acquired the center in a trade on Tuesday.

The botched test effectively voided a swap that had sent Chandler to the Thunder in exchange for forward Joe Smith, center Chris Wilcox and the draft rights to center Devon Hardin.

Though the Hornets were without Chandler in this one, they had no trouble stopping Dwight Howard, who finished with just 12 points and was held scoreless in the final three quarters.

Rashard Lewis registered 17 points and eight assists while J.J. Redick contributed 14 points for the Magic.

LA LAKERS 129, GOLDEN STATE 121

OAKLAND, California Trevor Ariza scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied for a 129-121 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Trailing by two entering the final session, Ariza pulled the Lakers within 109-108 by drilling a 3-pointer with 4:18 remaining in the game.

After a missed layup by Monta Ellis on the ensuing possession, the 23-year-old forward drained another three, putting the Lakers on top by two points.

The Warriors would tie the score at 111-111, but Lamar Odom scored five straight points sandwiched around a free throw by

Jamal Crawford, and his three-point play gave Los Angeles an insurmountable 116-112 advantage.

Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette scored 24 points apiece while Anthony Randolph contributed 14 and 12 rebounds for Golden State, which led for a majority of the game before being outscored 39-29 in the fourth quarter.

MINNESOTA 111, MIAMI 104

MIAMI All-Star Weekend may be over, but it sure didnt look like it, as the showdown between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat turned into its own 3-point shooting contest down the stretch.

But after pulling ahead from long range, the Timberwolves closed it out at the line, snapping a five-game skid with a 111-104 triumph over the Heat.

After struggling for much of the fourth quarter, the T-Wolves caught fire from the arc once the clock ran under the five-minute mark. Ryan Gomes snapped a tie with a 3-point bucket and Sebastien Telfair added one of his own on the next possession to open up a six-point advantage.

But the Heat could play the long-range game, too. Three-point shootout champion Daequan Cook connected from the arc and rookie Mario Chalmers added a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer of his own to push Miami back ahead, 99-97.

Randy Foye and Telfair added 3s on back-to-back possessions to give Minnesota a four-point advantage, which was cut to one just seconds later on Wades first and only 3-pointer of the night. But that was as close as the Heat would get. Telfair, Kevin Love and Mike Miller combined to go 8-of-8 at the line over the final 31 seconds, nailing the coffin shut once and for all.

The T-Wolves earned their first win without center Al Jefferson, who is out for the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee in a February 8 loss to New Orleans. He underwent successful surgery on the knee on Wednesday.

CHICAGO 113, MILWAUKEE 104

MILWAUKEE Kirk Hinrich scored 31 points off the bench to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 113-104 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Hinrich scored 18 of his points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls overcame an eight-point third-quarter deficit.

The Bucks were within 89-86 with just under seven minutes to play when Hinrich gave the momentum back to the Bulls.

Hinrich stole the ball from Bucks guard Ramon Sessions and went in for a layup. After another Milwaukee turnover, Hinrich buried a 3-pointer to make it 94-86 and another jumper to make it a 10-point game and Chicago took over from there.

Luol Deng added 21 points while Ben Gordon and rookie Derrick Rose each added 18 for the Bulls.

PORTLAND 94, MEMPHIS 90

PORTLAND, Oregon Brandon Roy has gotten used to coming up big in the fourth quarter. He did it again on Wednesday.

The two-time All-Star scored seven points in the final 4 1/2 minutes, including a pair of game-clinching free throws with three seconds on the clock, to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 94-90 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Memphis, which has now dropped three straight, kept it close for the duration of the contest, but couldnt quite keep up. Rudy Gays free throw with 4:50 to play gave the Grizzlies a two-point edge, but the Blazers responded with five straight points. Roy buried a jumper, drained a technical free throw and assisted on Travis Outlaws bucket to put Portland back on top.

With the Grizzlies back to within two and 1:23 on the clock, Roy cut inside and dropped in a layup. Memphis came away empty on its next two possessions, but Portland returned the favor and the Grizzlies finally got back on the board with O.J. Mayos jumper with five seconds remaining.

Forced to intentionally foul, the Grizzlies snagged Roy immediately after an inbounds pass, but the Blazers star sank both foul shots to put the game away.

CHARLOTTE 103, INDIANA 94

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina Welcome back, Gerald Wallace – the Charlotte Bobcats needed you.

In his second game back after returning from a partially collapsed lung and broken rib, Wallace carried his club to a 103-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

The veteran forward collected 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, making a marked difference on a Charlotte offense that had stagnated in his absence. The Bobcats were 2-5 in the seven games they spent without him leading up to the All-Star break. He returned with a modest effort in Tuesdays loss to Orlando, but was back to normal in this one.

He made his presence felt in the lane, repeatedly drawing contact and getting to the free-throw line 17 times, connecting on 15. But he got some much-needed help in the third quarter as the Pacers pushed back to within one point. Boris Diaws driving layup sparked a 16-3 run that opened up a 77-63 advantage for Charlotte.

PHOENIX 142, LA CLIPPERS 119

LOS ANGELES It was a different night and venue, but it was the same story for the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers.

Amare Stoudemire had 42 points and 11 rebounds, leading the Suns to another rout of the Clippers, 142-119, at Staples Center.

Steve Nash had 21 points and 12 assists while All-Star Shaquille ONeal contributed 16 and six boards for Phoenix, which piled up 81 first-half points during Tuesdays 140-100 demolition of Los Angeles in the front end of the home-and-home series.

After taking over for Terry Porter, who was fired on Monday, interim coach Alvin Gentry has returned the Suns to their up-tempo style of play that was so effective under Mike DAntoni.

Al Thornton scored 33 points and rookie Eric Gordon added 22 for the Clippers, who have crashed back to earth after winning three of their last four games before the All-Star break.

ATLANTA 105, SACRAMENTO 100

SACRAMENTO, California Mike Bibby scored 29 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 105-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Joe Johnson added 20 points and Al Horford scored 18 and grabbed 18 rebounds for Atlanta, which snapped an eight-game losing skid in Sacramento.

Johnson scored on a move in the lane with 38 seconds left to give Atlanta a 102-100 lead. Bibby then came up with a steal on the Kings ensuing possession and Johnson split two free throws to extend the lead to three.

Bobby Jackson came up short on a 3-pointer for Sacramento and Bibby and Marvin Williams each made a free throw in the closing seconds to ice it.

Kevin Martin scored 32 points for Sacramento, 24 of them in the first half.

Posted on February 19th, 2009 by admin
Filed under: NBA basketball news