Tuesdays National Basketball Association Capsules
NBA basketball newsMIAMI 104, CLEVELAND 95
MIAMI Dwyane Wade and LeBron James each lived up to their superstar billing. Fortunately for the Miami Heat, they also had rookie Mario Chalmers.
Wade had 21 points and 12 assists, setting up Chalmers on many of his seven 3-pointers as the Heat surged past James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, 104-95.
Shawn Marion collected 14 points and 11 rebounds and Udonis Haslem added 13 and 10 for Miami, which used a crucial 18-5 fourth-quarter run to seal the win.
Playing on his 24th birthday, James scored 24 of his 38 points in the second half for the Cavaliers, who had their six-game winning streak snapped.
Delonte West added 20 points for Cleveland, which trailed by 16 at halftime before eventually cutting its deficit to one in the fourth.
PORTLAND 91, BOSTON 86
PORTLAND, Oregon LaMarcus Aldridge scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half and Steve Blake added 21 as the shorthanded Portland Trail Blazers posted a 91-86 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Playing without All-Star guard Brandon Roy due to a right hamstring injury, Portland scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to take a 70-64 lead and never trailed over the rest of the final 12 minutes.
Paul Pierces three-point play pulled Boston within 87-86 with 23 seconds left, but Sergio Rodriguez made a pair from the line to push Portlands advantage to three with 18 seconds to play.
Eddie House air-balled a 3-pointer and rookie Rudy Fernandez connected on two more free throws to seal the victory.
Paul Pierce scored 28 points and Kevin Garnett added 17 and eight rebounds to pace the Celtics, who finished 1-3 on their road trip.
DALLAS 107, MINNESOTA 100
DALLAS By the time the middle of the fourth quarter rolled around, it practically seemed inevitable. Over the games final minutes, the Dallas Mavericks made sure not to disappoint.
After falling behind by as many as 29 points, the Mavericks stormed back for the biggest comeback in franchise history, coming away with a 107-100 triumph on the strength of a dominant second half.
Minnesota held a 70-41 lead early in the third quarter. But seemingly at that moment, a switch seemed to go off for the Mavs – perhaps the were-about-to-lose-at-home-to-a-six-win-team switch.
Whatever the cause, the Mavericks turned up the pressure and began piling on. Dirk Nowitzki knocked down back-to-back buckets to spark a 22-2 run that cut the deficit to single digits before the third quarter came to a close.
The Timberwolves answered back with a few big buckets to stay afloat, but the Mavericks quickly regained the momentum and took over in the final frame.
Or, more specifically, Jason Terry took over. The leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate engineered an 18-5 run practically by himself. He buried a pair of 3-pointers and knocked down a 19-footer to cut the deficit to just two at 91-89.
Jason Kidd finally tied things up with a long jumper with his toe on the 3-point line before Nowitzki gave Dallas its first lead since early in the first quarter with a dunk.
Al Jeffersons three-point play later in the quarter pulled Minnesota back even at 98-98, but Nowitzki answered again, attacking the basket and following his own miss with a go-ahead tip-in. After a shot-clock violation by the Timberwolves, Josh Howard connected from the arc and Nowitzki added another bucket to officially break Minnesotas collective back.
NEW YORK 93, CHARLOTTE 89
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina Wilson Chandler scored seven of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as the New York Knicks snapped their six-game losing streak, escaping with a 93-89 triumph over the Charlotte Bobcats.
David Lee collected 13 points and 16 rebounds and Al Harrington added 16 points for the Knicks, who nearly surrendered a 10-point, fourth-quarter advantage.
New York led by as many as 17 points in the first half after shooting 71 percent from the floor en route to taking a 36-25 lead entering the second quarter.
However, the Knicks needed to hold off the Bobcats in the final two minutes, when they nailed all six of their free throws.
With the game tied at 87-87 after Boris Diaws third 3-pointer of the game with 1:46 left, Chandler and Chris Duhon nailed two foul shots apiece. Charlottes Raymond Felton then converted a layup before Nate Robinson sealed the win with two from the line with 17.5 ticks left.
Gerald Wallace scored 21 points and Diaw – a former player under Knicks coach Mike DAntoni – added 20 for the Bobcats, who have lost two straight.
Charlotte coach Larry Brown was coaching against his former team, for which he guided to one miserable 23-59 season that ended in a messy divorce.
NEW ORLEANS 97, WASHINGTON 85
NEW ORLEANS Nothing came easily for the New Orleans Hornets – not even Chris Pauls seventh career triple-double. But theyll take a victory any way they can get one.
Paul posted 15 points, 10 boards and 16 assists as the Hornets outlasted a pesky Washington Wizards squad for a 97-85 triumph.
The Wizards came into the game having won a season-high two in a row – including a surprising road win over Houston on Monday – and once again played tough in this one.
A markedly improved defensive effort kept the Hornets out of their rhythm for much of the night. With Paul struggling with his shot, he deferred to Rasual Butler, who scored a season-high 21 points and buried five 3-pointers. Whenever New Orleans needed a shot, it seemed it was Butler who provided it.
With the Wizards holding a one-point edge early in the third quarter, Butler connected from the arc to put the Hornets in front by a pair. A few minutes later, he buried another three as part of a 9-2 run that gave the team a 62-56 advantage.
Paul made just two of his first eight field-goal attempts but found his offensive stroke when he needed it. The All-Star point guard scored nine points over the last 3:48 and found Butler and Tyson Chandler for a pair of dunks to put the game out of reach.
ATLANTA 110, INDIANA 104
INDIANAPOLIS Joe Johnson and Josh Smith had been carrying the Atlanta Hawks all night. It only made sense, then, that the pair connected for the games biggest play.
Johnson buried a decisive 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter and combined with Smith for 51 points to lead the Hawks to their sixth victory in a row, 110-104, over the Indiana Pacers.
With 32 seconds remaining and the Hawks nursing a one-point lead, Smith drove the baseline and kicked out to an open Johnson on the right wing. The veteran guard was up to the task, calmly connecting from the arc with one second on the shot clock to extend the edge to four.
After Danny Granger misfired on the other end, Johnson iced the game with a pair of free throws as Atlanta closed December in style. Johnson and Smith combined to score the Hawks last 16 points, repeatedly coming through big even as the Pacers continued to push back.
The way the game ended was indicative of the entire night for Indiana, which repeatedly fell behind and clawed right back through the entire second half.
With about two minutes to play, point guard Jarrett Jack buried driving layups on consecutive possessions, drawing a foul on the second one and completing the three-point play. That cut the Pacers deficit to just one at 105-104, but Granger missed an 11-footer one possession later, setting the stage for Johnsons heroics in the process.
PHOENIX 101, MEMPHIS 89
MEMPHIS, Tennessee Leandro Barbosa scored 28 points and Shaquille ONeal added 24 to help the Phoenix Suns rally for a 101-89 road victory over the struggling Memphis Grizzlies.
Barbosa, starting in place of All-Star point guard Steve Nash, and ONeal combined to score 15 of the first 17 points in the fourth quarter for Phoenix, which erased a 78-70 deficit through three.
Barbosas 3-pointer with 6:18 left in the fourth quarter gave Phoenix an 85-84 advantage, the Suns first lead since the 7:16 mark of the first period.
Already without Nash (back spasms), Phoenix got even thinner with 3:52 left in the second quarter, when forward Amare Stoudemire was ejected for picking up a pair of technical fouls. Stoudemire was whistled twice for arguing a foul call by official Eric Lewis.
Phoenix, which trailed by as many as nine in the third quarter, hardly seemed to miss him, outscoring Memphis, 58-18, in the paint.
MILWAUKEE 100, SAN ANTONIO 98
SAN ANTONIO Michael Redd had 25 points and nine rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks held off a late comeback by the San Antonio Spurs to sweep the season series with a 100-98 win.
The Bucks led, 99-93, with 37 seconds left after a jumper by Richard Jefferson. But the Spurs rallied and had a chance to tie the game after Jefferson was whistled for five seconds while inbounding the ball under his own basket.
Tim Duncans driving layup rolled off the rim, and Milwaukee ran out the clock for its second win over San Antonio this year.
Andrew Bogut added 20 points and 14 rebounds while Luke Ridnour collected 21 and six assists for the Bucks.
Duncan scored 22 points and Tony Parker added 19 and 10 assists for the Spurs.
SACRAMENTO 92, LA CLIPPERS 90
SACRAMENTO, California Kevin Martin returned from an injury to score 20 points as the Sacramento Kings snapped a six-game losing streak with a 92-90 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Baron Davis made a pair of free throws to tie the game at 90-90 with 3:03 left, and the score remained the same until Brad Miller made two free throws to give Sacramento a 92-90 lead with 46 seconds remaining.
Paul Davis had a chance to tie the score but his open jumper from the top of the key in the games waning seconds was off the mark.
Rookie Eric Gordon scored 24 points and Marcus Camby added 15 and 24 rebounds to lead the Clippers.
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 7:58 pm and is filed under NBA basketball news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
