(Wednesday, November 21st)
Final Score: Washington 114, Charlotte 111 (OT)
Charlotte, NC Caron Butler scored a career-high 39 points, recording seven of his team’s 10 points in overtime, as the Washington Wizards defeated the Charlotte Bobcats, 114-111. Butler hit 13-of-23 shots from the floor and drained all 12 of his free throws, as the Wizards won their sixth straight game and third in a row without their leading scorer. Prior to the game, the Wizards announced that guard Gilbert Arenas is expected to miss three months of action due to a torn meniscus in his left knee that required surgery earlier in the day. Arenas missed the prior two games with the injury which is in the same knee that required offseason surgery, also for a torn meniscus. Antawn Jamison added 27 points and 12 rebounds for Washington, which has won 10 of the 13 meetings against the Bobcats all-time. Antonio Daniels tallied 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Wizards, who blew a late fourth-quarter lead only to rally in overtime. Raymond Felton had 27 points and 12 assists and Gerald Wallace scored 25 points for the Bobcats, who had a two-game win streak halted to end a three- game homestand 2-1. Emeka Okafor tallied 20 points and 14 boards for Charlotte, which used a fourth-quarter run to send the game to overtime.
Final Score: Boston 105, Golden State 82
Boston, MA Ray Allen scored 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds as Boston bounced back from its first loss of the season to rout Golden State, 105-82, at TD Banknorth Garden. Kevin Garnett recorded his usual double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who are 9-1 on the year and a perfect 6-0 at home. Paul Pierce added 19 points and 10 boards. Monta Ellis tallied 21 points on 10-for-15 shooting off the bench for the Warriors, who were held to a season low 82 points and lost for the first time in four games. Stephen Jackson tallied 15 points and Baron Davis netted 13.
Final Score: Atlanta 82, Miami 79
Miami, FL Josh Smith pinned Dwyane Wade’s potential game- tying lay-in against the backboard in the final seconds to secure the Atlanta’s 82-79 victory over the Miami Heat, and put an end to a lengthy Hawks road swoon. Joe Johnson finished with 22 points and seven rebounds for Atlanta, which snapped a 17-game road losing streak going back to last season and a three- game skid overall. Josh Smith had 16 points and 11 boards, while Marvin Williams and Josh Childress also tallied double figures, scoring 13 and 11, respectively. Williams also had 10 rebounds. Shaquille O’Neal had 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks for the reeling Heat, who are still without a home win on the season (0-5). Not since the franchise’s inaugural season of 1988-89 has Miami had a worse home record to start a season. Davis and Haslem finished with 17 points apiece, while Wade had 14.
Final Score: Dallas 100, Houston 94
Houston, TX Devin Harris scored 22 points and blew by Yao Ming for the go-ahead three-point play with 34.2 seconds left, as the Dallas Mavericks rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 100-94 victory over the Houston Rockets. Josh Howard added 20 points and Dirk Nowitzki contributed 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Mavericks, who have won five straight and eight of their last nine games. Brandon Bass had 17 points and Jerry Stackhouse finished with 15, including 11 over the final 1:09. Yao ended with 30 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks, but the Rockets dropped their fifth in a row. Tracy McGrady had 15 points, but just three in the fourth quarter. McGrady also had seven rebounds and 12 assists, but turned the ball over six times while shooting 6-of-19 from the field. Rafer Alston had 18 points in the loss.
Final Score: Detroit 98, New York 86
Auburn Hills, MI Chauncey Billups recorded season-highs of 25 points and 15 assists to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 98-86 win over the New York Knicks at The Palace. Antonio McDyess, a former Knick, returned from a three-game absence due to a left shoulder injury and added 20 points and six boards for the Pistons, who ended a two-game slide. Tayshaun Prince recorded 13 points and Richard Hamilton tallied 12 points and eight assists for Detroit, which returned from a 2-3 road trip to improve to 3-0 at home this season. Eddy Curry had 26 points and Jamal Crawford recorded 16 for the slumping Knicks, who have dropped eight in a row — the last three by an average of 23.3 points. Zach Randolph added 13 points for New York, which fell to 0-6 on the road this season. Stephon Marbury, in his second game back in the starting lineup, ended with just eight points and five assists, as the Knicks have dropped 10 straight at The Palace.
Final Score: Milwaukee 110, LA Lakers 103
Milwaukee, WI Michael Redd scored 26 points, pulled down eight rebounds and doled out seven assists, as the Milwaukee Bucks held off the Los Angeles Lakers for a 110-103 win. Maurice Williams scored 18 points and had nine assists for the Bucks, who won their fourth straight. Charlie Villanueva had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Andrew Bogut had 13 points for the Bucks, who rallied from an early 11-point deficit for the win. Kobe Bryant scored 27 points for the Lakers, who saw their four-game win streak come to an end. Andrew Bynum scored 16 points and raked in 13 boards, and Derek Fisher had 14 points for LA.
Final Score: Toronto 95, Memphis 89
Memphis, TN Chris Bosh had 22 points and 19 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors overcame a poor shooting performance to hold off the Memphis Grizzlies, 95-89, at the FedEx Forum. Five other Raptors scored in double figures, including Andrea Bargnani, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds despite foul trouble throughout. Jose Calderon had 10 points and eight assists, and Jason Kapono and Carlos Delfino came off the bench to provide sparks offensively, scoring 14 and 13, respectively. Toronto was without point guard T.J. Ford, who was nursing a stinger, but still won for the first time in five tries in Memphis, and ended a two-game skid in the process. Calderon, Darrick Martin and Juan Dixon did a fine job of running the offense in Ford’s absence, as the Raptors committed just seven turnovers. Mike Miller and Pau Gasol had 16 points and 10 rebounds apiece for Memphis, which lost for the fourth time in its last five games. Rudy Gay scored 15 and Kyle Lowry had 11 to go with six rebounds and five assists, but the Grizzlies shot barely over 40 percent (32-for-79) from the floor to negate the effort on the defensive end, where they held the Raptors to 39.1 percent (36-for-92) overall.
Final Score: Indiana 105, New Orleans 93
New Orleans, LA Troy Murphy had 23 points and Danny Granger added 22 to pace Indiana to a 105-93 win over the Hornets. Jamaal Tinsley tallied 18 points and 13 assists for the Pacers, while Murphy and Granger each had nine rebounds. Mike Dunleavy also had 18 points for Indiana, which lost seven of its previous eight games. The Pacers won despite being without Jermaine O’Neal, who sat out with an injured left knee. David West scored 23 points and Peja Stojakovic added 17 for New Orleans, which has lost two in a row after a five-game winning streak. Chris Paul, who missed the previous two games with an ankle injury, had eight points and 10 assists but shot just 3-of-12 for the Hornets. Center Tyson Chandler, who suffered a hyper-extended knee in a home loss to Orlando Monday, sat out.
Final Score: Cleveland 97, Minnesota 86
Minneapolis, MN LeBron James poured in 45 points, pulled down eight rebounds and dished out five assists as Cleveland downed Minnesota, 97-86, at the Target Center. Drew Gooden added 17 points and nine boards for the Cavaliers, who have won two of their past three games. Daniel Gibson chipped in with 11 points and five assists. Al Jefferson had 30 points and eight rebounds for the hapless Timberwolves, who have dropped eight of nine games to start the season. Antoine Walker and Gerald Green both contributed 13 points off the bench and Rashad McCants finished with 11 points.
Final Score: San Antonio 128, Orlando 110
San Antonio, TX Tony Parker poured in 32 points and handed out nine assists as the San Antonio Spurs pulled away from the Orlando Magic during the final 10 minutes on their way to a 128-110 victory at the AT&T Center. Tim Duncan had 20 points and 16 rebounds in a matchup with Orlando big man Dwight Howard, while Manu Ginobili finished with 27 points and five assists in his reserve role. Brent Barry hit five three-pointers on his way to 19 points for the Spurs, who won for the seventh time in their last eight outings and improved to 7-0 at home this season. Howard was hardly contained by the Spurs defense, scoring 34 points and tearing down 16 boards, but they did limit Orlando’s offensive production primarily to its starting five. The Magic had a five-game win streak snapped in their sixth game in the past eight days. Hedo Turkoglu went off for 26 points, while Jameer Nelson had 15 and dished out nine assists. Keith Bogans and Rashard Lewis, the Magic’s other two starters, had 12 points apiece, but Orlando allowed San Antonio to shoot 51.6 percent (48-for-93) from the floor, including a blistering 54.2 percent (13- for-24) from three-point range. The Magic suffered its first road loss of the season, having won its first seven away from home, and will now head home to face Charlotte while welcoming new acquisitions Brian Cook and Maurice Evans from the Lakers.
Final Score: Phoenix 127, Sacramento 111
Phoenix, AZ Shawn Marion scored 25 points and Steve Nash tallied 18 points with 15 assists to lead the Phoenix Suns to an easy 127-111 win over the Sacramento Kings at US Airways Center. Leandro Barbosa also had 18 points and Grant Hill recorded 15 points with six assists for the Suns, who have won seven straight, with the last two coming against the Kings. Amare Stoudemire had 13 points and six boards for Phoenix, which edged Sacramento 100-98 on Tuesday night at Arco Arena. Francisco Garcia scored a career-high 31 points for Sacramento, which has dropped four of six. Kevin Martin tallied 19 points and John Salmons had 21 points and 10 boards for the Kings, who fell to 0-6 on the road this season.
Final Score: New Jersey 106, Portland 101
Portland, OR Jason Kidd recorded his third triple-double of the season and scored New Jersey’s last five points, as the Nets closed the game with the final eight points in a 106-101 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Kidd had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists for New Jersey, which snapped a six-game skid. Kidd has three triple-doubles this season and 90 for his career. Richard Jefferson had 30 points and Bostjan Nachbar tallied 23, going 5-of-8 from three-point range, including a big tying shot late in the fourth quarter, as the Nets won for just the fifth time in 33 all- time meetings at Portland. Brandon Roy had 25 points for the Trail Blazers, who have lost five in a row.
Final Score: LA Clippers 101, Denver 90
Los Angeles, CA Chris Kaman scored 17 points, hauled in 21 rebounds, and blocked four shots to lead the Los Angeles Clippers over the Denver Nuggets, 101-90, at the Staples Center. Quinton Ross also had 17 off the bench, and the Clippers’ bench scored 50 points overall, as the team snapped a two-game losing streak. Cuttino Mobley added 14 points, Tim Thomas chipped in 13, and Al Thornton scored 12 to round out the five players to score in double-digits for Los Angeles. Denver had its six-game winning streak snapped, despite Allen Iverson scoring 29 and adding nine assists, and Carmelo Anthony scoring 24. Marcus Camby had 18 points and 18 rebounds, but the Nuggets didn’t get much else production in the first of four matchups between these teams.
