NBA roundup
Hornets 96, Celtics 87
Al Jefferson finally quit thinking about what he wanted to do with the ball on the court, and just started doing it.
That showed in the fourth quarter against Boston, as Jefferson scored 11 of his game-high 23 points and Charlotte Hornets off a late rally for a victory Wednesday night.
Kemba Walker added 18 points and Lance Stephenson 13 for Charlotte, which led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter and were up 87-79 with 8:05 left.
However, Boston — led by Marcus Thornton's 13 fourth-quarter points — pulled to 87-85 with 4:31 remaining. But Walker's three-point play and back-to-back baskets by Jefferson pushed the Hornets' lead back to 94-85 with 1:19 left.
"We just had to get some stops," said Jefferson, who also had 14 rebounds as Charlotte posted back-to-back wins for the second time this season. "We knew they could get hot fast. We just had to step up our defense.
"This is two games in a row that we've been able to close it out. I was thinking too much in the first half. I just had to be myself and relax, and that's what I did in the second half."
Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Celtics. Jeff Green and Thornton led Boston with 16 points each, Tyler Zeller scored 13 and Brandon Bass 10.
"We made a little bit of a run at the start of the fourth (quarter), but we couldn't quite get over the hump,"Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "We missed some opportunities, and they just played better than us."
The Hornets trailed by five points entering the third quarter, but opened the period with an 11-4 run. Gerald Henderson hit a jumper to tie the score at 49-49 with 8:37 left, and his 3-pointer with 7:37 left put Charlotte ahead to stay at 54-51.
The Hornets took their biggest lead of the game late in the third quarter, with Walker's jumper with 1:38 remaining capping a 17-8 run for a 71-59 advantage.
The Celtics had mounted a similar rally in the first half, coming back from an eight-point deficit early in the second quarter to lead 45-40 at the break.
The Hornets were ahead 26-18 on Gary Neal's jumper with 11:02 left in the second quarter, but Boston went on a 20-6 run over the next 8 minutes. Rondo's jumper with 4:29 remaining gave the Celtics their biggest lead of the half, 38-32.
Spurs 109, Knicks 95
With both teams missing several key players, San Antonio and the New York continued to play as they have all season.
For San Antonio, that led to another efficient victory. For New York, it was just another dreary loss.
Marco Belinelli scored a season-high 22 points and the short-handed Spurs rolled to a victory over New York, handing the Knicks their 10th straight loss.
San Antonio was without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. Parker (left hamstring) and Leonard (bruised right hand) were both injured, but Duncan and Ginobili sat out to rest on the second night of a back-to-back.
"They are the defending champions," New York coach Derek Fisher said. "Even with their main guys out, they know who they are."
The Spurs were 10 for 19 on 3-pointers and shot 51 percent overall while handing out 22 assists. They had seven players in double figures, getting 13 points from Danny Green and 12 from Boris Diaw.
"I haven't been this pleased in a while," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "I just saw a lot of guys who haven't played much play the fundamental game; they executed well. Guys that haven't played are going to try hard, that's not that big of a deal, but their execution was really good."
The Knicks were not nearly as efficient.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting for the hapless Knicks, who fell to 4-20.
New York was without Carmelo Anthony, who experienced soreness in his left knee after playing 39 minutes in Tuesday night's loss at New Orleans. Guard J.R. Smith, the team's third-leading scorer, was a late scratch with a sore heel.
Popovich wasn't taking the night off, even without his big stars. The fiery coach called timeout a minute into the game to chastise Green for missing a defensive assignment that enabled Hardaway to score the game's first points on an open 3-pointer. Popovich would call two timeouts in the opening six minutes to address the team's defensive performance.
"It's expected of us," Green said. "It's not who's playing and who's not. Pop just expects us to execute."
The team got the message, rolling to a double-digit lead while forcing the Knicks into 17 turnovers.
Spurs center Tiago Splitter returned from an 18-game absence, entering to a loud ovation with 8 minutes left in the third quarter. Splitter has been out since Nov. 5, but left 10 minutes into his season debut after again experiencing tightness in his right calf.
Splitter's return helped San Antonio close the third quarter on a 24-12 run. He had three points, two blocked shots and one rebound while playing 4:45 in the third. The Spurs outscored the Knicks 38-21 in the quarter in taking a 94-73 lead.
Bulls 105, Nets 80
Derrick Rose scored 23 points, Pau Gasol had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Chicago beat Brooklyn.
Chicago had six players score in double figures, including all five starters. Jimmy Butler had 18 points, Mike Dunleavy scored 14, and Taj Gibson finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.
Deron Williams led Brooklyn with 17 points, but the Nets dropped their third straight. Kevin Garnett scored 13 points, and Alan Anderson had 12.
Chicago grabbed control with a 17-3 run in the third quarter.
Rose made a 3-pointer, and Gibson had a big dunk before Gasol capped the surge with four straight points, including two foul shots that made it 70-58 with 3:32 to go.
It just got worse for injury-riddled Brooklyn in the final period, with Chicago scoring 15 straight points to increase its advantage to 101-73 with 3:17 to go. Butler finished the run with a jumper.
The Nets played without forward Mirza Teletovic, who was sidelined by a right hip pointer. Joe Johnson (flu) and Brook Lopez (lower back strain) each missed their second straight game, and Andrei Kirilenko was held out because of personal reasons, according to the team.
Joakim Noah, the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and rookie Doug McDermott missed the game for Chicago. Noah has a sprained right ankle, and McDermott has been hampered by a sore right knee.
Brooklyn led 32-22 early in the second quarter when Dunleavy started to heat up for Chicago. He passed to Gibson for a layup, and then made two straight 3-pointers to trim the Nets' lead to two.
Rose scored nine of his 13 first-half points in the second, and the teams were tied at 51 at the break. Williams scored 10 in the first two periods for the Nets.
Warriors 105, Rockets 93
Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry shook off slow starts to
finish with a flurry, and Golden State extended its franchise-best winning streak to 14 games by beating Houston on Wednesday night.
Thompson scored 21 points and Curry added 20 points, seven assists and seven rebounds to power an 11-0 run in the final minutes and turn a tight game into another comfortable win. Golden State improved its NBA-best record to 19-2 and helped Steve Kerr became the first rookie coach to win 19 of his first 21 games.
James Harden played through back pain to finish with 34 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who had won four straight and seven of eight despite Dwight Howard being sidelined.
Howard (strained right knee) and Warriors center Andrew Bogut (right knee tendinitis) both sat out.
Harrison Barnes finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, and reserve Marreese Speights had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors. Trevor Ariza and Donatas Motiejunas each scored 18 for the Rockets.
Hawks 95, 76ers 79
Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap each scored 17 points, and Atlanta beat Philadelphia for its eighth straight victory — the Hawks' longest winning streak in 17 years.
Korver sank five 3-pointers as Atlanta (15-6) posted its best streak since an 11-0 start to the 1997-98 season.
DeMarre Carroll had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta. The Hawks averaged 104 points in their first seven wins of the streak, but relied on defense against Philadelphia.
Alexey Shved had 13 points to lead the 76ers, who have won two of four since their 0-17 start. Luc Mbah a Moute had 12 points, and K.J. McDaniels and Jerami Grant each had 10.
Wizards 91, Magic 89
Bradley Beal converted a lob pass at the buzzer to lift Washington over Orlando.
John Wall led the Wizards with 21 points and 11 assists, Nene added 12 points, Kris Humphries scored 11, and Marcin Gortat had 10. Washington, which scored the final seven points, beat Orlando for the seventh straight time.
Victor Oladipo had 17 points to lead the Magic. Tobias Harris added 15, Elfrid Payton had 12, and Channing Frye and Kyle O'Quinn added 10 each.
The teams both shot only nine free throws, the first time this season each team had fewer than 10.
The Magic led 89-84 after Harris' dunk with 1:37 left in the game, but couldn't score again.
Clippers 103, Pacers 96
Jamal Crawford scored 18 points and DeAndre Jordan grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds, helping the Los Angeles Clippers hold off Indiana for their ninth straight win.
Los Angeles (16-5) ended a four-game skid against Indiana.
C.J. Miles scored a season-high 30 points and made six 3-pointers. Lavoy Allen had 14 points for Indiana (7-15), which has lost six straight.
The Pacers made a furious fourth-quarter charge after trailing 82-62 late in the third. They opened the fourth on a 12-4 spurt, got as close as five, but fell behind 95-87 with less than four minutes left.
Indiana closed to 98-96 on Allen's midrange jumper with 2:00 to play.
Mavericks 112, Pelicans 107
Monta Ellis scored 13 of his 26 points in the final 5 minutes, and Dallas outlasted New Orleans.
New Orleans had a chance to tie it in the final 6 seconds, but Ryan Anderson's 3-point attempt bounced off the rim. Dallas' Richard Jefferson grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws to seal the win.
Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons and Devin Harris scored 20 points each for Dallas.
Anthony Davis scored 31 points and added 11 rebounds before limping off the court in the fourth quarter for the Pelicans. Jrue Holiday added a season-high 30 points and 10 assists.
Timberwolves 90, Trail Blazers 82
Andrew Wiggins had 23 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and Minnesota stunned Portland.
Corey Brewer had 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and five steals for the Timberwolves, who snapped a six-game losing streak and won for just the third time since Ricky Rubio went out with an injured ankle on Nov. 7. They outrebounded Portland 56-38 to overcome four key players being out with injuries.
Damian Lillard had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Trail Blazers. But LaMarcus Aldridge managed just 10 points on 3-for-14 shooting, and Portland turned the ball over 20 times while shooting 38.8 percent. The Blazers scored 16 points in the second quarter and 15 in the third, their two lowest outputs of the season and lost for just the second time in 16 games.
Aldridge missed his first six shots and went scoreless in the first half.
Nuggets 102, Heat 82
Wilson Chandler scored 17 points, Arron Afflalo had 16 and Denver beat Miami to snap a four-game losing streak.
Chris Bosh had 14 points to lead Miami, which has dropped four of its last five on the road after starting the season 5-2 away from home. The Heat are in the middle of a stretch of eight of 10 games on the road.
Denver has been streaky in the first quarter of the season. The Nuggets lost six straight, won five in a row to go above .500, but followed with the four-game slide.
The Nuggets led by 12 early but the Heat rallied to tie it at 48 at halftime.
Denver opened the final period on a 14-4 run to put it away.
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