Vince Carter matched a season high with 32 points, Richard Jefferson had 24 and the New Jersey Nets snapped a four-game losing streak with a 105-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
Reserve Josh Boone added a season-high 15, even though he was two-for-four from the line when the Cavs intentionally fouled him on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter. Boone, who threw up an airball from the line earlier, was three-of-eight there overall.
LeBron James had 29 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Cleveland, who have lost seven of eight, five without James.
PHOTO: AP
Celtics 104, Bucks 82
In Boston, Paul Pierce scored a season-high 32 points and Kevin Garnett had an easy 15 with seven rebounds as the Boston Celtics overcame Ray Allen's absence to match the franchise record with a 12-0 start at home.
With Allen sitting out a game or two to rest a sore ankle, Tony Allen started and scored 11 points. Rajon Rondo scored 17 -- one off his season high -- with eight assists for Boston, who also won their first 12 home games in 1984 en route to the 1985 NBA finals.
Garnett played just 29 minutes for the Boston Celtics, who pulled away when they outscored Milwaukee 32-15 in the third quarter.
Mo Williams scored 14 for the Bucks, Bobby Simmons had 11 and Yi Jianlian scored 10.
Mavericks 89, Hornets 80
In Dallas, Jason Terry scored 25 points, Jerry Stackhouse added 16 and Dallas beat cold-shooting New Orleans even with another off night from Dirk Nowitzki.
The reigning league MVP had only seven points on two-of-eight shooting, and is eight-of-23 from the floor over the last two games. But he got some help from Josh Howard, who finished with 15.
New Orleans got within 83-78 in the final minute before Dallas put it away by hitting six straight free throws in the final 30 seconds.
Chris Paul scored 22 points for the Hornets on nine-of-21 shooting.
Magic 103, Bobcats 87
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Dwight Howard had 33 points and 18 rebounds to help Orlando snap a three-game losing streak.
Hitting the court an hour after a trade that sent starting center Primoz Brezec and forward Walter Herrmann to Detroit for center Nazr Mohammed, the Bobcats were no match for Howard inside.
Hedo Turkoglu added 22 points for the Magic, who improved to an NBA-best 12-3 on the road and snapped out of their recent doldrums after their surprising 16-4 start.
Raymond Felton scored 18 points and Gerald Wallace scored 16 points on six-of-19 shooting for Charlotte.
Kings 109, 76ers 99
In Philadelphia, Brad Miller had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Mikki Moore tied his career-high with 24 points and the Sacramento Kings became the final NBA team to win a road game.
John Salmons contributed 19 points and Beno Udrih had 15 for the Kings, who entered the game with nine straight road losses to open a season, matching a team record set in 1987-1988 and again in 1993-1994.
Andre Miller scored 24 points, Willie Green added 16 and Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams had 15 apiece for Philadelphia, who had their season-best four-game win streak snapped.
Raptors 104, Pacers 93
In Indianapolis, Jason Kapono scored 17 of his career-high 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead Toronto to their fourth straight win.
Chris Bosh had 22 points and 16 rebounds and Jose Calderon had a career-high 16 assists and 18 points for the Raptors (14-10), who overcame a 17-point third-quarter deficit.
Mike Dunleavy scored 23 points and Jamaal Tinsley added 19 points and 10 assists for the Pacers (11-12).
Detroit 91, Atlanta 81
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Chauncey Billups scored 23 points and Tayshaun Prince added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Richard Hamilton added 18 points for Detroit, who have won eight of their last 10.
Joe Johnson scored 23 and Marvin Williams added 15 for the Hawks, who only dressed 11 players. Josh Childress missed the game with a recurring groin injury and rookie Al Horford was suspended for Tuesday's flagrant foul on Toronto guard T.J. Ford.
Knicks 101, Bulls 96
In Chicago, Luol Deng scored 29 points, Kirk Hinrich delivered the second triple-double of his career and Chicago handed New York their fifth straight loss.
The Bulls' 16-point, fourth-quarter lead shrank to three in the final minute. But Hinrich hit four free throws in the final 23 seconds and Ben Gordon added two more to help seal the win.
Hinrich finished with 15 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds. His only other triple-double was against Golden State on Feb. 28, 2004.
Zach Randolph led New York with 27 points and 15 rebounds. Fred Jones scored 22 and Jamal Crawford added 18.
Clippers 98, Grizzlies 91
In Memphis, Tennessee, Chris Kaman and Corey Maggette both scored 23 points and Kaman had 16 rebounds.
Cuttino Mobley scored 17 points and had six assists for the Clippers, who sent Memphis to their sixth straight loss.
The Grizzlies were stymied by a stretch of more than 10 minutes in the second half where they did not connect on a field goal and managed only nine free throws. Memphis committed 25 turnovers.
Mike Miller scored 23 points to lead Memphis, while Hakim Warrick added 20.
SuperSonics 99, Timberwolves 88
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Chris Wilcox had 19 points and 11 rebounds to help Seattle overcome a sluggish start.
Kurt Thomas added 18 for Seattle, who won their second straight on the road and fourth game in six starts overall.
Al Jefferson had 22 points and 16 rebounds for Minnesota. Rashad McCants had 17.
Warriors 108, Lakers 106
In Oakland, California, Baron Davis put his usual game-breaking flair on the decisive three-pointer with 16.8 seconds to play and the Golden State Warriors roared from behind in the final minutes.
Blazers 99, Jazz 91
In Portland, Oregon, Brandon Roy scored 29 points, Travis Outlaw had 21 and the Portland Trail Blazers won their sixth-straight game with a 99-91 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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