Chris Paul had 23 points, 17 assists and nine rebounds as the New Orleans Hornets ran away with their ninth straight win 117-93 over the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
Even in a game featuring recently elected All-Star starter Allen Iverson, Paul was the best player on the floor in this contest.
Iverson led the injury-depleted Nuggets with 23 points, topping the 22,000-point mark for his career in the third quarter, but had only three assists and got little help other than from Kenyon Martin, who scored 18.
PHOTO: AP
The game also featured a pair of centers vying for a reserve spot in the All-Star game: Denver's Marcus Camby and New Orleans' Tyson Chandler.
In this game there was no comparison.
Chandler finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds. Camby was a non-factor for most of the first three quarters.
He didn't score his first point until he made a free throw with 1:52 to go in the third period. He finished with three points and five rebounds.
Peja Stojakovic hit four 3-pointers and finished with 19 points for New Orleans, and Jannero Pargo and David West each scored 13 points.
Mavericks 103, Grizzlies 84
At Memphis, Tennessee, Josh Howard hit his first eight shots on the way to 26 points and Dallas shot 54 percent in a victory over Memphis.
Howard finished 10-for-17 for Dallas, which won its fourth straight and 12 in the last 14.
It was also the Mavericks 13th straight win over the Grizzlies, including a sweep of Memphis in the opening round of the 2006 playoffs.
Dirk Nowitzki added 20 points and 11 rebounds and Jason Terry finished with 14 points for the Mavericks.
Erick Dampier contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds in the first game of a four-game trip that will take Dallas to Boston, Detroit and Orlando.
Rudy Gay led Memphis with 18 points, Kyle Lowry scored 17 and Juan Carlos Navarro had 16 points. Pau Gasol, finished with 13 points for Memphis, which lost its third game in the last four.
Jazz 97, Spurs 91
At Salt Lake City, Deron Williams had 11 points and 14 assists and Utah downed San Antonio for its fifth straight win.
Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko scored 23 points each for the Jazz, who controlled the team that dominated them in the Western Conference finals last season. The Spurs, who won the playoff series in five games, never led on Monday night.
Tim Duncan had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Manu Ginobili scored 29 points for the Spurs, who were knocked around by Utah's physical play. San Antonio committed 20 turnovers.
Bobcats 107, Clippers 100
At Los Angeles, Gerald Wallace had 23 points, eight assists and six rebounds, Jason Richardson added 20 points and Charlotte beat the undermanned Los Angeles Clippers.
Emeka Okafor had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Hornets, who won on the road for only the fourth time in 17 tries this season despite going the final 5:13 without a field goal. Their other three road victories were at Miami, Boston and Chicago.
Tim Thomas had a season-high 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who were missing two of their best players.
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
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