Philadelphia 76ers 92, Washington Wizards 84
The Sixers took the lead early in the second quarter and never trailed again. The Wizards came within five points with a minute remaining in the game; however, Jrue Holiday was able to draw a charge, make a free throw, a jumper and end the Wizards' chances.
Holiday, the first time All-Star, led the Sixers with 21 points, 3 rebounds, six assists and four steals. For the Wizards, Emeka Okafor had 15 points and 17 rebounds.
Indiana Pacers 98, Detroit Pistons 79
The Pacers used a 18-2 run in the second quarter to pull away with the victory. The Pistons, who were shocked when they read two of their players were traded 30 minutes before their game, shot just 36-percent from the field and 16-pecent from behind-the-arc. The Pistons have now lost two games in a row. Roy Hibbert had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana.
Boston Celtics 99, Sacramento Kings 81
The Celtics, who are playing their second straight game without Rajon Rondo, outscored the Kings by 22 points in the second quarter by making 14 straight field goals. After that, they had no trouble. The Celtics bench outscored the Kings 50-26. Kevin Garnett scored 13 points and grabbed 19 rebounds for Boston in the game.
New York Knicks 113, Orlando Magic 97
Amar'e Stoudemire was perfect from the field, Tyson Chandler only missed one shot in 11 tries and Carmelo Anthony broke a Knicks record. New York was leading by eight at the start of the fourth quarter, but the lead was extended by as much as 18 as they made four straight three-pointers at one point.
The Knicks shot a season-high 57-percent from the field. Anthony broke Richie Guerin’s record for most 20-plus point games in a row with 30. Chandler led the New York with 21 points. J.J. Redick scored 29 points for Orlando, who have lost seven games in a row.
Atlanta Hawks 93, Toronto Raptors 92
With 20 seconds left, Al Horford found a wide-open Josh Smith for the dunk to give the Hawks a one-point lead. After that, for Toronto, Alan Anderson missed a shot, DeMar DeRozan grabbed the board and his attempt under the basket was blocked by Horford, as Atlanta ended up winning.
During the last play of the game, Horford clearly fouled DeRozan; however, there was no whistle on the call, which let Raptors coach Dwane Casey furious. Horford led the Hawks with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds
Miami Heat 105, Brooklyn Nets 85
The Heat used a 26-5 run in the third quarter -- after the game was tied at halftime -- to easily defeat the Nets. LeBron James scored 10 of his 24 points during that period. Dwyane Wade (9-16), Chris Bosh (7-14) and James (10-18) all shot 50-percent or better. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson combined for 8-24 shooting for 25 points.
Looks like Reggie Evans needs to backtrack on his comments he made earlier before the game.
Chicago Bulls 104, Milwaukee Bucks 88
Nate Robinson scored 16 of his 24 points in the second quarter and helped Chicago extend their four-point first quarter lead to 18 after the half. Jimmy Butler was also key for the Bulls, scoring 18 points -- one less from his career-high -- along with grabbing five boards. Brandon Jennings was ejected with a little under three minutes to go in the game after having two technical fouls.
Los Angeles Clippers 96, Minnesota Timberwolves 90
With Minnesota leading by one with three minutes to go, the Clippers went on a 9-2 run to finish off the game. Caron Butler made a three, Blake Griffin was fouled while making a basket, with three free throws being the difference.
J.J. Barea’s driving layup was the only basket Minnesota made in the last three minutes. Griffin led the Clippers, who were once again without Chris Paul, with 26 points and 13 rebounds.
San Antonio Spurs 102, Charlotte Bobcats 78
The Spurs never trailed, Tony Parker led the Spurs with 22 points and the Spurs extended their winning streak to nine games. Bobcats were 30 for 73 from the field and committed 23 turnovers. Ramon Sessions had 23 for the Cats. Aaron Baynes made his Spur season debut and was productive with 7 points and 9 rebounds in 19 minutes.
Denver Nuggets 118, Houston Rockets 110
The Rockets were leading 85--77., but the Nuggets followed with an impressive 24-3 run to make it 101-88. The Rockets had multiple attempts at making the game close, but that run was too much for Houston to overcome. Danilo Gallinari had 27 points for the Nuggets.
Utah Jazz 104, New Orleans Hornets 99
The Jazz dominated New Orleans the entire second half after losing by as much as ten in the first period. The future-Pelicans cut it to three with less than three minutes to go, but jump shots from Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap made it impossible for the Hornets. Millsap had 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Phoenix Suns 92, Los Angeles Lakers 86
Kobe Bryant had 17 points and nine assists, but missed a game-tying layup with 24 seconds remaining in the game for the Lakers, who got outscored 29-13 in the final quarter and saw their 13-point lead fade away.
Michael Beasley had a season-high 27 points and six rebounds for Phoenix, who stopped Steve Nash from having a successful return home. Nash had 11 points and two assists. Dwight Howard injured his shoulder in the fourth quarter and left the game with about six minutes remaining.
