Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]
Los Angeles Clippers 107, Philadelphia 76ers 90
The final score wasn’t any indication of the beat down the Clippers gave the Sixers. They built a 27-point advantage in the third quarter and Philadelphia had no chance against them. Chris Paul had a double-double with 21 points and 11 assists while Blake Griffin added 20 points and nine rebounds. Jamal Crawford scored 20 off the bench.
Charlotte Bobcats 94, Boston Celtics 91
Ramon Sessions’ jumper with 25 seconds remaining gave the Bobcats a one-point lead. After Kevin Garnett missed a shot, the Celtics fouled Kemba Walker and the second-year pro made both free throws.
With a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer, the Celtics had two chances of doing so, but were unable to as Paul Pierce's and Avery Bradley's attempts didn’t fall. Byron Mullens scored 25 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Bobcats.
Minnesota Timberwolves 100, Cleveland Cavaliers 92
Luke Ridnour scored 14 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the T-Wolves, who had lost eight straight games before getting this win. It was Ridnour who helped Minnesota get a 10-2 run in the last period to get the win. Ricky Rubio added 13 points and 10 assists in the victory.
Brooklyn Nets 89, Indiana Pacers 84 (OT)
Brook Lopez scored 25 points while Reggie Evans grabbed a whopping 22 boards for Brooklyn, who were without star point guard Deron Williams. The Pacers stars couldn’t match them. Paul George and David West both had off-nights. George fouled out with a minute to go in regulation while West made only two out of 11 field goals.
New Orleans Hornets 105, Detroit Pistons 86
The Hornets started slow, trailing 8-0 to the Pistons. But hat was the only time they had trouble. Ryan Anderson made five three-pointers to go for 31 points off the bench. New Orleans had a 20-point lead in the third quarter and went on to easily winning the game. Jose Calderon had 13 points and nine assists for the Pistons.
San Antonio Spurs 103, Chicago Bulls 89
The Spurs, who were without the services of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Stephen Jackson, were able to get the win due to a career-high performance of second-year forward Kawhi Leonard, who finished with 26 points. The Spurs lost the rebounding battle, 49-26, but forced the Bulls to commit 19 turnovers, as they turned that into 29 points.
Washington Wizards 102, Milwaukee Bucks 90
Rookie Bradley Beal scored 28 points for the Wizards, who have now won 10 out of their last 17 games since John Wall returned from injury. The Bucks started the game red-hot, scoring 32 points in the first quarter, but missed 50 of their next 73 field goal attempts and scored just 58 points the rest of the way.
Atlanta Hawks 95, Dallas Mavericks 91
The Hawks, who were led by Josh Smith’s 26 points and 13 rebounds, had some help from Mavericks guard O.J Mayo to defeat the Mavericks. Mayo had two costly turnovers in the final minute of the game just when Dallas had chances to lead or tie. Dirk Nowtizki had 24 points and seven rebounds for the Mavs in the loss.
