Danny Granger leads Pacers past Bobcats 100-92
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Danny Granger scored 18 points to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Charlotte Bobcats 100-92 on Friday night.
Brandon Rush added 16 points and Mike Dunleavy 15. Roy Hibbert had 13 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and three blocks for the Pacers.
Gerald Wallace led the Bobcats with 26 points. Ex-Pacer Stephen Jackson had 15 points and eight assists, but he shot 7 for 17 from the field and committed seven turnovers. Nazr Mohammed had 13 points and five blocks, and Kwame Brown had a season-high 12 rebounds for Charlotte.
Josh McRoberts scored 11 points and Darren Collison added 10 points and seven assists for the Pacers. Indiana made 13 of 31 3-pointers while Charlotte was 3 of 17 from beyond the arc.
Karl earns 1,000th win as Nuggets beat Raptors
TORONTO (AP) George Karl found peace and contentment in recording a coaching milestone.
Karl earned his 1,000th coaching victory, as Al Harrington scored a season-high 31 points and Nene added 26 to help the Denver Nuggets hold off the Toronto Raptors 123-116 on Friday night.
The seventh coach in NBA history with 1,000 wins, Karl also notched his 900th in Toronto, a 114-107 victory on Dec. 31, 2008. He shook hands with spectators as fans next to the Nuggets' bench bowed to him in the final seconds of the game. He was hugged by Denver's players and assistant coaches at the final buzzer.
After doing radio and television interviews on the court, Karl shared a moment of "peacefulness and contentment" with his team inside the locker room.
"I just felt together with them, I felt connected with them," Karl said. "A lot of times during an NBA season, the coach and players aren't really connected, they're fighting a lot. This was a moment, not only on the court but in the locker room afterwards, there was a great connection."
Chauncey Billups called it "a moment that you'll never forget."
"He's one of the best coaches I've played for," Billups said. "He's all about winning, he's all about playing the right way and sharing the basketball and everybody having their opportunities out there. I believe that's the way you win basketball games. Obviously, with 1,000 wins, he knows what he's doing."
Karl survived prostate cancer in 2005 and was treated for neck and throat cancer earlier this year, missing the end of last season while undergoing treatment.
Knicks, Stoudemire stay hot, top Wizards 101-95
WASHINGTON (AP) The New York Knicks have their longest winning streak in nearly a decade, and Amare Stoudemire has the type of streak the franchise hasn't seen since 1962.
Stoudemire had 36 points and 10 rebounds to help overcome his 11 turnovers, and December's turnaround team won its seventh in a row Friday night, beating the Washington Wizards 101-95.
With New York uber fan and movie director Spike Lee sitting next to Washington's bench - wearing his Knicks jacket even though he was a guest of Wizards owner Ted Leonsis - Stoudemire posted his seventh straight 30-point game. Willie Naulls is the only other player in franchise history with such a run - and he accomplished it way back in 1962.
When Stoudemire scored his 30th point, on a hook shot with 4:58 to play, Lee stood up and raised both hands, clapped, then held up his left hand toward the crowd - the only exuberant Knicks fan on the row where the high rollers sit. Stoudemire was serenaded with chants of "M-V-P!" by the heavy contingent of New York fans when he was shooting free throws a few minutes later.
Rose scores 29, Bulls hold off Lakers 88-84
CHICAGO (AP) Derrick Rose had 29 points and nine assists, and the Chicago Bulls held off a late rally by the Los Angeles Lakers for an 88-84 win Friday night to match a season best with their fourth straight victory.
The Bulls hit eight 3-pointers, three by Rose, who made the shot a key part of his game during the offseason. Reserve swingman Kyle Korver connected on a trio of 3s and scored 13 points for Chicago, which held a 26-13 edge in bench points.
The 84 points marked a season low for the Lakers. The two-time defending NBA champions were led by Kobe Bryant's 23 points, though he shot just 9 for 23 from the floor.
It was the Bulls' first win over the Lakers in nearly four years. Los Angeles had won seven straight against Chicago since a 94-89 Bulls victory on Dec. 19, 2006, at the United Center.
Phil Jackson fell to 17-7 in his Lakers coaching career against the Bulls, the team he guided to six NBA championships in the 1990s.
Los Angeles had won three straight since a four-game losing streak.
Love leads Timberwolves over Pistons 109-99
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Kevin Love had 27 points and 18 rebounds and Darko Milicic blocked a career-high seven shots to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 109-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
Luke Ridnour had 20 points and 10 assists, scoring 11 in the fourth quarter to help the Wolves to just their sixth win of the season.
Richard Hamilton scored 26 points and rookie Greg Monroe grabbed 15 rebounds in his first career start for the Pistons, who fell to 2-12 on the road.
The Pistons led by 13 in the first quarter, but were outscored 58-26 in the paint while squandering the lead.
Love had his NBA-leading 18th double-double and grabbed at least 15 boards for the ninth straight game, the longest streak since Ben Wallace did it in 14 consecutive games in 2002-03.
Milicic was vilified in Detroit after president of basketball operations Joe Dumars chose him with the second overall pick in 2003, a well-documented blunder that allowed Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to slip past the Pistons.
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