Source:AP (www.nba.com)
Smith has triple-double, Hawks rout Raptors 96-78
TORONTO(AP) One assist shy of a triple-double, Josh Smith started getting worried. One teammate had already missed a shot that would have given him his 10th assist, and time was ticking down in the fourth quarter.
"When it was coming down to it, I was like 'Man, I'm not going to get it,"' Smith said. "We ran a couple of plays for me to try and get the assist."
It paid off with 4:30 left when Smith fed Joe Johnson for a layup, then looked over at his bench with a relieved smile. Mission accomplished.
Smith had his third career triple-double, Marvin Williams added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Toronto Raptors 96-78 Sunday.
"It just seemed like he was all over the floor," Hawks coach Larry Drew said of Smith. "When he plays like that and when he plays under control, he just does so much for us."
Smith finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the Hawks won their third straight game after losing seven of the previous nine. Johnson and Al Horford scored 16 points apiece and Jamal Crawford had 10.
Stoudemire, Knicks top Pistons 125-116 in 2OT
AUBURN HILLS, Mich.(AP) Raymond Felton would have happily spent Sunday in bed, trying to recover from a stomach bug.
Instead, the New York Knicks' guard played 53 minutes against the Detroit Pistons, finishing with 23 points and 11 assists in New York's 125-116 double-overtime victory.
"I'm definitely pretty sick," Felton said, slumped in a chair in the tiny visitor's locker room at the Palace of Auburn Hills. "I was doing everything I could out there, trying to get us a win, but I certainly wasn't excited about playing one overtime, much less two."
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni had to ride his starters hard in New York's second afternoon game in as many days. With Ronny Turiaf (knee) on the sidelines, four Knicks starters - Felton, Landry Fields, Amare Stoudemire and Danilo Gallinari - all played at least 50 minutes.
Stoudemire finished with 37 points and 15 rebounds, but that isn't what impressed his coach.
"He does what a leader needs to do," D'Antoni said. "He's never down, and he never gets cross - he just keeps leading and leading. Raymond was sick today and real quiet, but Amare filed the void. That's what great leaders do."
Ginobili leads Spurs past Hornets, 109-95
NEW ORLEANS(AP) Manu Ginobili and the San Antonio Spurs never doubted their ability to overcome a 17-point deficit on the road, in the second half, against Chris Paul and a New Orleans Hornets squad that had yet to lose at home.
What Ginobili and Co. never imagined was a comeback so dominant that San Antonio would build a 17-point lead of its own before it was over.
"It's hard to believe that we were up by 30" in second-half scoring, Ginobili said. "We were kind of shocked, but we played very well. We hustled a lot and defensively we were much, much better."
Ginobili scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half, and San Antonio stormed back convincingly to hand the Hornets their first home loss of the season, 109-95 on Sunday.
Tim Duncan scored 21 points and Richard Jefferson added 19 for the Spurs, who matched a franchise-best 7-0 start on the road, set in the 2006-07 season, and continued their best overall start (14-2) in club history.
In the second half, the Spurs shot 60.5 percent (23 of 38) and made seven 3-pointers while outscoring New Orleans 65-34. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich made some defensive adjustments, including going with a smaller and quicker lineup, and commanded his team to get back in the game on the defensive end, which it did. The Spurs held New Orleans to 35.5 percent shooting (11 of 31) and forced nine turnovers during the final 24 minutes.
Williams leads Jazz to 109-97 win over Clippers
LOS ANGELES(AP) Jerry Sloan has survived 23 years as an NBA coach because he knows how to get the most from his players, and provides a system that allows them to succeed.
And when one player goes down, another steps up.
Deron Williams had 26 points and nine assists, and the Jazz got significant contributions from reserves C.J. Miles and Francisco Elson down the stretch to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 109-97 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory. Utah was coming off a 102-96 home win over the NBA champion Lakers in which they rallied from 19 points down.
"In this system with these type of players, you've got to shine," Elson said. "Jerry Sloan is one of the best coaches in the game and he has that winning mentality, so you want to come out and do well. And when he puts you in the game, you've got to perform. Miles was hitting his shots and we were making great plays, passing the ball to each other and finding the open man. When you pass to each other, confidence builds."
Miles scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, helping the defending Northwest Division champions win for the 13th time in 16 games after opening the season with one-sided losses to Denver and Phoenix. And they've done it without center Mehmet Okur, who has been sidelined because of a torn Achilles tendon he sustained during the playoffs.
Harris scores 25 to lead Nets over Blazers 98-96
NEWARK, N.J.(AP) Avery Johnson was so angry after New Jersey's performance in a loss to Philadelphia on Saturday night that the Nets coach called for an impromptu shoot-around early Sunday morning, hours before the Nets were slated to face the Portland Trail Blazers.
"We knew he wasn't too pleased right after the game, even before he said we were practicing this morning," Nets center Brook Lopez said. "He didn't like the effort we gave and he let us know about it. He was pretty loud this morning."
The Nets got the message.
Devin Harris had 25 points, including a clutch 3-pointer with 1:11 left, and eight assists to lead New Jersey Nets to a 98-96 win over the Trail Blazers on Sunday night.
"Don't make too much of it or in the manner of how I called it," Johnson said after the win. "They knew I was disappointed and I just needed to see their faces this morning. I couldn't sleep anyway. I didn't want to raise my voice tonight. They got enough of that this morning."
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Nets (6-11), who handed the Trail Blazers (8-8) their third straight loss.
Martin, Battier lead Rockets over Thunder 99-98
HOUSTON(AP) The Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder at their own game.
Kevin Martin scored 23 points, Shane Battier hit 4 of 6 attempts from 3-point range and the Rockets held off a late surge from the Thunder for a 99-98 victory Sunday night.
The Rockets have been blowing fourth quarter leads this season and the Thunder have been pulling out games in the closing minutes.
Before the loss, Oklahoma City had been 8-0 in games decided by seven or fewer points and 3-0 in games decided by one point.
"We knew it was going to come down to the wire just the way it was going," Martin said. "In the third quarter, they would make a run, then we would make a run, so that's what we've been practicing and I'm just glad it paid off tonight."
The Thunder trailed most of the game but rallied in the fourth quarter and took it down to the final second, when Kevin Durant missed a short jumper.
The loss snapped Oklahoma City's five-game road winning streak and extended its losing streak to 11 in a row at Toyota Center.
Smith's 30 leads Nuggets past Suns, 138-133
DENVER(AP) J.R. Smith scored a season-high 30 points and the Denver Nuggets overcame the absence of Carmelo Anthony to hold off the Phoenix Suns 138-133 Sunday night in the highest-scoring game of the season.
Chauncey Billups returned to the lineup after missing three games with a sprained right wrist and scored 25 points and eight assists for the Nuggets.
Anthony was feeling ill Friday against Chicago but played anyway and hit the winner in the final seconds. Sunday he lasted just 2:48 before sitting down for good.
Jason Richardson did his best to keep Phoenix in it with 39 points, and Steve Nash had 17 points and 11 assists.
Nash missed a 3-pointer with 17.8 seconds left that would have tied the game. Phoenix trailed by 19 before narrowing the gap.
The Nuggets were ahead 115-99 when the Suns scored nine straight to get back in it. Smith and Arron Afflalo hit 3-pointers to keep the lead at nine, but Richardson hit two from long range to cut it to five with 2:08 left.
After Smith missed on a 3, Nash drained one to make it 128-125 with 1:35 left.
Billups answered with a layup and Smith hit two free throws, but Richardson hit his seventh 3 of the night to cut it to four.
Smith missed two free throws with 28.9 seconds left and Nash's three-point play with 22.5 seconds left made it 132-131. Billups hit two free throws and after Nash missed a wide-open 3 that would have tied it, the Nuggets closed it out from the line.
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