Source:AP (www.nba.com)
Felton scores 23, Knicks beat Bobcats 99-95
CHARLOTTE, N.C.(AP) From the joking with former teammates to the friendly pregame introduction and the small city of friends and family on hand, Raymond Felton was in the spotlight all night in his first game back in Charlotte.
Then the Bobcats lost track of him when it mattered most.
Felton had 23 points and 13 assists, but it was his decision to sneak into the lane on a free-throw attempt and rip the rebound away from a surprised Tyrus Thomas in the closing seconds that helped preserve the New York Knicks' 99-95 victory on Wednesday night.
It came seconds after Amare Stoudemire's big block of Stephen Jackson, the kind of clutch plays the Knicks were hoping for when they signed the duo in the offseason. After a 3-8 start, the Knicks have won five straight, and Felton relished a home-and-home sweep of the team that didn't try to re-sign him in the offseason.
Williams' shot at buzzer lifts Cavs
CLEVELAND(AP) Mo Williams had never made a winning jumper for the Cavaliers.
He rarely tried.
"We had this other guy," he said.
LeBron James isn't around to play hero.
Williams hit a 15-foot jumper in the face of Milwaukee's Brandon Jennings as time expired to give Cleveland an 83-81 victory Wednesday night, snapping the Cavaliers' three-game losing streak and giving them the kind of moment James routinely delivered.
Williams, who finished with 25 points, drove left on Jennings before hitting his step-back jumper as the horn sounded. Williams then ran and jumped up on the scorer's table to celebrate hitting a winning shot against the team that traded him to the Cavs.
Bargnani, Evans lead Raptors past 76ers
TORONTO(AP) Whenever Reggie Evans needs motivation, he thinks about the die-hard fans high in the upper deck and turns up his intensity level just for them.
Evans had a career-high 22 rebounds and a season-high 12 points, Andrea Bargnani scored 24 points and the Toronto Raptors extended their winning streak to four games with a 106-90 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Andre Iguodala scored 17 points, Jrue Holiday had 16 and Thaddeus Young 14 for Philadelphia. The 76ers have lost seven of eight.
Evans, who played two seasons with Philadelphia before being traded to Toronto, said thinking about fans gives him extra drive when he's on the court.
"You have so many people who go out there and work so hard from 9 to 5 to make an honest living and buy a Raptors ticket," Evans said. "They want to come here and see somebody work just as hard as they do in the real world. A lot of times, they appreciate it more to see a guy go out there and bust his butt. That way they get their money's worth when they see the Raptors play."
Celtics lose West, but Shaq leads them past Nets
BOSTON(AP) Rajon Rondo is out with a hamstring injury, Delonte West broke his wrist Wednesday night and fourth-string point guard Marquis Daniels nearly threw his back out when he committed an unforgivable no-no.
He tried to help Shaquille O'Neal - all 345 pounds or more of him - up from the floor.
"No one lifts Shaq," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said, smirking. "I told them that."
It was one of the only times that O'Neal needed help against New Jersey, scoring a season-high 25 points and even hitting four straight free throws as Boston came back to beat the Nets 89-83. O'Neal also matched his season high with 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double.
"I told him he looked like the 2000 Shaq. (Also) the 1999 Shaq, the 2001 and 2002 to 2003 to 2004 to 2005 to 2006," Celtics forward Kevin Garnett said. "He definitely was the target tonight. We rode him."
O'Neal scored Boston's first six points and had eight in the first quarter as the Celtics found him underneath for easy lay-ins. He went 9 for 10 from the floor and 7 for 13 from the line - 5 for 8 in the fourth quarter alone as the Nets resorted to Hack-a-Shaq to get back into the game.
"They were very unselfish, I go to the hole and got a lot of easy baskets," O'Neal said. "That's kind of how I want to play at 38."
Magic hand rival Heat third straight loss
ORLANDO, Fla.(AP) First came "The Decision." Then the expectations. Now the pressure is on the Miami Heat more than ever.
Even from the White House.
Dwight Howard had 24 points and 18 rebounds, J.J. Redick scored 20 points and the Orlando Magic beat Miami 104-95 on Wednesday night to hand the Heat's All-Star trio its first three-game losing streak.
The slower-than-expected start for the Heat has resonated all the way to Washington, where President Barack Obama said before the game in an interview with ABC that it "takes some time for the team to come together."
Nobody could have imagined it would take this long.
"If we had the answer right now, we wouldn't be sitting at one game over .500," LeBron James said of his Heat's 8-7 start. "We're a few games out of first. We're a few games out of eighth."
And they just hit a new low.
Jameer Nelson had 17 points and a career-high 14 assists, coming up with some big shots late to help Orlando pull away and avenge a 26-point loss at Miami earlier this season.
James had 25 points, Chris Bosh finished with 21 and Dwyane Wade scored 18 for Miami in the latest blow to the collection of stars who came together this summer hoping for a championship. Miami also lost to Memphis and Indiana in the last week, but the loss to its Sunshine State rival might sting most.
Grizzlies pull away in third, beat Pistons 105-84
MEMPHIS, Tenn.(AP) The Detroit Pistons haven't played well in the second game of back-to-backs this season, and the Memphis Grizzlies took advantage of that after halftime.
Zach Randolph had 21 points and 14 rebounds, Rudy Gay added 17 points, and the Grizzlies used a third-quarter spurt to beat the Pistons 105-84 on Wednesday night.
After a close first half, Memphis outscored Detroit 33-18 in the third, then added 10 unanswered points to open the fourth, building the advantage to 22 and running away from the Pistons, who were coming off an 88-84 loss at Dallas on Tuesday night.
"We just needed to get out there, and try to grind and wear them down in the second half," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said.
Mike Conley and Darrell Arthur added 14 apiece for Memphis, which won its second straight and snapped Detroit's five-game road winning streak in the series.
Spurs rally from 21 down for 12th in a row
MINNEAPOLIS(AP) Even Manu Ginobili thought the San Antonio Spurs' incredible winning streak was over.
Nothing was falling and the Minnesota Timberwolves were dominating them down low like few others have. But the veteran Spurs didn't give in even when it appeared to be over, dealing the young Wolves another painful lesson in the process.
Ginobili scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Spurs from 21 points down for their 12th straight victory, 113-109 in overtime on Wednesday night.
Richard Jefferson added 19 points and Tony Parker had 18 points and six assists for the Spurs, who didn't lead until there were 49 seconds to play in overtime, but still improved to an NBA-best 13-1.
"I thought there was no chance we were going to win it," Ginobili said. "We were down 20, nothing was falling, we're not playing with the kind of aggressiveness and energy that you need to overcome a deficit like that. I thought it was going to be a loss. Then slowly, very slowly, we started to recover."
Kevin Love had 32 points and 22 rebounds, and Darko Milicic had 22 points, eight rebounds and five blocks for the Timberwolves, who blew a fourth-quarter lead for the third time this season.
Nowitzki, Mavs surge past Thunder, 111-103
OKLAHOMA CITY(AP) In few moments, Dirk Nowitzki made the deficit the Dallas Mavericks had been trying to eliminate all game long disappear.
Nowitzki nailed a 3-pointer in the corner, then converted a four-point play to spark a blur of a 10-point run in the Mavericks' 111-103 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.
Nowitzki scored 34 points and teamed with Jason Terry teamed to score 10 straight points in a 57-second span to put Dallas up for good midway through the final period, and the Mavericks sealed it with a 12-0 run.
"What always helps in this league is making big shots, and we got hot at the right time," Nowitzki said.
Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 32 points but was held in check in the fourth before two dunks with the game out of reach in the final minute. Jeff Green added 17 points, and Russell Westbrook had 13 points and 10 assists for the Thunder, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.
Warriors 101, Rockets 111
HOUSTON (AP) Kevin Martin scored 25 points and the Houston Rockets held off the foul-prone Golden State Warriors 111-101 on Wednesday night to snap a four-game losing streak.
The Rockets took advantage of the Warriors' fouls, hitting 39 of 51 free throws. Golden State has lost six of its last seven games after starting the season 6-2.
Luis Scola added 24 points and 12 rebounds for Houston. Chuck Hayes had 16 points, Shane Battier 13 and Kevin Lowry added 14 points and 10 assists.
Dorell Wright led Golden State with 24 points, Stephen Curry had 21, and Monta Ellis 18. Curry fouled out with 15 seconds to play and Andris Biedrins and Vladimir Radmanovic finished the game with five fouls each.
Williams leads Jazz to rout of Hornets
SALT LAKE CITY(AP) Deron Williams had 26 points and 11 assists, Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and C.J. Miles provided big plays down the stretch, and the Utah Jazz beat the New Orleans Hornets 105-87 on Wednesday night.
The Hornets dropped their second straight and fell to 11-3.
Williams had eight assists in the first quarter, and 14 points by halftime. Jefferson then scored 10 fourth-quarter points as the Jazz (11-5) turned a five-point game into a rout.
Jefferson finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Millsap added 17 points and seven boards.
Chris Paul led New Orleans with 17 points and nine assists.
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