James rescues Cavaliers again

CLEVELAND (AP) " LeBron James made two crucial three-point plays down the stretch and finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their 13th straight game, 79-73 on Tuesday night over the Detroit Pistons, who gave the NBA's best home team all it could handle.

The Cavs trailed 69-67 midway through the fourth when James took over, scoring eight points and handing out an assist in a 10-0 run. With the win, Cleveland improved to 36-1 at home and became just the sixth team in NBA history to win 16 games in one month.

Richard Hamilton scored 13 and Allen Iverson 11 for the Pistons, who were held to 35 percent shooting.

Bobcats 94, Lakers 84

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) " Gerald Wallace had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Charlotte continued its surprising mastery of Los Angeles.

Raymond Felton added 16 points as the Bobcats completed a season sweep of the Western Conference leaders, who have lost six of seven to Charlotte.

Failing to reach 100 points in consecutive games for the first time since November, the Lakers dropped their second straight. Kobe Bryant scored 25 points, but hit just 11 of 28 shots. Lamar Odom added 20 points as the Lakers dropped to 4-2 on their seven-game road trip.

Trail Blazers 125, Jazz 104

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) " LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points, Brandon Roy had 25 points and 11 assists, and Portland shot 65 percent from the floor through three quarters and finished at 61.6 percent for the game.

The Blazers (47-27) won their third consecutive game and gained outright possession of second place in the Northwest Division, 1 1/2 games behind first-place Denver. Utah, tied with Portland heading into the game, fell to 46-28.

Carlos Boozer, ejected midway during third quarter after a verbal altercation with Portland's Joel Przybilla, led Utah with 20 points. Deron Williams scored 16.

Nuggets 111, Knicks 104

DENVER (AP) " Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and Denver clinched a playoff spot by holding on to beat New York after blowing most of a 27-point, second-quarter lead.

The Nuggets' win, coupled with San Antonio's 96-95 loss to Oklahoma City, moved Denver into the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference heading into the final two weeks of the season.

Nate Robinson scored 30 for the Knicks.

Thunder 96, Spurs 95

SAN ANTONIO (AP) " Kevin Durant scored 31 points and Oklahoma City continued to torment San Antonio.

The Thunder led by as much as 17 and beat the Spurs for the second time this month. San Antonio clinched a playoff berth despite the loss, but with eight games left lost its slim lead in the Southwest Division and fell into a first-place tie with Houston.

Russell Westbrook had 16 points and 10 assists for the Thunder, who fought off a furious rally from the Spurs to break a three-game losing streak and win in San Antonio for the first time since 2004.

Hornets 111, Kings 110

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) " Rasual Butler hit a 3-pointer as time expired to cap a final minute full of dramatic plays, and New Orleans survived Sacramento's late rally.

David West matched his career high with 40 points and Chris Paul had 15 points and 15 assists as the Hornets barely held off the Kings, who thought they had it won when Beno Udrih hit an improbable fallaway jumper with 1.7 seconds left.

Andres Nocioni scored 23 points and Kevin Martin added 20 for the Kings, who retired Vlade Divac's No. 21 jersey during a halftime ceremony. Francisco Garcia scored 19 points, hitting two big shots and blocking Paul's layup from behind in the final 2 minutes, yet Sacramento still failed to win consecutive games for the first time since early November.

76ers 98, Hawks 85

PHILADELPHIA (AP) " Andre Iguodala scored 19 points, Andre Miller added 18 points and 10 assists, and Philadelphia overcame a season-high 33 points from Josh Smith in its victory over Atlanta.

Marreese Speights contributed 16 and Willie Green had 15 for the Sixers (38-35), who climbed within a half-game of the Miami Heat for fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Smith was sensational with an array of jumpers, 3-pointers and several rim-rattling dunks. The 6-foot-9 forward was 13-of-15 from the field while hitting all three of his 3-pointers.

Pacers 107, Bulls 105

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) " T.J. Ford hit the go-ahead jumper with 3.9 seconds left, and Indiana beat Chicago to tighten the race for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.

Ford finished with 22 points and nine assists. Danny Granger led the Pacers with 31 points, while Troy Murphy had 15 points and 12 rebounds after missing the previous three games with a strained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

Derrick Rose had 24 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, Kirk Hinrich had 20 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, and Tyrus Thomas added 20 points for the Bulls.

Mavericks 108, Timberwolves 88

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) " Josh Howard had 14 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes in his return from an 11-game absence, Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points and 12 boards, and Dallas beat short-handed Minnesota.

Jason Terry scored 21 points and Jason Kidd had eight points and 13 assists for the Mavericks, who moved four games ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

Kevin Love had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who played their second straight game without Randy Foye and Craig Smith. It was the rookie's 25th double-double, which is one more than the former MVP Nowitzki has.