Spurs' Parker has big game

Share this: Email | Facebook | X

SAN ANTONIO (AP) " With Tim Duncan sidelined for the second straight game, Tony Parker scored 39 points and the Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers for an 11th consecutive time in San Antonio, 99-84 Wednesday night.

Parker carried the Spurs again without Duncan, who is day to day with a right leg injury. Between Parker's 37 points Tuesday and Wednesday's encore, Parker combined for 76 in back-to-back games without Duncan or Manu Ginobili healthy.

Channing Frye scored 15 for Portland, whose losing string in San Antonio dates to 2002. The Trail Blazers also dropped their fifth straight road game, and have another in Minnesota on Friday before returning home.

Matt Bonner added 15 points for San Antonio, which has won four straight.

Duncan was diagnosed earlier Wednesday with right quad tendonosis, a day after he was scratched from the starting lineup shortly before Tuesday's win over Dallas.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesn't know whether his perennial All-Star would play Friday against LeBron James and Cleveland in the first meeting between the elite teams.

Portland was also without its big man, Greg Oden, who missed his fifth straight game with a bone chip in his left knee.

Nuggets 110, Hawks 109

DENVER (AP) " Chauncey Billups scored a season-best 33 points for Denver and Atlanta's Flip Murray had a short jumper bounced off the rim at the buzzer, allowing the Nuggets to escape.

The Hawks had trimmed a 110-102 deficit in the final 90 seconds but Murray's shot clanked off the iron and he fell to the court as the Nuggets breathed a huge sigh of relief over their first win in a week.

A loss to Atlanta's "B" team with the West-leading Los Angeles Lakers on tap Friday night could have been devastating for the Nuggets, who are clinging to their Northwest Division lead with star Carmelo Anthony (knee) ailing, center Nene (knee) out and forward Kenyon Martin fighting through back spasms.

The Hawks were without starters Mike Bibby (flu) and Josh Smith (family matter).

Marvin Williams led Atlanta with a season-best 31 points.

Anthony scored 23 for Denver.

Nets 111, Bulls 99

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) " Devin Harris scored 19 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter and carried New Jersey for the second straight game.

The dazzling performance came just two days after Harris scored 39 points and hit a buzzer-beating half-court shot for a win over Philadelphia.

The All-Star point guard hit 7 of 9 shots from the field in the period to boost the Nets' playoff hopes and hand Chicago only its fifth loss in 13 games.

Reserve Bobby Simmons added 18 points and rookie Brook Lopez had 13.

Ben Gordon had 17 points and recently acquired John Salmons added 15 points to lead the Bulls, who were a woeful 7-for-25 from the field in the final quarter, including hitting one of their first 11.

76ers 106, Wizards 98

WASHINGTON (AP) " Andre Iguodala scored 22 points, including a flying dunk and a 3-point buzzer-beater during a third-quarter spurt, and had 11 assists and nine rebounds. Philadelphia snapped a four-game losing streak.

The victory completed the 76ers' four-game sweep of the Wizards, reinforcing the fact Philadelphia's early season coaching change has paid off much better than Washington's. Tony DiLeo improved to 19-14 with Philadelphia, while Washington's Ed Tapscott fell to 12-34 in the battle of interim coaches.

Andre Miller scored 17 points, Louis Williams had 16 points, and Samuel Dalembert finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds as the 76ers improved to .500 on the season with their first victory since the All-Star break.

Pacers 104, Grizzlies 99

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) " T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack each scored 20 points, and Memphis' Rudy Gay missed a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left that would have tied the score.

Brandon Rush and Marquis Daniels scored 14 points apiece and Troy Murphy had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers. Indiana is 3-1 without All-Star forward Danny Granger, who is recovering from a torn tendon in his right foot.

Marc Gasol had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and rookie O.J. Mayo added 21 points for Memphis, which lost its sixth straight.

Magic 114, Knicks 109

NEW YORK (AP) " Dwight Howard had 24 points and 21 rebounds in his 20th career 20-20 game. Hedo Turkoglu scored 33 points to lead the Magic, who bounced back from a 120-102 loss in Chicago on Tuesday, their worst defensive performance of the season.

Howard overwhelmed the undersized Knicks for most of the game, then Rafer Alston and Rashard Lewis hit big 3-pointers in the final 3 1/2 minutes after New York had chipped away. Lewis scored 17 points and Alston added 15.

Nate Robinson overcame a slow start to score 32 for the Knicks. Wilson Chandler had 27 points and Al Harrington finished with 26.

Hornets 90, Pistons 87

NEW ORLEANS (AP) " David West scored 30 points and grabbed two key offensive rebounds on New Orleans' final possession, helping the Hornets hand Detroit its eighth straight loss.

West and Chris Paul, who finished with 20 points and 13 assists, combined for all but two of the Hornets' 25 fourth-quarter points.

The Pistons' skid is their longest in 14 seasons. Richard Hamilton scored a team-high 24 points for Detroit.

Mavericks 116, Bucks 96

DALLAS (AP) " Josh Howard scored 27 points, Jason Kidd added 19 and Dallas avenged its worst loss of the season last month in Milwaukee.

The Bucks beat the Mavericks 133-99 on Jan. 21 and led 15-7 early on Wednesday. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle called a timeout and his team responded by scoring the next 16 points.

Brandon Bass came off the bench to score 18 points and grab 11 rebounds for the Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki and Antoine Wright each added 14 as Dallas put six scorers in double figures.

Milwaukee's Charlie Villanueva, who scored 19 in the first quarter, finished with 25 points.

Jazz 120, Timberwolves 103

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) " Ronnie Brewer scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and Carlos Boozer showed signs of his old self for Utah.

In his second game back after missing the previous 44 with a knee injury, Boozer had 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting in 21 minutes. Mehmet Okur scored 25 for the Jazz, who extended their winning streak to a season-long six games.

Kevin Love had career highs with 24 points and 15 rebounds and Ryan Gomes added 24 points and eight boards for the Wolves, who have lost seven in a row at home.

Bobcats 98, Kings 91

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) " Gerald Wallace scored 27 points to help the Bobcats win their first road game in nearly a month. Sitting in a courtside seat near the bench, Charlotte managing partner Michael Jordan watched the struggling Bobcats get off to a fast start. Charlotte went on an 18-0 run and built a 14-point halftime lead.

Boris Diaw scored 23 points for Charlotte, which had dropped seven straight road games. Emeka Okafor had 13 points and 11 rebounds, DJ Augustin scored 12 points and Vladimir Radmanovic added 10.

Kevin Martin scored 23 points for the disjointed Kings, who added seven new players following last week' trading deadline.