NBA Capsules
By The Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) " LeBron James and these Cleveland Cavaliers have risen to the top.
James scored 22 points with 11 assists and made all the right moves in the closing minutes as the too-tough-at-home Cavaliers set a franchise record with their 58th win " and 10th straight " by beating the New Jersey Nets 98-87 on Wednesday night.
With 11 games left in the regular season, the Cavs already have surpassed the club mark of 57 wins shared by the 1988-89 and 1991-92 teams. Also, James joined Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to post 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in a season at least four times.
Cleveland, which trailed 82-81 with less than 4 minutes left, also improved to an NBA-best 33-1 at home.
Vince Carter scored 20 for the Nets.
Wizards 95, Bobcats 93
WASHINGTON (AP) " Antawn Jamiscon scored 27 points, Nick Young had 23 and short-handed Washington held off Charlotte.
Mike James and Andray Blatche added 15 points each for the Wizards, had only eight players available and rallied from a 20-point deficit.
Gerald Wallace led Charlotte with 21 points and 11 rebounds, but missed a potential tying free throw with 6.5 seconds left.
The biggest key to the outcome: the Bobcats went only 19-for-30 at the foul line.
Spurs 102, Hawks 92
ATLANTA (AP) " Tony Parker scored 42 points and San Antonio, playing without Tim Duncan, ended Atlanta's eight-game home winning streak.
Parker enjoyed his second-best scoring total of the season. He set a career high with 55 points at Minnesota on Nov. 5.
Joe Johnson had 30 points, including Atlanta's first 11 points of the fourth quarter, but he had too little help as the Hawks suffered their first loss at Philips Arena since March 1. No other Atlanta player scored in the period until Mike Bibby's 3-pointer with 1:54 remaining and Josh Smith added a jam 30 seconds later to cut the Spurs' lead to 96-90.
Parker, who had 10 assists, answered with six straight points for the Spurs.
Pacers 90, Heat 88
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) " Danny Granger scored 28 points and Indiana continued its home-court mastery of cold-shooting Dwyane Wade and Miami.
Wade, the NBA scoring leader at almost 30 points a game, scored 21 but was just 5-of-24 from the field and missed a shot at the buzzer that would have tied it.
Indiana trailed by four early in the fourth but took control with a 13-1 run midway through the quarter and held on for their 17th straight win at home against the Heat. Wade has never won in Conseco Fieldhouse.
Granger had seven points and T.J. Ford six during Indiana's run, and a 3-pointer by Granger gave the Pacers their biggest lead at 90-80 with under 4 minutes remaining.
76ers 96, Timberwolves 88
PHILADELPHIA (AP) " Thaddeus Young scored 29 points and Andre Miller had 15 to lead Philadelphia past Minnesota.
The Sixers are the worst 3-point shooting team in the NBA and hadn't made one all game until the fourth quarter. Andre Iguodala and Royal Ivey hit two apiece in the quarter to open up a double-digit lead and led Philadelphia to its third straight win.
Rodney Carney scored 21 points and Craig Smith had 20 for the Timberwolves, whose new lineup couldn't help them avoid their sixth straight loss.
Raptors 115, Bucks 106
TORONTO (AP) " Andrea Bargnani scored 23 points, and Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon had double-doubles to lead the Raptors.
Bosh had 18 points and 14 rebounds, Calderon added 19 points and 11 assists to help the Raptors win consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 22-24. Shawn Marion scored 17 points, Anthony Parker had 15 and Jason Kapono 14 .
Toronto made a season-high 12 3-pointers, including six in a game-changing second quarter. Bargnani, Calderon, Kapono and Parker all finished with three 3s.
Richard Jefferson shook off a recent shooting slump, going 10-for-18 and scoring 22 points for the Bucks, who lost their third straight. Charlie Bell scored 20 points and Ramon Sessions had 18.
Clippers 140, Knicks 135, OT
NEW YORK (AP) " Mike Taylor more than doubled his career high with 35 points, Zach Randolph added 33 against his former team, and the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted New York.
Al Thornton scored 21 and Eric Gordon had 19 for the Clippers, who snapped a nine-game road losing streak. Seemingly on the way to being run off the floor while surrendering 44 points in the first quarter, they quickly erased a huge early deficit and finished shooting 58 percent from the field.
And for the second time this season, they benefited from a late technical foul on New York's Al Harrington after a dunk that had given the Knicks a three-point lead in the final half-minute of regulation.
Harrington finished with 38 points for the Knicks, who matched a season high with their sixth straight loss.
Nuggets 101, Hornets 88
NEW ORLEANS (AP) " Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and Denver snapped New Orleans' three-game winning streak.
Chauncey Billups scored 26 points, hitting four of his five 3-pointers in the second half to help the Nuggets pull away after the game was tied with a little over 7 minutes to go in the third quarter.
Chris Paul had 19 points and 13 assists, and David West scored 18 points for New Orleans, which dropped a game behind Denver in the Western Conference standings. Magic 84, Celtics 82
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) " Dwight Howard blocked a potential go-ahead layup by Boston's Paul Pierce with 3.8 seconds left, and Orlando clinched its second straight Southeast Division title.
Howard had 24 points and 21 rebounds as the Magic (53-18) bumped Boston (54-19) by percentage points for second in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland. Orlando remains five games back of Cleveland for the conference lead with 11 games left. The Magic took division title with Atlanta's loss to San Antonio.
Pierce hit a jumper to cut Orlando's lead to 83-82 with 1:27 left, but the Celtics couldn't make up the difference without Kevin Garnett, who was limited to 16 minutes as Boston continues to work him back in the lineup from a right knee strain. Pierce then missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won it for Boston.
Mavericks 128, Warriors 106
DALLAS (AP) " Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry came back from a four-day break as sharp as ever and J.J. Barea led a late surge, helping Dallas cruise past Golden State.
Nowitzki and Terry were a combined 15-of-18 in the first half, keeping Dallas well ahead once the game was just a few minutes old. Golden State managed to get within four points late in the third quarter, but then Barea got rolling.
Nowitzki and Terry each finished with 26 points, and Barea had 20 as the Mavericks shot 58.5 percent and scored their most points of the season.
Anthony Morrow was 10-of-11 for 29 points, his most since November, and Monta Ellis scored 22 for the Warriors.