(The Sports Xchange) –Recent setbacks to the Spurs in general, and San Antonio guard Danny Green in particular, mattered little in a bounce-back 116-107 victory over the rival Dallas Mavericks.
The Spurs were just a day removed from a home whipping at the hands of the Houston Rockets that coach Gregg Popovich termed “embarrassing,” while Green was recently demoted from the starting lineup.
He may be close to earning his job back after a perfect shooting outing on his way to 22 points.
The Spurs (23-7) took the first meeting of the season between the Southwest Division foes and extended their winning streak in the series to six straight. The Mavericks (16-13), meanwhile, lost for the third time in four games.
Spurs forward Tim Duncan had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and guard Tony Parker scored 23. Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 25, guard Monta Ellis added 23, and center DeJuan Blair had 14 points and 11 rebounds against his old team.
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Rockets 100, Grizzlies 92
Point guard Jeremy Lin sparked a comeback with 14 fourth-quarter points, and shooting guard James Harden finished with 27 points as the Houston Rockets erased a 13-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 100-92.
Harden shot just two-for-nine from the floor but made 22-of-25 free throws as Houston (20-11) rode a makeshift lineup throughout the final period.
Lin scored 18 points, while forward Chandler Parsons added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who leaned heavily on little-used second-year forward/center Donatas Motiejunas down the stretch.
Grizzlies (12-16) forward Zach Randolph dominated the interior, pairing 23 points with 17 rebounds and five assists.
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Hawks 127, Cavaliers 125 (double overtime)
Hawks guard Jeff Teague sank a 20-foot jumper at the double-overtime buzzer to give Atlanta a 127-125 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With the score tied, Teague let the clock wind down, then fired from the left of the key. The ball hit the rim, then backboard, then the rim three more times before falling through the hoop.
Teague fired in a career-high 34 points and dished out a game-high 14 assists for the Hawks (16-13).
Cavaliers (10-18) guard Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 40 points, and he added nine assists but despite leading by as many as five points in the second overtime, the home side could not hold on.
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Trail Blazers 116, Clippers 112 (overtime)
Guard Wesley Matthews hit four consecutive free throws over the final 1:05 of overtime, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116-112.
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who own the NBA’s best record at 24-5.
The Blazers overcame a spectacular performance by Los Angeles (20-11) guard Chris Paul, who went for 34 points, 16 assists and six steals.
Six Blazers scored in double figures while Los Angeles forward Blake Griffin had a season-high 35 points to go with 11 rebounds.
