(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights of Wednesday’s National Basketball Association games.
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Spurs 112, Mavericks 90
Tony Parker had 25 points, including 14 in the third quarter, to give the San Antonio Spurs a big win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Parker added seven assists in 28 minutes as San Antonio notched a seventh straight win over their interstate rival.
San Antonio (28-8) led the whole game and used a 37-point third quarter to pull clear of the Mavericks en route to their third win in a row.
Guard Monta Ellis led Dallas (20-16) with 21 points. Forward Vince Carter added 14.
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Hawks 97, Pacers 87
The Hawks jumped on Indiana early and led by 25 in the third quarter as they handed the NBA-leading Pacers their 12th consecutive regular-season loss in Atlanta.
Kyle Korver scored 17 points to lead five double-figure scorers for the Hawks (19-17) and extended his NBA record for consecutive games with a three-point basket to 105.
Paul George had 28 points and 12 rebounds for Indiana (28-7), who had won of eight of their past nine games and three in a row coming into the contest.
Indiana has not won a regular-season game in Atlanta since Dec. 22, 2006.
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Nets 102, Warriors 98
Kevin Garnett scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and added a critical steal in the final minute to help lead the Brooklyn Nets to a win over the Golden State Warriors.
It was the Nets’ season-best fourth consecutive win, while the Warriors (24-14) had their 10-game winning streak snapped.
Joe Johnson led Brooklyn with 27 points. Golden State’s Stephen Curry scored a game-high 34 but he had the ball stolen by Garnett late with a chance to tie the contest.
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Rockets 113, Lakers 99
James Harden scored a season high-tying 38 points and registered his third consecutive explosive third quarter in leading Houston to a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
After scoring 16 points in the third against the Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks, Harden poured in 17 points against the Lakers (14-22), keying a 33-point period that enabled Houston (23-13) to break the game open.
Dwight Howard added 20 points and 13 rebounds against the team he played for last season.
Nick Young paced the Lakers (14-22) with 25 points.
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Wizards 102, Pelicans 96
Trevor Ariza scored a team-high 21 points, including a key three-pointer to blunt a late Pelicans rally, and point guard John Wall scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half to lead the Washington Wizards past the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Wizards (16-17) outscored New Orleans 59-38 over the second and third quarters to break open the game.
Eric Gordon scored 23 to lead the Pelicans (15-19), who dropped their third straight game.
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Raptors 112, Pistons 91
Kyle Lowry scored 21 points and added nine assists as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Detroit Pistons to win for the first time in three games.
DeMar DeRozan had 17 of his 19 points in the second half for the Raptors and Terrence Ross added 17 points as Toronto (17-17) won for the sixth time in eight games.
Brandon Jennings scored 22 points and added nine assists to lead the Pistons (14-22), who lost their sixth game in a row.
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Clippers 111, Celtics 105
Blake Griffin scored 29 points and guard Jamal Crawford added 26 as the Los Angeles Clippers held off the Boston Celtics.
All five Clippers starters scored in double figures.
The Clippers (25-13) won for the fourth time in their last five games and handed Boston (13-23) a sixth straight defeat. Los Angeles also won for the second time in three outings since point guard Chris Paul suffered a separated shoulder.
Guards Jordan Crawford and Avery Bradley scored 24 points apiece to lead Boston.
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Trail Blazers 110, Magic 94
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 36 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Portland came from behind to beat Orlando.
Wesley Matthews added 17 points and forward Nicolas Batum contributed 14 points, a career-high 14 assists and 10 rebounds for the Trail Blazers (27-9), who rallied from a deficit that reached 12 points in the second quarter and nine in the third.
Portland outscored Orlando 39-19 in the fourth quarter.
Arron Afflalo scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half for the Magic (10-25), who lost for the fifth straight game.
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Suns 104, Timberwolves 103
Gerald Green’s 18-foot shot from the corner with 3.9 seconds left completed a comeback win for Phoenix over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Suns trailed by seven with 2:44 left in the game, but outscored Minnesota 9-1 down the stretch to win as Timberwolves guard Kevin Martin’s shot at the buzzer came up short.
Goran Dragic led all scorers with 26 points and the Suns improved to 21-13 overall.
Timberwolves (17-18) star forward Kevin Love was held to 15 points on 4-for-20 shooting.
