(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights of Wednesday’s National Basketball Association games.
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Spurs 125, Wizards 118 (2 overtimes)
Tim Duncan had a season-high 31 and 11 rebounds and guard Patty Mills scored 23 as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Washington Wizards in double-overtime.
Mills scored 11 in the two extra sessions for the Spurs (36-13), who survived without guard Tony Parker the entire second half and minus Duncan for the final 4:13 after the big man fouled out.
Parker left the game at halftime with tightness in his back. John Wall scored 29 points for the Wizards (24-24), including the game-tying layup to force the second overtime.
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Rockets 122, Suns 108
Dwight Howard recorded 34 points and 14 rebounds, and forward Terrence Jones added 19 points and nine rebounds as Houston overwhelmed Phoenix inside.
The Rockets (33-17) also hit 11 of 16 3-pointers to burn the Suns.
The Suns (29-20) erased a 12-point deficit in the first half and led by as many as six before succumbing to the Rockets’ interior tandem.
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Thunder 106, Timberwolves 97
Kevin Durant posted 26 points, nine boards and seven assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a victory over the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves.
Oklahoma City improved to an NBA-best 40-11.
Minnesota (24-25) played without forward Kevin Love, who suffered a painful fall Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers in which he landed on his back.
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Trail Blazers 94, Knicks 90
Nicolas Batum led four Portland players in double figures with 20 points, and the Trail Blazers overcame an off night from their leading scorer, forward Lamarcus Aldridge, to defeat the New York Knicks.
Aldridge, who is tied for sixth in the league in scoring, connected on only 5 of 17 shots from the floor for Portland (35-14).
New York (19-30) was led by forward Carmelo Anthony’s 26 points.
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Mavericks 110, Grizzlies 96
Dallas Mavericks beat Memphis for the third time this season and moved two games ahead of the Grizzlies for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas (29-21) with 26 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Power forward Zach Randolph led Memphis (26-22) with 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
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Pelicans 105, Hawks 100
Anthony Davis scored a game-high 27 points, including 10 in the final 3:35, and reserve guard Anthony Morrow added nine fourth-quarter points to lift the New Orleans Pelicans to a victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks (25-23) made 14 3-pointers but still fell to the Pelicans (21-27). Atlanta was led by forwards Paul Millsap with 26 points and DeMarre Carroll with 22.
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Lakers 119, Cavaliers 108
Power forward Ryan Kelly had a career-high 26 points to propel the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers to a victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Lakers (17-32) were so banged up by the end of the game they had no reserves left on the bench, and center Robert Sacre was allowed to play with six personal fouls.
The Cavaliers (16-33) cut a 29-point, first-half deficit to eight points in the fourth, but couldn’t get any closer.
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Nuggets 110, Bucks 100
Wilson Chandler scored 24 points, Randy Foye added 20 and the Denver Nuggets beat the NBA-worst Milwaukee Bucks.
The Nuggets improved to 24-23 as the Bucks (9-40) fell despite 25 points apiece from Khris Middleton and Larry Sanders.
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Celtics 114, 76ers 108
Jeff Green led the way with 36 points, 17 of which came in the third quarter, and Boston beat Philadelphia for their second straight win.
Boston forward/center Jared Sullinger had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics (17-33) while Thaddeus Young scored 20 for the 76ers (15-35) who lost their fourth straight.
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Magic 112, Pistons 98
Rookie guard Victor Oladipo scored 20 points in a reserve role and the Orlando Magic breezed to an easy victory over the Detroit Pistons.
The Magic (14-37) reserves outscored the Detroit reserves 49-20 to key the victory. The Pistons never got closer than 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Pistons (19-29) forward Josh Smith led everyone with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
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Heat 116, Clippers 112
LeBron James almost recorded a triple-double with 31 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, sparking the Miami Heat to a victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Heat’s win overshadowed a 43-point, 15-rebound, six-assist performance by Clippers forward Blake Griffin. Los Angeles guard Jamal Crawford finished with 31 points and six assists.
After trailing by double figures for much of the game, the Clippers (34-18) Srallied to cut the margin to 109-107 with 1:04 remaining.
Miami (35-13) guard Ray Allen, who finished with 15 points, sank a 3-pointer with 42.4 seconds left to effectively seal the game.
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Kings 109, Raptors 101
DeMarcus Cousins scored 25 points while pulling down 10 boards, Rudy Gay had 24 points and 10 boards and Isaiah Thomas finished with 23 points as the Kings fended off a furious rally by the Raptors for a victory.
The Raptors trailed 96-74 with 9:37 left in the contest, but they scored a 19-2 run to pull close.
Kyle Lowry finished with 21 points to lead Toronto but was ejected after receiving two technical fouls late.
