Marcin Gortat had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Shannon Brown scored 12 for the Suns, who’ve lost five of their last seven. Houston had a 49-39 rebounding edge and held two-time MVP Steve Nash to six points and nine assists.
Associated Press
DENVER — Andrew Bynum scored 22 points, Kobe Bryant added 20 and the Los Angeles Lakers opened a season-high six-game trip with a 93-89 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
Al Harrington missed a 3-point attempt with 2 seconds left that would have put Denver ahead.
Pau Gasol added 14 points and 17 rebounds for the Lakers, who won for the third time in 10 road games this season and prevailed in Denver for only the second time in their last seven trips to the Pepsi Center.
The Lakers took control after Nuggets center Timofey Mozgov rolled his left ankle while scoring a bucket early in the second half. He was helped to the locker room by Chris Andersen and Julyan Stone without putting any pressure on his left foot and didn’t return. The Nuggets said X-rays were negative.
Two minutes later, Denver’s leading scorer, Danilo Gallinari, was accidentally poked in his left eye by Metta World Peace and retreated to the locker room for a few minutes to replace his contact while the Lakers put the finishing touches on a 10-2 run.
Harrington scored 24 points for Denver, while Gallinari was held to six on 1-of-9 shooting.
HEAT 99, 76ERS 79
PHILADELPHIA — Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, and LeBron James had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lift Miami over Philadelphia.
Mario Chalmers scored 13 points and Chris Bosh had 12 to help the Heat go on a dominant late run that put away the pesky Sixers. The Heat used a 15-0 spurt in the fourth quarter to turn a tight one into a comfortable victory, handing the Sixers their third home loss this season.
Thaddeus Young scored 16 points for the Sixers, who snapped a four-game winning streak.
The Sixers opened the week with wins against Orlando and Chicago before the Heat squashed the home-week sweep.
PACERS 98, MAVERICKS 87
DALLAS — Paul George hit seven 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 30 points, and Indiana Pacers won in Dallas for the first time in eight years.
The Pacers took the lead for good with seven consecutive points in the first 2 minutes of the second half. George made a go-ahead running layup then had a steal that he turned into a dunk and a free throw.
Indiana won its 10th road game this season, matching Miami for the most in the NBA. The Pacers had lost 11 of their previous 12 road games against the Mavs.
Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 30 points for Dallas on 12-of-17 shooting.
THUNDER 101, GRIZZLIES 94
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant scored 36 points and hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer in the final minute to lift Oklahoma City over Memphis.
Durant scored the final seven points of the game after Memphis had pulled even at 94 on Mike Conley’s 3-pointer from the right side with 1:12 remaining.
Durant pulled up in front of Rudy Gay to answer with a 3 from the right wing and added a jumper from the foul line to push the lead to five. He closed it out by grabbing the rebound on O.J. Mayo’s 3-point attempt and hitting two free throws after getting fouled.
Marc Gasol led Memphis with 24 points and Gay scored 23.
CELTICS 91, KNICKS 89
BOSTON — Paul Pierce scored 30 points and Ray Allen had nine of his 14 in the final quarter to lift Boston over struggling New York.
Kevin Garnett finished with 15 points and eight boards for the Celtics, who won for the seventh time in eight games.
Carmelo Anthony scored 26 points, Tyson Chandler had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Amare Stoudemire had 16 points with 11 rebounds as the Knicks lost their 11th in 13 games.
Garnett grabbed his 10,000th career defensive rebound, becoming the third player in NBA history to reach the mark. He’s behind Robert Parish (10,117) and Karl Malone (11,406).
MAGIC 102, CAVALIERS 94
ORLANDO, Fla. — Dwight Howard scored 19 points, had 16 rebounds and blocked eight shots as Orlando outlasted Cleveland.
Jason Richardson also had 19 points in his first action in two games after resting a sore knee. Hedo Turkoglu added 18 points and Ryan Anderson chipped in 17.
The Magic won their seventh straight over the Cavaliers, despite playing without injured starting point guard Jameer Nelson and suspended reserve big man Glen Davis.
Alonzo Gee scored 20 points and Kyrie Irving added 18 for the Cavs, who have lost three of their last four.
TIMBERWOLVES 108, NETS 105
NEWARK, N.J. — Luke Ridnour made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:23 left and Nikola Pekovic scored a career-high 27 points as Minnesota beat New Jersey.
The Timberwolves overcame a career-high 42 points from Anthony Morrow, whose eight 3-pointers in 11 attempts were the most in the NBA this season.
Kevin Love added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which surpassed its road victory total from last season by improving to 6-4. The Wolves, just 5-36 on the road last season, have won three in a row away from home.
Ricky Rubio finished with 10 points and 10 assists for the Wolves.
PISTONS 88,
BUCKS 80
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Rookie Brandon Knight scored a season-high 26 points, holding his own against Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings and helping Detroit snap a seven-game slide.
Knight, who was outscored 21-0 by Jennings in a loss at Milwaukee on Monday, helped the Pistons build a 15-point lead in the third quarter.
Milwaukee went on an 11-0 run spanning the end of the third and beginning of the fourth, and Detroit led by only four with 2:54 remaining. Knight responded with a floater, followed moments later by a driving shot off the glass, and the Pistons held on.
Jennings scored 20 points, but only seven after the first quarter.
RAPTORS 106,
WIZARDS 89
TORONTO — Leandro Barbosa shook off flulike symptoms to score 19 points, and Amir Johnson had 18 points and 13 rebounds as Toronto beat Washington.
Linas Kleiza added 15 points and Jose Calderon had a season-high 17 assists for the Raptors, who bounced back from consecutive blowout losses to Atlanta and Boston and improved to 2-9 without leading scorer Andrea Bargnani, who is out with a strained left calf.
Barbosa missed Friday’s shootaround with flulike symptoms but showed no ill effects against the Wizards. He scored nine points in the second quarter and had six more in the third.
Nick Young scored 21 points and John Wall had 15 as the Wizards lost their third straight.
ROCKETS 99,
SUNS 81
HOUSTON — Kevin Martin scored 16 points, and Kyle Lowry had eight rebounds and nine assists to lead Houston past Phoenix.
Chase Budinger added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who got another strong effort from their bench to beat the Suns for only the second time in the last nine meetings. Reserves Courtney Lee and Patrick Patterson also had 12 points apiece.
Marcin Gortat had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Shannon Brown scored 12 for the Suns, who’ve lost five of their last seven. Houston had a 49-39 rebounding edge and held two-time MVP Steve Nash to six points and nine assists.