By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer ADVERTISING CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When the Philadelphia 76ers needed a spark, there was a familiar face on hand to provide it. Lou Williams, who has developed into perhaps the NBA’s most dangerous sixth man,
By STEVE REED
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When the Philadelphia 76ers needed a spark, there was a familiar face on hand to provide it.
Lou Williams, who has developed into perhaps the NBA’s most dangerous sixth man, scored 23 points off the bench as the 76ers built an early lead and held on to send the Charlotte Bobcats to their 15th straight defeat, 98-89 on Monday night.
If Williams continues on this pace, he’ll become the first NBA player since Dell Curry of the Charlotte Hornets to lead his team in scoring despite not starting a game.
Over the past five games, Williams is averaging 19.8 points per game off the bench.
He stayed hot Monday night, making several big shots including a 3-pointer with 6:11 remaining after the Bobcats had pulled to within 71-69. He also hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to seal Philadelphia’s second straight win.
“We have this saying that you have a starring role on this team, no matter what that role is,” Williams said. “I’ve been able to do that and give us a spark. It’s been one of my better years. I’ve been very pleased with the role I’ve been playing.”
Williams’ effort off the bench has become so commonplace that his teammates don’t think twice about it anymore.
“He always puts the crowd to sleep,” said Thaddeus Young, who added 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting. “Anytime we’re (on the road) he always puts the crowd to sleep with a big 3 or a couple of those little floaters he’s knocking down in the lane, or just any way of scoring. He always seems to amaze everybody and he brings the show.”
Corey Maggette scored a season-high 22 points for Charlotte (3-25), but it wasn’t enough to snap the longest losing streak in franchise history. The loss drops the Bobcats’ winning percentage below that of the 1972-73 76ers, who finished with the worst record ever in the NBA at 9-72.
Still, after blowout losses to Los Angeles and Chicago the Bobcats left the arena encouraged.
“We had a better effort tonight,” Maggette said. “Tonight, we played better and we actually had a chance. For us, that’s a step in the right direction.”
Kemba Walker added 21 points and Reggie Williams chipped in with 14 for Charlotte.
The game took on a familiar theme early on for the Bobcats.
For the third straight game, the Bobcats shot less than 34 percent from the field in the first quarter and found themselves behind by double digits. Jrue Holiday scored Philadelphia’s first eight points of the game after hitting his first four shots from the field as the 76ers jumped out to a 28-17 lead.
But the 76ers were not able to distance themselves from the Bobcats, who finally started making some plays on defense.
“One thing we haven’t been doing this year is trusting each other,” Walker said. “Today, we trusted each other in rotations and then we made steals.”
The Bobcats clawed back to within two with 6:11 left in the game after a pair of defensive stops and back-to-back 3-pointers by Walker, one of them coming on a shot so off-balanced Walker couldn’t help but crack a smile and shake his head in disbelief as he jogged back down the court.
“I ain’t never seen that many (running 3s),” Young said. “Like I said, he’s a great player. He can go out there and get 20 on any given night. We know what type of player he is. It’s just about containing him and making him take tough shots like that. Sometimes he’s going to make it, sometimes not.”
“It’s no surprise Michael Jordan loves a guy like that,” 76ers coach Doug Collins said. “He has absolutely no fear.”
But seconds later, Williams knocked home a 3-pointer from the wing to quell the rally. The Bobcats never mounted a challenge after that as the 76ers outscored the Bobcats 18-10 down the stretch.
Once again, the Bobcats were dominated in the paint, where the 76ers scored 42 of their points.
Collins believes the Bobcats’ losing streak will end soon.
“When they get Gerald Henderson back, get D.J. Augustin back, they’re going to start winning some games,” Collins said.
Bobcats coach Paul Silas said Augustin will play Wednesday at Minnesota and hopes Henderson could be back by the end of the week.
“I keep saying that once we get everybody back, we’re going to be good,” Silas said. “We had a 20-point scorer tonight in Corey Maggette and that’s the first time we’ve had a 20 point scorer in I don’t know when. So, if you give me back 15 from D.J. Augustin and 15 from Gerald Henderson, that’s 30 points we’re missing. I think we’ll be a lot better.”
Heat 114, Bucks 96
MILWAUKEE — LeBron James scored 35 points and the Miami Heat finally found a way to beat Milwaukee, using a third-quarter surge to beat the Bucks.
Dwyane Wade scored 22 and Mario Chalmers added 13 for the Heat, who were 0-2 against the Bucks coming into Monday night’s game.
James scored 16 of his points in the third quarter as the Heat outscored the Bucks 35-24 to take control of the game.
Carlos Delfino scored 24 for the Bucks, who were coming off a loss to Orlando on Saturday night.
With the win, Miami ran its record to 22-7 — equaling the franchise’s best start after the first 29 games of a season, set in 1996-97 and again in 2004-05.
Magic 102, T’wolves 89
ORLANDO, Fla. — Jason Richardson scored 17 points, and Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu each added 14 as the Orlando Magic used a big second half to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Richardson, coming off a season-high 31 points, was strong early against Minnesota but sat out the fourth quarter.
The Magic didn’t need him, though, hitting 12 of 30 3-pointers for the game and with all five starters reaching double figures. Orlando has won two of its last three games and earned its seventh straight victory over the Timberwolves.
Kevin Love led Minnesota with 19 points and 15 rebounds, but the Timberwolves lost their fourth straight game.
Hornets 86, Jazz 80
NEW ORLEANS — Chris Kaman scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets snapped an eight-game skid with a victory over the Utah Jazz.
Marco Belinelli and Gustavo Ayon each added 13 points for New Orleans. Al Jefferson had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Utah.
Mavs 96, Clippers 92
DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points, 11 in the final 6-plus minutes, Shawn Marion added 16, and the Dallas Mavericks held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
Jason Terry, Vince Carter and Brendan Haywood all contributed 10 points for the Mavs, who’ve won 10 in a row at home against the Clippers and extended their overall winning streak to four games.
Caron Butler of the Clippers scored a season-high 23 points against his former team, and Blake Griffin added 20 points. Chris Paul had 16 points and nine assists for the Clippers, but Griffin’s problems from the foul line cost his team as he missed seven of nine free throws.
The Clippers, who completed a 4-2 road trip, haven’t beaten the defending NBA champs in Dallas since April 19, 2006.
