Associated Press SAN ANTONIO — Derrick Rose and Tony Parker didn’t see much of each other during the All-Star game last weekend, but they got close enough Wednesday night to give the Chicago Bulls a scare. ADVERTISING Rose, last year’s
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — Derrick Rose and Tony Parker didn’t see much of each other during the All-Star game last weekend, but they got close enough Wednesday night to give the Chicago Bulls a scare.
Rose, last year’s NBA MVP, says his knee is fine after crashing into Parker — and the Eastern Conference leaders are still rolling along.
Shaking off a scary-looking collision with Parker in the first quarter, Rose scored 29 points and Chicago cooled off the streaking Spurs 96-89. The Bulls won for the 11th time in 13 games while becoming only the second visiting team to win in San Antonio this season.
Rose writhed on the floor for several minutes after banging knees with Parker, who stood unfazed after the impact. Bulls trainers rushed to the star’s side, but Rose got up slowly and walked back to the bench. He never left the game.
“When I first hit him, there was a lot of pain in there,” Rose said. “But after laying down there for a little bit, I got up and was good.”
Gary Neal led the Spurs with 21 points off the bench, scoring 15 in the fourth. He sank two big 3-pointers in the quarter, one knotting the score at 75 and the second putting the Spurs within three, but San Antonio floundered late and had its homecoming spoiled after going 8-1 during the winningest nine-game road trip in NBA history.
Joakim Noah added 10 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago. Rose scored six in the fourth, including two crucial shots on back-to-back possessions in the final 2 minutes.
“It’s very tough,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of trying to stop Rose. “He’s a great player.”
Tim Duncan had 18 points and 10 rebounds. He brought the Spurs back from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter after starting out rusty following the longest midseason break of his career. The 35-year-old wasn’t at All-Star weekend for the first time but relished the rest in the compressed, lockout-shortened schedule.
Duncan scored 12 in the third while Parker — who was an All-Star but played only sparingly in Orlando on Sunday night — struggled to keep pace with Rose. Parker finished with 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting, had nine assists and stumbled through his lowest-scoring game in a month.
“I thought the whole team was rusty,” Parker said. “I was rusty, too. I didn’t do nothing for four days, five days.”
In fact, Parker’s most memorable play may have been the one that nearly took out Rose. But after getting hurt, Rose immediately proved he was OK by darting toward the basket and finishing a tough layup on the very next possession.
After scoring 32 points and sinking a crucial jumper with 19.4 seconds left to beat lowly New Orleans on Tuesday night, Rose delivered late again. He scored 13 in the second half and hit a 9-foot bank shot with 1:46 left that put Chicago up 87-82.
Duncan quickly answered, but on the next possession Rose all but finished off the Spurs. This time it was a tough 18-footer over Duncan’s outstretched hand that put the Bulls up 89-84, and Luol Deng’s 3-pointer with 39.6 seconds left stretched the lead to six and sealed a winning start to Chicago’s three-game road swing.
LAKERS 104,
TIMBERWOLVES 85
LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant had 31 points, seven rebounds and eight assists while playing with a clear mask over his broken nose.
Bryant didn’t miss a game after Dwyane Wade broke his nose and gave him a concussion with a hard foul in the All-Star game Sunday. After getting clearance to play about an hour before tipoff, Bryant wore a Richard Hamilton-style mask that didn’t appear to affect the NBA scoring leader, who made nine of 10 free throws through the plastic.
Pau Gasol scored 15 points and Andrew Bynum had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who improved to 15-1 at home since losing their CKNICKS 120, CAVALIERS 103
NEW YORK — Jeremy Lin had 19 points and 13 assists, Carmelo Anthony scored 22 and the New York Knicks turned around the game with their reserves to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Steve Novak had 17 points off the bench as the Knicks turned a 17-point deficit into an easy win, outscoring the Cavs 71-42 in the second half. They capped a 10-5 month, their first 10-win February since going 10-3 in 1996-97.
THUNDER 92, 76ERS 88
PHILADELPHIA — Kevin Durant scored eight of his 23 points down the stretch to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Russell Westbrook had 22 points and 13 rebounds and James Harden added 16 points as the NBA-leading Thunder overcame a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter and won their sixth straight game.
CELTICS 102, BUCKS 96
BOSTON — Rajon Rondo had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to record his third triple-double of the season and lead the Boston Celtics past the Milwaukee Bucks.
Rondo had six rebounds and five assists in the third quarter, when the Celtics went on a 20-4 run to turn a five-point deficit into a double-digit lead. The Bucks cut it to two points in the final minute, but Kevin Garnett made four free throws in the last 15 seconds to clinch it.
WARRIORS 85, HAWKS 82
ATLANTA — David Lee scored 22 points, including the go-ahead basket with 30 seconds remaining, and the Golden State Warriors answered a late comeback by Atlanta to beat the Hawks.
The Warriors kept the lead until Zaza Pachulia scored on a follow-up shot after a miss by Teague with 52 seconds remaining for a 78-78 tie. Lee drove past Pachulia to score with 30 seconds remaining to give the lead back to Golden State.
MAGIC 102, WIZARDS 95
WASHINGTON — Ryan Anderson had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic pulled away late in the fourth quarter and returned from the All-Star break with a win over the lineup-shuffling Washington Wizards.
Anderson scored 11 in the fourth quarter and led seven players in double figures for the Magic, who have won 11 of 15 and bounced back from a five-point loss to Atlanta that prompted a quick players-only meeting before the break.
PISTONS 109, BOBCATS 94
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Rodney Stuckey scored 29 points and Greg Monroe added 19 points and a career-high 20 rebounds and the Detroit Pistons routed the Charlotte Bobcats.
Brandon Knight scored 20 points and Tayshaun Prince added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit, which bounced back from Tuesday’s 29-point home loss to Philadelphia.
RAPTORS 95, HORNETS 84
NEW ORLEANS — Linas Kleiza and DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points apiece and the Toronto Raptors rallied to beat the New Orleans Hornets.
The Raptors, who trailed 69-62 after tying a season low for points in a quarter with 11 in the third, broke loose for 33 in the fourth — matching a season best for any quarter. They hit their first eight shots and took control by scoring 22 points in the first 4:22.
GRIZZLIES 96, MAVERICKS 85
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Marc Gasol had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Mike Conley added 20 points and 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Dallas Mavericks.
Rudy Gay added 18 points for Memphis, despite hitting just eight of his 19 shots. Dante Cunningham was 5 of 6 from the field and scored 10 points.
NUGGETS 104, TRAIL BLAZERS 95
DENVER — Ty Lawson had 18 points and nine assists after missing two games with a sprained left ankle, Kenneth Faried scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and the Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers.
JAZZ 104, ROCKETS 83
SALT LAKE CITY — C.J. Miles scored a season-high 27 points and the Utah Jazz halted a four-game losing streak and the Houston Rockets’ four-game winning streak.
