AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Dwight Howard had 35 points and 19 rebounds, leading the short-handed Houston Rockets to a 114-97 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night. ADVERTISING AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Dwight Howard had 35 points and 19
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Dwight Howard had 35 points and 19 rebounds, leading the short-handed Houston Rockets to a 114-97 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Dwight Howard had 35 points and 19 rebounds, leading the short-handed Houston Rockets to a 114-97 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.
In one of his best games since joining the Rockets in the offseason, Howard dominated Andre Drummond, Detroit’s promising 20-year-old big man, and helped Houston control the game despite the absence of star guard James Harden, who was out with a sprained right ankle.
The Rockets also were without Jeremy Lin, who has been bothered by back spasms, and they lost guard Patrick Beverley to a fractured right hand.
Josh Smith scored 19 points for the Pistons.
It was the most points Howard has scored as a member of the Rockets. He went 13 of 18 from the field.
THUNDER 113, SPURS 100
SAN ANTONIO — Russell Westbrook had 31 points and Oklahoma City used a strong second quarter to beat San Antonio for its ninth straight victory.
Reggie Jackson had 21 points, Kevin Durant added 17 and Serge Ibaka had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Oklahoma City.
Tony Parker scored 23 points, and Marco Belinelli and Tim Duncan had 17 points apiece for San Antonio, which took only its second home loss.
The Spurs had won six of seven entering Saturday’s game.
Westbrook and Jackson were a combined 21 for 36 and handed out 12 assists.
SUNS 123, MAVERICKS 108
PHOENIX — Eric Bledsoe scored 25 points and Phoenix matched its season high with 15 3-pointers — in 30 tries — to beat Dallas in the Suns’ highest-scoring game of the season.
Gerald Green made 4 of 8 3-pointers en route to 22 points and Channing Frye made 4 of 6 3s and scored 18 in the Suns’ seventh win in their last eight games. Bledsoe made 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. P.J. Tucker was 2 of 3 from long-range and scored 16.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points, and Monta Ellis and Brandan Wright had 19 apiece for the Mavericks, whose only lead of the night was 2-0. The 123 points were the most allowed by Dallas this season.
Both teams were playing on consecutive nights.
CLIPPERS 112, NUGGETS 91
LOS ANGELES — Jamal Crawford scored 27 points, hitting six 3-pointers, and Los Angeles led all the way in beating Denver for its fourth consecutive victory.
Blake Griffin added 24 points and 16 rebounds, and Chris Paul had 10 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who got Matt Barnes back after he missed 16 games with an eye injury. DeAndre Jordan had 12 rebounds.
Wilson Chandler scored all of his 19 points in the first half and Timofey Mozgov had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Nuggets. They lost for the third straight game and for the third time in their last five. Ty Lawson added 13 points as Denver was held to 35 percent shooting.
WARRIORS 102, LAKERS 83
OAKLAND, Calif. — David Lee had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Andrew Bogut grabbed 20 rebounds and Golden State shook off a slow start to rout injury-depleted Los Angeles.
Stephen Curry scored 18 points and Klay Thompson added 17 points to help the Warriors pull away with a 26-8 spurt to start the third quarter.
Pau Gasol sat out with an upper respiratory infection for the Lakers, who already were missing Kobe Bryant (fractured left knee), Steve Nash (nerve root irritation in back), Steve Blake (torn ligament in right elbow) and Jordan Farmar (torn left hamstring).
Nick Young scored 20 points, and Chris Kaman had 17 rebounds and 10 points for the Lakers.
TRAIL BLAZERS 110, PELICANS 107
PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:27 to play and finished with 29 points and Portland beat New Orleans to win for the sixth time in seven games.
Lamarcus Aldridge and Wesley Mathews added 18 points apiece for the Trail Blazers.
Ryan Anderson and Tyreke Evans each missed on 3-point attempts in the final 5 seconds and the Pelicans lost their fourth consecutive game on a five-game swing that concludes Monday at Sacramento.
Robin Lopez had 14 points and eight rebounds and Nicholas Batum added 11 points for the Trail Blazers.
Anthony Davis and Evans finished with 21 points each to pace five Pelicans in double figures.
GRIZZLIES 95, KNICKS 87
NEW YORK — Zach Randolph had 25 points and 15 rebounds to help Memphis snap a five-game losing streak with a victory over New York.
Tony Allen added 19 points and eight rebounds. Jerryd Bayless scored 11 points, including two free throws to end a New York flurry that had trimmed a 19-point deficit to four in the final half-minute.
Mike Conley finished with nine points and eight assists after missing two games with a bruised left thigh.
Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points for the Knicks.
BUCKS 116, 76ERS
MILWAUKEE — Khris Middleton scored 27 points, Caron Butler added 22 and hot-shooting Milwaukee recovered from consecutive overtime losses to pick up just its sixth win of the season with a victory over Philadelphia.
Brandon Knight contributed 21 points and six assists for the Bucks (6-21). Butler, who missed the previous 12 games with a swollen left knee, also had 11 rebounds.
Thaddeus Young had 30 points and 10 rebounds to lead Philadelphia. Spencer Hawes added 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Both teams were coming off overtime games Friday. The Bucks lost 114-111 at Cleveland, their fifth consecutive defeat, while the 76ers nipped the Brooklyn Nets 121-120 at home.
WIZARDS 106, CELTICS 99
BOSTON — Trevor Ariza scored 27 points and hit a 3-pointer that capped a fourth-quarter run in Washington’s comeback victory over Boston.
With Washington trailing 92-84, Ariza started a 14-1 run with a jumper from the right corner. John Wall had five of his 20 points in the surge.
Avery Bradley led Boston with 26 points.
KINGS 105, MAGIC 100
ORLANDO, Fla. — Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas each scored 23 points, Marcus Thornton added 15, and Sacramento held off Orlando for the victory.
DeMarcus Cousins added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The Kings connected on a season-high 12 3-pointers in the victory, helping to end a three-game losing streak.
Arron Afflalo led Orlando with 26 points in his return to the lineup after sitting out for the first time this season Wednesday with an illness. The Magic have lost four out of their last five, and four straight at home.
JAZZ 88, BOBCATS 85
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Trey Burke scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and Utah snapped Charlotte’s three-game winning streak.
Burke hit a 3-pointer with 1:38 left to put the Jazz up by three and added a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining.
Gordon Hayward had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Utah, which had lost three of their past four games. Derrick Favors added 14 points.
Kemba Walker scored 20 points and Al Jefferson had 19 for the Bobcats, who were playing their fourth game in five nights.
At halftime, Bobcats owner Michael Jordan unveiled the team’s new primary logo for when the team changes names to the Charlotte Hornets after this season.
BULLS 100, CAVALIERS 84
CHICAGO — Carlos Boozer scored 19 points and short-handed Chicago Bulls snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Cleveland.
D.J. Augustin scored 18, Tony Snell came on strong in the second half to finish with 17 points, and Chicago prevailed after matching its longest slide in four years under coach Tom Thibodeau.
The Bulls shot nearly 54 percent overall and were 10 of 15 on 3-pointers.
Andrew Bynum had 19 points for the Cavaliers, but Kyrie Irving had a rough night, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting after fighting through an illness to score 39 in Friday’s overtime win over Milwaukee.
