BOSTON — Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points and won his rematch with Kevin Garnett as the New York Knicks ended an 11-game losing streak in Boston with an 89-86 victory over the Celtics on Thursday night.
BOSTON — Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points and won his rematch with Kevin Garnett as the New York Knicks ended an 11-game losing streak in Boston with an 89-86 victory over the Celtics on Thursday night.
It came 17 days after a verbal clash between the All-Star forwards led to Anthony’s one-game suspension following Boston’s 102-96 victory in New York.
Anthony was booed frequently Thursday but there was no sign of hostility with Garnett. At one point, Anthony even extended his hand to a fallen Garnett and helped the Celtic to his feet.
Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Garnett had only eight points but finished with a game-high 12 rebounds.
RAPTORS 97, MAGIC 95
ORLANDO, Fla. — DeMar DeRozan swished a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer as Toronto fought off a late-game charge by Orlando.
DeRozan led Toronto with 22 points, followed by Amir Johnson with 21 points and 10 rebounds. It was Johnson’s sixth double-double of the season.
The victory gave the Raptors a four-game season sweep of Magic, who dropped their fourth game in a row.
Nikola Vucevic led Orlando with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Arron Afflalo added 16 points and Glen Davis had 15.
The Magic have lost 15 of their last 17 overall.
SUNS 93, CLIPPERS 88
PHOENIX — Goran Dragic scored 19 of his 24 points in the first half and Phoenix held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers, improving to 2-0 under interim coach Lindsey Hunter.
Marcin Gortat added 15 points, including two free throws with 23.3 seconds left. Luis Scola and Markieff Morris had 14 apiece for the Suns, who had not won two in a row since a season-high, four-game winning streak ended on Dec. 19.
The Clippers, who lost their third straight, were without Chris Paul for the fifth time in seven games because of a bruised right kneecap.
Jamal Crawford led Los Angeles with 21 points.