CHICAGO — The Philadelphia 76ers’ long losing streak continued and so did their march toward the wrong kind of record. ADVERTISING CHICAGO — The Philadelphia 76ers’ long losing streak continued and so did their march toward the wrong kind of
CHICAGO — The Philadelphia 76ers’ long losing streak continued and so did their march toward the wrong kind of record.
Joakim Noah finished with 20 points, Jimmy Butler scored 17, and the Chicago Bulls handed Philadelphia its 24th straight loss, winning 91-81 Saturday night and sending the 76ers within two of the NBA record.
The Sixers moved ahead of the Vancouver Grizzlies (1995-96), Denver Nuggets (1997-98) and Charlotte Bobcats (2011-12) for the second-longest, single-season losing streak.
The Cleveland Cavaliers dropped 26 during the 2010-11 season, and Philadelphia would have to pull off an upset to avoid tying that.
The next two games are at San Antonio and Houston. Drop them, and the Sixers could set the record at home against Detroit on March 29, particularly if they continue to shoot like this from the outside.
They missed their first 18 3-pointers before Byron Mullens made one early in the fourth and were 1 of 20 in the game.
Pelicans 105, Heat 95
NEW ORLEANS — Anthony Davis had 30 points, 11 rebounds and three steals, and New Orleans handed struggling Miami its seventh loss in 11 games.
LeBron James twisted his right ankle while stepping on Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans’ foot during a drive to the hoop late in the third quarter, but remained in the game and finished with 25 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. It was not enough for Miami, which gave guard Dwyane Wade and center Greg Oden the night off following Friday’s victory at Memphis.
Pelicans guard Eric Gordon also sat out with a sore left knee, but New Orleans got 14 points from Evans, 12 from Al-Farouq Aminu and 11 from Luke Babbitt.
Grizzlies 82, Pacers 71
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Mike Conley scored 21 points, Zach Randolph added 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Memphis held Indiana to its lowest point total of the season.
Mike Miller added 13 points as Memphis won for the seventh time in nine games and maintained its hold on the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Marc Gasol, returning after spraining his ankle Friday night, had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Lance Stephenson led the Pacers with 15 points and eight rebounds, while David West added 10 points, but was 5 of 15 from the field.
Paul George, the Pacers’ leading scorer at 22.1 points per game, was held to eight points, missing eight of his 10 shots, and Indiana shot 37 percent for the game.
Rockets 118, Cavaliers 111
CLEVELAND — James Harden scored 37 points, including 17 in the third quarter, and Houston led from wire-to-wire in a victory over Cleveland.
Harden was 9 of 15 from the field, hit five 3-pointers, made all 14 of his free throws and had 11 assists without playing the fourth quarter after Houston built a 29-point lead late in the third.
Rockets center Dwight Howard missed his third straight game with a sore left ankle, but Houston is undefeated in the eight-time All-Star’s absence.
Cleveland has lost four straight and played again without point guard Kyrie Irving, who has been sidelined for three games with a strained left biceps.
Dion Waiters led Cleveland with 26 points. Tyler Zeller added a career-high 23 points for the Cavaliers, who also played without forward Luol Deng (sprained left ankle).
Bobcats 124, Trail Blazers 94
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Al Jefferson scored 28 points and two others finished with more than 20 as Charlotte routed Portland.
Kemba Walker added 26 points, Gerald Henderson had 23 and Chris Douglas-Roberts 11 for the Bobcats, who finished with their highest-scoring game and most-lopsided victory in snapping a two-game losing streak.
Damian Lillard scored 20 points, Dorell Wright added 17 and Wesley Matthews 15 for the Trail Blazers, who trailed by as many as 34 points late in the second half in their worst loss this season.
Charlotte shot 52 percent from the field (49 of 94), outscored Portland in the paint 54-32 and held a 50-36 rebounding advantage over the Trail Blazers, who had won their last four games against the Bobcats.
Clippers 112, Pistons 103
LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul had 28 points and 15 assists, Blake Griffin added 25 points, and Los Angeles beat Detroit to extend the Pistons’ losing streak to five games.
The Clippers, coming off a 110-100 loss at Denver that ended their 11-game overall winning streak, shot 54 percent from the field and improved to 24-1 when finishing at 50 percent or better.
DeAndre Jordan had 12 rebounds for the Pacific Division leaders, who have had at least one player with double-digit rebounds in a franchise-record 46 consecutive games. The previous mark was 44, by the 1977 Buffalo Braves.
Jonas Jerebko had 22 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Pistons.
Spurs 99, Warriors 90
OAKLAND, Calif. — Tony Parker had 20 points and five assists, Danny Green scored 18 points and short-handed San Antonio outlasted Golden State for its 13th straight victory.
Tiago Splitter added 17 points and 14 rebounds as the NBA-leading Spurs (53-16) pulled away with an 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter. San Antonio, riding its longest winning streak in six years, is two games ahead of Oklahoma City for the top playoff seed in the Western Conference.
The Spurs did it even while resting stars Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. They are 3-0 against Golden State this season, including two wins in Oakland without their regulars, after eliminating the Warriors in the second round of the playoffs last year.
Stephen Curry scored 20 points to go with six assists and six rebounds, and Andrew Bogut grabbed 17 boards as the Warriors head into a five-day break on a sour note.
Jazz 89, Magic 88
SALT LAKE CITY — Trey Burke scored 17 points, including a high-arcing 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds remaining, to push Utah past Orlando.
With the Jazz trailing 88-86, Gordon Hayward dribbled through the center of the Magic defense and found Burke in the corner. The big shot snapped Utah’s six-game losing streak and extended Orlando’s skid to eight games.
Down the stretch, the game turned into a battle between Burke and Victor Oladipo, two rookies drafted in the top 10 of last summer’s draft.
