INDIANAPOLIS — Lance Stephenson scored 25 points and the Indiana Pacers rallied from an early deficit to beat Philadelphia 99-90 on Monday night, handing the 76ers their franchise-record 21st straight loss. ADVERTISING INDIANAPOLIS — Lance Stephenson scored 25 points and
INDIANAPOLIS — Lance Stephenson scored 25 points and the Indiana Pacers rallied from an early deficit to beat Philadelphia 99-90 on Monday night, handing the 76ers their franchise-record 21st straight loss.
Paul George had 24 points for the Pacers, who staked the Sixers to a 15-6 lead before taking the lead and pulling away. George Hill scored 11 points, Ian Mahinmi had 10 and David West grabbed 12 rebounds.
Thaddeus Young had 23 points to lead the Sixers, who tied the Detroit Pistons for the sixth-longest losing streak in NBA history. The Pistons lost 21 straight bridging the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons.
The Cleveland Cavaliers set the NBA record for consecutive losses with 26, in the 2010-11 season.
The Sixers haven’t won since Jan. 29 at Boston. Evan Turner, now with the Pacers, hit the winning shot in that 95-94 win by Philadelphia. Turner, traded to Indiana with Lavoy Allen on Feb. 20 for Danny Granger and a draft pick, had four points and seven rebounds against his former team Monday.
Hawks 97, Bobcats 83
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Paul Millsap scored 28 points, and the Atlanta Hawks snapped the Charlotte Bobcats’ eight-game home winning streak.
It was Atlanta’s 11th straight win over Charlotte. The Hawks have won four straight, pulling within 1½ games of the Bobcats for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Kemba Walker led the Bobcats with 20 points.
Al Jefferson, who was selected the Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday, had 16 points and 12 rebounds for his 30th double-double of the season but was just 6 of 15 from the field.
Nets 108, Suns 95
NEW YORK — Deron Williams scored 28 points and even dunked for the first time this season, leading the Brooklyn Nets past the Phoenix Suns and extending their home winning streak to nine.
Williams shot 11 of 13 from the field and looks all the way back after ankle problems wrecked his first half of the season. He was two points off his season high and rose above the rim to throw down a dunk that finished off a fourth-quarter fast break started by Andrei Kirilenko’s steal.
Joe Johnson added 19 points for the Nets, on their longest home winning streak since winning nine straight from March 15-April 6, 2006.
Markieff Morris scored 18 points and Gerald Green 17 for the Suns, who were seeking a perfect three-game trip against Atlantic Division teams after winning at Boston and Toronto.
Thunder 97, Bulls 85
CHICAGO — Kevin Durant finished with 35 points and 12 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Chicago Bulls.
Russell Westbrook added 17 points after sitting out the previous day to rest his surgically repaired knee, and the Thunder rebounded from their most lopsided loss of the season. They went on a 13-point run after the Bulls scored eight straight early in the fourth to cut the lead to one and pulled this one out after falling by 23 at home to Dallas on Sunday.
Durant ran his streak of games with 25 or more points to 32, the longest in the NBA since Michael Jordan did it in 40 in a row during the 1986-87 season. He also chipped in with five assists.
Chicago’s Joakim Noah, who’s been hearing “MVP!” chants lately, shot 2 of 8 but finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Rockets 124, Jazz 86
HOUSTON — Terrence Jones scored 30 points and the Houston Rockets ended a three-game skid with their most lopsided victory of the season.
Dwight Howard was out with an ankle strain, leaving the Rockets without him for the first time this season. But they still had no problem handling the Utah Jazz, who have lost five in a row and have one of the worst records in the Western Conference.
Houston led 92-69 entering the fourth, and the big advantage allowed an overworked James Harden, who had played more than 43 minutes in three of the previous four games, to rest a bit as he watched the fourth quarter from the bench. Harden finished with 15 points.
Derrick Favors had 15 points for the Jazz a night after scoring a career-high 28.
Mavericks 94, Celtics 89
DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki led another balanced scoring effort with 19 points, and the Dallas Mavericks opened a franchise-record eight-game homestand by holding on for a victory over the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics trailed by double digits twice in the second half before getting within one in the final minute but couldn’t avoid an 0-15 finish on the road against the Western Conference.
The Mavericks followed their first win in more than two years over possible first-round playoff foe Oklahoma City by taking their third straight to get a season-high 14 games over .500.
Jerryd Bayless had 19 points and Kris Humphries matched a season high with 14 rebounds for the Celtics, who lost their fifth straight game and 12th in the past 15.
Nuggets 110, Clippers 100
DENVER — Reserve J.J. Hickson had 21 points and Ty Lawson scored eight of his 19 in a late fourth-quarter run, helping the Denver Nuggets end the Los Angeles Clippers’ 11-game winning streak.
The Clippers’ streak was tied for second-longest in franchise history. Their longest, 17 in a row last season, also was snapped by Denver at Pepsi Center.
Kenneth Faried added 18 points and 16 rebounds in a duel in the paint against Blake Griffin, who finished with 26 points and 12 boards.
Down 98-96 with 4:21 remaining, Lawson hit a 3-point to give the Nuggets a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. It was part of a 14-2 run to close out the game. The Clippers didn’t score again after DeAndre Jordan’s dunk at 3:31.
