Times wires
Saturday, January 12, 2013
LOS ANGELES — Two streaking teams going in opposite directions:
The Clippers, co-owners of the NBA's best record and on a roll at home. The Magic, playing opponents close only to fall short while piling up the franchise's longest skid since the 2003-04 season.
Both streaks came to an end Saturday.
J.J. Redick gave Orlando its first lead on a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left, Arron Afflalo tied his season high with 30 points, and Orlando won 104-101 to snap a 10-game skid.
"It wasn't a letdown by us. Don't try to take anything away from them," Clippers guard Chris Paul said. "They made tough shot after tough shot. J.J. Redick had a hand in his face half the time."
The loss ended the Clippers' franchise-record 13-game home winning streak.
The team also got a scare when All-Star Paul went down holding his right knee with 54 seconds to go. He returned after a timeout and hit a 15-footer to draw his team within one with 33 seconds left.
But the Clippers turned the ball over on Jamal Crawford's offensive foul, with Redick drawing the charge.
Josh McRoberts found Nikola Vucevic open under the basket, and Vucevic dunked to extend Orlando's lead to 104-101 with 8 seconds left. After a timeout, Crawford missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
The Magic had fourth-quarter leads against Miami, New York, Portland and Denver this season but could not finish.
"We weren't just losing and not giving the effort," Afflalo said. "We were losing very close games, and we kept fighting."
Orlando won its first game without Glen Davis, who hurt his left shoulder Dec. 19.
"We were able to put it together, and some things went our way," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "We earned it."
With the Clippers' loss, Oklahoma City (28-8) took over the league's best record, with Los Angeles falling half a game behind.
WALL STEADY IN RETURN: 2010 No. 1 overall draft pick John Wall made his season debut for the Wizards, scoring 14 points in 21 minutes in their 93-83 victory at home against Atlanta. It was the guard's first game since being diagnosed with a stress injury to his left kneecap in September. No. 3 2012 overall pick and former Florida star Bradley Beal, playing with Wall for the first time, scored 16 for the Wizards, who have the worst record in the league but have their first winning streak this season.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS: Jrue Holiday scored 30 and Thaddeus Young had 18 points and 12 rebounds as the 76ers snapped a five-game losing streak, beating the visiting Rockets 107-100. … Al Jefferson scored 10 of his 20 in the third quarter as the visiting Jazz rallied to beat the Pistons 90-87. Brandon Knight missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds that would have tied it for Detroit, which trailed by 13 with 3:26 left. … George Hill scored 19 and David West had a triple double with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as the host Pacers beat the Bobcats 96-88 for their fourth straight win. Recently signed Dominic McGuire started in place of Indiana's leading scorer, forward Paul George, who sat out because of illness.
LATE FRIDAY: Kevin Durant scored a season-high 42 and Russell Westbrook had 27 points and 10 assists as visiting Oklahoma City routed the short-handed Lakers 116-101, handing Los Angeles its sixth consecutive loss. The Lakers are in the midst of their longest skid since March 2007 while playing without injured stars Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol.
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Mark Cuban said he plans to keep star Dirk Nowitzki even though the Mavericks have their worst record since a few months after Cuban bought the team in 2000. Cuban said before Saturday night's game against Memphis that he wanted to be clear with Nowitzki that he was committed "through thick and thin" to getting the team back in contention. … Timberwolves assistant Terry Porter will coach his fourth consecutive game today in San Antonio as coach Rick Adelman remains in Minnesota while his wife, Mary Kay, undergoes hospital tests.
Magic 104, Clippers 101
ORLANDO (104): Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Nicholson 4-8 0-0 8, Vucevic 7-9 4-6 18, Nelson 4-14 1-1 11, Afflalo 10-19 7-8 30, Redick 8-14 1-1 21, McRoberts 2-8 2-2 7, Smith 3-6 0-1 7, Harkless 1-1 0-0 2, O'Quinn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-81 15-19 104.
L.A. CLIPPERS (101): Butler 3-7 0-0 8, Griffin 15-22 0-0 30, Jordan 5-6 0-0 10, Paul 4-11 1-1 10, Green 4-7 0-0 10, Barnes 4-10 0-0 10, Bledsoe 1-4 0-0 2, Crawford 4-12 3-3 13, Odom 3-5 0-0 6, Turiaf 0-1 0-0 0, Hill 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 43-88 6-6 101.
Orlando 26 23 26 29— 104
L.A. Clippers 31 26 26 18— 101
3-Point Goals—Orlando 11-25 (Redick 4-8, Afflalo 3-3, Nelson 2-7, Smith 1-2, McRoberts 1-5), L.A. Clippers 9-22 (Butler 2-4, Green 2-4, Crawford 2-4, Barnes 2-5, Paul 1-3, Griffin 0-1, Odom 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Orlando 49 (Vucevic 15), L.A. Clippers 42 (Griffin 8). Assists—Orlando 28 (Nelson 9), L.A. Clippers 32 (Paul 16). Total Fouls—Orlando 12, L.A. Clippers 15. Technicals—Afflalo, Orlando defensive three second, Crawford. A—19,060 (19,060).
Wizards 93, Hawks 83
ATLANTA (83): Korver 2-6 0-0 5, Smith 4-13 2-6 11, Horford 8-16 0-0 16, Teague 6-10 6-7 19, Harris 3-6 1-2 8, Pachulia 2-4 1-2 5, Williams 3-12 0-0 8, Johnson 0-6 6-8 6, Jenkins 2-4 0-0 5, Stevenson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-78 16-25 83.
WASHINGTON (93): Webster 6-10 2-6 15, Nene 3-5 2-2 8, Okafor 3-8 4-6 10, Price 6-12 4-4 16, Beal 6-16 3-4 16, Seraphin 4-10 0-0 8, Wall 5-11 4-5 14, Vesely 0-1 0-0 0, Ariza 1-2 0-0 2, Booker 1-1 0-0 2, Temple 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 36-79 19-27 93.
Atlanta 17 33 16 17— 83
Washington 27 24 22 20— 93
3-Point Goals—Atlanta 7-24 (Williams 2-6, Jenkins 1-1, Teague 1-3, Harris 1-3, Korver 1-4, Smith 1-4, Stevenson 0-1, Johnson 0-2), Washington 2-11 (Webster 1-3, Beal 1-3, Temple 0-1, Price 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Atlanta 51 (Horford 12), Washington 57 (Okafor, Nene 10). Assists—Atlanta 23 (Harris 5), Washington 17 (Wall 4). Total Fouls—Atlanta 20, Washington 27. Technicals—Smith, Teague, Williams, Seraphin. A—15,331 (20,308).
Pacers 96, Bobcats 88
CHARLOTTE (88): Kidd-Gilchrist 2-7 0-0 4, Warrick 5-13 3-5 13, Biyombo 4-4 0-0 8, Walker 5-9 5-5 16, Henderson 6-12 0-0 12, Gordon 9-14 2-3 21, Sessions 2-11 3-3 7, Taylor 1-2 0-0 3, Adrien 0-2 0-0 0, Haywood 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 36-78 13-16 88.
INDIANA (96): McGuire 0-3 0-2 0, West 7-15 0-0 14, Hibbert 4-9 1-2 9, Hill 7-17 2-2 19, Stephenson 8-13 0-0 17, Green 3-12 0-0 8, T.Hansbrough 1-3 1-1 3, Johnson 1-3 0-0 3, Mahinmi 2-5 1-1 5, Augustin 5-9 4-4 18. Totals 38-89 9-12 96.
Charlotte 24 21 20 23— 88
Indiana 23 20 26 27— 96
3-Point Goals—Charlotte 3-7 (Gordon 1-1, Taylor 1-1, Walker 1-2, Henderson 0-1, Warrick 0-1, Sessions 0-1), Indiana 11-28 (Augustin 4-8, Hill 3-7, Green 2-8, Johnson 1-2, Stephenson 1-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Charlotte 44 (Kidd-Gilchrist 8), Indiana 55 (West 12). Assists—Charlotte 20 (Sessions 6), Indiana 24 (West 10). Total Fouls—Charlotte 20, Indiana 21. Technicals—Stephenson. A—13,656 (18,165).
Jazz 90, Pistons 87
UTAH (90): Carroll 2-5 1-1 5, Millsap 6-13 5-6 17, Jefferson 10-18 0-0 20, Tinsley 0-1 0-0 0, Foye 6-9 2-2 17, Watson 0-3 2-2 2, Favors 3-5 1-4 7, Hayward 2-8 2-3 6, Burks 5-7 0-0 12, Kanter 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 36-71 13-18 90.
DETROIT (87): Prince 3-8 2-2 8, Maxiell 2-5 3-4 7, Monroe 6-9 0-0 12, Knight 7-16 0-0 16, Singler 2-2 0-0 4, Stuckey 2-6 3-4 9, Drummond 4-5 1-4 9, Villanueva 1-5 1-3 4, Daye 1-3 2-2 5, Bynum 6-6 1-2 13. Totals 34-65 13-21 87.
Utah 13 26 25 26— 90
Detroit 26 24 11 26— 87
3-Point Goals—Utah 5-10 (Foye 3-5, Burks 2-2, Hayward 0-1, Tinsley 0-1, Carroll 0-1), Detroit 6-16 (Stuckey 2-4, Knight 2-7, Daye 1-2, Villanueva 1-3). Rebounds—Utah 38 (Jefferson 10), Detroit 41 (Monroe 11). Assists—Utah 21 (Watson 6), Detroit 21 (Bynum 4). Total Fouls—Utah 22, Detroit 22. Technicals—Detroit Coach Frank. A—18,441 (22,076).
76ers 107, Rockets 100
HOUSTON (100): Parsons 9-18 4-4 23, Morris 2-6 0-2 4, Asik 6-7 4-4 16, Lin 2-13 3-4 7, Harden 10-19 7-8 29, Douglas 1-6 0-0 2, Patterson 1-4 0-0 3, Delfino 6-11 0-0 16, Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-84 18-22 100.
PHILADELPHIA (107): Turner 6-10 0-0 12, T.Young 8-14 2-4 18, Allen 1-6 1-2 3, Holiday 11-22 7-7 30, Richardson 7-15 0-0 16, Hawes 5-9 0-0 10, Wright 3-6 0-0 8, Wilkins 1-3 5-6 7, Ivey 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 43-87 15-19 107.
Houston 25 25 26 24— 100
Philadelphia 29 29 27 22— 107
3-Point Goals—Houston 8-32 (Delfino 4-7, Harden 2-9, Patterson 1-2, Parsons 1-7, Morris 0-2, Douglas 0-2, Lin 0-3), Philadelphia 6-18 (Wright 2-5, Richardson 2-7, Ivey 1-1, Holiday 1-3, Hawes 0-1, Turner 0-1). Rebounds—Houston 50 (Asik 10), Philadelphia 49 (T.Young 12). Assists—Houston 21 (Harden 6), Philadelphia 26 (Holiday 9). Total Fouls—Houston 18, Philadelphia 18. Technicals—Hawes. A—17,329 (20,328).