National Basketball Association Capsules for Saturday.
NY KNICKS 138, GOLDEN STATE 125
NEW YORK This is what Mike DAntoni meant when he said the New York Knicks recent trade for Al Harrington would make them a better team.
Harrington broke out against his former team, registering a season-high 36 points and 12 boards to lead the Knicks best offensive output of the season in a 138-125 triumph over the Golden State Warriors.
David Lee - whose production has skyrocketed since the team dealt Zach Randolph - posted his fifth straight double-double with 37 points and 21 boards to spearhead the rout. The Knicks set a franchise record with 82 first-half points to take an 18-point lead into the half and didnt slow down until well into the final frame.
Warriors guard Jamal Crawford - who was dealt for Harrington on November 21 - didnt fare quite as well in his return to Madison Square Garden. He got off to a miserable start, missing 13 of his first 16 shots, before leading his club back into contention late in the fourth quarter. He scored 11 straight points for the Warriors to cut their deficit to 129-119, but it was too little, too late.
Crawford finished with 21 points, 10 boards and five assists. Corey Maggette led Golden State with 32 and 12 rebounds.
Chris Duhon dished out a team-record 22 assists for the Knicks.
ORLANDO 110, INDIANA 96
ORLANDO, Florida Dwight Howard scored 32 points and grabbed a season-high 21 rebounds, leading the Orlando Magic to a 110-96 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Anthony Johnson scored a season-high 16 points for Orlando, which shot 50 percent from the floor (38-of-75) en route to its fourth straight win. Anthony started a third straight game in place of Jameer Nelson, who is out with a hip flexor.
The Magic also found out earlier in the day that Mikael Pietrus will miss three to five weeks with a torn ligament in his thumb. With all the injuries, the pressure is on the trio of Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis to score.
The three did just that against the Pacers, combining for 78 points. Howard was the leader, hitting 11-of-15 shots. Lewis scored 24 and Turkoglu added 22.
HOUSTON 103, SAN ANTONIO 84
HOUSTON Even without Tracy McGrady, the Houston Rockets found a way to top the San Antonio Spurs. In fact, they made easy work of it.
With their All-Star guard sidelined for the second straight game with a sore left knee, the Rockets jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and cruised to a 103-84 victory.
Luther Head started in McGradys place and more than picked up the slack, scoring 21 - 5.5 more than McGradys season average. Ron Artest added 16 and Shane Battier chipped in with 15 for Houston, which got back on the winning track after Wednesdays loss to Indiana.
The Spurs were hurt by an uncharacteristically poor shooting performance, as they hit just 38 percent (29-of-77). Tim Duncan was a particularly woeful 6-of-18.
CLEVELAND 97, MILWAUKEE 85
MILWAUKEE LeBron James scored 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, overcoming a lackluster start to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to their fifth straight victory, 97-85 over the Milwaukee Bucks.
James took over when he needed to, scoring 11 straight points for the Cavaliers to turn a three-point lead into a double-digit advantage. His 21-footer with 2:20 left in the game extended the lead to 93-81 and the Bucks could not recover.
Until that time, Zydrunas Ilgauskus had carried much of the scoring load for Cleveland, as the veteran center collected 23 points and 17 boards.
Milwaukee welcomed back All-Star guard Michael Redd, who had missed 14 games with a sprained right ankle. He came off the bench in his return and dropped in 20 points, but it wasnt enough as the Bucks lost their fourth in a row.
OKLAHOMA CITY 111, MEMPHIS 103
MEMPHIS, Tennessee Kevin Durant and Jeff Green combined for 52 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped a 14-game losing streak with a 111-103 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Thunder trailed, 54-43, at hafltime but turned the tables inthe third quarter, outscoring the Grizzlies, 33-26, to close within 80-76.
The game was tied at 100-100 in the fourth quarter before the Thunder ran off eight straight points to take control.
Durant had 30 points and Green added 22 for Oklahoma City, which is 2-16.
O.J. Mayo led Memphis with 30 points.
DENVER 106, MINNESOTA 97
MINNEAPOLIS Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony teamed up to lead the Denver Nuggets to victory.
Billups scored 27 points and Anthony added 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Nuggets to a 106-97 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Linas Kleiza added 15 points and Anthony Carter had 12 for Denver, which has won seven straight over Minnesota.
Randy Foye scored 25 points and Al Jefferson added 20 for Minnesota.
NEW JERSEY 105, UTAH 88
SALT LAKE CITY The Utah Jazz had no answer for Devin Harris. The New Jersey Nets rising star poured in 34 points and added six assists to lead his team to a 105-88 rout over the Jazz.
Harris found little resistance from the Utah defense, showing off his entire repertoire with a variety of spin moves and cuts to the basket. He hit 13-of-17 shots from the floor and was 8-of-13 from the free-throw line as he lifted the Nets over the .500 mark at 8-7.
Harris took advantage of Utah point guard Deron Williams, who was playing his first back-to-back since returning from a sprained left ankle. Williams was clearly somewhat hobbled, and Harris was able to explode to the basket on several occasions. It didnt help that Utah also lost its best defender, Andrei Kirilenko, to inflammation in his right ankle in the second quarter.
Vince Carter added 22 points for the Nets, who shot 52 percent (40-of-77) on the night. The Jazz lost at home for just the second time this season - though both losses have come this week.
BOSTON 89, CHARLOTTE 84
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett came up big down the stretch for the Boston Celtics.
Pierce scored seven of Bostons 11 points during a decisive 4:30 stretch late in the fourth quarter to lead the Celtics to an 89-84 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.
After a Gerald Wallace layup tied the game at 75-75 with 5:05 to go, Pierce took over. He hit a turnaround jumper to give Boston the lead and following a dunk by Kendrick Perkins, he hit another jumper to give the Celtics an 81-77 lead.
A 3-pointer from the right wing by D.J. Augustin and a reverse layup by Wallace pulled the Bobcats within one point. But a baseline jumper by Kevin Garnett with 40 seconds left clinched the game for the Celtics, giving them an 86-82 lead.
ATLANTA 102, WASHINGTON 98
WASHINGTON Mike Bibby scored 21 points to lead five starters in double figures as the Atlanta Hawks ended a five-game road losing streak with a 102-98 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Al Horford scored 19 points and converted a three-point play that gave the Hawks a 101-98 lead with 12.4 seconds left. Horford finished with 13 rebounds and six assists.
DeShawn Stevenson missed two free throws with 6.9 seconds left and Maurice Evans made one of two at the other end for the finalmargin.
In a back-and-forth final period, Caron Butlers 3-pointer from the right wing tied the game at 98-98 with 1:10 remaining. The play was reviewed and ruled a 3-pointer.
Evans had 19 points and Joe Johnson added 18 for the Hawks, who shot 50 percent from the floor (37-of-74).
DALLAS 101, SACRAMENTO 78
SACRAMENTO, California Jason Terry continued his hot play and the Dallas Mavericks bounced back from a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers by burying the Sacramento Kings, 101-78.
Terry came off the bench to score 24 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 19 as the Mavericks pulled away in the second half to defeat the Kings for the eighth time in nine games.
Terry has averaged 26.6 per game over the last five games, converting 54 percent (54-of-100) from the floor, and providing plenty of spark off the bench.
Nowitzki knocked the ball away from John Salmons, then outran his Kings counterpart and slapped the ball to Devean George for a breakaway dunk that put Dallas up 13 late in the third quarter.
George followed up with a three-point play moments later and Jose Barea buried a shot from the arc that put the Mavericks back in full control, 70-55.
LA CLIPPERS 97, MIAMI 96
LOS ANGELES Zach Randolph scored 27 points and had 13 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 97-96 victory over the Miami Heat.
Al Thornton scored 27 points and Baron Davis added 15 and nine assists for the Clippers, who won for the first time in six home contests.
Making his first start with his new team, Randolph scored eight points during a 13-0 run that gave the Clippers a 93-86 lead with three minutes remaining.
With the Heat trailing by one with eight seconds to play, Dwyane Wade stole the inbounds pass at halfcourt to give Miami one last chance. After the Heat were awarded a timeout, his fadeaway 3-pointer from the right wing was well short, giving the Clippers the win.