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NBA Roundup: Heat beats Lakers 101-95 for 6th straight victory

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Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade shoots over Los Angeles Lakers center Jordan Hill during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013. The Heat won 101-95. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers missed having Kobe Bryant out on the court on Christmas Day. Same for LeBron James.

Playing without its biggest star, Los Angeles stayed right with the Miami Heat for most of the day before slipping to a 101-95 loss against the defending NBA champions on Wednesday.

Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade had 23 points apiece, and James added 19 points in the Heat’s sixth straight win. Bosh grabbed 11 rebounds and Ray Allen made four 3-pointers for 12 points, helping Miami improve to 5-0 against the Lakers on the holiday.

”I knew we would get a good game out of them, and I think the NBA wanted a good game,” James said, noting the blowout results of the first two games on the league’s holiday schedule.

Bryant was relegated to the sideline with his fractured left knee, leaving him unable to extend his NBA record for Christmas Day appearances to 16.

”It’s not as special when Kobe’s not out there,” said James, who shared a post-game hug with Bryant.

Streaky reserve Nick Young scored 20 points for the Lakers, who were tied four times in the fourth quarter. Jodie Meeks added 17 points, Xavier Henry had 14 and Pau Gasol added 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Miami shot 51 percent from the field while improving to 7-0 against the Western Conference this season. It was its 19th straight win overall against West opponents.

Bosh scored 13 of his 23 points in the first half, when Miami trailed 27-21 after the first quarter.

”I just made an effort to get to the basket a little more,” he said. ”We just kept wearing on them offensively. They made some tough shots.”

Los Angeles shot 42 percent in its third straight loss. The Lakers were 14 of 36 from 3-point range as they tried to go over the top to beat the Heat’s rugged interior.

”Teams will try to get us moving and play out of our rotations,” Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said. ”Early on they were getting some wide-open ones. Some of those Nick Young hit were tough.”

Jordan Farmar returned from a left hamstring tear after missing 10 games, giving the Lakers a true point guard to run the offense. But he was ineffective, with three points and two assists in 32 minutes.

”I hadn’t even played 5-on-5 since I got hurt, so this is the first time I’ve actually played basketball,” he said. ”Health-wise, everything stayed intact and I felt good out there, so it’s progress.”

The Lakers played a competitive game against the loaded Heat despite their poor shooting and the absence of Bryant, Steve Nash (nerve root irritation) and Steve Blake (right elbow). They led by 10 points and never trailed by more than that.

”I thought we attacked them the way we wanted to,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said. ”We can step it up a bit and be a little bit tougher, especially on the boards and places like that. Those things are irritating, but the effort is good.”

Young’s basket tied the game for the last time at 83-all. The Heat promptly took off on a 13-5 run. Wade, Norris Cole and James scored all of the Heat’s points.

Young answered with his fourth 3-pointer of the game and Meeks made 1 of 2 free throws to pull the Lakers to 96-92 with 1:26 to play. But Wade had an acrobatic reverse layup and James made two foul shots to give Miami some breathing room.

Young scored 12 points in the third, when the Lakers trailed by nine before scoring the final seven points of the period, capped by Young’s 3-pointer, to trail 76-74 heading into the fourth.

Allen and Wade combined to score the Heat’s first 13 points of the second, with Allen hitting 3-pointers to bookend the run and pull the Heat into a 34-all tie.

Bosh took over and scored 10 points in a row, including a layup that gave Miami just its second lead of the game, 40-39. James interrupted Bosh’s offensive spurt with a one-handed dunk off Wade’s fast-break alley oop.

”Any time Dwyane gets on the break I try to chase him down,” James said. ”I didn’t know what he was going to do. The only way I can catch it is with my left (hand). I just tried to improvise. I got to see it again.”

NOTES: Heat F Chris Andersen didn’t play in the second half after his back tightened and his neck became sore. … The Lakers played for the 40th time on Christmas and fell to 21-19, including 13-10 at home. … Miami improved to 8-2 on the holiday, including 5-2 on the road. … The Lakers used their 14th different starting lineup through 29 games. … The teams played with sleeves on their jerseys. ”Every time I shot I felt a little tug,” James said. … The Heat wore a mix of holiday-themed red and green shoes, some with touches of glitter. Some of the Lakers wore green-soled shoes. … Bryant got up and hugged Samuel L. Jackson during a timeout in the second quarter. Jack Nicholson, Kevin Hart, George Lopez and Dyan Cannon were among the other celebs in attendance.

THUNDER 123, KNICKS 94

NEW YORK (AP) Not only was there no Kevin Durant-Carmelo Anthony showdown, there wasn’t much of a game, either.

The Oklahoma City Thunder made sure of it with the most dominant performance ever by a road team on Christmas.

Durant scored 29 points, Russell Westbrook had a triple-double by the middle of the third quarter, and the Thunder rolled to a 123-94 victory Wednesday over the New York Knicks.

The 29-point victory was the largest for a road team on Christmas.

”I just know that if we play the way we play, team basketball, Thunder basketball, not too many teams that can beat us,” Westbrook said.

The Knicks, without Anthony, weren’t one of them.

The matchup between the NBA’s top two scorers was canceled because of Anthony’s sprained left ankle, so the Thunder had the Christmas spotlight all to themselves while winning for the 10th time in 11 games.

Westbrook finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in his first triple-double of the season and seventh of his career. Serge Ibaka added 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting as the Thunder left a sellout crowd of 19,812 booing the home team, or making no noise at all.

”I said that on the bench, I was like, “Man, it feels like nobody’s in here,”’ Durant said.

Amare Stoudemire scored a season-high 22 points, and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 21 for the Knicks, who also were missing starting point guard Raymond Felton. J.R. Smith scored 20 points, but shot 8 for 22 and was booed when he left the court for good.

Anthony sat out for the first time this season. The Knicks were never really in it without him and may not have had a chance with him the way the Thunder played.

”Defensively, we just weren’t there tonight,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.

The Knicks not only had trouble with the Thunder, but also with the special edition sleeved jerseys NBA teams are wearing on Christmas.

Beno Udrih hit the side of the backboard on two shot attempts in the first half, tugging on his sleeve after the second as if blaming his struggles on his equipment.

Oklahoma City had a much easier time in the uniforms. Coach Scott Brooks said before the game the Thunder hadn’t had a formal practice in them, but players had shot around the last few days in the jerseys that featured a giant logo in the middle of the chest and jersey numbers on the left sleeve.

”They look great. Hopefully, we play well in them,” Brooks said.

They played superbly.

Coming off a 104-98 loss to Toronto on Sunday that ended a nine-game winning streak and was their first setback at home this season, they shot 54 percent and got 18 points from Reggie Jackson.

Durant made all five shots in the first quarter, with the Thunder leading 35-29 after shooting 70 percent. Jackson and Durant made 3-pointers to start the second, making Oklahoma City 16 of 22. Ibaka did most of the work in an 8-2 spurt midway through the period that extended the lead to 17, and the Thunder led 60-46 at halftime.

Durant and Westbrook took turns being unguardable on the perimeter in the third, boos growing louder as Oklahoma City went on to its sixth straight road victory.

”I mean, I’m disappointed with them. Honestly, my disappointment probably outweighs theirs,” Knicks center Tyson Chandler said about the fans. ”It is what it is. They come out here to see a show and they come here to see their team play hard and I understand it.”

Anthony was hurt Monday night in a victory at Orlando, saying afterward he hoped to play Wednesday. But he looked glum and wasn’t walking particularly well by the locker room area after getting treatment and testing the ankle, and the Knicks announced he wouldn’t be in uniform about 50 minutes before the start.

He sat on the bench wearing a brown sports jacket, getting up slowly during timeouts whenever the Knicks called them in a futile attempt to stop the Thunder’s onslaught.

The Knicks fell to 0-7 in orange uniforms this season.

Notes: Chris Smith, J.R.’s brother, made his NBA debut with a scoreless minute at the end. … Kenyon Martin returned to the Knicks after missing five games with a strained left abdominal muscle. … Woodson said he thought Felton (strained right groin) would see more doctors Thursday, perhaps getting a better idea how long he would be out. The Knicks were also without Metta World Peace, who has been battling a sore left knee.

ROCKETS 111, SPURS 98

SAN ANTONIO (AP) James Harden and the Houston Rockets are turning into a big problem for the San Antonio Spurs.

Harden scored 28 points and Dwight Howard had 15 points and 20 rebounds, leading the balanced Rockets to a 111-98 victory over the Spurs on Wednesday.

Each of Houston’s starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division.

”I think we can be very good,” Houston forward Chandler Parsons said. ”It’s obviously a process, and we’re getting better every single day. But when we defend like that, rebound well and get out in transition, we’re tough to beat.”

Harden scored 31 points in Houston’s 112-106 victory against San Antonio on Nov. 30. The Rockets have won their last three against the Spurs dating to last season and are averaging 108.8 points over the last six games in the series.

”We just didn’t give very good performances,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ”You can live with that from time to time. Nobody’s going to play perfect every night. But you can’t combine poor performances with a lack of physicality and a lack of discipline. They whipped us. They whipped us good. That’s an embarrassing loss.”

Parsons and Terrence Jones each scored 21 points for the Rockets (19-11), who shot 52 percent from the field. Jeremy Lin had 13 points, eight assists, two blocked shots and just one turnover.

The Spurs have dropped two of three and split their last six games. They are just 3-6 over the last month against teams with a record above .500.

Super sub Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 22 points, and Tim Duncan added 11 points and 14 rebounds. Kawhi Leonard had 13 points, but Tony Parker was held to six points on 3-for-11 shooting.

”We didn’t play well,” Parker said. ”Move on to the next one, it’s the NBA.”

San Antonio never recovered after Houston raced to a 27-9 lead. The Spurs were unable to stop Parsons’ long shots, Harden’s drives, Howard in the paint or Jones on the boards for follow ups.

”Our guys really came out on fire,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. ”They were excited to play. Really moved the ball; attacked. Terrence had great energy. He was running and helping the defense. We really set the tone early and rode that the entire game.”

Houston led 40-25 after one. It was the most points allowed by the Spurs in the opening period this season, and tied for the most in any quarter. Oklahoma City scored 40 points in the second quarter of its 13-point victory Dec. 21 in San Antonio.

”The first quarter was embarrassing,” Ginobili said. ”They picked us apart. We were not as aggressive as they were, not as sharp as they were and they scored 40. So it’s the second time that happened and that’s way too many.”

Ginobili slammed the scorer’s table with his right palm during a timeout with Houston leading 27-11.

After trailing by 18 points in the first half, San Antonio had a couple solid stretches in the second half but couldn’t make the plays it needed to complete the rallies.

”We toughened up,” Parsons said. ”We understand that this is a great team playing on their floor, and we have to get some big stops. Everyone collectively bought into that, we got some huge stops and we didn’t stop running, either.”

Leonard’s three-point play on Howard’s fourth foul pulled San Antonio to 71-64 with 4:47 left in the third. The Spurs closed to 73-71 before Harden and Lin began draining long jumpers to help the Rockets pull away again.

Harden closed out the victory, scoring 16 points in the final quarter after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury. His second 3 of the game made it 100-90 with 5 minutes remaining.

”No, I just was getting the feel the first three quarters of who’s making shots,” Harden said when asked if he was waiting on the fourth quarter. ”I missed two games. I wanted to get a feel for who was playing well. Coming into the game, I wanted to keep them involved and keep them going and try to get mine towards the end.”

NOTES: Rockets G Patrick Beverley (right hand) and C Omer Asik (thigh contusion) missed the game. … Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones sat courtside, a row in front of David Robinson’s customary seats. The actor laughed and applauded when The Coyote, the Spurs’ mascot, snuck beside him disguised as a Christmas tree. … Terrence Jones pushed Matt Bonner after the Spurs’ reserve forward wrapped up Howard high after the Rockets star grabbed his third offensive rebound on one possession. Duncan stepped between, putting his hand in Jones’ chest and pushing him away before officials broke up the gathering. … While the Rockets got smatterings of cheers throughout the game, Howard was lustily booed whenever he attempted a free throw or entered the game.

BULLS 95, NETS 78

NEW YORK (AP) — Taj Gibson scored 20 points and Jimmy Butler added 15 to help Chicago rout Brooklyn.

Butler keyed a 21-5 run that gave Chicago control in the third quarter. Returning from a right ankle injury that sidelined him a game, Butler started the burst with a 3-pointer and had a three-point play that made it 57-52.

Deron Williams scored 18 points for Brooklyn. The Nets have lost four straight.

Warriors beat Clippers on testy Christmas night

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Clippers star Blake Griffin fired off some harsh words for the Golden State Warriors after being ejected on a Christmas night turned spirited.

Coach Doc Rivers is equally as irritated – and believes the Warriors tried to get Griffin thrown out.

Griffin and Golden State’s Draymond Green were long gone before a wild finish Wednesday night, when Klay Thompson blocked a shot by Chris Paul with 1 second left then contested Jamal Crawford’s 3-pointer that fell short at the final buzzer to send the Warriors past Los Angeles 105-103.

Griffin was ejected for his second technical with 10:43 remaining after scuffling with Andrew Bogut, following Green to the showers after they got into it at the end of the third. Green was tossed for a flagrant 2 foul.

”If you look at it, I didn’t do anything and I got thrown out of the game. It all boils down to they (referees) fell for it,” Griffin said. ”To me, it’s cowardly basketball. I don’t know their intentions, but it worked. … If I knew the answer I’d probably be in a different position. Tonight I got two technicals for nothing.”

Without Griffin, the Clippers missed too many chances in the waning moments.

Paul’s lay-in with 11.9 seconds left went around the rim and out, but Andre Iguodala missed a pair of free throws with 9.3 seconds remaining. That gave the Clippers the ball back with 8.3 seconds to go.

Stephen Curry overcame a slow start to score seven of his 15 points over the final 3:01 to go with 11 assists as Golden State snapped the Pacific Division-leading Clippers’ season-best five-game winning streak. Thompson finished with 23 points and David Lee had 23 points and 13 rebounds.

When the game ended, players tangled near the tunnel to the Clippers’ locker room and security personnel stepped in – and former Warriors swingman Stephen Jackson could be seen screaming in the middle of it all.

Whether the Warriors intended to ignite Griffin, Rivers can only guess.

”I don’t know if they were but it sure looked like it. I can’t accuse them of that but it looked like it. I’m not sure but that’s what it looked like,” Rivers said. ”It’s whatever you have to do to win, I guess.”

This one was sure was feisty and festive from the opening tipoff at sold-out Oracle Arena, where fans wore ”Christmas Whiteout” snowflake Warriors T-shirts for the holiday occasion.

Paul had 26 points and 11 assists as he and Curry put on a late-game show between two of the Western Conference’s top point guards. Griffin added 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists before his early exit.

Bogut added 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Neither Rivers nor Warriors coach Mark Jackson is ready to deem this a California rivalry just yet – not until both teams are consistent contenders year after year, they say.

It’s certainly getting heated enough to be close to such status. And they see each other twice more. The Clippers come back Jan. 30.

”We like them. Merry Christmas,” Jackson said jokingly. ”It’s just physical basketball, so we don’t get caught up in that. … It’s good, old-fashioned basketball between two teams that are playing for something.”

Griffin was held back by teammates at the end of the third quarter while jawing with Green. Following a review, Griffin received a technical and Green was ejected for a flagrant foul 2 after throwing an elbow.

”You have some key matchups in the game where guys want to go at each other,” Green said. ”Any time you have that, you’re going to have a tough, hard-nosed game.”

Then, officials went to review once more to look at a tussle between Griffin and Bogut. Griffin left the game while Bogut was hit with a flagrant 1 and a technical.

The Clippers, who never trailed in the first half, took a 77-74 lead into the see-saw fourth. They dropped to 19-3 when leading after three quarters and 8-3 on the road.

Los Angeles beat Golden State 126-115 at home on Oct. 31 to hand the Warriors their first loss a day after a season-opening win against the Lakers.

Curry performed when it mattered, though he is shooting just 9 for 44 in three Christmas games. Lee and Bogut each have double digits in rebounds in 10 straight games.

Golden State grabbed its first lead at the 10:35 mark in the third on Bogut’s running jumper and began the second half with an 11-6 spurt.

The Warriors were 22 for 52 in the first half – taking more shots than the Clippers’ 21 of 40 – but Lee’s dunk pulled Golden State within 53-51 at halftime.

Notes: Former Warriors G Matt Barnes got some Christmas boos when he checked in for the Clippers midway through the first, while Antawn Jamison still gets his due respect. … The Warriors played their 23rd Christmas game and third in four years after having Christmas off for 26 years. They lost their previous Dec. 25 outing to the Clippers 105-86 at Oracle – Los Angeles’ last on Golden State’s home floor – to start the lockout-shortened 66-game 2011-12 season. … The Warriors haven’t lost a season series to the Clippers since 2005-06. Golden State was one of only two teams along with the Thunder to take three of four from Los Angeles last season.

NBA Roundup: Heat beats Lakers 101-95 for 6th straight victory is a post from: PhatzRadio.com


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