National Basketball Association Game Capsules

Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) – Arron Afflalo led a balanced scoring attack with 17 points as the Denver Nuggets snapped a six-game losing streak with a thorough 108-87 victory over the Indiana Pacers. The Nuggets won their season opener against Detroit two weeks ago and proceeded to lose six in a row by an average of 13.3 points, including an embarrassing home loss to Portland on Wednesday when they surrendered 84 points in the first half alone. The table was turned on Friday, as Denver committed just eight turnovers, shot 49.4 percent from the floor and led by as many as 33. Seven Nuggets scored in double figures. Ty Lawson totaled 11 points and 10 assists while Wilson Chandler and Gary Harris each chipped in with 13 points. A.J. Price’s 14 points led the way for Indiana.

Final Score: Orlando 101, Milwaukee 85

Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Tobias Harris had 26 points and 10 rebounds as the Orlando Magic defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 101-85, on Friday night. Nik Vucevic posted 18 points and nine rebounds and Evan Fournier netted 15 points for the Magic, who have won four of their last six games on the heels of an 0-4 start. Victor Oladipo made his season debut after missing the first nine games, and tallied 13 points. Oladipo has had a pair of injuries, first spraining his MCL during a Magic team scrimmage last month and then suffering a facial fracture during practice a few days prior to the start of the season. Brandon Knight provided 24 points, six boards and five assists, while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 19 points and seven rebounds for Milwaukee, which had a brief two-game winning streak snapped. Milwaukee has lost 17 straight at Orlando.

Final Score: Atlanta 114, Miami 103

Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) – Paul Millsap scored 19 points with nine rebounds to lead eight Atlanta players in double figures, and the Hawks defeated the Miami Heat, 114-103, on Friday. Al Horford also tallied 19 with six rebounds and four assists and Jeff Teague supplied 16 points with nine assists for Atlanta, which has won four straight. Thabo Sefolosha, Shelvin Mack and Kyle Korver each deposited 12 points, while Mike Scott and Dennis Schroder added 11 and 10, respectively, as the Hawks shot 42-of-75 as a team. Mario Chalmers led the Heat with 23 points to go along with 11 assists, Shawne Williams had 21 points and Chris Bosh finished with 20 points with eight rebounds. Chalmers played a bigger role for Miami because Dwyane Wade rested his sore right knee.

Final Score: Cleveland 122, Boston 121

Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) – LeBron James scored a season-high 41 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 19-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Boston Celtics 122-121 on Friday night. Kyrie Irving scored 15 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for Cleveland, including 12 during a big run, but missed a one-handed floater to give the ball back to Boston with seven seconds remaining and a chance to win the game. But Celtics guard Rajon Rondo bobbled his dribble against Shawn Marion at the other end and didn’t get a shot off before the buzzer, giving Cavaliers coach and Boston native David Blatt a win in his first game in his home town. Anderson Varejao scored 16 and Kevin Love had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won three in a row since a 1-3 start. James scored a season high four days after going for 32 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists against New Orleans. (He was originally credited with a triple-double before the NBA took back one rebound and one assist.) Kelly Olynyk scored 21 points in a well-balanced attack for the Celtics, who have lost two in a row to open a three-game homestand.

Final Score: Utah 102, New York 100

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Trey Burke hit a turnaround jumper at the buzzer for the game-winning points as the Utah Jazz posted a 102-100 decision over the reeling New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks were dealt a seventh consecutive loss despite 46 points from Carmelo Anthony, the last three coming on a contested step-back shot with 2.3 seconds remaining that forged a 100-100 tie. Utah then got the ball to Burke out of a timeout and the second-year guard knocked down a 19-footer with J.R. Smith’s hand in his face to halt Utah’s two-game skid. Burke finished with 13 points and Gordon Hayward poured in 33 for the Jazzwith Derrick Favors contributing a 21- point double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds to the victory.

Final Score: Houston 88, Philadelphia 87

Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – The Philadelphia 76ers will presumably win a game this season, but the Houston Rockets made sure they were not their first victim by surviving the NBA’s only winless club in an 88-87 thriller Friday. James Harden made a go-ahead layup with 9.0 seconds remaining, and Michael Carter-Williams missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer to end a surprisingly tight contest. The embattled Sixers, whose overt rebuilding strategy has produced a bevy of detractors, went into Toyota Center and stood toe-to-toe with a one-loss Houston club following an embarrassing 123-70 loss in Dallas the night before. They led 87-84 after a Tony Wroten 3-pointer and had the ball with under 40 seconds to play, but turnovers on consecutive possessions — their 25th and 26th of the night — doomed their chances for an upset. Harden made two free throws to pull the Rockets within one, 87-86, then used a high screen from Dwight Howard to drive for the eventual winning basket. Carter-Williams’ miss from just above the right elbow sent the Sixers to 0-9. Harden finished with 35 points, and Howard totaled 21 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks for Houston, which improved to 8-1. Wroten paced the Sixes with 19 points and eight assists.

Final Score: New Orleans 139, Minnesota 91

New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) – Jrue Holiday scored 24 points with nine assists to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to their best offensive game in franchise history, a 139-91 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. Anthony Davis deposited 22 points, Austin Rivers supplied 17 and Tyreke Evans added 16 for the Pelicans, who set franchise records for points in a game, points in a half, margin of victory and field goal percentage (66.7). They also tied the franchise mark with 15 3-pointers made. Ryan Anderson made four of those 3s in his 16-point effort, while Luke Babbitt and Eric Gordon added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Andrew Wiggins paced the Timberwolves with 20 points and Corey Brewer netted 18 off the bench. Minnesota has lost four straight overall and three in a row in New Orleans.

Final Score: Detroit 96, Oklahoma City 89 (OT)

Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) – Brandon Jennings scored eight of his game-high 29 points in overtime to send Detroit to a 96-89 triumph over Oklahoma City on Friday night. Josh Smith ended with 18 points and Greg Monroe tallied 14 points with nine rebounds for the Pistons, who snapped a 10-game skid to the Thunder. It was their first victory against Oklahoma City since Dec. 26, 2008. Jeremy Lamb notched the first double-double of his career with 24 points and 10 rebounds, but the Thunder failed to build on a 15-point comeback win at Boston Wednesday night. Reggie Jackson had 20 points and 12 assists, and Serge Ibaka chipped in 19 points and 10 rebounds. Oklahoma City went 12-of-36 from 3-point range and made just 1-of-6 from the foul line.

Final Score: Charlotte 103, Phoenix 95

Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Kemba Walker scored 19 points and the Charlotte Hornets pulled away for a 103-95 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak in the series. Gary Neal scored 12 of his 14 points in a big fourth quarter for the Hornets, including a pair of 3- pointers during a 12-2 run that gave them a 10-point lead with six minutes left. The Suns, who led by as many as 14 in the game, got as close as four down the stretch but three straight layups by Charlotte and four free throws from Neal sealed the Hornets’ first road win of the season (1-4). Al Jefferson also scored 14 and Lance Stephenson had 13 points for Charlotte, which hadn’t beaten Phoenix since Jan. 26, 2011. Bismack Biyombo chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds in the win, Charlotte’s first in three games. Eric Bledsoe had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Suns and Marcus Morris had 17 points. Markieff Morris, Miles Plumlee and Goran Dragic scored 12 apiece in the loss, which dropped Phoenix to 2-3 on a five-game homestand after two straight wins. The Suns bench was outscored 43-20 by Charlotte’s.

Final Score: San Antonio 93, LA Lakers 80

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – San Antonio’s defense blanketed Kobe Bryant, holding the NBA’s leading scorer to single digits on a night the Spurs dominated the Los Angeles Lakers. Tim Duncan registered 13 points and 11 rebounds and the Spurs won 93-80 Friday night at Staples Center. Cory Joseph had 14 points, Kawhi Leonard scored 12 and Tony Parker chipped in 11 points and nine assists for the defending NBA champions, who have won three in a row since a 2-3 start to the season. Bryant, who entered play averaging 27.5 points per game, was limited to just nine on 1-of-14 shooting from the field. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts. Carlos Boozer scored 19 and Jordan Hill had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who fell to 1-8 on the season, their worst start in franchise history. Jeremy Lin had 15 points for Los Angeles, which shot 37.3 percent from the field. Bryant was 0-for-10 entering the fourth quarter.

Categorized in: NBA