On a night the Sacramento Kings openly campaigned for Tyreke Evans to be Rookie of the Year, the exciting first-year guard appropriately obliged with another vintage performance. Evans recorded his first career triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, leading the Kings to a 113-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
Top scorer Dirk Nowitzki was struggling, and the Dallas Mavericks needed points from other sources. Jason Kidd, Caron Butler, rookie Roddy Beaubois and Shawn Marion picked up the slack. Kidd had 20 points and nine assists, hitting 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and the Mavericks recovered from a lethargic start to match the NBA’s longest winning streak this season with their 13th straight victory,…
Losing Tony Parker hurt, just like when Manu Ginobili went down around this time last season. Parker picked up the slack then. Ginobili is doing the same so far. Ginobili scored 28 points and the San Antonio Spurs won for the fifth time in six games with a 97-87 victory over the New York Knicks, who guaranteed themselves a franchise-record ninth consecutive losing season.
Since point guard Chris Paul went out with a knee injury, rookie Darren Collison has been able to duplicate the All-Star’s production against just about anyone the New Orleans Hornets play. Just not the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kevin Durant scored 29 points, Russell Westbrook added 17 points and came up just shy of a triple-double, and the Thunder beat injury-depleted New Orleans 98-83 on…
Soaring through the air for a jaw-dropping, 360-dunk off an alley-oop pass, J.R. Smith showed everyone what teammate Chauncey Billups already knew — the Denver Nuggets are so much more than a two-man team. Even though they held Billups and Carmelo Anthony in check for much of the game, the Minnesota Timberwolves were still powerless against a deeper and far more talented opponent.
The Memphis Grizzlies keep winning on the road. And now they’re even beating Boston. Rudy Gay scored 28 points on Wednesday night to lead Memphis to a 111-91 victory over the Celtics and give the Grizzlies a franchise-record seventh straight road win. The previous six were against non-contenders, but this was Memphis’ first victory over the Celtics in seven tries.
Most NBA coaches would be thrilled by their team scoring 247 points in two nights, especially in consecutive road victories. Jerry Sloan, though, wasn’t impressed. A night after putting up 132 points in a rout of Chicago, Sloan’s Utah Jazz put on another offensive show, beating the Detroit Pistons 115-104 on Wednesday.
The Charlotte Bobcats are on pace to take the next step. Refusing to let down the night after a big win over Miami, they won again and the destination could be the first playoff berth in the sixth season of the franchise. Gerald Wallace scored 28 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field, Stephen Jackson added 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the Bobcats won their fourth straight game with a 102-87…
Rudy Gay scored 28 points to lead Memphis to a 111-91 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night and give the Grizzlies a franchise-record seventh straight road win. It was the Grizzlies’ first victory over Boston in seven tries since 2006. O.J. Mayo scored 17 points and Zach Randolph had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis.
Dwyane Wade had 27 points and eight assists, Jermaine O’Neal finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, and the Miami Heat extended their longest home winning streak of the season to four games by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 108-97 on Wednesday night. Michael Beasley scored 15 points before leaving with a thigh bruise late in the third quarter, and Mario Chalmers chipped in with 12 points…