NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Rudy Gay tied a season high with 28 points and the Memphis Grizzlies maintained their NBA-best winning percentage with their second-straight victory, 96-89 over the struggling New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.
New Orleans put up resistance, though, despite losing for the 11th time in 13 games, and Memphis needed Gay's 3 with 2:10 left to get some breathing room.
Former Hornets first-round draft choice Quincy Pondexter tied a season high with 16 points for the Grizzlies, who improved to 14-3 (.823). Zach Randolph added 15 points and Marc Gasol 13.
Ryan Anderson, Austin Rivers and Brian Roberts each scored 15 points for the Hornets, who were within one possession of tying or leading several times in the fourth quarter. Xavier Henry, making his first start this season, had 12 points.
76ERS 95, CELTICS 94, OT
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Evan Turner had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Thaddeus Young added 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead Philadelphia past Boston in overtime.
Turner drove past Courtney Lee and tossed up an off-balance, right-handed shot for a 95-94 lead with 3.9 seconds left. Boston guard Rajon Rondo slipped and his ankles buckled on the last possession, costing him a chance to hit the potential game-winner, a dud ending to his sizzling triple-double.
The teams meet again Saturday night in Boston.
Rondo had 16 points, 14 assists and a season-high 13 rebounds. Kevin Garnett had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul Pierce scored 27 points. Jeff Green, who gave Boston its last lead in OT with a 3-pointer, finished with 19 points.
THUNDER 114, LAKERS 108
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Kevin Durant had 36 points, Russell Westbrook scored 27 of his 33 in the first half to stake Oklahoma City to a commanding lead in a win over short-handed Los Angeles.
NBA scoring leader Kobe Bryant had 35 points to lead the Lakers, who trailed by 19 before rallying to get within four in the final minute. Dwight Howard added 23 points and 18 rebounds.
What could have been an early showdown between championship contenders instead had the Lakers limping in with a losing record and three key players out because of injuries.
Westbrook's big first half put the Thunder in control, but L.A. charged back with a late 27-12 run to make it interesting.
NUGGETS 92, PACERS 89
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Andre Miller scored eight of his 15 points during a late 10-0 spurt, sending the Denver Nuggets to a 92-89 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
The Nuggets (10-10) have won 13 of the last 16 in this series, including seven of the last nine in Indianapolis. The 36-year-old Miller was the big reason this time.
Denver led most of the second half but found itself in an 85-82 deficit with 3:32 left.
That's when Miller took over. He made two free throws, a layup , a 15-foot jumper and assisted on JaVale McGee's breakaway dunk to make it 90-85 with 1:38 left, then closed the run with a 14-foot pull-up jumper.
Indiana (10-10) had a chance to force overtime, but George Hill's 3 bounced off the rim. Paul George led the Pacers with 22 points.
BULLS 108, PISTONS 104
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Joakim Noah had career highs of 30 points and 23 rebounds, to help Chicago beat Detroit for the 16th straight time.
The Bulls trailed by 17 points in the second quarter, but rallied toward the end of the half and took control in the fourth quarter. All five Chicago starters finished in double figures, including Carlos Boozer with 24 points. Luol Deng and Marco Belinelli scored 16 apiece.
Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 24 points and Brandon Knight added 21. The Pistons had 28 rebounds on the night, only five more than Noah had by himself.
Noah's previous career highs were 26 points and 21 rebounds.
SPURS 114, ROCKETS 92
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tony Parker had 17 points and seven assists, and San Antonio never trailed in a win over Houston.
The Spurs had six players score in double figures while matching their season high with 33 assists.
Tiago Splitter scored 15 points and Gary Neal, Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills and Tim Duncan each added 12. Duncan also had a game-high 12 rebounds.
James Harden had 29 points, and Patrick Patterson and Toney Douglas each scored 10 to lead Houston.
It was Harden's first game in San Antonio since helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Spurs last season in the Western Conference finals. The fans certainly remembered Harden, who was booed heartily during pregame introductions and every time he shot a free throw.
TIMBERWOLVES 91, CAVALIERS 73
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Love had 36 points and 13 rebounds to lead Minnesota past Cleveland.
Luke Ridnour had 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Timberwolves, and Andrei Kirilenko had eight points, seven rebounds and six assists after missing the previous four games with back spasms.
Alonzo Gee scored 16 points and Anderson Varejao grabbed 14 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have lost four in a row and eight of their last nine while star guard Kyrie Irving has been out with a broken left index finger.
The two teams combined for 41 turnovers and shot 25 percent from 3-point range in an ugly offensive game.
HAWKS 104, WIZARDS 95
ATLANTA (AP) — Josh Smith had 23 points and 15 rebounds, Al Horford also posted a double-double and the Atlanta Hawks beat Washington 104-95 on Friday night to keep the Wizards winless on the road.
Horford had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawks, who have won eight of nine. The Wizards, who had won two of three following their 0-12 start, fell to 0-8 in road games.
Kevin Seraphin had 19 points and Bradley Beal had 18 for Washington, which could not build on its win over defending champion Miami on Tuesday night.
Jeff Teague had 19 points and DeShawn Stevenson made five 3-pointers for 15 points for Atlanta.
BUCKS 108, BOBCATS 93
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ersan Ilyasova scored a season-high 21 points and Marquis Daniels had season highs with 18 points and six rebounds as Milwaukee took command early and cruised past Charlotte.
Brandon Jennings had 15 points and eight assists and Monta Ellis added 13 points to help the Bucks.
Milwaukee led by 13 after the first quarter, 18 at the half and 25 at the end of the third. Leading 98-77 with 6:06 to play, coach Scott Skiles cleared the bench. The Bobcats closed to within nine, but never got any closer.
Gerald Henderson led the Bobcats with 19 points and Kemba Walker had 16 for Charlotte, which has lost six in a row.
JAZZ 131, RAPTORS 99
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Paul Millsap scored 20 points, Enes Kanter had 18 in his first career start and Utah hit 13 3-pointers.
Gordon Hayward added 17 points off the bench as the Jazz improved to 8-1 at home. Marvin Williams, Randy Foye and DeMarre Carroll all made three 3-pointers as Utah finished 13 for 23 from beyond the arc.
The Jazz hit five 3s in a 3½-minute span of the second quarter to build a 14-point lead after trailing by as many as 10 early. They hit seven more in the second half and led by as many as 34 in the game, a stark contrast to the triple-overtime thriller the Jazz won on Nov. 12 in Toronto.
Kanter started at center for the Jazz with Al Jefferson still bothered by back spasms.
Andrea Bargnani led Toronto with 20 points and eight rebounds. DeMar DeRozan added 17 points while Amir Johnson scored 10 off the bench as the Raptors fell to 1-12 on the road.
