NBA Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers

Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers 104-92

David West scored 19 points, Lance Stephenson had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers wrapped up a five-game road trip with a 104-92 victory over the spiraling Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. George Hill had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who stayed atop the overall NBA standings despite losing twice on their West Coast trip. Los Angeles kept it close into the second half before the Pacers finished an easy win over the injury-riddled Lakers, who have lost five straight. All-Star selection Paul George had his second straight rough game for Indiana, scoring 14 points on 4-for-21 shooting. Pau Gasol had 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who returned from a two-week road trip for their 17th loss in 20 games. Jodie Meeks also scored 21 points, and Nick Young had 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting in the Lakers' fourth consecutive home loss to Indiana since 2010. Kendall Marshall had 11 points and 13 assists. While dropping into 14th place in the Western Conference, the Lakers (16-30) also got yet another round of dismaying injury news during the game. Kobe Bryant has continued pain and swelling after breaking a bone in his left knee, and he won't be re-evaluated for three more weeks. The fourth-leading scorer in NBA history has played in just six games this season, and the latest injury is expected to force him to miss the All-Star game next month. He has been out since Dec. 17. Los Angeles also played without Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar and Xavier Henry, while Gasol and Meeks played through nagging injuries. Nash is hoping to return Friday, but the Lakers aren't certain after the two-time MVP missed his 38th consecutive game. Despite struggling for long stretches on offence and making just 15 of their 27 free throws, the Pacers bounced back from Saturday's loss at Denver, their second in three games. Indiana led by five points late in the third quarter before making a 19-8 run, going up 93-77 on Stephenson's layup with 7:26 left. Indiana's opponents had averaged 109.5 points per game on this trip until the Pacers met the Lakers, who failed to crack 100 points for the first time in nine games. The injury-riddled Lakers gave 18 minutes of playing time to Manny Harris, who was in the D-League the last time Los Angeles played a home game. Harris went scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting.

NBA Washington Wizards vs Golden State Warriors

Washington Wizards vs Golden State Warriors 88-85

Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson said before his team faced the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night that John Wall deserved to be on the Eastern Conference All-Star team. He may want to add the other half of Washington's terrific backcourt tandem, too. Bradley Beal scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, and Wall had 15 points and eight rebounds while making some big plays late to lead the Wizards past the Warriors 88-85. "I just kept shooting. I had amnesia, and I wasn't getting down on myself in the first half because I got good looks and I was taking what the defence was giving me and the shots that I wanted," Wall said. "I didn't lose my confidence or anything like that. I knew in the second half I had to step up for this team to be able to win." In a matchup of two of the NBA's best young backcourts, Washington's guard duo outplayed and outhustled Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson when it mattered most. Beal, who was 1-of-7 shooting in the first half, finished 8 of 19 from the floor to go with seven rebounds and four assists. Wall hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:28 remaining, and the Wizards forced the Warriors into several difficult shots in the closing moments. "It wasn't a pretty game by either team I'm sure offensively, but these are the kind of games our defence can win for us," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. Stephen Curry scored 23 points before missing a contested left-handed 3-pointer as time expired, and Thompson had 13 points and six rebounds for the streaky Warriors, who have lost six of nine since winning 10 in a row. "We've got to be better," Jackson said. "The very good teams or the great teams in this league, they take care of their business. And right now we're a team (that) if a championship-calibre team comes in here or an elite team comes in here, we play at that level. Or if a bad team or an average team comes in, then we play at that level. We are not good enough to allow who comes in here to determine how hard we play." Both teams shot under 38 per cent and were often careless with the ball. The Warriors committed 19 turnovers, while Washington had 18. In the end, the Wizards were a little crisper. Beal shook off his slow start to make three consecutive 3-pointers at the beginning of the fourth quarter to give Washington a 75-68 lead. The Warrriors came back quickly, with Thompson connecting from beyond the arc to cap a spurt that put the Warriors up 79-77. After Washington went ahead by five, Curry hit a 3-pointer that brought most of the announced sellout crowd of 19,596 roaring to its feet. Golden State stopped the Wizards after a timeout, and then grabbed two offensive rebounds before Thompson found David Lee for a layup that tied the score at 85 with 1:47 to play. Wall came back with a 3-pointer off a rebound, and then Andre Iguodala air-balled a 3 for the Warriors on the other end. Washington missed a major chance when centre Marcin Gortat, who also lost two rebounds in the final minutes, missed a wide-open layup after securing a rebound. It didn't matter. Curry missed another shot from long range, and the Wizards grabbed the rebound — but blew another chance to put the game out of reach. After stopping Washington and calling timeout with 6.1 seconds left, the Warriors wasted the final possession, with Curry picking up his dribble and forcing a left-handed leaner around Trevor Ariza that sealed Washington's win. Curry shot 8 of 23 from the floor, and Thompson finished 5 for 17. "We didn't do enough to separate ourselves and were at the mercy of some missed shots down the stretch that decided the game," Curry said. "Just a bad performance, and really disappointing."

NBA Memphis Grizzlies vs Portland Trail Blazers

Memphis Grizzlies vs Portland Trail Blazers 98-81

There is something about returning to Portland that brings the best out of Memphis forward Zach Randolph. Randolph did another number on his former team Tuesday night, finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies to a 98-81 victory over the Trail Blazers. Mike Conley had 19 points and seven assists, and Marc Gasol added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Grizzlies (23-20), who won their third straight and seventh in eight games. LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 27 points and 16 rebounds as the Blazers (33-13) suffered their most lopsided defeat of the season. Portland registered a season low for points scored and had their home winning streak snapped at five games. Randolph registered his 27th double-double of the season as a franchise record-setting 190th for the Grizzlies, who never trailed. Portland fell to 18-5 at home. Randolph, who played his first six seasons with the Blazers, averaged 22.7 points on 52.9 per cent shooting in seven previous visits. "It's always fun to come back," said Randolph, who scored 13 of his 23 points in the first half as the Grizzlies opened a 61-46 lead. "This is where I started, man. That's just the kind of player that I am." The Grizzlies, picking up where they had left off in Saturday's 99-81 home win over Houston, shot 58.3 per cent in the first quarter against the Blazers and jumped in front 31-22 behind Randolph's 11 points. "It was important for us to get off to a fast start and we did," Randolph said. "We had great offence during the game, but our defence was the key." The Grizzlies held Portland, averaging a NBA-leading 109 points a game, to 34.5 per cent shooting two nights after the Blazers shot a season-low 33.7 per cent in a 103-88 loss at Golden State. "Memphis saw blood and they lunged at our jugular," Blazers centre Robin Lopez said. "I really think we kind of slashed our own throat in a way, which kind of let them run away with it." Aldridge was 6 of 7 in the first quarter and Nicholas Batum converted a three-point play that pulled Portland within 24-22, but Memphis outscored the Blazers 7-0 over the final 2:20 of the period to open a nine-point cushion. "We were in attack mode on both ends of the floor," Grizzlies coach David Joerger said. "Most of the night, we were the aggressors." Memphis connected four times from 3-point range in the second quarter, including one by Courtney Lee that extended the lead to 57-39 with 3:39 to play in the half. Damian Lillard connected from 3 for Portland to start the fourth quarter, sparking a 23-13 run that cut the deficit to 94-81 with 2:27 to play. "It was a disappointing game, needless to say," said Blazers coach Terry Stotts, whose team was playing its ninth game in 14 nights. "We got off to a slow start. We caught a team that's trying to put it together. They're on a roll and they're playing very well. They showed that in the first half." Lillard finished with 16 points, Lopez had 14, and Batum 10 for the Blazers. "We're in a rough patch right now," Lillard said. "We're not shooting the ball very well and we've got to defend better. We've played so well, we were due for a rough patch and a little bit of adversity." The Grizzlies remain in fourth place in the Southwest Division but are gaining ground. "We're getting our chemistry right," Randolph said. "I don't want to say we're right there or that we're hitting our peak, but it's coming. As long as we keep working hard and playing 48 minutes, we give ourselves a chance to compete with anybody."

NBA Houston Rockets vs San Antonio Spurs

Houston Rockets vs San Antonio Spurs 97-90

James Harden was out with a thumb injury, and then Dwight Howard got off to a slow start. It sure looked as if it was going to be a long night for the Houston Rockets. Then everything changed in the third quarter. Howard got back on track and a pair of role players stepped up to help Houston rally for a 97-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The Rockets trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before scoring 33 in the third to go on top. San Antonio used an 11-3 spurt to pull within two in the final minutes, but Howard and Jeremy Lin helped Houston hold on for the win. "We just kept grinding it out," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We changed a couple of things defensively and the guys kind of dug in and got stops." Howard had 23 points and 16 rebounds for Houston, which enjoyed a 55-39 advantage on the glass. Terrence Jones scored 21 points and Lin added 18 points and eight assists while starting in Harden's spot. Harden, who leads the team with 23.7 points a game, was out with a bruised left thumb. "I know I missed a lot of shots early," Howard said. "I didn't lose focus. I got a little frustrated because I wanted to make those shots, especially against Tim (Duncan). But I just tried to stick with it and show the team that no matter what I'm going to battle." Boris Diaw scored a season-high 22 points for the Spurs, and he also had 11 rebounds. Tony Parker added 17 points and Duncan had 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Houston was clinging to a 90-88 lead with less than two minutes left when Howard had a dunk and Lin made a jumper. Duncan had a layup on the other end, but Lin sunk a pair of free throws to secure the victory. Houston has won all three meetings with the Southwest Division-leading Spurs to secure the season series for the first time since 1996-97. They have one scheduled game left on April 14 in Houston. San Antonio's 90-point performance ended a streak of 15 straight games with at least 100 points and sent the Spurs to consecutive losses for the first time this season. The last time they were held below 100 was a 111-98 loss to Houston on Christmas Day. The Spurs got within six on a hook shot by Diaw early in the fourth quarter. Lin then scored five quick points to extend Houston's lead to 81-70. Houston was up by four points with four minutes left in the third quarter when San Antonio resorted to the "Hack-a-Howard" defence, fouling the centre every time the Rockets got the ball. Howard made 13 of 25 foul shots on the night, leaving him at 52.2 per cent from the line for the season. "I figured they were going to do it," he said. "I'm just glad I made most of them." Duncan lamented that the tactic backfired for the Spurs. "That's what he had to do to get us out of it," Duncan said. "He made free throws and he hurt us with them." The Spurs employed the strategy on eight straight possessions, with Howard making 10 foul shots while they had six points as Houston extended its lead to 70-62. Diaw made a jump shot at the end of the third quarter to cut Houston's lead to 72-64 entering the fourth. The Rockets opened the second half with an 11-2 run, capped by a two-handed dunk by Howard, to take their first lead of the game at 50-48. Lin started the run with a 3-pointer and also had two free throws in the surge. Manu Ginobili made four free throws for San Antonio before Houston scored six straight points to take a 56-52 lead. Ginobili and Chandler Parsons then exchanged rim-rattling dunks in rapid succession. The 36-year-old Ginobili injured himself on his jam and was soon limping and holding his upper left leg. He remained in the game for a bit before walking off the court and into the locker room at the next timeout. The team said he had tightness in his left hamstring. He missed time earlier this month with the same problem. San Antonio led by 10 points in the second quarter before Howard made his first basket of the night after starting the game 0 for 8. The bucket was the first of five straight points for Howard with San Antonio's only points in that stretch coming on a layup by Marco Belinelli, helping Houston close to 46-39 at halftime. Houston struggled early without Harden and San Antonio jumped to a 9-0 lead thanks to five points from Diaw. The Spurs pushed the lead to 21-6 with about five minutes left in the first.

NBA New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics

New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics 114-88

This one was so easy for the New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony only needed to play 28 minutes. That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Jeremy Tyler added a career-high 17 points and fellow reserve J.R. Smith also scored 17 for the Knicks, who lost by 41 the last time the Celtics came to Madison Square Garden but led this one by 35. "Today's game in particular, it was kind of personal, you know what I'm saying, the way they beat us the last time we played them," forward Kenyon Martin said. "So we wanted a little get-back." Anthony, who leads the NBA in minutes per game with 39.2, was quick on his feet after the game, easily handling a question about his relationship with Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau (he said he doesn't have one) and one about comments made by his wife, actress La La Anthony, who has a new book out called "The Love Playbook" and said in a TV interview that she "definitely" thinks he will re-sign with the Knicks. "That's my wife. I support her, I support what she said," Anthony said. "I don't think she said anything wrong. It's a good thing for her to say that. Go get the book though, your wives and girlfriends will enjoy the book." New York evened its record at 3-3 on its eight-game homestand, with games remaining against Cleveland on Thursday and Miami on Saturday. New York is headed in the right direction again since ending a five-game losing streak Friday behind Anthony's 62 points, and is only a half-game out of the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot despite its 18-27 record. "You're going to have ups and downs throughout the season," centre Tyson Chandler said. "The thing is when you have those lulls you've got to be able to bounce back, and we've done that." Jeff Green scored 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting for the Celtics, who have lost three straight and six of seven. Rajon Rondo had seven points and five assists, shooting 3 of 13 in his sixth game of the season after returning from a torn ACL. "It was a good old-fashioned butt kicking," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. After finishing up their Super Bowl media day duties, the Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson and Golden Tate, and Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker of Denver were part of the sellout crowd of 19,812. Hopefully their game Sunday will be better than this clunker. Boston jumped to a 12-0 lead in its 114-73 victory here on Dec. 8, when it handed New York its worst home loss in 11 years. But it never really got much better this season for the Celtics, who led the Atlantic Division at 10-12 after that victory but are 5-20 since. "We didn't take anything away tonight," Rondo said. "We pretty much gave them everything they wanted. They took away stuff from us but we didn't take anything away from those guys." The Knicks jumped to a 21-5 lead helped by the Celtics' lack of execution (they missed 11 of their first 13 shots) and effort (6-foot-1 Raymond Felton grabbed an offensive rebound under the basket without even having to jump on one possession). New York led 31-15 after one and opened a 45-20 bulge when Chandler threw down an alley-oop pass from Smith midway through the second. The Celtics scored 11 straight to cut it to 14, but the Knicks outscored them 18-6 the remainder of the half to take a 63-37 lead. The Knicks overcame the loss of Iman Shumpert to a sprained right shoulder just over 4 minutes into the game. Martin left with a sprained left ankle in his first game after missing five games with the same injury, though the team said he was available to return. New York also announced at halftime that reserve guard Beno Udrih was unavailable because of illness, but everyone else who was active scored. That included Metta World Peace, who played for the first time in a month after having a procedure on his left knee and made a 3-pointer.

NBA Detroit Pistons vs Orlando Magic

Detroit Pistons vs Orlando Magic 103-87

After one of his worst games of the season, Andre Drummond got a little pep talk from Detroit coach Maurice Cheeks. "I told him at shootaround that he's human," Cheeks said. "He's entitled to have a bad game. It's important to see how you bounce back." Drummond had 13 points and 17 rebounds, and the Pistons snapped a four-game losing streak with a 103-87 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night. Drummond bounced back from a poor outing at Dallas over the weekend, and Detroit led comfortably throughout the second half. Detroit has struggled to close out games at home this season, but this time the Pistons turned a double-digit lead into a rout. "We needed it a lot. We're losing, a lot of bad things are around in the air — a lot of negative energy," Detroit guard Will Bynum said. "Just happy to get a win." Brandon Jennings had 20 points and eight assists for Detroit, and Josh Smith added 16 points. Victor Oladipo scored 19 points for the Magic. Detroit finished with 17 offensive rebounds — 12 in the first half — and outscored Orlando 44-22 in the paint. The Magic started former Piston Jason Maxiell for this game, giving themselves a little more size against Detroit's imposing front line. It was no use. Drummond, Smith and Greg Monroe went a combined 17 for 30 from the field. Monroe finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. "Sometimes it is just as simple as finding someone ... and boxing them out," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "You need to do that on 10 defensive possessions out of 10, not six out of 10 or nine out of 10, and we weren't even close to that, especially in the first half. When a shot goes up, find someone and get a body on them." Drummond had only four points against Dallas, and he had a scary start in this one. He stayed down for a bit holding his left leg with 6:34 left in the first quarter — after his shoe came off during a scramble near the basket. Drummond was able to walk off the court, and he was back in the game almost immediately. His putback gave Detroit a 12-11 lead. Maxiell missed a dunk at the other end, and although the Magic led by two after the first quarter, Detroit controlled the second to take a 53-43 halftime lead. Drummond said Cheeks' pregame message helped him. "Last game was a tough game for me," Drummond said. "He knows I really get down on myself if I do anything wrong. For him to tell me that today at the shootaround really gave me a boost to want to be great tonight." Monroe's layup off a pass from Smith capped a 9-0 run that gave the Pistons a 70-55 lead in the third. It was 78-60 at the end of the quarter. "We have to be tougher," Orlando's Jameer Nelson said. "Every guy on this team needs to take pride and ownership in their individual performance and the team's performance. We didn't do that tonight, not at all." Detroit was only 7-5 at home when leading after three quarters, but there would be no late collapse in this one. Jennings connected from beyond the arc to make it 85-63, and the Pistons led by as many as 26. "We've got a lot of talent on this team, and we just have to figure out the right chemistry of players, at the right times," Bynum said. Bynum gave a cryptic response when asked if players are still trying to learn roles. "You don't want to know what I think — it's out of my pay grade to tell you what I think," Bynum said. "Hopefully things just really turn around, and we string up some wins."

NBA New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers

New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers 100-89

Anthony Davis isn't worried about making the All-Star team. He may have nothing to fear. Davis padded his resume by scoring 30 points with eight blocks and seven rebounds and Eric Gordon scored 20, leading the New Orleans Pelicans to a 100-89 win over the puzzling Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Davis, one of three No. 1 overall picks on the floor, was dominant from baseline to baseline as the Pelicans won their third straight. With New Orleans hosting next month's All-Star weekend, the Pelicans are hoping their second-year star will be added to the Western Conference's squad when reserves are named Thursday night. "Everybody keeps talking about All-Star, and should he be an All-Star," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said. "All you have to do is look at tonight. Show me other bigs who are doing it on both ends like he does every single night." Davis dislocated his left index finger in the final minutes, but got taped up during a timeout and stayed in. New Orleans scored 16 straight points to close the first half and opened a 22-point lead in the third, causing some fans to boo the listless Cavaliers, who followed a 3-2 trip out West by going 1-4 on their homestand. Cleveland's lone win was against Milwaukee, which has the NBA's worst record. "Our competitive spirit is non-existent," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "Maybe I need to shake some things up." Kyrie Irving scored 23 and Dion Waiters 21 for Cleveland. Rookie Anthony Bennett, the first pick in last year's draft, scored a season-high 15 and was the lone bright spot for the Cavs. A major disappointment so far, the 6-foot-8 Canadian added eight rebounds and played 31 minutes — his most action this season. Davis scored 11 points in the third quarter, when he showed off his well-rounded game. He swished a long jumper, dropped a runner, nailed a bank shot and, of course, dunked. Missing Anderson Varejao, who was out with a hyperextended and bruised left knee, the Cavs had no defensive answer for Davis, who was coming off a 22-point, 19-rebound, seven-block performance in a win over Orlando. As the Pelicans were putting the finishing touches on the win, Davis injured his finger and came to the bench in obvious pain. He bent over as a trainer worked on his fingers and several of Davis' teammates patted him on the back as he was treated. "He said, 'tape it up. I'm going right back,'" Williams said. "That to me says more about him than any number or stat that he can put up. His heart and his willingness to do whatever it takes for his team is why he's an All-Star in my opinion." Davis returned to the floor, but didn't have to do much in the final three minutes as the Pelicans had already wrapped up their 10th road victory. Davis said the All-Star talk is not distracting. "It's cool," Davis said. "I hear it, but I'm trying to win games. I'm trying to get better each and every day. If it happens, I'll be more than grateful and more than excited to be able to play." The Pelicans outscored the Cavs 16-0 over the final 5:25 of the second quarter to open a 56-44 halftime lead. Gordon had six points during the spurt, which included a possession where all five New Orleans touched the ball before Davis dunked. Cleveland, which scored just six points in the third quarter of a loss to Phoenix on Sunday, missed its last nine shots of the period. The Cavs committed three turnovers in the last four minutes and shot only 5 of 20 from the field. Irving said the Cavs have not tuned out Brown, whose second second stint with Cleveland has not gone well to this point. "As a team, we go through stretches where it's ups and downs, that's just part of the game," Irving said. "I leave my trust with coach Brown, I'm riding with him. Whatever he says and whatever he needs me to do, I'm going to go out there and do. I'm pretty sure all of my teammates feel the same way and that's where that rests. Anything he needs us to do, I'm willing to do and I know my teammates do as well."