NBA: Suns stop Magic
Raja Bell had a season-high 20 points to pace the Suns to a 110-106 victory Friday night over the Orlando Magic in Phoenix.
The Magic are 14-4, with two of the losses against the Suns, who also beat them 106-96 at Orlando on Nov. 10.
Amare Stoudemire had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix.
Dwight Howard finished with 30 points and 23 rebounds for the Magic.
Celtics 95, Heat 85: At Miami, Paul Pierce scored 18 of his 27 points in the first quarter, Kevin Garnett added 23 as NBA-leading Boston wasted most of a 28-point lead before beating the Heat. Ray Allen scored 17 for Boston. “Smush Parker was on the Miami Heat inactive list again while the team investigated an altercation earlier in the week between the guard and a valet parking attendant.
Raptors 91, Cavaliers 82: At Toronto, Andrea Bargnani and Carlos Delfino had career highs with 26 and 24 points, respectively, and the Raptors beat Cleveland. Injured Cavs stars LeBron James and Chris Bosh missed the game.
James, the league’s leading scorer, was out of the Cavaliers’ lineup with a sprained left index finger, while Bosh sat out with a strained groin.
76ers 85, Wizards 84: At Philadelphia, Samuel Dalembert had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Andre Miller scored 18 points to lead the 76ers to victory over Washington.
Willie Green and Reggie Evans added 13 points each for the Sixers.
Nuggets 123, Clippers 107: At Denver, Allen Iverson scored 26 points and Carmelo Anthony added 24 to help the Nuggets snap a three-game skid with a win over Los Angeles.
Hornets 92, Hawks 86: At Atlanta, David West had 22 points and 17 rebounds and New Orleans won for the eighth time in 10 road games this season, beating the turnover-plagued Hawks.
Chris Paul had 20 points for New Orleans.
Knicks 91, Bucks 88: At New York, Jamal Crawford made the go-ahead basket with 28 seconds left and the Knicks erased a 17-point deficit to defeat Milwaukee.
Crawford and Zach Randolph led New York with 25 points apiece.
Spurs 106, Timberwolves 91: At Minneapolis, Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 31 points and San Antonio showed fledgling Minnesota why its the defending NBA champions with a comeback victory.
Ginobili, San Antonio’s super sub, shot 11 of 16 from the field.
Jazz 120, Lakers 96: At Salt Lake City, Andrei Kirilenko had his third career triple-double and Deron Williams scored a career-high 35 points to help the Jazz overcome injuries to two starters and beat Los Angeles.
Mavericks 91, Blazers 80: At Dallas, Josh Howard had 23 points and a season-high 14 rebounds and the Mavericks overcame a weak performance by Dirk Nowitzki for a victory over Portland.
Nowitzki finished with 11 points.
“NBA commissioner David Stern denied a game protest by Dallas, ruling that a field goal incorrectly counted as a 3-pointer didn’t impact the outcome of the Mavericks’ four-point loss to Indiana.