NBA: Spurs add to spurt
Tony Parker scored 19 points to lead a balanced effort, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the slumping New Jersey Nets 93-77 Saturday night in San Antonio, for their 12th straight victory.
Tim Duncan added 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Manu Ginobili had 12 points and Brent Barry scored 11.
Vince Carter had 17 for the Nets, who have lost five straight. Mikki Moore added 14 points and Josh Boone scored 11, but Jason Kidd had only seven before he was ejected in the third quarter after picking up a pair of technical fouls.
Nets coach Lawrence Frank was also ejected.
76ers 100, Pacers 96: At Indianapolis, Andre Iguodala scored 25 points, and Philadelphia won its seventh straight with a victory over Indiana.
Point guard Jamaal Tinsley was suspended for the game for conduct detrimental to the team. Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana’s leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker, sat out with a sprained left knee and Marquis Daniels, a key reserve, sat out with a sore left knee.
Knicks 90, Wizards 89: At Washington, Steve Francis swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer to complete a late comeback and lift New York to a win over Washington.
Francis, who finished with 26 points and seven rebounds, dribbled behind his back to get space and released the ball with about a second on the clock.
Hawks 99, Timberwolves 93: At Atlanta, Josh Smith scored a career-high 32 points, going 12 of 15 from the field and helping Atlanta beat Minnesota.
The lead changed hands seven times in the second half, but Atlanta never trailed after Salim Stoudamire fed Smith for a dunk that made it 84-83 with 5:58 remaining.
Grizzlies 115, Bobcats 107: At Charlotte, N.C., Pau Gasol had 31 points and 15 rebounds, and Memphis defeated Charlotte.
Hakim Warrick had 18 points for Memphis and Rudy Gay added 16 points and 10 boards.
Even the return of forward Sean May couldn’t prevent the Bobcats from losing their eighth straight game. May, who had missed the last 20 games with a knee injury, played 22 minutes and scored 13 points and grabbed three rebounds.
Cavaliers 94, Bucks 92: At Milwaukee, LeBron James had 32 points and nine assists, the last one to Anderson Varejao for the winning layup, and Cleveland rallied to beat Milwaukee.
Michael Redd scored 29 points but failed to force overtime when his short jumper missed.
Jazz 96, Hornets 86: At Salt Lake City, Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Deron Williams added 13 assists to lead Utah over New Orleans.
Mehmet Okur scored 29 points and Gordan Giricek added 16 for the Jazz.
Jannero Pargo scored 15 and Chris Paul had 12 points and 11 assists for New Orleans.
Around the league
Five days after his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence, Ron Artest said he’d stumbled as a father and husband – and the Sacramento Kings announced they would let the volatile player return to the team.
“First, I want to apologize to my wife, to my family,” Artest said.
He then lowered his head and fought back tears for nearly a minute before continuing. “I want to apologize to the Kings, to my teammates, to the NBA, everybody.”
“The NBA suspended Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace one game for receiving his 16th technical foul of the season.