NBA : Suns blaze to 11th straight
Steve Nash had 21 points and 14 assists as the streaking Phoenix Suns overcame an early 15-point deficit to win their 11th straight game, beating the Houston Rockets 100-91 Wednesday night in Houston.
Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Suns, who are 29-3 in their last 32 games. They became the second team in franchise history to have two winning streaks of more than 10 games in one season.
Lakers 100, Spurs 96: At San Antonio, Kobe Bryant scored 34 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:24 left, and Los Angeles withstood a late rally to beat the Spurs.
Nets 92, Bobcats 85: At Charlotte, N.C., Vince Carter scored 26 points and had two big baskets late in the fourth quarter as New Jersey held on to beat the Bobcats.
Adam Morrison scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists for Charlotte.
Raptors 101, Kings 85: At Toronto, Morris Peterson scored 22 points and Chris Bosh added 20 to help the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors to a victory over Sacramento.
Wizards 99, Knicks 98: At Washington, Caron Butler performed the kind of heroics usually reserved for Gilbert Arenas, dunking with 2.2 seconds remaining to give the Wizards a victory over New York.
Jazz 100, Pistons 99: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Deron Williams scored a career-high 31 points, had 10 assists and made a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left to help Utah hold off Detroit in Chris Webber’s debut for the Pistons.
Bulls 99, Bucks 90: At Milwaukee, Andres Nocioni scored 21 points, Ben Gordon added 20 and Luol Deng had 19 to lead Chicago’s third straight win, a victory over the Bucks.
Grizzlies 118, 76ers 102: At Memphis, Tenn., Mike Miller scored 30 points and Rudy Gay added 23 to lead the Grizzlies to a victory over Philadelphia in a matchup of the league’s two worst teams.
Hawks 105, Timberwolves 88: At Minneapolis, Joe Johnson had 29 points and eight assists to lead Atlanta to its third straight win, a victory over Minnesota.
Trail Blazers 94, Cavaliers 76: At Portland, Zach Randolph had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Trail Blazers to a victory over road-weary Cleveland.
Clippers 115, Warriors 109: At Los Angeles, Elton Brand had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and the Clippers barely held on to beat Golden State – just hours after the Warriors swung an eight-player trade with the Indiana Pacers that left their bench considerably depleted.
Around the league
Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal went through an entire practice, his first time playing full-court, 5-on-5 since the Nov. 19 procedure to repair torn cartilage. He could make his comeback tonight, when the Heat host the Indiana Pacers. … Los Angeles Lakers center Kwame Brown was accused of ruining a $190 chocolate cake belonging to a birthday celebrant who was holding it outside a Hermosa Beach, Calif., club early Saturday morning. Brown was out with a group for Ronny Turiaf’s birthday when he exited the club, grabbed the cake and threw it, hitting the accuser’s upper back… Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan was fined $15,000 by the NBA for failing to leave the court in a timely manner after getting ejected from a game. … The Indiana Pacers traded Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson to the Golden State Warriors for forwards Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy in a large, bold deal to shake up two struggling teams. … Tracy McGrady sat out the Rockets’ game against Phoenix because of soreness in his lower back. … Detroit Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups played against the Utah Jazz, returning to the lineup after missing eight games with a strained right calf. … Chicago Bulls center Ben Wallace started against the Milwaukee Bucks, returning to the lineup after missing two games with a sore lower back. … Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff was ejected after picking up two technical fouls in the second quarter of the Bobcats’ game against New Jersey. Bickerstaff, upset with a foul called against forward Adam Morrison, charged onto the court toward referee Jason Phillips, who immediately hit him with a technical.