Saturday, March 15, 2014

Spurs drub Lakers for 9th straight win


Guard Danny Green had 15 points, all from behind the three-point line, and the San Antonio Spurs won their ninth straight game with a 119-85 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Green, who was five of eight from three-point range, led a balanced scoring attack.

The Spurs spread the scoring around, with five bench players in double figures, including forward Matt Bonner with 13 points and guard Marco Belinelli with 12.

All 12 Spurs that played scored for San Antonio (49-16). The Lakers (22-44), with nine players in their rotation, were led by center Pau Gasol with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Clippers 96, Jazz 87
Forward Blake Griffin scored 20 points, point guard Chris Paul contributed 18 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied to beat the Utah Jazz 96-87 for their 10th straight win.

The Clippers (47-20), who trailed for most of the first three quarters, used a big third quarter to overcome a 13-point deficit and keep their winning streak intact.

Center Derrick Favors and point guard Trey Burke each scored 18 points for the Jazz (22-44) who lost its third straight and eighth in nine outings.

Paul scored nine points in the third quarter alone as the Clippers outscored the Jazz 34-21 in the period to overtake the lead.



Cavaliers 103, Warriors 94


The Cleveland Cavaliers used a 68-39 dominance in the middle two quarters to build a lead and held on down the stretch to surprise the Golden State Warriors 103-94.

Center Spencer Hawks had a 22-point, 13-rebound double-double as the Cavaliers (26-40), down 20-4 in the sixth minute of the game, moved to within 3 1/2 games of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Cavaliers' comeback began in the third minute of the second quarter after they had fallen behind 36-18.

The visitors had erased the deficit, and more, within the next four and a half minutes, blitzing the Warriors 23-2.

Point guard Stephen Curry poured in 27 points on his 26th birthday for the Warriors (41-25), who fell 2 1/2 games behind Portland in the battle for the No. 5 playoff position in the West.

Suns 87, Celtics 80

Alex Len came off the Phoenix bench because of injury and wound up scoring six key points to lead the Suns to an important 87-80 victory over the Boston Celtics.

Len, who did not play in the first three quarters, replaced Miles Plumlee with 8:53 left and, after scoring three points to help keep his team in the game, converted a three-point play to break an 80-80 tie with 54.1 seconds left.

The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Suns, who started play in ninth place in the Western Conference, two games out of the playoffs.

Wizards 105, Magic 101 (overtime)
John Wall had 21 points and 11 assists to lead a well-balanced attack for the Washington Wizards, who beat the Orlando Magic 105-101 in overtime.

Trevor Ariza had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Marcin Gortat had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Bradley Beal had 20 points for the Wizards, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

The Wizards (34-31) are on pace for their first playoff appearance since 2008.

The Magic (19-48) were led by reserve forward Tobias Harris, who had 21 points.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com