Vince Carter led six Mavericks in double figures with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting as Dallas posted a 103-94 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday at Verizon Center. O.J. Mayo netted 15 points and handed out five assists, while Darren Collison donated 15 points and eight assists for the Mavs, who shot 50 percent from the floor and snapped a six-game slide. Bradley Beal scored a team-high 22 points and Emeka Okafor donated 14 points and 11 boards for the Wizards, who blew a 14-point second-quarter lead and lost for the 10th time in their last 11 games.
Final Score: Detroit 103, Sacramento 97
Auburn Hills, MI (Sports Network) - Brandon Knight posted 20 points to help Detroit hold off a Sacramento comeback in a 103-97 win. Greg Monroe scored 18 points with 11 rebounds, Will Bynum scored 15 and Austin Daye added 13 for the Pistons, who have now won three straight for the first time this season. DeMarcus Cousins scored 21 points and pulled down 14 rebounds and Jason Thompson had 16 and six, while Jimmer Fredette gave 14 points off the bench for the Kings, who had won three of four coming in.
Final Score: Portland 105, New York 100
New York, NY (Sports Network) - Amar'e Stoudemire made his season debut and Carmelo Anthony returned emphatically from a two-game absence, but the All- Star duo could not contain Nicolas Batum and the Portland Trail Blazers in their 105-100 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday. Batum made six 3- pointers for 26 points as Portland started the new year and its four-game road trip on a winning note. Damian Lillard chipped in 21 points, including a key 3-pointer after New York cut a double-digit deficit to three in the final minute. LaMarcus Aldridge chipped in 19 points and 14 rebounds, while J.J. Hickson added 18 and nine in the wire-to-wire win, the Blazers' eighth in 10 games. Stoudemire was a non-factor in his first game since undergoing knee surgery just before the season. The six-time All-Star came off the bench and played 16 plus minutes, scoring six points on 3-of-8 shooting with one rebound. Anthony, who had been briefly sidelined with a hyperextended knee, netted a season high-tying 45 points, but missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with under 16 seconds remaining.
Final Score: Atlanta 95, New Orleans 86
New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Josh Smith stuffed the stat sheet on Tuesday, posting 23 points and 13 rebounds to go with seven assists, four blocks and three steals as the Atlanta Hawks knocked off the New Orleans Hornets, 95-86, at New Orleans Arena. Al Horford posted 20 points on 10-of-17 shooting and Kyle Korver drained four three-pointers en route to 14 points for the Hawks, who have won five of their last six. Zaza Pachulia added 12 points and 10 boards in the victory. Ryan Anderson hit 5-of-10 from beyond the arc and finished with a team-high 23 points, while Greivis Vasquez netted 17 points and handed out 10 assists for New Orleans, which has lost 13 of its last 15 games. Anthony Davis ripped down 13 rebounds to go with nine points and Eric Gordon contributed 11 points in the loss.
