Jamal Crawford scored 27 points to lead a strong effort by the Clippers' bench as Los Angeles took a 102-88 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Chris Paul added 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Blake Griffin posted 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who won for the second time in three games as their bench outscored the Knicks' reserves, 48-15. Carmelo Anthony scored a game- high 42 points to go along with eight rebounds for New York, which dropped two of its last three. Raymond Felton was the only other member of the Knicks to score in double figures with 20 points.
Final Score: Miami 107, LA Lakers 97
Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Dwyane Wade scored 16 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Miami Heat pulled away for a 107-97 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Arena. LeBron James added 32 points and seven rebounds, while Chris Bosh posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards for the Heat, who have won five straight. Mario Chalmers contributed 13 points, four rebounds and three assists in the victory. Kobe Bryant paced the Lakers with 28 points and nine assists as Los Angeles lost for the second time in three games. Earl Clark finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, and Dwight Howard had 15 points and nine rebounds in defeat.
Final Score: Boston 118, Denver 114 (3-OT)
Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Paul Pierce had a triple-double with 27 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists as the Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to seven and snapped the Denver Nuggets' nine-game stretch in their thrilling 118-114 triple-overtime triumph. The two teams needed extra time after Denver's Ty Lawson got his running bank shot to go with eight-tenths of a second remaining in regulation. Boston's Jeff Green hit a left corner 3-pointer in the first overtime with 23.8 seconds to go to send the game into a second extra session and Pierce's step-back left wing triple with 5.2 ticks left in double OT put another five minutes on the clock. With the Nuggets trailing by two late in the third overtime, Andre Miller misfired on a pull-up right wing trey with less than five seconds remaining and Kevin Garnett secured the rebound and fed Jason Terry, who had nothing but parquet floor in front of him before converting a layup at the horn. Denver didn't take its first lead of the contest until 1:43 was left in regulation.
Final Score: Memphis 105, Minnesota 88
Memphis, TN (Sports Network) - Tayshaun Prince poured in a game-high 18 points on Sunday, as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the injury-riddled Minnesota Timberwolves, 105-88, at FedExForum. Zach Randolph, Mike Conley and Austin Daye each donated 16 points, with Randolph adding eight rebounds and Conley handing out eight assists for the Grizzlies, who have won nine straight against Minnesota. Marc Gasol stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, nine boards and eight assists in Memphis' second consecutive victory. Ricky Rubio and Luke Ridnour recorded 17 points apiece to lead the Timberwolves, who have lost four straight and 15 of their last 17 games.
Final Score: Orlando 110, Portland 104
Orlando, FL (Sports Network) - After a three-game absence, J.J. Redick made his return a meaningful one. Coming off the bench, Redick battled through a sore shoulder to score 22 points and help prevent Orlando from matching its longest losing streak in nine seasons with a 110-104 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. Redick appeared to reinjure his shoulder at the end of the first half, but returned in the third quarter to finish 9-of-13 from the field and help put an end to the Magic's 12-game slide. Jameer Nelson contributed 10 points with a career-high 15 assists, while Nikola Vucevic added 17 points and 19 rebounds in the victory, Orlando's first since Jan. 16. Portland continued its struggles on the road, falling for the seventh time in its last eight games away from home. LaMarcus Aldridge saw his career-best seven consecutive double-doubles streak come to an end, finishing with 25 points and six rebounds. Nicolas Batum contributed 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the Trail Blazers' third straight defeat.
Final Score: Toronto 102, New Orleans 89
Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Rudy Gay scored 20 points and John Lucas III netted 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to help the Toronto Raptors pull away from the New Orleans Hornets in a 102-89 victory at Air Canada Centre. Kyle Lowry recorded 14 points with 10 assists and Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds for the balanced Raptors, who were coming off an impressive overtime victory at Indiana on Friday. Robin Lopez and Greivis Vasquez logged 19 and 17 points, respectively, as the Hornets had their two-game win streak snapped.
Final Score: San Antonio 111, Brooklyn 86
Brooklyn, NY (Sports Network) - While the Spurs were once again without Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, they weren't needed as San Antonio generated a similar result as its previous encounter with Brooklyn. Tony Parker registered 29 points and 11 assists as the Spurs once again breezed past the Nets, 111-86, on Sunday at Barclays Center. The Spurs shot an impressive 12-for-19 from beyond the arc, with Danny Green knocking down four from long distance and Matt Bonner connecting on all three of his attempts. Green scored 14 points and Bonner followed with 11 as San Antonio returned to its winning ways after having its 11-game win streak snapped on Friday in Detroit. Brooklyn, which scored just five points in the third quarter of its 104-73 setback in San Antonio on Dec. 31, managed just 29 points over the final two frames on Sunday for its sixth loss in nine games. Joe Johnson scored 19 points, Brook Lopez had 18 with nine rebounds and Deron Williams totaled 15 points in the setback.
Final Score: Oklahoma City 97, Phoenix 69
Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Another matchup with the Phoenix Suns turned into another rout for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Russell Westbrook had 24 points, six assists and four steals in the Thunder's wire-to-wire 97-69 win over the Suns. The Thunder topped the Suns by 31 in the front end of a back- to-back between the squads on Friday in Oklahoma City. Thabo Sefolosha netted 20 points, while Kevin Durant added 18 points and seven rebounds for Oklahoma City, which has won four in a row. Thunder have won 10 straight against Phoenix.
Final Score: Sacramento 117, Houston 111
Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) - Isaiah Thomas had 23 points and six assists in the Sacramento Kings' 117-111 win over the Houston Rockets. John Salmons tallied 23 points and six helpers, while DeMarcus Cousins added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Kings, who have won two straight on the heels of dropping eight of nine. James Harden netted 30 points to go with six rebounds and four assists for Houston, which has lost two of its last three contests.
