NBA: Paul's late basket lifts Clippers over Sixers

Saturday, February 11, 2012

PHILADELPHIA -- Los Angeles' Chris Paul hit a 17-foot jumper with 3.2 seconds left to lift the Clippers to a 78-77 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday (US time) in a clash of NBA divisional leaders.

Paul finished with 24 points and Blake Griffin had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who improved to 16-8 and remained on top of the Pacific Division despite having lost star guard Chauncey Billups for the season.

Elton Brand had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers.

Hawks 89, Magic 87, OT

In Orlando, Josh Smith had 23 points and 19 rebounds, and Atlanta hit enough free throws late in overtime to slip past Orlando.

Joe Johnson scored four of his 14 points in the extra period and added five assists for the Hawks, who won their fourth straight regular-season meeting with the Magic dating to last season.

Ryan Anderson scored 21 points in Orlando's first meeting with the Hawks since being eliminated by them in last season's playoffs.

Thunder 101, Jazz 87

In Salt Lake City, Russell Westbrook scored 28 points to lead Oklahoma City over Utah.

The Jazz seemed determined to limit Kevin Durant's offense — he took only 10 shots — but Westbrook found extra room to drive to the basket and created some fast breaks with five steals, and finished with 19 points.

Al Jefferson's 20 points led Utah, who lost for the fifth time in six games.

Grizzlies 98, Pacers 92

In Memphis, Rudy Gay scored 21 points as Memphis finished stronger against Indiana.

Marreese Speights added a season-high 19 points and nine rebounds for the Grizzlies.

David West led the Pacers with 22 points, shooting 8-of-13, and grabbed 13 rebounds.

The game was tied 86-86 with 4:30 left, but Memphis outscored Indiana 12-6 the rest of the way, including converting 10 of 12 free throws.

Mavericks 104, Timberwolves 97

In Minneapolis, Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 33 points, bettering Kevin Love on his return from suspension in a clash of Western Conference All-Star power forwards.

Nowitzki topped 24 points for the fourth straight game by shooting 11 for 19 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Love finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds, going 14 for 14 from the free throw line, and sparked a late-third-quarter surge by the Wolves to slash a 17-point deficit to 78-75.

Knicks 92, Lakers 85

In New York, Jeremy Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points as New York finally beat Los Angeles.

Buried deep on the bench a little more than a week ago, Lin has had a series of impressive performances since being given a starting berth, none more so than Friday when he set a new high for points among Knicks players this season, and got the better of Kobe Bryant.

Iman Shumpert added 12 points for the Knicks.

Bryant finished with 34 points, but he got off to a horrendous start and finished only 11 of 29 from the field as the Lakers suffered their first defeat by the Knicks in 10 games.

Bulls 95, Bobcats 64

In Charlotte, Joakim Noah had 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead Chicago to a crushing road win over hapless Charlotte.

Carlos Boozer scored 16 points as the Bulls cruised despite the absence of reigning league MVP Derrick Rose, who had a back strain.

The Bulls won their fifth straight overall and improved to 5-1 this season without Rose.

Derrick Brown scored 10 points to lead the NBA-worst Bobcats, who shot 33 percent and lost their 13th straight game to fall to 3-23.

Noah was dominant inside, hitting 7 of 9 shots as the Bulls' lead hovered around 30 for most of the second half.

Heat 106, Wizards 89

In Washington, Dwyane Wade scored 26 points and dominated during a second-quarter run to lead Miami over Washington.

Wade either scored or got the assist on 20 consecutive Heat points in that surge, combining with LeBron James to score Miami's last 18 points of the first half, including a pair of one-handed throw-down alley-oop Wade-to-James dunks during a 10-0 spurt.

JaVale McGee had a season-high 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wizards.

Raptors 86, Celtics 74

In Toronto, DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points to lead Toronto to a rare win over Boston.

Jose Calderon had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors, who had won only two of 19 against the Celtics going in and lost their most recent meeting by 36 points at the start of this month.

Kevin Garnett scored 17 points for the Celtics, who were without center Jermaine O'Neal because of a sore left shoulder.

Bucks 113, Cavaliers 112, OT

In Cleveland, Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and made a big layup in overtime as Milwaukee rallied past Cleveland.

Jennings added eight assists for the Bucks, who trailed by 10 late in the third period — right after Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles was ejected. Drew Gooden scored 19 points and made two free throws with 4.4 seconds left in OT for Milwaukee.

Antawn Jamison had a season-high 34 points and 11 rebounds, but Cleveland's forward missed two free throws with 3.7 seconds to go in regulation and the game tied.

Trail Blazers 94, Hornets 86

In New Orleans, Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 31 points as Portland handed New Orleans its eighth straight loss.

Raymond Felton scored 18 points, including a pair of free throws that gave the Blazers an 88-84 lead in the final minute.

Crawford, playing 30 minutes as a reserve, scored 12 of his points during a 15-5 run that began late in the third quarter and gave Portland a six-point lead early in the fourth.

Trevor Ariza had 23 points and nine rebounds for New Orleans, which briefly led in the middle of the fourth quarter.

Pistons 109, Nets 92

In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Greg Monroe had 18 points and 11 rebounds to help Detroit comfortably beat New Jersey for its fourth straight victory.

Jonas Jerebko scored 20 points for the Pistons, who are on their longest winning streak since 2009.

The Nets scored the game's first seven points before Detroit answered with a 12-0 run.

Johan Petro scored 16 points for New Jersey, which lost its fifth straight. (AP)