NBA: Sharp Magic too good for Sixers

Thursday, February 16, 2012

HOUSTON -- Houston's Kevin Martin tied a season high with 32 points, including the winning free throws with 23.6 seconds left, giving the Rockets a 96-95 win over the NBA Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday (US time).

Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant missed three shots in the last 16 seconds and Houston finally grabbed the rebound on the last miss to secure the win. Goran Dragic missed a pair of free throws for Houston after that, but the Thunder didn't have time to get down the court for another shot.

Martin's performance came a night after he went scoreless for the first time in six years. He didn't score in the fourth quarter until his free throws for the win.

Durant's 33 points led the Thunder, whose lead in the West was sliced to 1-1/2 games ahead of San Antonio.

Magic 103, 76ers 87

In Orlando, Ryan Anderson had seven 3-pointers and 27 points to lead sharp-shooting Orlando to victory over Philadelphia.

Dwight Howard added 17 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando, which won its third straight to move within half a game of the Sixers in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Magic made 15 of 25 attempts from 3-point range, and had all five starters reach double figures for the second consecutive game.

Louis Williams led Philadelphia with 21 points and seven assists.

Spurs 113, Raptors 106

In Toronto, Tony Parker had 34 points and 14 assists as San Antonio extended its season-best winning streak to nine games with a victory over Toronto.

Parker went 12 for 12 from the foul line for the Spurs, who have also won six successive road games.

Danny Green scored 13 points and matched his career high with seven rebounds for San Antonio.

DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points for the Raptors, who have lost three straight.

Cavaliers 98, Pacers 87

In Cleveland, rookie Kyrie Irving scored 22 points in his return after missing three games because of a concussion, leading Cleveland past Indiana.

The 19-year-old was only cleared to play in the morning by Cavaliers doctors.

Semih Erden, starting because center Anderson Varejao is sidelined by a broken wrist, had a career-high 18 points.

Darren Collison scored 18 points for the Pacers, who have lost five straight.

Knicks 100, Kings 85

In New York, Jeremy Lin put aside his record-setting scoring to hand out a career-best 13 assists as New York got back to .500 with its seventh straight victory, downing Sacramento.

Lin added 10 points, focusing more on his role as a distributor while others torched the Kings for 51- percent shooting. Landry Fields had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Knicks led almost throughout, evening their record for the first time in a month just as All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony prepares to return from a groin strain.

Tyreke Evans scored 19 points for the Kings.

Pistons 98, Celtics 88

In Boston, Ben Gordon hit three 3-pointers in the opening stages of the fourth quarter during a game-breaking spree that sent Detroit past Boston.

Rodney Stuckey scored 25 points and Gordon finished with 22 points for the Pistons.

Rajon Rondo had a season-high 35 points for Boston one game after he recorded a triple-double. Kevin Garnett was a late withdrawal with a hip flexor complaint.

Grizzlies 105, Nets 100

In Newark, New Jersey, Rudy Gay scored 25 points as Memphis handed error-prone New Jersey its season-worst seventh straight loss.

Tony Allen matched his season high with 21 points for the Grizzlies.

Deron Williams scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half for the Nets.

Hornets 92, Bucks 89

In Milwaukee, Marco Belinelli made a career-high six 3-pointers and scored a season-best 22 points to lead undermanned New Orleans past Milwaukee.

Chris Kaman added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who won successive games for the first time since the opening two of the season.

Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with a season-high 23 points.___

Timberwolves 102, Bobcats 90

In Minneapolis, Kevin Love had 30 points and 18 rebounds as Minnesota handed Charlotte its 16th loss in a row.

Nikola Pekovic added 21 points and 11 rebounds in 43 minutes for the Timberwolves, who snapped a four-game skid of their own.

Kemba Walker had 21 points and six rebounds for the hapless Bobcats. (AP)