Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined to score 84 points, and the San Antonio Spurs snapped the Houston Rockets’ five-game winning streak with a 122-116 victory on Friday night.
Parker had 31 points and 10 assists, Duncan had 30 points and five rebounds, and Ginobili had a season-high 23 points for San Antonio (23-8). Danny Green was 5 for 7 on 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.
James Harden scored 33 points, Chandler Parsons added 24, and Jeremy Lin had 21 for Houston (16-13).
After allowing the Rockets to shoot 55 percent through three quarters, the Spurs clamped down defensively in the fourth. San Antonio had seven steals in the period, and Houston shot 10 for 23 from the field.
Ginobili and Patty Mills made back-to-back 3s to push the Spurs’ lead to 104-97. Mills also forced offensive fouls on Lin and Aldrich that helped San Antonio go on a 7-0 run.
San Antonio set season highs with 41 points in the first quarter and 69 in the first half but Houston kept pace with 63 before halftime — the most by a Spurs opponent this season.
The Spurs shot 67 percent in building a 21-8 lead in the opening 6 minutes.
Cole Aldrich’s running hook gave the Rockets their first lead at 65-64 with 1:05 remaining in the half. Ginobili made a 3 and a layup to stake the Spurs to a 69-65 lead at halftime.
Houston pulled within 77-73 with 7 minutes left in the third when Harden dunked on a 3-on-1 break. The lopsided defensive numbers led San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich to call a timeout and yell at Tiago Splitter, Duncan and Parker.
The Spurs turned up their defensive intensity late in the third, with Splitter earning applause from Popovich after teaming with Stephen Jackson to trap Harden and force a jump ball with the Rockets guard.
Nets 97, Bobcats 81
NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets gave P.J. Carlesimo a victory in his debut and the Charlotte Bobcats a 17th straight loss, getting 26 points and 11 rebounds from Brook Lopez in a 97-81 rout.
A day after firing Avery Johnson, the Nets played as they did last month, when they were 11-4 and Johnson was Eastern Conference coach of the month. They are just 4-10 in December, a slump that cost Johnson his job, but got back over .500 with ease.
Deron Williams added 17 of his 19 points in the first half and Joe Johnson had 16 for the Nets, who led by 29 points and won for just the second time in seven games.
Hakim Warrick scored 13 points and Ramon Sessions had 12 for the Bobcats (7-22), who shot 38 percent and haven’t won since tying last season’s total with their seventh victory.
Pacers 97, Suns 91
INDIANAPOLIS — George Hill scored 22 points, including three 3-pointers, and led Indiana over Phoenix.
Paul George had 15 points, and David West added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who have won four straight and seven of eight.
Sebastian Telfair had 19 points and six assists, and Marcin Gortat had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who have lost four in a row.
West, who scored eight points in the fourth quarter, netted the go-ahead jumper to give the Pacers an 87-85 lead with 3:17 left to play after the Suns rallied from a 16-point deficit.
Wizards 105, Magic 97
WASHINGTON — Jordan Crawford scored 27 points, and worst-in-the-NBA Washington showed it can still win a game every once in a while, breaking an eight-game losing streak with a victory over Orlando.
Nene added season highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds and shot fourth-quarter free throws while hearing chants of “R-G-3!” — the new equivalent of “M-V-P!” in a city where Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is the new superstar — as Washington won by its largest margin of the season.
The game represented one-quarter of the win total for the 4-23 Wizards.
Arron Afflalo scored 26 points and J.J. Redick added 23 for the Magic, who have lost four straight since Glen Davis sprained his left shoulder in the final minute of a win over these same Wizards last week. The Magic ended an NBA-best 12-game streak of holding opponents under 100 points, and Washington hit the century mark for the first time in 12 games.
Hawks 102, Cavaliers 94
CLEVELAND — Jeff Teague scored a career-high 27 points, and Atlanta scored the game’s final nine points to beat Cleveland.
Teague’s jumper from the foul line gave the Hawks a 95-94 lead with 2:32 remaining and sparked the run that sent Atlanta to its third straight win.
Kyrie Irving led Cleveland with 28 points, but the Cavaliers failed to score in the final 2:53 after taking a 94-93 lead.
Lou Williams scored 16 points for Atlanta, which is 8-4 on the road. Al Horford added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Dion Waiters scored 18 points for Cleveland, which had its season-high, two-game winning streak end.
Cavaliers center Anderson Varajeo, the league’s leading rebounder, missed his fifth straight game with a bruised right knee. He’s also been ruled out of Saturday’s game against Brooklyn.
Pistons 109, Heat 99
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Will Bynum had 25 points and 10 assists, leading another spirited performance by the Detroit reserves, and the Pistons beat short-handed Miami despite 35 points by LeBron James.
Miami was without Dwyane Wade, suspended for a game by the NBA for flailing his leg and making contact with a Charlotte player on Wednesday.
The Detroit reserves, who scored 85 points in a loss to Atlanta on Wednesday, contributed 64 on Friday. Charlie Villanueva had 18, and Austin Daye added 11 to help the Pistons snap Miami’s six-game winning streak.
Chris Bosh had 28 points for the Heat.
Raptors 104, Hornets 97, OT
NEW ORLEANS — DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, Kyle Lowry had two big baskets in overtime, and Toronto held off New Orleans.
The Raptors, who never trailed in the second half, scored nine of the first 11 points in overtime after blowing a seven-point lead in the last 1:30 of regulation. Amir Johnson scored under the basket to give Toronto a 93-91 lead. Lowry then drove the baseline for a reverse layup and hit a 3-pointer to make it 98-93.
DeRozan finished off the Hornets with two free throws and an outside shot that made it 102-95 with 31.7 seconds left.
Nuggets 106, Mavericks 85
DALLAS — Danilo Gallinari scored a career-high 39 points, and Denver spoiled Dirk Nowitzki’s first home game since returning from knee surgery by beating Dallas.
Nowitzki had five points in 17 minutes in his third game back, and the Mavericks lost their fifth straight for the first time since January 2011.
Gallinari scored five points in the 5.3 seconds before halftime and opened the second half with a 3-pointer to put the Nuggets up by 11.
Andre Iguodala hit four 3-pointers in a 32-point third quarter and finished with 29 points.
O.J. Mayo led Dallas with 15 points.
Nowitzki missed 27 games after knee surgery late in the preseason.
