NBA Roundup
Published 12:00 am Friday, January 9, 2009
Associated Press
The NBA roundup …
PHILADELPHIA ó Andre Miller scored 22 points, Thaddeus Young had 15 and the Philadelphia 76ers won their third straight game, 93-87 over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night.
The Sixers have rapidly put a dreary road trip behind them and won their third game this week to get out of last place in the Atlantic Division and into the Eastern Conference playoff race.
They beat the Rockets, won at Milwaukee, then used a 14-2 run in the third quarter Friday night to pull away from the Bobcats.
Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams each scored 12 points and the Sixers had the fast-break edge, 20-4.
Emeka Okafor had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats.
Raptors 103, Grizzlies 82
TORONTO ó Chris Bosh had 32 points and 10 rebounds and Andrea Bargnani added 21 points.
Bosh shot 11-for-13 from the field and 10-for-12 from the line to help Toronto pull away in the fourth quarter and extend its home winning streak to a season-high three games.
Bargnani is averaging 21.7 points as a starter in the past six games in place of the injured Jermaine O’Neal.
Rudy Gay scored 22 points for Memphis, which has lost 11 of 13. The Grizzlies have been held under 90 five time in the past six games.
Magic 121, Hawks 87
ORLANDO, Fla. ó Hedo Turkoglu hit all five 3-point attempts, scoring 21 points in a game Orlando led by 38 at halftime.
Dwight Howard added 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Magic enjoyed their best offensive night, start-to-finish, this season. J.J. Redick added 15 points and Jameer Nelson had 14 points and nine assists in Orlando’s 11th straight home victory.
Acie Law scored 16 points and fellow reserve Solomon Jones added 12 for Atlanta. Joe Johnson had 11 points and was the only Hawks starter to reach double figures.
The game was decided early and decisively when the Magic ran off a season-high 41 points in the first quarter tied its season high for a half. The Magic held the Hawks to just 25 percent shooting over the first two quarters (10-of-40) and led 71-33 by halftime.
Bulls 98, Wizards 86
CHICAGO ó Ben Gordon scored 22 points and Chicago hung on after watching a 21-point lead dwindle to seven in the fourth quarter.
The Bulls spent most of the night picking on the Eastern Conference’s worst team, then hung on after a defensive lapse allowed the Wizards to get back into the game.
The Wizards lost despite getting a career-high 28 points on 12-for-15 shooting from Nick Young.
Rockets 98, Thunder 96
OKLAHOMA CITY ó Tracy McGrady scored 26 points and made two critical free throws with 8.2 seconds left to help Houston win its second straight road game.
McGrady, who had missed two of the Rockets’ previous three games due to a left knee injury, helped extend Houston’s winning streak over the Thunder franchise to 10 straight games, including seven when they played in Seattle.
Hornets 107, Clippers 80
NEW ORLEANS ó Rasual Butler scored a season-high 27 points, and New Orleans handed the Los Angeles Clippers their 10th straight loss.
Butler hit six 3-pointers, also a season high.