National Sports
Clippers Now Atop Western Conference
UNDATED (AP) - The Los AngelesClippers now sit atop the NBA's Western Conference after the Oklahoma City
Thunder and San Antonio Spurs each lost to last-place teams.
Bradley Beal drained a jumper with 0.3
seconds left and the Washington Wizards improved to 5-28 by defeating the
Thunder 101-99. Beal and Martell Webster each had a team-high 22 points for the
Wizards, who had dropped 13 of their previous 14 and were without leading
scorers Nene and Jordan Crawford.
The Thunder missed 16 straight shots in
the second half and fell to 5-4 since a 12-game winning streak. Kevin Durant
had a game-high 29 points and Serge Ibaka added 26 and 11
rebounds.
The Spurs had won eight of nine before
Eric Gordon scored 24 points and Anthony Davis added 17 to lead New Orleans to
a 95-88 triumph over San Antonio. Greivis Vasquez finished with 14 points for
the Hornets' who've won back-to-back games for the first time since early
November
The Spurs committed 19 turnovers that led
to 23 Hornets points.
Also in the NBA, Chicago beat Cleveland
118-92 behind Carlos Boozer's 24 points and 11 rebounds. Joakim
Noah added 11 points and 11 rebounds while Luol Deng had 19 points and seven
assists to help the Bulls move percentage points ahead of Indiana atop the
Central Division.
Wayne Ellington's six three-pointers and
season-high 26 points led the Memphis Grizzlies' offense in a 113-81 laugher
against the Kings in Sacramento. Zach Randolph provided 17 points, grabbed
seven rebounds and helped the Grizzlies outscoring the Kings 66-36 in the
second half.
Boston managed to beat the Knicks 102-96
in New York despite the absence of guard Rajon Rondo,
who served a one-game suspension for making contact with a referee during Sunday's
win over Atlanta and failing to cooperate with an NBA investigation. Paul
Pierce had a team-high 23 points for the Celtics, who held the Knicks to just
30 points in the second half. Kevin Garnett added 19 points and 10 rebounds
while helping the Celtics hold Carmelo Anthony to 20 points on 6-of-26
shooting.
Gordon Hayward drained four three-pointers
and scored a season-high 27 points as Utah downed Dallas 100-94. Alec Burks
contributed eight of his season-high 13 points while the Jazz held the Mavericks
to 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
LaMarcus Aldridge hit for 27 points,
Wesley Matthews finished with 24 and J.J. Hickson added 20 in Portland's
125-119 overtime win against Orlando. The Trail Blazers have won three straight
overall and are 12-4 at home after dealing the Magic their ninth consecutive
loss.
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