Clippers floor Suns, snatch 13th straight win
Spurs spoil Nowitzki’s return
PHOENIX, Dec 24, (AP): Blake Griffin scored 23 points, Chris Paul had 17 points and 13 assists and the Los Angeles Clippers extended a franchise record with their 13th consecutive victory, 10377 over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.
Reserve Jamal Crawford added 22 points for the Clippers, who won in Phoenix for the first time since April 17, 2007. Los Angeles’ overall win streak is an NBA season best and its six straight road victories are also a franchise best.
Jared Dudley scored 19 points, Luis Scola had 11 and Markieff Morris added 10 for the Suns, who have dropped two straight after winning four in a row.
Phoenix kept it close for the first quarter and half of the second. Shannon Brown sank an 11-foot pull-up jumper on a fast break as the Suns trimmed an eight-point deficit to 43-40 with 5:36 left in the first half.
That would be the Suns’ next-to-last field goal of the half. Knicks 94, T’wolves 91 In New York, Carmelo Anthony scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, rallying the New York Knicks to victory over Minnesota.
New York trailed from the opening minutes until Anthony scored eight straight points down the stretch. He had scored just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting in the first half, but had the final 12 for the Knicks to give them a 4-2 finish on their six-game homestand.
JR Smith added 19 points and Tyson Chandler had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who will fly to Los Angeles later Sunday for their Christmas Day game against the Lakers.
Nikola Pekovic had 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who played without star forward Kevin Love because of an eye injury. Alexey Shved added 18 points for Minnesota. Spurs 129, Mavericks 91 In San Antonio, Danny Green scored a career-high 25 points and San Antonio spoiled Dirk Nowitzki’s season debut with a rout of Dallas.
Tony Parker had 18 points, Kawhi Leonard added 17, Tim Duncan 15 and Stephen Jackson 14 for the Spurs (218), who were 20 of 30 from 3point range and led by as many as 46.
Nets 95, 76ers 92 In New York, Joe Johnson scored 22 points, and Gerald Wallace had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists to lead Brooklyn to a win over Philadelphia.
Deron Williams added 16 points to help the Nets end a six-game skid at home against the 76ers.
Jrue Holiday led Philadelphia with 21 points, nine assists and six rebounds, Thadeus Young added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Evan Turner had 15 points and seven rebounds. The 76ers, opening an eight-game trip, have lost six of their last seven games.
Jazz 97, Magic 93 In Orlando, Fla, Paul Millsap scored 18 points, Gordon Hayward added 17 and Utah survived a fourth-quarter rally to slip past Orlando.
Orlando cut the lead to one in the waning seconds, but came up empty at the foul line. San Antonio Spurs’ Tiago Splitter (right), of Brazil, falls as he is blocked by Dallas Mavericks’ Elton Brand during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Dec 23, in San
Antonio. (AP)