Big fourth quarter helps Clippers beat Trail Blazers
Wizards overcome Rose’s 32 to beat Bulls
PORTLAND: The Los Angeles Clippers rallied in the fourth quarter to win 100-94 at Portland in Wednesday’s clash of NBA Western Conference contenders, with Jamal Crawford sinking the go-ahead basket and topping the scoring.
The Clippers remain six-and-a-half games behind league-leading Golden State, which won their eighth straight and improved to 31-5 by cruising past Miami.
Among other key results, Washington continued to assert their East title credentials by winning at Chicago, and Denver beat Dallas to prevent the Mavericks going top of the Southwest Division.
Los Angeles’ Crawford scored the goahead basket on a three-pointer with 3:55 remaining as the Clippers (26-13) came back from a six-point deficit.
He finished with 25 points while DeAndre Jordan had 17 points and 18 rebounds for LA, which beat Portland for the second time this season.
Washington overcame a season-high 32 points from Derrick Rose to win 105-99 at Chicago.
Paul Pierce had 22 points while John Wall scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to guide the Wizards to their second win over the Central Division leaders in six days.
Washington trailed by as much as 11 in the first half but outscored Chicago 32-19 in the third quarter to take a seven-point lead to the fourth. The Wizards hung on after Chicago pulled within one.
The Bulls played the second half without Joakim Noah after he injured his right ankle.
Golden State’s Stephen Curry made seven three-pointers and finished with 32 points as the Warriors overwhelmed Miami 104-89.
With a hamstring strain sidelining Heat star Dwyane Wade, the NBA-leading Warriors mowed down Miami the way they have most opponents recently. Golden State have won by an average of 19.8 points during their eight-game streak.
Chris Bosh had 26 points and seven rebounds but couldn’t carry the Heat alone.
Denver beat Dallas 114-107, with Ty Lawson contributing 29 points and 12 assists for the Nuggets.
Kenneth Faried scored four of his 22 points in the closing stages and grabbed 14 rebounds.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle rested tree key players: Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler and Rajon Rondo. JJ Barea led the Mavericks with 17 points.
Atlanta extended their winning streak to 10 games with a 105-91 victory at Boston.
DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague each scored 22 points for the Hawks, who have a double-digit winning streak for the first time in 17 years. They also have won 10 straight on the road, the longest streak in club history.
Teague and Carroll were well-rested after getting a night off on Tuesday, when Al Horford led the Hawks past Philadelphia with his first career triple-double. On Wednesday, it was Horford and veteran outside shooter Kyle Korver resting as their teammates easily won.
Avery Bradley had 17 points for the Celtics.
Memphis won their first match against former coach Lionel Hollins by winning 103-92 at Brooklyn, with Zach Randolph chipping in with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Orlando rallied to beat Houston 120-113, thanks to 32 points from Victor Oladipo and 25 from Nik Vucevic.
San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili had 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting to guide the Spurs to a 98-93 win at Charlotte, arresting the Hornets’ streak at five wins.
New Orleans’ Anthony Davis had 27 points and 10 rebounds as the Pelicans beat in-form Detroit 105-94.
Toronto had a comfortable 100-84 win over Philadelphia, with Kyle Lowry leading the way with 18 points and 12 assists.