Ellis, Bucks top Hornets
Heat beats Suns in Phoenix; Clippers cruise past Bulls
Monta Ellis scored six of his 22 points in the final two minutes to help the host Milwaukee Bucks hold off the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday.
Brandon Jennings also had 22 points, and Mike Dunleavy added 17 for Milwaukee, which improved to 6- 2 in its best start since opening 9- 1 in 2001- 02.
Rookie Anthony Davis had 28 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans, and Ryan Anderson added 20 points.
Davis had consecutive three- point plays to pull the Hornets to 110- 108 with 2: 02 left, but Ellis hit a 20- footer falling away from the basket.
Anderson tipped in a miss for New Orleans, but Ellis hit another jumper.
Heat 97, Suns 88: Chris Bosh scored 24 points on 9of- 11 shooting, ailing LeBron James added 21 and Miami closed a six- game trip with a victory in Phoenix.
The Heat, playing without Dwyane Wade for the second game in a row because of a left- foot injury, led by as many as 15 in the third quarter and was up by nine with 5 1 ⁄ minutes to
2 play. The Suns cut it to two before Miami scored the final seven points.
James, who missed the morning shootaround with flu symptoms, made only 8 of 20 shots but still reached 20 points for the 11th time in 11 games this season.
Clippers 101, Bulls 80: Blake Griffin scored 12 of his 26 points in the final six minutes and grabbed 10 rebounds, helping host Los Angeles rout Chicago for its fifth consecutive victory.
Reserve Jamal Crawford scored 17 of his 22 points in the second quarter for the Clippers, who lead the Pacific Division at 7- 2. It is their best record after nine games since 2005- 06, when they won nine of their first 11, finished 47- 35 and came within one victory of the Western Conference finals.
Grizzlies 94, Bobcats 87: Mike Conley scored 20 points as Memphis won in Charlotte, N. C., for its eighth consecutive victory.
Zach Randolph added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and three other players scored in double figures for the Grizzlies, who own the NBA’s best record at 8- 1.
Spurs 126, Nuggets 100: Manu Ginobili had 20 points and host San Antonio set a season high for points in defeating Denver.
The Spurs shot 54 percent, including a 16- for- 20 performance from 3- point range. San Antonio never trailed by less than 18 points in the second half.
With the outcome in little doubt, one of the few second- half highlights came when the Spurs’ Tiago Splitter dunked over JaVale McGee with seven minutes remaining. That caused Tim Duncan to leap out of his chair.
Celtics 107, Raptors 89: Rajon Rondo returned from a one- game absence because of a sprained ankle and had 20 assists to go with six points to help host Boston defeat Toronto.
The Celtics held big leads early and late but had to survive several surges in between while winning for the fourth time in five games.
And any worries Boston fans might have had about Rondo’s ankle were quickly washed away when he had seven assists in the first quarter.
“We have an offense and then he creates another offense at times,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said.
Mavericks 103, Cavaliers 95: O. J. Mayo scored 19 points and Dallas used two 9- 0 runs in the fourth quarter to defeat host Cleveland. Kyrie Irving, who left briefly in the third quarter with a finger injury, led Cleveland with 26 points, but the Cavaliers lost their fifth consecutive game.
Jazz 83, Wizards 76: Al Jefferson scored 21 points, Gordon Hayward added 15 in his first game as a reserve this season, and visiting Utah kept Washington winless.