W-OLF
03-27-2006, 06:58 PM
Streaking Nets and Grizzlies Win Again
Published: 3/27/06, 9:25 AM EDT
AP) - Turns out an alarm was no cause for concern for the Memphis Grizzlies. And a trip to Detroit was nothing to worry about for the New Jersey Nets. The Grizzlies and Nets extended the NBA's longest current winning streaks Sunday, and both overcame difficult circumstances to do it.
New Jersey won its eighth straight, going into the league's toughest place for a visitor and beating the Pistons 79-74. The Nets were only the third team in 33 games to win at Detroit, and the first to do it in regulation.
"This is another win on the road against a high-quality opponent," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said.
Even though they were at home, the Grizzlies had to feel a bit like a road team. After all, they spent time before the game on a bus.
Their game against Charlotte was delayed 90 minutes as a small fire in a freight elevator shortly before tipoff forced the evacuation of the FedEx Forum. The players were directed to a bus outside while fire equipment was called to the arena.
Once the game started, Pau Gasol had 33 points and 15 rebounds, and the Grizzlies beat the Bobcats 102-95 for their season-high seventh straight win.
"With this kind of incident like we had, it was hard to be 100 percent focused," Gasol said. "But we found a way. That's what we've been doing."
In other games, it was: Indiana 92, Philadelphia 79; Milwaukee 125, Toronto 116 in overtime; Minnesota 98, New York 94; Chicago 101, Boston 97; Cleveland 104, Houston 102 in overtime; Orlando 108, Atlanta 101; Seattle 106, San Antonio 102; Golden State 90, Sacramento 83; the Los Angeles Clippers 97, Portland 83; and the Los Angeles Lakers 105, New Orleans 94.
At Memphis, reserve Mike Miller added 20 points and Lorenzen Wright contributed 13 points and seven rebounds for the Grizzlies, whose win streak is one short of the franchise record.
All of Wright's points and rebounds came in the opening quarter - but that was perhaps the toughest part of the game for the players, who didn't get their usual preparation.
"It was weird because we were stuck on the bus for, probably, 30 minutes," Gasol said. "We came back in and didn't know if we were going to play or not. Most of us were just watching the end of the UConn game (in the NCAA tournament)."
Charlotte got 25 points from Gerald Wallace and 21 from Kareem Rush. Point guard Brevin Knight had 16 assists to go with his 17 points.
Vince Carter scored 22 points at Detroit, but his biggest play came on defense. With 2.1 seconds to play and the Nets up 77-74, Carter deflected Ben Wallace's inbounds pass, then leaped over the baseline to save the ball and clinch the win.
"I used to block field goals in junior high, so I just pulled out that technique," Carter said with a grin. "In a situation like that, you always want to get a hand on the ball, but mainly you just want to disrupt the pass however you can."
That capped a superb defensive effort by the Nets, who held the Pistons to a season-low 10 points on 5-of-24 shooting in the first quarter. Detroit shot only 34 percent, with poor nights from All-Stars Chauncey Billups (2-for-10), Rasheed Wallace (1-for-10) and Richard Hamilton (9-for-27).
The result was Detroit's first home loss in regulation since a 95-88 defeat to Dallas on March 28, 2005.
"This is a game we had chances to win," Billups said. "I thought our defense was really good tonight. When the defense is bad, I'm concerned. When our offense just isn't making shots - that happens."
Bucks 125, Raptors 116, OT
At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 35 points, and the Bucks overcame rookie Charlie Villanueva's career-high 48 points.
Toronto played much of the way without All-Star Chris Bosh, who sprained his left thumb, but stayed in the game behind Villanueva, who shot 20-of-32 and had the highest point total by an NBA rookie this season.
SuperSonics 106, Spurs 102
At Seattle, Ray Allen made a 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left and finished with 33 points.
Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 28 points, rebounding from a season-low six against Portland on Friday.
Cavaliers 104, Rockets 102, OT
At Houston, LeBron James scored 36 points, including the go-ahead dunk with 3:24 left in overtime, and Cleveland won its fifth straight. Yao Ming led Houston with 27 points.
Warriors 90, Kings 83
At Sacramento, Calif., Adonal Foyle scored a season-high 18 points, Mike Dunleavy added 17 and Golden State snapped the Kings' 14-game home winning streak.
Lakers 105, Hornets 94
At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and Lamar Odom added 23 to help the Lakers win their fourth straight. The Hornets have lost 11 of 12.
Pacers 92, 76ers 79
At Indianapolis, Stephen Jackson scored 23 points and Peja Stojakovic added 18 as the Pacers finally got them into the starting lineup along with Jermaine O'Neal and Jamaal Tinsley.
Allen Iverson scored 26 points and Chris Webber added 24 for the 76ers, who have lost two straight.
Bulls 101, Celtics 97
At Boston, Luol Deng scored 20 points, Ben Gordon added 13 of his 17 in the fourth quarter, and Chicago rallied to win its second straight after losing four in a row.
Clippers 97, Trail Blazers 83
At Portland, Ore., Elton Brand scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Clippers extend the Trail Blazers' losing streak to eight games. Portland had not lost eight in a row since a 12-game skid from Feb. 4-27, 1986.
Timberwolves 98, Knicks 94
At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and Minnesota survived a late scare to send New York to its fifth straight loss.
Magic 108, Hawks 101
At Orlando, Fla., Hedo Turkoglu scored 23 points, Dwight Howard added 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Orlando won its third straight. Atlanta has lost four in a row.
credit BellSouth
Published: 3/27/06, 9:25 AM EDT
AP) - Turns out an alarm was no cause for concern for the Memphis Grizzlies. And a trip to Detroit was nothing to worry about for the New Jersey Nets. The Grizzlies and Nets extended the NBA's longest current winning streaks Sunday, and both overcame difficult circumstances to do it.
New Jersey won its eighth straight, going into the league's toughest place for a visitor and beating the Pistons 79-74. The Nets were only the third team in 33 games to win at Detroit, and the first to do it in regulation.
"This is another win on the road against a high-quality opponent," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said.
Even though they were at home, the Grizzlies had to feel a bit like a road team. After all, they spent time before the game on a bus.
Their game against Charlotte was delayed 90 minutes as a small fire in a freight elevator shortly before tipoff forced the evacuation of the FedEx Forum. The players were directed to a bus outside while fire equipment was called to the arena.
Once the game started, Pau Gasol had 33 points and 15 rebounds, and the Grizzlies beat the Bobcats 102-95 for their season-high seventh straight win.
"With this kind of incident like we had, it was hard to be 100 percent focused," Gasol said. "But we found a way. That's what we've been doing."
In other games, it was: Indiana 92, Philadelphia 79; Milwaukee 125, Toronto 116 in overtime; Minnesota 98, New York 94; Chicago 101, Boston 97; Cleveland 104, Houston 102 in overtime; Orlando 108, Atlanta 101; Seattle 106, San Antonio 102; Golden State 90, Sacramento 83; the Los Angeles Clippers 97, Portland 83; and the Los Angeles Lakers 105, New Orleans 94.
At Memphis, reserve Mike Miller added 20 points and Lorenzen Wright contributed 13 points and seven rebounds for the Grizzlies, whose win streak is one short of the franchise record.
All of Wright's points and rebounds came in the opening quarter - but that was perhaps the toughest part of the game for the players, who didn't get their usual preparation.
"It was weird because we were stuck on the bus for, probably, 30 minutes," Gasol said. "We came back in and didn't know if we were going to play or not. Most of us were just watching the end of the UConn game (in the NCAA tournament)."
Charlotte got 25 points from Gerald Wallace and 21 from Kareem Rush. Point guard Brevin Knight had 16 assists to go with his 17 points.
Vince Carter scored 22 points at Detroit, but his biggest play came on defense. With 2.1 seconds to play and the Nets up 77-74, Carter deflected Ben Wallace's inbounds pass, then leaped over the baseline to save the ball and clinch the win.
"I used to block field goals in junior high, so I just pulled out that technique," Carter said with a grin. "In a situation like that, you always want to get a hand on the ball, but mainly you just want to disrupt the pass however you can."
That capped a superb defensive effort by the Nets, who held the Pistons to a season-low 10 points on 5-of-24 shooting in the first quarter. Detroit shot only 34 percent, with poor nights from All-Stars Chauncey Billups (2-for-10), Rasheed Wallace (1-for-10) and Richard Hamilton (9-for-27).
The result was Detroit's first home loss in regulation since a 95-88 defeat to Dallas on March 28, 2005.
"This is a game we had chances to win," Billups said. "I thought our defense was really good tonight. When the defense is bad, I'm concerned. When our offense just isn't making shots - that happens."
Bucks 125, Raptors 116, OT
At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 35 points, and the Bucks overcame rookie Charlie Villanueva's career-high 48 points.
Toronto played much of the way without All-Star Chris Bosh, who sprained his left thumb, but stayed in the game behind Villanueva, who shot 20-of-32 and had the highest point total by an NBA rookie this season.
SuperSonics 106, Spurs 102
At Seattle, Ray Allen made a 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left and finished with 33 points.
Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 28 points, rebounding from a season-low six against Portland on Friday.
Cavaliers 104, Rockets 102, OT
At Houston, LeBron James scored 36 points, including the go-ahead dunk with 3:24 left in overtime, and Cleveland won its fifth straight. Yao Ming led Houston with 27 points.
Warriors 90, Kings 83
At Sacramento, Calif., Adonal Foyle scored a season-high 18 points, Mike Dunleavy added 17 and Golden State snapped the Kings' 14-game home winning streak.
Lakers 105, Hornets 94
At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and Lamar Odom added 23 to help the Lakers win their fourth straight. The Hornets have lost 11 of 12.
Pacers 92, 76ers 79
At Indianapolis, Stephen Jackson scored 23 points and Peja Stojakovic added 18 as the Pacers finally got them into the starting lineup along with Jermaine O'Neal and Jamaal Tinsley.
Allen Iverson scored 26 points and Chris Webber added 24 for the 76ers, who have lost two straight.
Bulls 101, Celtics 97
At Boston, Luol Deng scored 20 points, Ben Gordon added 13 of his 17 in the fourth quarter, and Chicago rallied to win its second straight after losing four in a row.
Clippers 97, Trail Blazers 83
At Portland, Ore., Elton Brand scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Clippers extend the Trail Blazers' losing streak to eight games. Portland had not lost eight in a row since a 12-game skid from Feb. 4-27, 1986.
Timberwolves 98, Knicks 94
At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and Minnesota survived a late scare to send New York to its fifth straight loss.
Magic 108, Hawks 101
At Orlando, Fla., Hedo Turkoglu scored 23 points, Dwight Howard added 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Orlando won its third straight. Atlanta has lost four in a row.
credit BellSouth