NBA Today
New Orleans at Minnesota (8 p.m. EDT). The Hornets look to stay atop the Western Conference when they take on the Timberwolves.
STARS
-Jason Richardson, Bobcats, scored 36 points and Charlotte avoided a collapse to beat Minnesota 121-119.
-Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets, scored 36 points in Denver's 117-99 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers.
-Brandon Roy, Trail Blazers, scored 23 points and matched his career high with 12 rebounds and Portland held off the Los Angeles Lakers 112-103.
- Baron Davis, Warriors, had 33 points and nine assists, leading Golden State to a 140-132 win over Sacramento.
- Amare Stoudemire, Suns, had 28 points and 11 rebounds to lead Phoenix to a 127-113 win against 127-113.
CLINCHED
Mehmet Okur had 22 points and 17 rebounds to help the Utah Jazz clinch the Northwest Division with a 77-66 win over New Orleans on Tuesday night. Even with the division crown, the Jazz still had only the fifth-best record in the Western Conference, half a game behind Houston, meaning the Jazz have not yet sealed home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
NOT SO SUPER
Dallas beat Seattle 99-83 Tuesday night, handing the SuperSonics their club-record 60th loss of the season. The Mavericks beat the Sonics for the 13th straight time, dating to Dec. 9, 2004. Seattle has also lost 10 straight on the road.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Al Jefferson matched a career high with 40 points, but Minnesota fell to Charlotte 121-119 on Tuesday night. ... Rudy Gay scored 36 points in Memphis' 127-113 loss to Phoenix. ... Kobe Bryant scored 34 points, but the Lakers lost to Portland 112-103.
SNAPPED
Utah snapped New Orleans' 11-game home winning streak, beating the Jazz 77-66 on Tuesday night. ... Kasib Powell scored a career-high 18 points, leading Miami to a 95-88 victory over Chicago and end a seven-game losing streak.
SPEAKING
``It brought chills to me, seeing those Bad Boys teams, and to see the legacy they have here. That motivated us to get a win for Isiah. I was ready to go as soon as the ball went up.'' - Knicks forward Wilson Chandler on the pregame ceremony that honored coach Isiah Thomas to the Pistons' all-time team Tuesday night. The Knicks beat the Pistons 98-94.
Groin injury could sideline Bobcats F Gerald Wallace for final week of season
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace is leaning toward sitting out the last week of the season due to a groin injury.
An MRI exam on Tuesday showed no tear, but Wallace missed his second straight game against Minnesota. With the Bobcats eliminated from playoff contention, Wallace said he'll likely not play again this season.
''If I play, there's a risk of me having the injury throughout the whole summer,'' Wallace said. ''I don't want to go through the whole summer with a groin injury.''
Wallace aggravated the injury in Friday's win over Toronto and missed Saturday's loss to Boston.
''It started out on my left side and kind of moved to the right and into my abdomen area,'' Wallace said. ''It's painful, and the other day I couldn't even ride a bicycle with my daughter.''
Bobcats coach Sam Vincent said they'll be cautious with Wallace, who is averaging 19.4 points and 6.0 rebounds a game.
''We're going to treat that very gingerly and very cautiously,'' Vincent said. ''If he feels that it's not improving through the rehabilitation and it's actually getting worse, then of course the best thing to do is to give it the proper rest and get him charged up and ready for next season.''
Wallace, who signed a six-year, $57 million deal with Charlotte last summer, has had a frustrating couple of months. He was knocked unconscious with an inadvertent elbow in a game against Sacramento on Feb. 22. His fourth concussion in four seasons forced him to miss eight games.
He suffered the groin injury shortly after returning and kept aggravating the injury as the Bobcats fell out of the playoff picture.
''It's just one of those things, where if it really counted I could probably suck it up and go out there and play,'' Wallace said. ''But at this point of the season, there's really no reason right now.''