TORONTO (AP) -Richard Hamilton scored 22 points, Rasheed Wallace added 20 and the Detroit Pistons extended their winning streak to 11 games with a 101-85 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
Chauncey Billups had 18 points for Detroit, which has not lost since an 80-77 defeat in Houston on Dec. 12 and owns the longest current run in the NBA.
The Pistons’ streak is their longest since winning 11 straight in January 2006. Detroit hosts Eastern Conference-leading Boston on Saturday night.
Chris Bosh had 23 points and 16 rebounds for Toronto, which has lost five of seven.
Rockets 96, Magic 94
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Rafer Alston scored 20 points, including the game-winning layup with 4 seconds left, and Houston narrowly escaped Orlando with a victory.
Orlando appeared to tie the game at 96 with Adonal Foyle’s tip-in at the buzzer, but officials said he didn’t get the shot off in time. The replay seemed to show he did, and the Rockets literally ran off the floor when the call came down.
Yao Ming got the better of Dwight Howard in a matchup of the probable NBA All-Star starting centers, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to Howard’s 16 points and eight boards. Yao knocked Howard out of the game on fouls with about a minute left, just as Orlando had drawn to 93-91 after trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter.
Celtics 100, Grizzlies 96
BOSTON (AP) – Reserve Tony Allen filled in when Ray Allen struggled, scoring a season-high 20 points to help Boston beat Memphis.
Tony Allen scored 15 in the second quarter to help Boston take the lead for good, Paul Pierce scored 23 with 10 rebounds and Kevin Garnett also had 23 to give the Celtics their eighth straight win. James Posey had nine points and 10 rebounds while also busting open the lip of Memphis’ Rudy Gay, who made just one of his first eight shots but finished with 21 points.
Ray Allen went 0-for-9 from the floor, but sank a pair of free throws with 9.3 seconds left to avoid his first scoreless appearance in a decade.
Juan Carlos Navarro scored 20 for Memphis, and Mike Miller had 16.
Nets 102, Bobcats 96
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – Vince Carter scored 30 points and New Jersey won a season-high fourth straight game and handed Charlotte its 11th consecutive road loss.
An under-the-weather Richard Jefferson added 28 points and Jason Kidd had 11 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his eighth triple-double of the season as the Nets won for the sixth time in seven games.
Jason Richardson scored 33 points for Charlotte before fouling out with 1:17 to play. Gerald Wallace added 25 for the Bobcats, who have not won on the road since beating Miami in their first away game this season.
Cavaliers 97, Kings 93
CLEVELAND (AP) – LeBron James scored 24 points and Daniel Gibson hit a dagger-like 3-pointer with 12 seconds left as Cleveland avoided embarrassment by beating short-handed Sacramento.
Gibson had 13 points, 10 in the fourth, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 14 points and 15 rebounds for Cleveland.
John Salmons scored 22 points, Brad Miller 17 and Francisco Garcia 15 for the Kings.
Pacers 113, Hawks 91
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Danny Granger tied a career high with 32 points, and Indiana beat Atlanta to snap a five-game losing streak.
Granger shot 10-for-15 from the field and had nine rebounds. He tied his career best point total on a dunk late in the fourth quarter.
Mike Dunleavy had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Kareem Rush scored 20 points for the Pacers.
Josh Childress tied a career high with 26 points and Josh Smith added 20 for the Hawks, who have lost three straight.
Spurs 97, Knicks 93
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Defensive specialist Bruce Bowen showed off his offense, scoring 15 points to help San Antonio beat New York.
Michael Finley and Matt Bonner each scored 14 points for San Antonio, while Tim Duncan and Tony Parker had rough shooting nights, combining to go 10-of-29 from the field and score 12 points apiece.
The Knicks, who have lost six in a row and fell to 1-12 on the road, were led by Eddy Curry with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Jamal Crawford added 24 points and reserve Nate Robinson had 14.
New York was without Zach Randolph, who was suspended for one game for throwing his headband at a referee this week. Former Spurs player Malik Rose started in his spot, scoring six points.
Nuggets 118, Timberwolves 107
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Allen Iverson scored 33 points, Carmelo Anthony added 26 and Denver beat Minnesota.
The Nuggets showed little hangover affect from Thursday night’s victory over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. Denver led 12-0 before the game was three minutes old and took a 61-52 lead into halftime.
Minnesota has lost a season-worst seven straight and is off to the worst start in franchise history at 4-28. Reserve Rashad McCants led the Timberwolves with a career-high 34 points, and Al Jefferson had 24 points and 15 rebounds.
Wizards 101, Bucks 77
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Antawn Jamison scored 24 points and Washington shot 55 percent from the field to beat listless Milwaukee.
The game wasn’t competitive from the start with the Bucks missing leading scorer Michael Redd, who was kneed in the left thigh against Miami on Wednesday night and is day-to-day.
Caron Butler, who broke his right hand the last time he played in Milwaukee on April 1, had a much better homecoming to Wisconsin with 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Antonio Daniels, who returned from a sprained knee on Wednesday, scored 14 points in his second game back.
Charlie Villanueva had 14 of his team-high 20 points during fourth-quarter garbage time as the Bucks made it all too easy for Washington to do whatever it wanted during any part of the game that mattered.
Mavericks 94, Heat 89
DALLAS (AP) – With Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade out for Miami, Dallas seemed to take victory for granted and nearly wound up getting beaten – needing a go-ahead 3-pointer by Dirk Nowitzki with 5:28 left and a defensive stand in the final seconds.
Nowitzki had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Howard scored 11 of his 18 points in the final period. Eddie Jones scored a season-high 17 – matching his total for the last seven games – and Devin Harris had 15.
Ricky Davis had 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds on a rare night when all five Miami starters scored in double figures. Mark Blount, who started in place of O’Neal, scored a season-high 17 and Udonis Haslem had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Hornets 116, Warriors 104
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Tyson Chandler had a season-high 22 points and matched a season best with 22 rebounds to lead New Orleans over Golden State for its fifth straight road win.
Chris Paul scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and added 13 assists to help the Hornets extend their longest road winning streak since also winning five straight in 2003.
Baron Davis scored 26 points, Al Harrington had 24 and Andris Biedrins added 20 on 10-of-11 shooting for the Warriors, who lost consecutive games for the first time since opening the season 0-6.
Lakers 124, 76ers 93
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Andrew Bynum dominated inside with 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and Los Angeles shot 66 percent from the field.
Derek Fisher added 17 points for Los Angeles, and Ronny Turiaf, starting because Lamar Odom was serving a one-game suspension, had 15 points and five blocked shots. Kobe Bryant, content to let his teammates do the scoring, took only nine shots and scored 15 points.
Louis Williams led Philadelphia with 17 points. Fellow reserve Thaddeus Young had 16, and Andre Iguodala 15.
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