SCOREBOARD
Saturday, Jan. 19
Detroit at Chicago (8:30 p.m. EST). The Bulls scored a season-high 126 points in a win over Miami on Wednesday.
STARS
Thursday
-Linas Kleiza, Nuggets, scored a career-high 41 points to lead Denver past the Utah Jazz 120-109.
-Steve Nash, Suns, had 13 points and a season-high 20 assists in a 106-98 win over the Lakers.
BACK ON TOP
Leandro Barbosa scored 22 points, Shawn Marion added 20 points and 16 rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers 106-98 on Thursday night to regain the Western Conference lead. Boris Diaw scored 19 points, Amare Stoudemire and Raja Bell added 16 each, and Steve Nash had 13 points and a season-high 20 assists for the Suns (27-12), who won for the eighth time in 11 games to move a half-game ahead of the Lakers.
REMATCH
LeBron James scored 27 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat San Antonio 90-88 on Thursday night in the teams’ first meeting since the Spurs swept the NBA finals last season. Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 17 points, and Anderson Varejao scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Cleveland, which has won three in a row.
SNAPPED
The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers 106-98 on Thursday night to regain the Western Conference lead and end the Lakers’ seven-game winning streak.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Manu Ginobili scored 31 points for the Spurs in a 90-88 loss to the Cavaliers on Thursday night.
SPEAKING
“You know it was down to the last shot again for us going into overtime. It was big to see the ball not go in with no time on the clock. Big win.” – LeBron James, who scored 27 points in the Cavaliers’ 90-88 victory over the Spurs on Thursday night. The Cavaliers averted a fourth overtime in three games.