SCOREBOARD
Wednesday, Jan. 23
Portland at New Orleans (8 p.m. EST) Two surprising first place teams meet in New Orleans.
STARS
Monday
-Ryan Gomes, Timberwolves, scored a career-high 35 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and Minnesota beat Golden State 109-108.
-Yao Ming, Rockets, scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead Houston to a 96-89 victory over Seattle.
-Rashard Lewis, Magic, hit a 12-foot jumper as time expired, lifting Orlando past Detroit 102-100.
-LeBron James, Cavaliers, finished with 28 points and five assists, helping Cleveland beat Miami 97-90.
-Derek Fisher, Lakers, scored 28 points, hitting on six of seven 3-pointers, and Los Angeles beat Denver 116-99.
WINLESS IN SEATTLE
Yao Ming had 30 points and 17 rebounds, and Houston beat Seattle 96-89 on Monday, the SuperSonics’ team-record 11th consecutive loss. Wally Szczerbiak and Jeff Green had 15 points apiece for Seattle, now riding the longest single-season losing streak in team history. The Sonics lost 12 consecutive games across the end of the 1968-69 season and the start of 1969-70. The Sonics have lost 10 straight road games.
DYNAMIC DUO
Caron Butler had 25 points and nine rebounds, Antawn Jamison added 23 points and eight rebounds, and Washington beat Dallas 102-84 Monday, giving the Mavericks their biggest loss of the season. The victory gave Washington its first season sweep of Dallas since 1996-97. The Wizards have won five of their past six games – including beating the Boston Celtics twice – to take hold of fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
ICE COLD
Miami lost its 14th straight, 97-90 to Cleveland on Monday night.
DONE?
Pacers forward Jermaine O’Neal called sitting out the season with a bruised left knee a “worst-case scenario” Monday and refused to put a timetable on his return. The Pacers said Saturday that O’Neal would miss at least two weeks. A six-time All-Star, O’Neal is averaging 15.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks this season, but he has missed eight games and barely practiced the last two or three weeks. Over the past 3 1/2 seasons, O’Neal has missed 90 games due to injuries, illnesses and suspensions.
SNAPPED
Ryan Gomes scored a career-high 35 points to go with 11 rebounds to help Minnesota snap a 16-game road losing streak with a 109-108 victory over Golden State on Monday. The Timberwolves won just their second road game of the season and first since a 103-94 win at New Orleans on Nov. 26. … Orlando had lost nine straight to Detroit, including four games that knocked them out of last year’s playoffs, before a 102-100 win. … The Cavaliers and LeBron James got their first win in Miami in nine trips, 97-90.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Joe Johnson scored 37 points and seven assists but Atlanta lost to Portland 111-109 in overtime. … Josh Howard had 32 points in Dallas’ 102-84 loss to Washington. … Monta Ellis scored 28 points in Golden State’s 109-108 loss to Minnesota. … Zach Randolph scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds but the Knicks lost to Boston 109-93. … Miami’s Dwyane Wade scored 42 points and had seven assists and six rebounds in a 97-90 loss to Cleveland. Wade scored a franchise record 18 straight points for the Heat.
SPEAKING
“I was thinking, ‘How in the world did he make that?’ I was expecting him to miss it, but they call him ‘Big Shot Chauncey.”’ – Orlando’s Dwight Howard after Chauncey Billups hit a 32-foot 3-pointer to tie the Magic’s eventual 102-100 win at 100-all with 3.6 seconds left in the 4th quarter. Rashard Lewis hit banked home the game-winner as time expired.