SCOREBOARD
Tuesday, Jan. 29
San Antonio at Seattle (10 p.m. EST). The SuperSonics look to snap a franchise record 14-game losing streak against the defending champion Spurs.
STARS
Sunday
-LeBron James, Cavaliers, scored 41 points to lead Cleveland to a 98-95 victory over Los Angeles.
-Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks, scored 16 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, to help Dallas hold off Denver 90-85.
-Al Jefferson, Timberwolves, scored a career-high 40 points and had 19 rebounds in Minnesota’s 98-95 win over New Jersey.
-Kevin Martin, Kings, scored Sacramento’s final five points, including a 20-footer as the clock expired, and Sacramento beat Seattle 103-101.
-Stephen Jackson, and Andris Biedrins, Warriors. Jackson scored 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and Biedrins had an NBA season-high 26 rebounds to help Golden State beat New York 106-104.
MAGIC TRICK
Hedo Turkoglu nailed an off-balance 3-pointer with time expiring to lift Orlando to a 96-93 victory over the Kevin Garnett-less Celtics on Sunday. It was Orlando’s second home win over Boston this season, and the Celtics’ first game without Garnett, who has an abdominal strain.
KING OF L.A.
LeBron James scored 14 of his 41 points in the final period, and Cleveland beat the short-handed Lakers 98-95 Sunday for their 12th win in 15 games. Cleveland has beaten the Lakers in five straight meetings.
LONE WOLF
Al Jefferson had a career-high 40 points and 19 rebounds, hit the go-ahead free throws with 11.4 seconds to go, and lifted Minnesota to a 98-95 victory Sunday over New Jersey. Jefferson scored 20 of the team’s 38 first-half points and fought all five Nets on the boards all game long, grabbing 19 of the team’s 40 for the game.
CRASHING THE BOARDS
Andris Biedrins had an NBA season-high 26 rebounds to help Golden State rally from another double-digit deficit to beat New York 106-104 Sunday night. Denver’s Marcus Camby and Phoenix’s Shawn Marion each had 24 rebounds in a game this season. The last player with more rebounds in a game was Ben Wallace, who had 27 on Dec. 15, 2006, for Chicago.
CLUTCH
Dirk Nowitzki made consecutive 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter and wound up scoring 14 of the final 16 points for Dallas helping them hold off Denver Nuggets 90-85 Sunday night. … Stephen Jackson scored 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and Golden State rallied from another double-digit deficit to beat New York 106-104. … Kevin Martin scored Sacramento’s final five points, including a frantic race the length of the court for a 20-footer as the clock expired, and the Kings extended Seattle’s franchise-record losing streak to 14 with a 103-101 victory. … Brandon Roy scored 24 points, including the go-ahead free throw with 2.3 seconds left, and Portland erased an 18-point deficit to beat Atlanta 94-93.
STRUGGLING
The Kings extended the Seattle SuperSonics’ franchise-record losing streak to 14 with a 103-101 victory Sunday night. Seattle has yet to win in 2008. Miami had the longest streak in the NBA this season at 15 losses. … Richard Jefferson scored 35 points and Vince Carter added 25 in New Jersey’s 98-95 loss to Minnesota on Sunday. The Nets have lost nine in a row, their longest losing streak since November 2004.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Caron Butler scored a career-high 40 points in Washington’s 105-102 overtime loss to Milwaukee. … Richard Jefferson scored 35 points but New Jersey lost to Minnesota 98-95. … Kobe Bryant had 33 points and 12 rebounds in the Lakers’ 98-95 loss to Cleveland. … Kirk Hinrich scored 31 points but Chicago lost to Phoenix 88-77.
SPEAKING
“I think he wanted to set it up so he could hit a miracle and make his final bid for the All-Star game. If we win by seven, no drama. It doesn’t make as good of a case.” – Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy after Hedo Turkoglu hit the game-winning three pointer in Sunday’s 96-93 victory over Boston.