SCOREBOARD
Monday, Feb. 4
Chicago at Seattle (10 p.m. EST). The Bulls have lost nine straight road games.
STARS
Saturday
-LeBron James, Cavaliers, scored 28 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 7 assists and Cleveland beat the Clippers 98-84.
-Tracy McGrady, Rockets, scored 33 to lead Houston to a 91-83 victory over Milwaukee.
-Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets, had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Denver beat Charlotte 117-101.
-Brad Miller, Kings, had 22 points and 20 rebounds and Sacramento beat Chicago 105-101.
SMOOTH JAZZ
Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Utah extended their winning streak to eight games Saturday night with a 110-91 victory over the new-look Grizzlies. The Jazz have won 12 of their last 13 and sit atop the Western Conference’s Northwest Division.
YAO VS YI II
Yao Ming’s Rockets beat Yi Jianlian and the Bucks 91-83 Saturday despite relatively quiet nights by China’s biggest basketball exports. Yao scored 12 points and added 12 rebounds for Houston, while Yi scored six points on miserable 1-for-10 shooting. Yao and Yi’s first meeting on an NBA court, Nov. 9 in Houston, was watched by an audience estimated between 100 and 200 million people in China. A similar audience was expected for Saturday’s game, which was being broadcast live by three networks in greater China and on tape delay by a fourth. Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak dubbed it the “Chinese Super Bowl.”
WELCOME BACK
Carmelo Anthony returned from an ankle injury to score 25 points, Allen Iverson added 24 points and 13 assists, and Denver beat Charlotte 117-101 on Saturday night. Anthony missed five games with a sprained left ankle after awkwardly landing on the foot of Kobe Bryant on Jan. 21. The Nuggets were 3-2 in Anthony’s absence. It was the Nuggets eighth straight win at the Pepsi Center. The team is now 20-5 at home this season. Denver didn’t win its 20th home game last season until April 4.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Jason Richardson tied a season high with 38 points, and Emeka Okafor added 20 points and 18 rebounds in Charlotte’s 117-101 loss to Denver. … Ben Gordon scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, but Chicago fell to Sacramento 105-101. … Danny Granger scored 29 points but Indiana lost to Orlando 121-115.
SLUMPING
Dwight Howard had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Orlando beat Indiana 121-115. Danny Granger finished with 29 points for the slumping Pacers (19-29), who dropped their sixth consecutive game.
ROAD WOES
Ron Artest scored 28 points and Kevin Martin had 26 to help Sacramento to a 105-101 victory over Chicago on Saturday night. The Bulls have lost nine straight road games. Chicago has dropped nine straight games in Sacramento since the Michael Jordan-led team beat the Kings by 15 points on Nov. 23, 1997.
SPEAKING
“Two hundred million people watching – that’s when you’ve got to bring your ‘A’ game. That’s amazing that there’s double the people watching a regular-season NBA game as the Super Bowl.”- Tracy McGrady after Houston’s 91-83 victory over Milwaukee regarding the estimated audience watching in China when Yao Ming played against Yi Jianlian.