NBA Roundup
Published 12:00 am Saturday, December 12, 2009
Associated Press
CHICAGO ó Rajon Rondo had 16 points and 14 assists, and the Boston Celtics won their 10th straight, beating the struggling Chicago Bulls 106-80 on Saturday.
Rasheed Wallace and Eddie House scored 15 apiece, Kevin Garnett added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul Pierce scored 14 even though he sustained a stinger on his right shoulder and hit just 4 of 12 shots.
Boston scored 10 straight late in the third quarter, making it a 20-point game and sending the Bulls to their 10th loss in 12 games.
Derrick Rose scored 19 for Chicago. Luol Deng added 17 but missed 4 of 6 free throws late in the third quarter, and the Bulls capped a particularly brutal seven-day stretch with another blowout loss.
Jazz 102, Lakers 94
SALT LAKE CITY ó Deron Williams scored eight straight points to start the fourth quarter and finished with 21 points and 11 assists as Utah snapped the Lakers’ 11-game winning streak.
Utah took advantage as Kobe Bryant struggled with a fractured index finger from a game the night before. The Jazz held Bryant to 16 points on 7 of 24 shooting. Bryant didn’t score in the second half until less than five minutes remained in the game and Utah was up by 15.
The Jazz also avenged a loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Wednesday, when Utah scored just six points in the fourth quarter.
Mavs 98, Bobcats 97, OT
DALLAS ó Dirk Nowitzki hit a 10-foot jumper with 1.8 seconds left in overtime, and Dallas improves to 11-0 all-time against Charlotte.
Nowitzki scored 36 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter and overtime. He hit a fadeaway over Boris Diaw from the left elbow, capping a frantic ending where the teams exchanged the lead six times in the final minute.
Stephen Jackson scored 28 points for Charlotte but missed badly on a 3-point attempt that could have won it just before the buzzer.
Pacers 114, Wizards 113
WASHINGTON ó Mike Dunleavy benefited from a replay review and made two free throws with one-tenth of a second left for Indiana, which overcame a Gilbert Arenas triple-double.
Arenas’ big night was marred when he missed two free throws in the closing seconds of a tight game for the second time in three nights, leaving the Wizards up by only one.
Arenas finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for his fourth career triple-double and first since March 19, 2004.
Pistons 104, Warriors 95
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. ó Rodney Stuckey scored 29 points and Charlie Villanueva added 24 as Detroit won its fifth straight game.
Pistons guard Richard Hamilton played after missing 21 games with a sprained right ankle and had 18 points in 37 minutes.
Monta Ellis led Golden State with 29 points, while reserve Corey Maggette added 23 and rookie Stephen Curry scored 19.
Nuggets 105, Suns 99
DENVER ó Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points and Chauncey Billups shook off an awful first half to lead the Denver Nuggets.