TORONTO, 22 March 2005 — Chauncey Billups scored 25 points to lead a team effort in the Detroit Pistons 110-101 victory against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
Tayshaun Prince added 22 points and eight rebounds for the Pistons, who took advantage of Tim Duncan’s ankle injury, which forced him out of the game after just two minutes.
The team said after the game X-rays were negative. Duncan missed two games earlier this month with a sprained right ankle. He was listed as day-to-day.
Rasheed Wallace added 15 points and six rebounds for the Pistons, while Carlos Arroyo chipped in 13 points in just 23 minutes off the bench for Detroit.
Devin Brown led San Antonio with 18 points while Beno Udrih added 15 points.
In Toronto, LeBron James became the youngest NBA player to score 50 or more points in a game when he scored 56 in the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-98 loss by the Raptors. James set a franchise record with his haul, shooting 18-for-36 from the field and 14-for-15 from the line. He had six three-pointers along with 10 rebounds and five assists. Jalen Rose led Toronto with 30 points and Donyell Marshall added 24 points.
In Indianapolis, Vince Carter scored 39 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the New Jersey Nets’ 94-85 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Nenad Krstic added 18 points for the Nets, while Jason Kidd had 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Stephen Jackson led Indiana with 21 points.
In Memphis, Joe Johnson scored 28 points in the Phoenix Suns’ 97-91 victory over the Grizzlies. Shawn Marion had 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Suns, who also got 13 points and 13 assists from Steve Nash.
Shane Battier’s 20 points led Memphis.
In Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 30 points, 17 rebounds and six assists as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Houston Rockets 94-86. Wally Szczerbiak scored 20 points while Sam Cassell added 18 for Minnesota. Yao Ming had 21 points and five rebounds to lead the Rockets.
In Sacramento, Troy Murphy had 29 points and 14 rebounds as the Golden State Warriors won their third successive game, a 104-94 victory over the Kings.
Zarko Carbarkapa added 17 points for the Warriors, who were missing leading scorer Jason Richardson. Mike Bibby scored 24 points and had eight assists for the Kings, before he was ejected in the game’s final minute.
In Denver, Andre Miller scored 22 points and made eight assists in the Nuggets’ 114-103 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Denver have now won 11 of their past 12 games.
In Los Angeles, Rashard Lewis had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Seattle SuperSonics to a 102-100 victory over the slumping Lakers, who have now lost five successive games and are falling further out of playoff contention. Kobe Bryant scored 30 points for the Lakers.
