LOS ANGELES, 20 January 2004 — Cold-shooting Tony Parker got hot and the slumping San Antonio Spurs returned to their winning ways.
Parker scored all 20 of his points in the opening half, and Slovenian center Rasho Nesterovic had 23 points along with 13 rebounds as the visiting Spurs bounced the listless Boston Celtics 109-92 on Sunday.
San Antonio had lost three in a row after winning 16 of its previous 17 games. The defending NBA champions, however, capitalized on Parker’s hot hand and a stingy defense en route to their 12th straight victory over the Celtics, including five in a row at Fleet Center.
In the three losses, Parker made just 13-of-36 shots but the third-year French point guard connected on eight-of-nine from the floor.
Paul Pierce scored 19 points and Mark Blount added 15 for Boston, which has dropped four in a row.
Denver Nuggets 88 Miami Heat 80
Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting, and Rodney White added all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter, helping the Nuggets ice the road-weary Heat.
Voshon Lenard netted 18 points and Brazil’s Nene 17 chipped in with 17 for Denver, which avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season.
Lamar Odom had 26 points to pace Miami, which finished 1-5 on its longest road trip of the season.
Suns 96 Trail Blazers 92
Joe Johnson scored 25 points, including the go-ahead basket with 18.1 seconds left, helping the host Suns hand the Trail Blazers their fifth consecutive loss.
Shawn Marion had 22 points and 16 rebounds as Phoenix matched its season-high three-game winning streak. Brazilian rookie Leandro Barbosa chipped in with 20 points, and Amare Stoudemire finished with 16, but left after re-injuring his left ankle with just under five minutes left in the game. Zach Randolph collected 25 points and 11 rebounds for Portland, which has lost nine of its last 10 games overall, and fell to 2-16 on the road.
Rasheed Wallace chipped in with 19 points but went scoreless in the final quarter.
Randolph’s three-point play put the Blazers ahead 92-90 with 2:26 to go but they missed 15 of their final 16 shots.
Marion’s rebound basket knotted the score at 92-apiece with 1:19 to play. He tried to break the tie but overshot the basket with his 10-foot jumper from the left side. Johnson grabbed it and scored underneath for a 94-92 with 18.1 seconds left.
