TORONTO, 18 February 2005 — Tim Duncan scored 19 points and Manu Ginobili added 13 with 10 assists as the San Antonio Spurs pounded the New Orleans Hornets 101-78 on Wednesday to reclaim a share of the best record in the standings.
The victory completed a successful 5-1 road trip for the Spurs, who head home for the All-Star break level with the Phoenix Suns on identical marks of 41-12.
Malik Rose, Tony Rose and Rasho Nesterovic each contributed 12 points to the San Antonio cause while J.R. Smith answered with 25 for the Hornets.
In Philadelphia, Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton each bagged 20 points, sending the NBA champions Detroit Pistons into the All-Star break with a solid 93-75 win over the 76ers.
The NBA’s leading scorer Allen Iverson, coming off career-high 60-point performance on Saturday and a 38-point effort on Monday, made more modest contribution against the Pistons finishing with 23 points and seven assists. The loss denied the 76ers a season-high fourth consecutive win.
In Cleveland, All-Stars LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 28 and 18 points respectively as the Cavaliers crushed the last place Atlanta Hawks 111-89.
Drew Gooden contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Cavaliers reached the 30-win mark before the All-Star break for the first time since the 1992-93 season.
In Miami, Damon Jones notched a career-high 31 points and Dwyane Wade had 28 points and dished out 12 assists as the surging Heat romped to a 113-95 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Shaquille O’Neal chipped in with 14 points and eight rebounds as the Eastern Conference leading Heat collected their seventh straight win to improve to 40-14.
The slumping Clippers, meanwhile, absorbed their seventh straight loss despite double figure performances from six players.
In East Rutherford, Jason Kidd recorded his 64th career triple-double and Vince Carter added 21 points as the Nets two All-Star guards lifted the New Jersey to 96-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Kidd had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season and third in the last six games while rookie Nenad Kristic had a career-high 18 points sending the slumping Kings to their sixth loss in seven.
In Indianapolis, Reggie Miller nailed a season-high 36 points and Jeff Foster had 14 points and 17 rebounds to spark the Pacers to a 95-87 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson had quiet nights scoring 10 and nine points respectively for the Pacers, winners of three of their last four.
In New York, the Knicks got double-digit efforts from six players, led by a 23 point performance from Jamal Crawford to register a 108-90 triumph over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Knicks recorded just their fifth win in 24 games as Stephon Marbury sat out the final quarter.
In Boston, Paul Pierce had 19 points and Ricky Davis drained a clutch jumper with four seconds to play, lifting the Celtics to a 90-88 decision over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Stromile Swift had a game-high 19 points for the Grizzlies before leaving in the third quarter with an ankle injury.
In Toronto, Kirk Hinrich nailed 28 points and Luol Deng added 20 to lead the Chicago Bulls to a season-high 121-115 victory over the Raptors.
Chris Bosh had 28 for the slumping Raptors, who have lost five of six.
In Charlotte, Kareem Rush scored 20 points and Keith Bogans added 18 as the Bobcats eased past the weary Denver Nuggets 94-88 to snap a seven-game losing skid.
Carmelo Anthony had 21 points for the Nuggets, who ended their five game road trip with a 2-3 record.
In Seattle, Jason Richardson had 30 points and Derek Fisher added 21 as the Golden State Warriors downed the SuperSonics 117-110.
