WASHINGTON: The San Antonio Spurs defeated the slumping Washington Wizards 97-86 for their season-best fifth straight NBA victory on Saturday.
Tim Duncan scored 23 points, reserve Roger Mason Jr. added a season-high 20 and Tony Parker had 12 points for the Spurs, who have won four straight on the road and nine in a row against the Wizards.
Duncan’s jump-hook gave the Spurs an 81-80 lead with 6:21 left in the game, and he followed that with two free throws as part of a decisive 12-2 run.
Caron Butler scored 24 points and Gilbert Arenas added 23 for the Wizards, who have dropped four straight and remained enveloped in a gun controversy surrounding Arenas.
Arenas is being investigated by the NBA, US Attorney’s Office and District of Columbia police over allegations that he stored unloaded firearms in his locker in the team’s Verizon Center locker room.
Nuggets 105, Jazz 95: At Salt Lake, City, Ty Lawson had 23 points and nine assists and Denver ended a three-game losing streak despite playing without injured stars Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.
Nene added 22 points and Kenyon Martin finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Nuggets.
Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Jazz.
Cavaliers 94, Nets 86: At East Rutherford, New Jersey, LeBron James had 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to lead Cleveland to its seventh straight victory.
Mo Williams added 18 points for the Cavaliers, who have won 12 of 13, and Anderson Varejao had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Shaquille O’Neal finished with 12 points and nine boards.
Devin Harris scored 22 points and Brook Lopez 20 for New Jersey.
Bobcats 107, Heat 97: At Miami, Stephen Jackson scored 13 of his season-high 35 points in the fourth quarter, D.J. Augustin added all 13 of his in the final 11 minutes and Charlotte won a road game for just the second time this season.
Jackson added eight rebounds for Charlotte, which erased an early 19-point deficit.
Dwyane Wade had 29 points and 11 assists for Miami, which dropped its third straight.
Pacers 122, Timberwolves 111: At Indianapolis, Roy Hibbert and Luther Head each scored 21 points to help Indiana snap an eight-game losing streak.
Brandon Rush scored 16 points and Mike Dunleavy added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who played without injured forward Troy Murphy and Tyler Hansbrough.
Al Jefferson scored 23 points, Wayne Ellington had a career-high 16 and Kevin Love also scored 16 for Minnesota, which has lost four straight.
Celtics 103, Raptors 96: At Boston, Ray Allen scored 23 points, Rasheed Wallace added 16 and Boston won despite missing starters Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo because of injuries.
Tony Allen had 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds, Glen Davis chipped in 15 points, and Kendrick Perkins had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Boston.
Chris Bosh led Toronto with 25 points and nine rebounds.
Bulls 101, Magic 93: At Chicago, Derrick Rose scored 30 points to lead five players in double figures and help Chicago to its season-high fourth straight win.
John Salmons scored 15 points, Luol Deng added 14, Taj Gibson had 10 points and 12 rebounds and Kirk Hinrich scored 11 points for the Bulls.
Matt Barnes had 23 points but Dwight Howard managed just nine points for Orlando.
Hornets 99, Rockets 95: At New Orleans, Chris Paul had 28 points and nine assists and New Orleans closed the win on a 13-2 run. Emeka Okafor had 14 points and 16 rebounds, and David West added 14 points, including a jumper that gave the Hornets the lead for good with 47.6 seconds left after they trailed by seven late in the fourth quarter.
Trevor Ariza scored 19 points and Aaron Brooks had 17 for Houston.
Grizzlies 128, Suns 103: At Phoenix, O.J. Mayo had 25 points and reserve Sam Young added a career-high 22 to help Memphis to its most lopsided victory of the season.
Marc Gasol scored 19 points for the Grizzlies, Zach Randolph had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Rudy Gay scored 16 points, and rookie Hasheem Thabeet had 10.
Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 29 points, Steve Nash had 19 points and 13 assists, Lou Amundson had 14 points and Goran Dragic added 13.
Bucks 103, Thunder 97, OT: At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored six of his 27 points in overtime to help Milwaukee snap a four-game losing streak.
Andrew Bogut had 23 points and 15 rebounds for the Bucks, who ended Oklahoma City’s win streak at five games.
Kevin Durant had 31 points and Russell Westbrook had 17 points and 13 assists for the Thunder.
Mavericks 99, Kings 91: At Sacramento, California, Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points to help Dallas improve to a Western Conference-best 12-5 on the road.
Jose Barea scored 17 points and Josh Howard added 16 points for the Mavericks.
Omri Casspie scored 22 points for the Kings, who have dropped five of six.
Trail Blazers 105, Warriors 89: At Portland, Oregon, Brandon Roy scored 37 points and Andre Miller added 23 as Portland won despite dressing only eight players.
Martell Webster had 21 points and 11 rebounds for injury-plagued Portland, which essentially used six players. Rookie forward Jeff Pendergraph started but played just 9 minutes.
Monta Ellis scored 30 points and Corey Maggette added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors.
