Amare Stoudemire had 23 points and eight rebounds while
Raymond Felton added 17 points and 14 assists for the Knicks. Stoudemire has
scored at least 20 points in 22 straight games.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the
Blazers.
In Minneapolis, San Antonio's
Manu Ginobili sank five technical free throws in a 10-second span of the third
quarter as Minnesota Timberwolves came unglued en route to a 16th consecutive
loss to the Spurs.
Ginobli had 19 points and nine rebounds in all and Richard
Jefferson scored 17 for the Spurs, who lead the league.
Kevin Love had 20 points and 20 rebounds for the
Timberwolves, who have lost five in a row and saw referee Ken Mauer award a
five-technical binge in the third.
Darko Milicic, Corey Brewer and Love each got whistled for
one technical and coach Kurt Rambis received two and was ejected.
In Denver, Arron Afflalo scored a
career-high 31 points, helping Denver Nuggets snap a three-game skid with a
rout of Phoenix.
Carmelo Anthony followed up one of his worst shooting
performances with a 28-point effort. Anthony, the subject of trade talks all
season, was greeted early by the crowd with a smattering of boos but quickly
reversed the mood with his hustle and hanging jumpers. He also grabbed 10
rebounds.
Steve Nash hit his first four shots for Phoenix, but didn't
make another and spent the fourth quarter on the bench. He finished with 15
points.
In Los Angeles, the hosts recorded
their best defensive performance in the shot clock era, humbling Cleveland.
Ron Artest and Andrew Bynum each scored 15 points for the
defending NBA champion Lakers, who led the league's worst team by 32 points at
halftime on their way to winning their fifth in a row.
Cleveland's point total was a record low by a Lakers
opponent. The Cavs shot 30 percent, were outscored 52-28 in the paint and
committed 19 turnovers in losing their 11th straight.
In Philadelphia, Indiana won their
first road game in 10 attempts, beating Philadelphia.
Danny Granger scored 27 points and Darren Collison added 21
points and 13 assists for the Pacers.
Jrue Holiday led the Sixers with 19 points. Andre Iguodala
returned to Philadelphia's starting lineup after missing the previous seven
games with Achilles' tendonitis, but was largely ineffective and didn't seem to
have the same explosiveness to the basket.
In Washington, Nick Young scored
a career-high 43 points, and Kirk Hinrich had six in overtime as Washington
survived a last-minute regulation meltdown to beat Sacramento.
The Wizards blew a six-point lead in the final 14 seconds of
the fourth quarter, and nearly blew a five-point lead in the final half-minute
of overtime.
Young went 14 for 22 from the field, including 7 for 10 from
3-point range for the Wizards, who are 10-8 at home but 0-18 on the road. Six
Washington players scored in double figures in the team's highest-scoring
output of the season.
Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia scored 26 points apiece for
the Kings, who have lost 11 straight on the road and six in a row at
Washington.
