NBA
West, Paul help Hornets cool down sizzling Celtics
NEW ORLEANS – The Boston Celtics’ recent dominance of the powerful Western Conference ended at the hands of an All-Star fittingly named West.
David West scored 37 points and the New Orleans Hornets overcame an early 15-point deficit to beat Boston 113-106 on Saturday night.
“We’re confident in what we can do and we make sure, regardless if we’re up, if we’re down, that we play the same way and hopefully that consistency can carry us through to wins,” West said. “Guys had to make shots. We’re playing from behind just about the whole game, dealing with a team like Boston that we know is so good.”
Chris Paul, despite playing only 29 minutes because of foul trouble, had 19 points and hit a pair of clutch jumpers in the waning minutes as New Orleans added a win over the Celtics to recent triumphs over San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston.
The Celtics came in riding a four-game winning streak that included a three-game swing through Texas, with wins over San Antonio, Houston and Dallas.
Paul Pierce had 16 of his 28 points in the first quarter and the Celtics shot better than 60 percent and led by double digits until well into the third.
But Boston seemed to tire in the fourth as New Orleans surged to its ninth straight victory at home while stopping Boston’s road winning streak at eight.
Bonzi Wells had a franchise-record six steals in the fourth quarter, in which Boston scored just 17 points. Wells finished 12 points and eight steals.
PACERS 108, BULLS 101: Mike Dunleavy scored 25 points, and Troy Murphy added 24 as visiting Indiana extended its winning streak to a season-best four games.
Danny Granger added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who snapped a five-game road losing streak and continued their playoff push.
Indiana pulled into a tie with New Jersey for ninth place in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers trail the Atlanta Hawks by 1 1/2 games for the eighth and final playoff spot.
BUCKS 108, CAVALIERS 98: Mo Williams scored 27 points as host Milwaukee snapped a six-game losing streak.
LeBron James scored 29, Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 20 and Wally Szczerbiak 14 as Cleveland failed in its first attempt at going 11 games over .500 this season.
76ERS 91, NETS 87: Andre Iguodala scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half, and Samuel Dalembert had 11 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks for host Philadelphia.
Andre Miller had 21 points and five assists, and Lou Williams added 15 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field for the Sixers, who have won 17 of their last 22 games.
Vince Carter led New Jersey with 27 points but was only 10 for 25 from the floor.
HAWKS 98, MAGIC 90: Joe Johnson scored 34 points, Mike Bibby had 20 and Josh Smith 19 as Atlanta beat Orlando for the sixth consecutive time at home.
The Magic, which dropped to 22-2 on the road when entering the fourth quarter with a lead, had won seven of eight overall. Hedo Turkoglu led Orlando with 18 points. Jameer Nelson had 16 points, and Dwight Howard finished with 16 rebounds.
JAZZ 115, SUPERSONICS 101: Carlos Boozer had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Mehmet Okur added 24 points and 10 rebounds for host Utah.
Jeff Green had a career-high 23 points and fellow rookie Kevin Durant also scored 23 points for the Sonics, outscored 63-40 in the second half. Seattle has lost its last nine road games by an average more than 20 points.
BOBCATS 94, HEAT 82: Gerald Wallace scored 26 points, Jason Richardson had 24, and host Charlotte held off an early fourth-quarter rally to snap a five-game losing streak.
Jason Williams scored 19 points, Ricky Davis had 15 and Chris Quinn 14 for the Heat, which lost its third straight and 11th in 13 games in March.
TIMBERWOLVES 114, KNICKS 93: Ryan Gomes scored 26 points, had reserve Rashad McCants had 24 for host Minnesota.
GRIZZLIES 117, KINGS 111: Juan Carlos Navarro scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter in Memphis. Rudy Gay scored 24 points and Darko Milicic had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who have won consecutive games for only the second time this season.