NBA
Indiana’s Granger scores 29 in return
INDIANAPOLIS – A couple of bleary-eyed days couldn’t knock Danny Granger off his game.
The Indiana forward returned from a right cheek injury Friday night, making three critical free throws late and finishing with 29 points to help the Pacers get beat the Detroit Pistons 106-102.
On Wednesday, the Pacers said Granger was out indefinitely. Two days later, he was back on the court and in the lead role. Granger connected on 11 of 16 shots, both of his three-point attempts and 5 of 6 free throws.
He also had six assists and three steals and got lots of help from his friends.
“I felt healthy,” Granger said. “I don’t think anything is wrong with me. I just got my block knocked off real quick, and I’m OK now.”
Troy Murphy made four threes and had 20 points. Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush each scored 15 points and Mike Dunleavy had 10.
Indiana has won two of its last three.
Detroit was led by Rodney Stuckey, who played 27 minutes and finished with 25 points in his first game since collapsing on the bench during a game two weeks ago.
“The plan wasn’t to play all those minutes, but I mean it was just in the heat of the game,” Stuckey said. “I’ve been working out. After this happened, I took a couple of days off, but after that I’ve just been working out. I feel fine.”
Stuckey’s inspirational performance nearly led Detroit back from a 24-points second-half deficit, but the Pistons ran out of steam in the final 2 minutes.
CAVALIERS 92, BULLS 85: LeBron James became the youngest player to score 15,000 career points, breaking Kobe Bryant’s mark by about two years, and Cleveland pulled away late in Chicago to win for the 12th time in 13 games.
James scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, giving him 15,026 in his career, and had 11 rebounds. He scored seven straight late in the game as Cleveland increased its lead to 10, sending the Bulls to their 10th straight loss.
THUNDER 115, RAPTORS 89: Kevin Durant scored 31 points in Toronto as Oklahoma City won for the sixth time in seven games.
Durant was 7 of 16 from the field and 17 of 18 from the free-throw line.
HAWKS 93, BOBCATS 92, OT: Joe Johnson sank a fallaway jumper over three Charlotte defenders just before time expired to lift host Atlanta.
Johnson had 18 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime. He made his winning shot about two steps inside the three-point line.
SPURS 147, WARRIORS 116: Manu Ginobili scored 23 points as host San Antonio scored the most points under Gregg Popovich since he took over as head coach in 1996.
Richard Jefferson added 21 points for the Spurs, who shot 65 percent from the field and put up the most points against Golden State this season.
CELTICS 94, ROCKETS 87: Paul Pierce scored 26 points, Ray Allen hit five three-pointers and scored had 19 points, and Boston snapped host Houston’s four-game winning streak.
Kevin Garnett added 15 points, and Rajon Rondo had 10 assists for the Celtics, who smothered high-scoring Houston point guard Aaron Brooks and held the Rockets to 39.5 percent shooting (30 of 76).
KNICKS 92, 76ERS 88: Toney Douglas scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as host New York rallied.
A rookie guard who was recently elevated to the starting lineup, Douglas scored 13 straight Knicks points down the stretch, helping New York win despite missing starters David Lee and Wilson Chandler.