Clippers earn rare win over Lakers
Published:Friday | January 8, 2010 | 12:00 AM
LOS ANGELES (AP):
The resurgent Clippers held off the Lakers to win 102-91 on Wednesday, snapping a nine-game losing streak in the NBA's battle of Los Angeles.
Baron Davis scored 25 points and Chris Kaman added 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers, who beat the defending NBA champions for the first time since 2006-07.
The Clippers have won five straight at home for the first time since a six-game winning streak in that same season.
Kobe Bryant scored 33 points as the Lakers' four-game winning streak ended.
Suns 118 Rockets 110
In Phoenix, the hosts were 16 points up, then 16 points down, before coming back to down Houston.
Steve Nash scored 26 points and had 12 assists and Amare Stoudemire added 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Suns.
It was a furious game marked by a series of remarkable runs. It was the second time this season the Suns had rallied from a 16-point deficit in back-to-back games.
Aaron Brooks topped Houston with a career-high 34 points.
Raptors 108 Magic 103
In Orlando, Florida, Toronto almost blew an 18-point fourth quarter lead before holding on to beat Orlando, further slicing the Magic's lead in the NBA Southeast Division.
Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh had 18 points apiece as Toronto won for the seventh time in eight games, getting back to a squared 18-18 record.
Toronto's lead was trimmed to two with 43 seconds remaining, but J.J. Redick missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds that could have tied the score.
Redick finished with 22 points for the Magic, who have lost three straight for the first time this season. Their lead in the Southeast was cut to just 1-1/2 games over Atlanta.
Celtics 112 Heat 106, OT
In Miami, Boston came from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to tie the game in a frantic finish to regulation, then beat Miami in overtime.
Dwayne Wade had his best game of the season for the Heat and seemingly gave them victory with a steal and dunk with 0.6 seconds left. But Boston's Rajon Rondo sank a buzzer-beating layup after catching Paul Pierce's lob.
Rondo scored 25 points, and Ray Allen 22 points for Boston, which maintains a fractional advantage over Cleveland in the scrap over the Eastern Conference lead.
Other results: Cavaliers 121 Wizards 98; Jazz 117 Grizzlies 94; Spurs 112 Pistons 92; Hornets 97 Thunder 92; Hawks 119 Nets 89; Warriors 107 Timberwolves 100.