Bulls beat Hawks; Bobcats, Cavs win

Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson, left, passes the ball to Kirk Hinrich as Atlanta Hawks forward Gustavo Ayon, center, tries for the steal during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, in Chicago. The Bulls won 100-85. AP/Charles Rex Arbogast

CHICAGO — Joakim Noah scored 19 points as part of a triple-double, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks 100-85 on Tuesday night.

Noah added 16 rebounds and 11 assists, and Taj Gibson had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls, who had six players score in double figures. Chicago won its fourth straight against the Hawks and sixth in a row at home versus Atlanta.

The Hawks have lost a season-high four straight overall.

Noah had his fourth career triple-double and first since Feb. 28, 2013.

Chicago (26-25) won for the third time in four games and pulled a half-game in front of Atlanta (25-25) in the Eastern Conference.

All-star forward Paul Millsap had 15 points for the Hawks but his streak of four games with at least 10 rebounds was snapped. Lou Williams added 13 points, and Jeff Teague had 12.

BOBCATS 114, MAVERICKS 89

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Al Jefferson scored 30 points, Anthony Tolliver added 22, and Charlotte earned a rare win over Dallas.

The Bobcats had lost 17 of 18 against the Mavericks, but they scored 60 points in the paint and tied a season-high with 12 3-pointers to snap Dallas’ five-game winning streak.

Tolliver was 5 of 6 from 3-point range, and the Bobcats went 12 of 24 from beyond the arc.

Jefferson was 14 of 23 from the field and reached the 20-point plateau for the 14th time in 15 games.

Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki sprained his left ankle in the second quarter but he returned in the second half and finished with 16 points.

Charlotte’s victory came on the night it was announced that Bobcats owner Michael Jordan’s wife gave birth to the couple’s identical twin daughters.

Josh McRoberts had a career-high 13 assists and nine points for the Bobcats (23-29).

CAVALIERS 109, KINGS 99

CLEVELAND — Luol Deng scored 22 points, and Cleveland avenged a 44-point loss to Sacramento.

The Cavaliers, routed 124-80 in Sacramento on Jan. 12, took a double-figure lead early in the second quarter and were in control the remainder of the game. Cleveland has won three in a row for the second time this season.

Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the draft who has struggled most of the season, recorded career highs with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Dion Waiters added 20 points for Cleveland.

DeMarcus Cousins scored 21 points to lead the Kings, who have lost 10 of 12 and seven straight on the road.

The Cavaliers broke a three-game losing streak against the Kings.

Isaiah Thomas scored 16 points, and Rudy Gay added 14 for the Kings.

GRIZZLIES 92, WIZARDS 89

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Nick Calathes and Marc Gasol scored 18 points each, and Memphis overcame a career-best 37 points from Washington’s Bradley Beal to win.

Beal was unable to convert down the stretch, though, including missing a 21-footer with 12.9 seconds left that would have tied the game.

Zach Randolph split two free throws with 11.5 seconds left to give the Grizzlies a 92-89 lead. John Wall’s 3-pointer with about 1 second left rattled around before popping out.

Randolph, Courtney Lee and James Johnson scored 13 apiece for Memphis, and Randolph grabbed 10 rebounds. Calathes also had six assists for the Grizzlies.

Nene had 17 points for the Wizards. Trevor Ariza and Marcin Gortat added 10 points each.

HEAT 103, SUNS 97

PHOENIX — LeBron James rebounded from one of his worst games of the season to score 37 points, and Miami beat Phoenix.

James, who had matched his season low with 13 points in Saturday’s loss at Utah, scored 25 in the second half, 14 in the fourth quarter. He also had five steals.

Chris Bosh added 21 points, and Mario Chalmers had 13 for the Heat, who were without Dwyane Wade because of a migraine.

Gerald Green scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half for Phoenix. Goran Dragic and Channing Frye had 15 apiece.

The Suns lost to Miami for the eighth time in a row.

THUNDER 98, TRAIL BLAZERS 95

PORTLAND, Ore. — Kevin Durant had 36 points and 10 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder edged the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jeremy Lamb had 19 points, including a key 3-pointer with 1:38 left for the Western Conference-leading Thunder, who have won 14 of their last 16 games.

Nicolas Batum had 18 points for Portland, which has lost five of seven and appears tired as the league approaches the All-Star break. Robin Lopez had 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Portland led by as many as 13 points in the first half and held a 55-45 advantage at the break, but the Thunder kept chipping away and the teams went into the fourth quarter tied at 80. Lamb’s 3-pointer gave the Thunder a 96-95 lead, and Oklahoma City held on.

JAZZ 96, LAKERS 79

LOS ANGELES — Reserve Alec Burks scored 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and the Utah Jazz sent the injury-riddled Los Angeles Lakers to a franchise record-tying sixth straight home loss.

Gordon Hayward scored 15 points and reserve Jeremy Evans had 14 for Utah, which enjoyed a 55-40 rebounding edge. Derrick Favors had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Chris Kaman had 25 points and 14 boards for the Lakers, who have dropped nine of 11 overall and 21 of 26 since Dec. 21. The loss to Utah put Los Angeles in 14th place in the Western Conference, a half-game behind the Jazz and a game ahead of last-place Sacramento.

Undermined all season by a run of injuries, the Lakers likely will miss the postseason for only the fifth time since the franchise relocated from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1960-61.

Read more...