NBA Capsules
INDIANAPOLIS — David West scored 30 points and Paul George added 15 on Friday night, leading Indiana to a 102-89 victory over Miami.
The Pacers (28-19) have won 13 in a row at home and two straight overall since losing three straight on the road. Indiana and the New York Knicks are the only teams in the league to beat the defending NBA champs twice this season.
Article continues after this advertisementMiami (29-14) was led by LeBron James with 28 points and Dwayne Wade with 17 — and this time the Heat were beaten at their own game.
Indiana shot a season-high 55.7 percent from the field.
The Pacers took control with a 13-0 first-half run that turned a 23-20 deficit into a 33-23 lead. They never trailed again.
Article continues after this advertisementIndiana led by as much as 19 points in the third quarter, and Miami never got closer than 12 in the fourth.
RAPTORS 98, CLIPPERS 73
TORONTO — Rudy Gay wowed a sellout crowd by scoring 20 points in his Toronto debut, leading the Raptors to a rout of the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers.
Amir Johnson had 19 points and matched his career high with 16 rebounds for the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan also scored 19 as Toronto welcomed Gay with a winning effort two days after he was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade that also included Detroit.
John Lucas scored 17 and Aaron Gray had seven points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who handed the Clippers their fourth straight loss in Toronto. Los Angeles has dropped five of its past eight overall.
KNICKS 96, BUCKS 86
NEW YORK — Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points, Amare Stoudemire had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and the New York Knicks extended their winning streak to three games.
J.R. Smith had 17 points and Tyson Chandler pulled down 20 rebounds in New York’s fourth straight win over Milwaukee.
Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with 19 points and seven rebounds. Monta Ellis added 16 points and Brandon Jennings had 14.
The Knicks trailed for the majority of the game until late in the third quarter when they stormed back.
CELTICS 97, MAGIC 84
BOSTON — Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett each had a double-double, and the Boston Celtics responded to yet another blow to their lineup with a win over the Orlando Magic, who lost their eighth straight game.
Pierce had 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists despite sitting out the fourth quarter. Garnett finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who learned early in the day that promising rookie Jared Sullinger will miss the rest of the season following back surgery.
The short-handed Celtics also lost All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo this week, yet won their third straight and got back to .500 at 23-23.
Courtney Lee had 14 points and five assists for Boston. Jeff Green scored 17 points.
GRIZZLIES 85, WIZARDS 76
MEMPHIS, Tenn.— Mike Conley scored 18 points and Tayshaun Prince added 14 in his Memphis debut, including a pair of key fourth-quarter jumpers, as the Grizzlies defeated the Washington Wizards.
Marc Gasol added 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Grizzlies, while Tony Allen and Jerryd Bayless finished with 11 points each. Prince hit his first three shots of the game, finishing 7 of 11 from the field. The game marked the first appearance for Prince, Ed Davis and Austin Daye, acquired in a three-team trade this week that sent Memphis leading scorer Rudy Gay to the Toronto Raptors.
Nene was the only Wizards player to reach double figures with 14 points, while handing out six assists as Washington lost its third straight after winning seven of 10.
NETS 93, BULLS 89
NEW YORK — Brook Lopez scored 20 points through three quarters, then the Brooklyn Nets turned to their bench to beat the short-handed Chicago Bulls.
Andray Blatche scored all of his 11 points in the fourth quarter and MarShon Brooks had nine of his 13 as the reserves scored the Nets’ first 20 points. A starter didn’t score until Joe Johnson’s 3-pointer gave Brooklyn an 86-80 lead with 2 minutes to play. Johnson finished with 13 points for the Nets, who bounced back from a loss to Miami on Wednesday by beating another top Eastern Conference team.
Luol Deng scored 18 points and Taj Gibson had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls, who played without starters Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Kirk Hinrich while losing for just the third time in 11 games.
76ERS 89, KINGS 80
PHILADELPHIA — Thaddeus Young had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday scored 21 to lead the Philadelphia 76ers past the Sacramento Kings.
Nick Young scored 20 points to help the Sixers win consecutive games for the first time since they had a three-game winning streak from Nov. 25-30.
Tyreke Evans scored 29 points and Isaiah Thomas had 24 for the Kings, who have lost six of seven and fell to 1-3 on a six-game road trip.
PISTONS 117, CAVALIERS 99
AUBURN HILLS, Mich.— Brandon Knight had 20 points and 10 assists, and the Detroit Pistons never trailed against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Greg Monroe added 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Pistons, who played without newly acquired point guard Jose Calderon. After being traded from Toronto to Detroit earlier this week, the Spanish-born Calderon needed to resolve visa issues before he could play.
Tristan Thompson led Cleveland with 19 points.