Lakers slide continues, Spurs suffer first loss
Houston — Ty Lawson scored 21 points and Kenneth Faried had 16 points and 16 rebounds to help the Denver Nuggets to a 93-87 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
James Harden had a tough night for the Rockets and finished with a season-low 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting.
A dunk by Andre Iguodala put Denver up by six, before a pair of free throws by Jeremy Lin made it 91-87 with 1:21 remaining. Lin got knocked in the nose on the foul and was bleeding. He had to shoot the free throws with paper stuffed in his left nostril.
Faried blocked a layup attempt by Harden and Chandler Parsons missed a 3-pointer seconds later. Faried got the rebound on the miss and dunked it on the other end to secure the win.
Jazz 95, Lakers 86
In Salt Lake City, Al Jefferson scored 18 points and Randy Foye added 17 on five 3-pointers to lift Utah Jazz past the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mo Williams added 16 points on 8 of 13 shooting for the Grizzlies (2-3).
Kobe Bryant entered the game shooting nearly 60 percent but started 3 of 10 and finished 7 of 17 for 29 points as the Lakers fell to 1-4.
Dwight Howard added 19 points for the Lakers and Metta World Peace had 15.
The Jazz led by as many as 16 points early, but the Lakers were within five with 8:27 left before Foye hit three straight 3-pointers to give Utah a 79-68 lead with 6:40 remaining.
Clippers 106, Spurs 84
In Los Angeles, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin each had double-digit points and rebounds while leading a dunkfest in Los Angeles’ victory over the San Antonio Spurs, who lost for the first time this season.
Griffin had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Jordan had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead six players who scored in double figures while helping the Clippers snap a two-game skid against the team that swept them out of the second round of the playoffs last season.
Danny Green scored 12 points and Tim Duncan added 10 for the Spurs, whose 4-0 start was the best in franchise history.
Jordan, Griffin and Chris Paul, who had 10 points and 12 assists, left the game for good with 4:47 remaining and the Clippers ahead by 25. They had just finished a raucous stretch of dunks off alley-oop passes during a 12-2 spurt.
Heat 03, Nets 73
In Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting, LeBron James finished two assists shy of a triple-double and the Miami Heat improved to 4-0 at home for the first time in franchise history.
James had 20 points and 12 rebounds in only 30 minutes, and Rashard Lewis scored 13 points for the Heat (4-1). Miami — which plays its next six games on the road — has won its four home games by an average of 17.8 points.
Kris Humphries had a double-double by halftime, then was silent in the second half and finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets (1-2). Deron Williams scored 14 for Brooklyn, which got 12 off the bench from MarShon Brooks.
OTHER RESULTS: Celtics 100, Wizards 94, OT; Grizzlies 108, Bucks 90; 76ers 77, Hornets 62; Mavs 109, Raptors 104; Warriors 106, Cavs 96; Kings 105, Pistons 103; Timberwolves 90, Magic 75; Hawks 89, Pacers 86; Suns 117, Bobcats 110. /ap
