76ers serve notice in East with lopsided win vs Bulls
Philadelphia — Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala helped the 76ers stamp themselves as a rising threat in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, scoring 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 98-82 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
Iguodala outplayed Derrick Rose and stuffed a month’s worth of highlight video activity into one game. His one-handed dunks, around-the-back passes, and big 3s helped the Sixers lead the Eastern Conference-leading Bulls by 20 at the end of the third quarter.
Thaddeus Young scored 19 points for the Sixers.
C.J Watson scored 20 points for the Bulls.
Thunder 95,
Mavs 86
Article continues after this advertisementIn Dallas, Russell Westbrook scored 33 points as Oklahoma City downed defending champion Dallas.
Article continues after this advertisementKevin Durant added 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, who limited Dallas to 8-for-38 shooting from the field in the second half.
Jason Terry had 26 points for the undermanned Mavericks, whose three-game winning streak ended.
Bucks 105, Heat 97
In Milwaukee, Brandon Jennings scored 31 points, including three 3-pointers in a critical stretch of the fourth quarter, to lead Milwaukee to its second win over highly rated Miami this season.
Jennings also had eight assists while Drew Gooden added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Bucks, who have won three straight.
LeBron James scored a season-high 40 points for the Heat, including a highlight-reel windmill dunk at the end of his huge first quarter. James had 24 points in the first quarter, the most points any player has scored in a quarter this season, according to STATS LLC.
Spurs 99,
Rockets 91
In San Antonio, Tim Duncan scored 25 points to power San Antonio’s rally past Houston.
Tony Parker added 24 for the Spurs, who trailed their Texas rivals by as many as 18 points in the third quarter but fought back to improve their home record to 11-1.
Pacers 109,
wolves 99
In Minneapolis, Danny Granger scored 29 of his 36 points in the second half to help Indiana beat Minnesota.
Granger also grabbed seven rebounds and hit 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and Darren Collison thoroughly out-played Ricky Rubio with 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Pacers, who topped 100 points for just the second time this season.
Clippers 107,
Jazz 105
In Salt Lake City, Chris Paul scored a season-high 34 points as Los Angeles snapped a nine-year, 16-game losing streak at Utah.
Blake Griffin added 31, including 12 in the tight fourth quarter, as the Clippers won their fourth straight game.
Los Angelese made eight free throws in the final 30 seconds, but Utah still had a chance. C.J. Miles intentionally missed his second free throw with the Jazz down two points with 1.2 seconds left but Reggie Evans grabbed the rebound to seal the win.
Celtics 100,
Raptors 64
In Boston, Paul Pierce had 17 points and eight assists and Boston trounced Toronto and crept above .500 for the second time this season.
Ray Allen and Brandon Bass added 12 points apiece for the Celtics, who led throughout.
Boston improved to 6-2 without point guard Rajon Rondo, who has been out with an injured right wrist. OTHER RESULTS: Magic 109, Wizards 103; Suns 120, Hornets 103. /ap
