Williams leads 76ers against Kobe, Lakers
PHILADELPHIA — Lou Williams scored the go-ahead 3-pointer, scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, and spoiled Kobe Bryant’s record-setting night while leading the Philadelphia 76ers to 95-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
With “Beat L.A.!” echoing through a second straight sellout crowd, Williams hit the equalizing jump shot, then followed with the 3 for a 91-88 lead. He hit another floater to make it 93-88, part of a fantastic fourth that saw him hold off Bryant and help the Sixers improve to 13-3 at home.
Bryant scored 24 of his 28 points in the first half. He passed former teammate Shaquille O’Neal and moved into fifth place on the NBA’s career scoring list. Bryant got 24 points in a hurry to pass O’Neal, but stumbled down the stretch and missed nine of his 10 shots in the fourth.
KNICKS 99, JAZZ 88
At New York, Jeremy Lin scored a career-high 28 points in his first career start and Steve Novak added a season-best 19 as New York overcame the absence of Amare Stoudemire and early loss of Carmelo Anthony to beat Utah.
Stoudemire left the team to join his family in Florida after older brother Hazell was killed there earlier Monday in a car crash, then Anthony left after just six minutes with a strained right groin.
CLIPPERS 107, MAGIC 102
At Orlando, Florida, Chris Paul scored 29 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter and overtime, as the Los Angeles Clippers overcame a 15-point first-half deficit and slipped by Orlando.
Blake Griffin and Chauncey Billups each added 18 points for the Clippers.
WIZARDS 111, RAPTORS 108, OT
At Washington, John Wall scored 31 points, Nick Young had a season-high 29 and Trevor Booker added a season-high 19 as Washington hung on to beat Toronto.
Young’s two free throws with 1:06 to play gave Washington a 109-106 lead. The Raptors’ Amir Johnson hit two free throws with 27.2 seconds left to make it 109-108. Booker hit the first of two free throws with 6.7 seconds left. Young rebounded Booker’s miss, was fouled and hit the second of two free throws with 1.5 seconds left to make it 111-108. Linas Kleiza’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short.
SUNS 99, HAWKS 90
At Atlanta, Steve Nash scored 24 points as Phoenix broke open a close game with a 24-6 run to close the third quarter and beat Atlanta.
Nash, whose 38th birthday is Tuesday, had 11 assists and shot 9 of 12 — including each of his four 3-pointers. BULLS 108, NETS 87
At Newark, New Jersey, Carlos Boozer scored 24 points to lead Chicago to an easy victory over New Jersey.
Luol Deng scored 19 points and C.J. Watson added 14 points and 10 assists in place of Derrick Rose. The reigning league MVP played less than 11 minutes in the first half and the Bulls said at halftime that he would not return because of back spasms.
KINGS 100, HORNETS 92
At New Orleans, DeMarcus Cousins had 28 points and 19 rebounds as Sacramento erased an 18-point deficit en route to a victory over slumping New Orleans.
Tyreke Evans scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, when Sacramento took its first lead on Marcus Thornton’s free throw with 6:24 left. Isaiah Thomas scored 17, including a 31-foot 3-pointer with 2:15 to go that gave the Kings a 94-88 lead. Thornton added 12 points.
SPURS 89, GRIZZLIES 84
At Memphis, Tennessee, Tony Parker scored 21 points, and Tim Duncan added 19 points and 17 rebounds to lead San Antonio over Memphis.
Duncan scored 13 of his points in the second half as the Spurs opened a nine-game road trip with a win.
ROCKETS 99, NUGGETS 90
At Denver, Luis Scola scored 25 points as Houston handed injury-riddled Denver its third straight loss.
The Nuggets not only lost for the fifth time in six games but they lost budding star forward Danilo Gallinari, who rolled his left ankle in the third quarter. X-rays revealed a chip fracture of the foot and he was scheduled for further tests Tuesday “for a definitive diagnosis,” the team said.
THUNDER 111, TRAIL BLAZERS 107, OT
At Portland, Oregon, Kevin Durant had 33 points, including a dunk with 2.9 seconds left in overtime, as Oklahoma City defeated Portland.
Russell Westbrook added 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who upped their NBA-best record to 19-5.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 39 points for Portland, who led 103-101 with 6 seconds left in regulation before a goaltending call that drew the ire of the Rose Garden crowd and seemed to take the energy out of the Blazers. /ap
