Paul’s jumper lifts Clippers to OT victory, Lakers lose
PHILADELPHIA — Los Angeles’ Chris Paul hit a 17-foot jumper with 3.2 seconds left to lift the Clippers to a 78-77 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday in a clash of NBA divisional leaders.
Paul finished with 24 points and Blake Griffin had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who improved to 16-8 and remained on top of the Pacific Division despite having lost star guard Chauncey Billups for the season.
HAWKS 89, MAGIC 87, OT
In Orlando, Josh Smith had 23 points and 19 rebounds, and Atlanta hit enough free throws late in overtime to slip past Orlando.
Joe Johnson scored four of his 14 points in the extra period and added five assists for the Hawks, who won their fourth straight regular-season meeting with the Magic dating to last season.
THUNDER 101, JAZZ 87
In Salt Lake City, Russell Westbrook scored 28 points to lead Oklahoma City over Utah.
GRIZZLIES 98, PACERS 92
In Memphis, Rudy Gay scored 21 points as Memphis finished stronger against Indiana.
Marreese Speights added a season-high 19 points and nine rebounds for the Grizzlies.
MAVERICKS 104, TIMBERWOLVES 97
In Minneapolis, Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 33 points, bettering Kevin Love on his return from suspension in a clash of Western Conference All-Star power forwards.
KNICKS 92, LAKERS 85
In New York, Jeremy Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points as New York finally beat Los Angeles.
Buried deep on the bench a little more than a week ago, Lin has had a series of impressive performances since being given a starting berth, none more so than Friday when he set a new high for points among Knicks players this season, and got the better of Kobe Bryant.
BULLS 95, BOBCATS 64
In Charlotte, Joakim Noah had 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead Chicago to a crushing road win over hapless Charlotte.
HEAT 106, WIZARDS 89
In Washington, Dwyane Wade scored 26 points and dominated during a second-quarter run to lead Miami over Washington.
Wade either scored or got the assist on 20 consecutive Heat points in that surge, combining with LeBron James to score Miami’s last 18 points of the first half, including a pair of one-handed throw-down alley-oop Wade-to-James dunks during a 10-0 spurt.
RAPTORS 86, CELTICS 74
In Toronto, DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points to lead Toronto to a rare win over Boston.
BUCKS 113, CAVALIERS 112, OT
In Cleveland, Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and made a big layup in overtime as Milwaukee rallied past Cleveland.
TRAIL BLAZERS 94, HORNETS 86
In New Orleans, Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 31 points as Portland handed New Orleans its eighth straight loss.
Raymond Felton scored 18 points, including a pair of free throws that gave the Blazers an 88-84 lead in the final minute.
PISTONS 109, NETS 92
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Greg Monroe had 18 points and 11 rebounds to help Detroit comfortably beat New Jersey for its fourth straight victory.
Jonas Jerebko scored 20 points for the Pistons, who are on their longest winning streak since 2009.
The Nets scored the game’s first seven points before Detroit answered with a 12-0 run. /ap
