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Dwyane Wade hits a jump shot over Cuttino Mobley for 2 of his 35 points. (RIC FRANCIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS) |
NBA roundup
Pat Riley felt a whole lot better after his 1,200th regular-season victory as an NBA coach than he did yesterday morning when he brought the Miami Heat into Staples Center with a five-game losing streak.
Dwyane Wade helped improve his coach's disposition considerably, getting 35 points and 10 assists in a 100-94 victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles.
"Two nights ago when I got here from Golden State," Riley said, "I was feeling a little bit low. OK? My wife's in town, and I went to the 19th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel at about 1:30 in the morning. I was out on the balcony looking down at Wilshire Boulevard, and she said: 'Honey, don't do it. It's not worth it.' . . . The value of an NBA wife."
Riley is the third NBA coach to win 1,200 games, and he reached it in his 1,842d game. That's 248 faster than Don Nelson, the next fastest. Riley, in his 24th season as a coach, guided the Lakers to four NBA titles before winning another with the Heat two seasons ago.
"It's those kind of moments that you'll always remember, good and bad," said Riley, coach of the year with three organizations. "The first 600 (533) were here in Los Angeles - a lot of great players, guys. You know all of them. Dwyane thinks I'm extinct, but that's OK. That's what he said to me in there."
Wade, who had 33 points in Friday's loss to the Warriors, has recorded consecutive games with 30 or more for the second time this season. Udonis Haslem and Ricky Davis each added 17 points.
Shaquille O'Neal, who complained publicly during the week about not getting the ball enough from his teammates, was 4 for 8 from the field and finished with 8 points and eight rebounds in 33 minutes. He spent the final 1:07 on the bench while Alonzo Mourning helped Miami make some key defensive stops - including a block of Corey Maggette's layup.
"Zo is a little more mobile than Shaq right now," Riley said. "You could see that Shaq was laboring a little bit because of his thigh, so he was dragging his leg around doing the best job he could do. He's a shot blocker, he's a big body and everybody knows he's coming. He gives our players confidence because he can get up there and he has such good timing."
Trail Blazers 117, Bucks 113 - Brandon Roy scored 26 points, including a go-ahead layup in overtime, to lift host Portland.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points for the Blazers, who won their third straight. But it wasn't easy.
The Bucks went up, 112-107, in the extra period after Andrew Bogut made a pair of free throws. Aldridge made a jumper for the Blazers before fouling out, and Travis Outlaw added two more free throws to narrow it to 112-111.
Milwaukee's Michael Redd missed a 3-point attempt with 32.9 seconds to go.
Roy hit his layup to give the Blazers a 113-112 lead, their first of overtime. After Mo Williams missed a layup, Steve Blake was fouled by Charlie Villanueva and made both the foul shots to give Portland a 115-112 lead.
Redd missed a jumper in the final seconds and afterward the officials reviewed whether Blake's loose ball foul came before the buzzer.
Charlie Bell made just one of the resulting free throws, and Outlaw was fouled on the other end and made both of his for the final margin.
Raptors 93, Rockets 80 - Chris Bosh had 21 points and 10 rebounds in his return to the lineup for host Toronto.
Bosh, playing for the first time after missing five games with a strained groin, made his presence felt on the opening possession by blocking a shot by Houston's Steve Francis. Bosh was at it again in the fourth, racing back to block Tracy McGrady on a layup.
Hornets 91, SuperSonics 88 - Chris Paul had 29 points and 10 assists to carry host New Orleans. David West hit a crucial jump shot and driving one-handed floater in the final minutes, finishing with 15 points for the Hornets, who won their second straight.
Wizards 104, Nets 89 - Caron Butler scored 20 of his 28 points in the second half, leading host Washington past New Jersey. Butler gave the Wizards control of the game for good early in the final quarter, singlehandedly outscoring the Nets, 10-1, over a three-minute span.
Pistons 104, Bobcats 85 - Chauncey Billups scored 20 points and Antonio McDyess added 19 points and nine rebounds as host Detroit routed Charlotte.
Lakers 123, Warriors 113 - Kobe Bryant had 20 of his 28 points in the second half, six teammates scored in double figures, and host Los Angeles beat Golden State for the Lakers' ninth straight win over the Warriors.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
