Spurs ride second-half run past Magic
The San Antonio Spurs refused to let the Orlando Magic beat them with long-distance shots.
"We made a decision to make them penetrate," Manu Ginobili said. "We were not going to let Rashard [Lewis], Hedo [Turkoglu], and Keith [Bogans] take wide-open shots."
The strategy worked. Ginobili scored 28 points and Michael Finley added 24 as the Spurs beat the Magic, 107-97, last night in Orlando, Fla., for their fourth straight win.
Dwight Howard had 24 points and 21 rebounds, his eighth game this season with at least 20 in both categories, but it wasn't enough for Orlando. Lewis added 24, Keyon Dooling 19, and Carlos Arroyo 17.
"We missed some opportunities, missed some layups, turned the ball over on fast breaks," Lewis said. "We played good defense, but we couldn't convert running out."
Turkoglu left in the second quarter with a sprained right wrist, and Jameer Nelson left with a bruised jaw after running into Howard.
Tim Duncan had 19 points and 15 rebounds for San Antonio.
Orlando led, 69-61, in the third quarter, its largest margin of the game, before a six-minute scoring drought. It started after Bogans missed all three free throws following a foul while shooting a 3-pointer, and ended with the Spurs ahead, 76-69, then their biggest lead.
"We hit a little stretch in the third where we couldn't score," Dooling said. "From that point on, they took control of the game.
Mavericks 103, Clippers 90 - Josh Howard took over a tight game midway through the third quarter, carrying host Dallas past Los Angeles in its first game since losing Dirk Nowitzki to a sprained left knee.
Dallas, which had lost three straight, led only 60-58 when Howard got rolling.
Howard scored 20 of the Mavericks' next 26 points, putting them up by 16 early in the fourth. He finished with 32 points.
Hornets 114, Pacers 106 - David West had 35 points and 16 rebounds, and Chris Paul had 31 points and 14 assists as visiting New Orleans won its fourth straight to maintain the best record (48-21) in the West.
Danny Granger led Indiana with 26 points. The Pacers had been on a four-game winning streak, but the loss gave them back-to-back losing seasons.
Bulls 103, Hawks 94 - Drew Gooden scored a season-high 31 points and matched a season best with 16 rebounds as host Chicago held off Atlanta.
Trail Blazers 102, Wizards 82 - Martell Webster had 23 points, Travis Outlaw added 20, and host Portland overcame the loss of top scorer Brandon Roy (strained right groin) to beat Washington.
Jazz 128, Bobcats 106 - Carlos Boozer had 28 points and 13 rebounds as host Utah opened a 14-point lead at the half and cruised past Charlotte.
