Jrue Holiday justified his recent selection to the Eastern Conference All-Star team with a career-high night, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 97-80 rout of the New York Knicks at Wells Fargo Center. Shaking off a 3-for-12, nine-point performance in Tuesday's loss at Milwaukee, Holiday racked up a personal-best 35 points along with six assists to enable the 76ers to avenge a pair of double-digit losses to the Atlantic Division-leading Knicks earlier in the season. Evan Turner and Nick Young added 20 points each to help Philadelphia win for only the third time in its last 11 outings. Carmelo Anthony paced the Knicks with 25 points, but went just 9-of-28 from the floor, and New York shot a poor 34.6 percent as a team while never leading at any stage. Amare Stoudemire did make 8-of-13 field goal attempts in turning in a season- best 20-point effort off the bench during the setback.
Final Score: Cleveland 99, Toronto 98
Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Kyrie Irving's 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left lifted the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-98 win over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. Following a Jose Calderon layup with 12.6 seconds left, Irving took the inbounds pass and casually strolled up court. As the seconds ticked away Irving took one step to the basket then pulled up from well-behind the arc for the game-winner. Calderon then tried to throw a lob from the left sideline, but the pass was stolen by Alonzo Gee and the Cavs held on for their second come-from-behind victory in as many days. They've won a season-best three in a row. Irving, who was named to his first All-Star Game earlier this week, finished with a game-high 32 points and has combined for 107 points over his last three contests. Newly-acquired Marreese Speights scored 17 points off the bench and Tristan Thompson added 14 points and eight rebounds for Cleveland. Amir Johnson led the Raptors with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Alan Anderson finished with 17 points. Ed Davis scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and DeMar DeRozan scored 15 for Toronto, which has dropped six of its last eight games.
Final Score: Washington 86, Chicago 73
Washington, DC (Sports Network) - A physical battle in the post left Carlos Boozer clearly frustrated. By the end of the game, the Chicago Bulls looked like a team that was playing with fatigue. Emeka Okafor had 15 points and 16 rebounds as the Washington Wizards upended the Bulls, 86-73, at Verizon Center. Nene totaled 16 points and John Wall contributed 15 points and seven assists in Washington's seventh victory in 10 games. Kirk Hinrich, who had a season-high 25 points in Chicago's 103-87 home win over Golden State on Friday, was limited to seven points a night later. Joakim Noah barely missed a triple-double, as he finished with nine points, 17 rebounds and tied a career- high with 10 assists for the Bulls, whose three- game winning streak came to an end. Nate Robinson led the way with 19 points in defeat. Chicago scored 29 points in the second half.
Final Score: Charlotte 102, Minnesota 101
Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - A streak had to end. And for the Charlotte Bobcats, their pursuit toward an NBA record for ineptitude at home came to a halt. Gerald Henderson's go-ahead 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left lifted the Bobcats to a 102-101 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves, ending Charlotte's 16-game home losing streak. The Bobcats were three more consecutive home losses from setting an NBA record set by the Dallas Mavericks during the 1993-94 season. Kemba Walker tallied 25 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, while Henderson added 15 points for Charlotte, which registered its first victory at Time Warner Cable Arena since Nov. 21. J.J. Barea's jumper at the buzzer was blocked by Walker. Luke Ridnour had 22 points to lead the Timberwolves, who have dropped nine of 10 overall and seven straight on the road.
Final Score: Houston 119, Brooklyn 106
Houston, TX (Sports Network) - James Harden had 29 points and seven assists in the Houston Rockets' 119-106 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Omer Asik added 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets, who have won 12 in a row against the Nets. Jeremy Lin tallied 14 points and nine helpers, while Chandler Parsons registered 16 points, 11 assists and six boards in the win. Deron Williams recorded 27 points and 11 assists for Brooklyn, which has dropped two straight after winning 10 of its previous 11.
Final Score: Milwaukee 109, Golden State 102
Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Monta Ellis put the dagger in his former team with a late 3-pointer, as the Milwaukee Bucks edged the Golden State Warriors, 109-102, at Bradley Center. Ellis and Brandon Jennings poured in 20 points apiece in the Bucks' seventh win in 10 games under head coach Jim Boylan. Ersan Ilyasova and Larry Sanders each posted double-doubles in the victory, with the former totaling 18 points and 12 rebounds and the latter chipping in 16 points, 11 boards and three blocks. Golden State has dropped the first two tests on its four-game road trip. Stephen Curry paced the Warriors with 26 points to go with seven assists.
Final Score: San Antonio 108, Phoenix 99
San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - Tony Parker scored 11 of his game-high 31 points in the final quarter to help the San Antonio Spurs to their eighth straight win, 108-99, over the Phoenix Suns. Manu Ginobili added 20 points off the bench for the Spurs, who also received 13 points and eight rebounds from Tiago Splitter. San Antonio, which was without future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan (knee) and coach Gregg Popovich (illness) for a third straight game, got 11 points from Boris Diaw and 10 from Stephen Jackson in its 16th straight home win. The Spurs went 12-of-19 from the field in the final quarter. Michael Beasley had 25 points and Jared Dudley scored 23 for the Suns, who have lost seven in a row on the road in this series.
Final Score: Denver 121, Sacramento 93
Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Ty Lawson scored 26 points, Andre Iguodala added 20 and the Denver Nuggets opened a six-game homestand with a dominating 121-93 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Danilo Gallinari chipped in 14 points, while Kenneth Faried totaled 11 points and nine rebounds for the Nuggets, who shot 61 percent from the field through the first three quarters and had 101 points heading into the fourth. Denver connected on a season-high 13 3- pointers and led by as many as 35 in winning their third straight game with relative ease. The Kings, led by Aaron Brooks' 16 points, opened their six- game road trip with a fourth consecutive loss.
Final Score: Utah 114, Indiana 110 (OT)
Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Al Jefferson scored 25 points and Paul Millsap added 21 points and five steals to lead the Utah Jazz to a controversial, 114-110, overtime win over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday. Trailing 112-107 with 6.4 seconds left, George Hill nailed a deep 3-pointer to pull the Pacers within 112-10 with just 2.2 ticks showing. Millsap then appeared to throw the inbounds pass off the backboard then caught the carom in bounds and was quickly fouled. The officials huddled briefly to discuss the play, but ruled the ball hit the side of the backboard -- which is considered in play -- and Millsap sunk the ensuing free throws. Five sides of the backboard -- the front, both sides and both the top and bottom -- are considered in play, and anything behind the backboard is considered out of bounds. David West's pass on the ensuing inbounds play sailed out of bounds and the Jazz held on for the win. Gordon Hayward scored 15 points and dished out six assists, Randy Foye scored 14 points and Derrick Favors added 11 for the Jazz, who improved to 15-4 at EnergySolutions Arena this season. West finished with 24 points, Paul George added 23 and Hill finished with 22 for the Pacers, who dropped back-to-back games for the first time since dropping two straight on Dec. 7 and Dec. 9.
Final Score: Portland 101, LA Clippers 100
Portland, OR (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Clippers have missed their closer over the last three games. A pair of J.J. Hickson go-ahead free throws with 45.2 seconds remaining lifted the Portland Trail Blazers to a 101-100 triumph over the Chris Paul-less Clippers. Portland netted the final 10 points of the contest. Without Paul in the lineup, Los Angeles didn't tally a point over the final 2:38. Paul sat out his third contest in a row with a bruised right kneecap, an injury which has caused him to miss six tilts so far this season. The Clippers have lost a season-high four straight since winning 24 of 27. The team is 3-3 without Paul overall this year. Nicolas Batum registered a triple-double with 20 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, while Damian Lillard added 20 points for Portland, which has won two straight on the heels of a six-game losing streak.
