Bucks 97, Nets 88
Brandon Jennings scored 26 points, Monta Ellis had 24 points and the Milwaukee Bucks withstood host Brooklyn’s fourth-quarter rally. The Bucks led by 29 points with 6:59 left in the third quarter, but Brooklyn got within six after Deron Williams found an open Kris Humphries, who came off the bench for the first time this season, for an uncontested dunk.
Ellis drove to the basket for a layup to make it 87-79 before the Nets called a timeout with 2:24 left in regulation. On the next play, Gerald Wallace lost his balance and the ball and Milwaukee’s Larry Sanders made a reverse layup to extend the Bucks’ lead to 10 points.
MarShon Brooks, who scored 14 points off the bench for the Nets, then hit a 3-pointer to bring the Nets within seven but Marquis Daniels hit a 3-pointer to make it 92-82 and pretty much put the game out of reach.
Williams had 18 points and eight assists and Wallace added 16 points and 16 rebounds for the struggling Nets who have lost their last four games.
Milwaukee’s starting backcourt outscored Brooklyn’s 50-24.
Daniels had 13 points for the Bucks and Ersan Ilyasova added 10 as Milwaukee won its second straight. Jennings also had seven assists and six rebounds.
The Nets looked like they were on their way to snapping out their losing streak, jumping out to an 11-2 lead in the first quarter before Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles called a timeout with 8:46 remaining. It apparently worked: The Bucks outscored Brooklyn 23-7.
Clippers 102, Raptors 83
Jamal Crawford led a fourth-quarter rally by the reserves with 16 points and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated Toronto to win their sixth in a row while handing the Raptors their 10th consecutive road loss. The backups gave the Clippers their first double-digit lead of the game after Toronto kept it close through the first three periods.
Eric Bledsoe added 14 points to help the Clippers’ reserves outscore their counterparts 47-24.
Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 19 points. Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points in his hometown.
Los Angeles outscored the Raptors 25-10 in the fourth.
Thunder 104, Pacers 93
Kevin Durant scored 27 points, Kevin Martin added 24 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the visiting Indiana Pacers for their eighth win in a row. Russell Westbrook added 21 points and came up with a big block against 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert during a late 8-0 burst by the Thunder that put it away after the Pacers had pulled within three.
Knicks 112 , Nuggets 106
Carmelo Anthony returned from a two-game absence with 34 points against his former team, and the New York Knicks remained the NBA’s lone unbeaten team at home. Jason Kidd scored 17 points for the Knicks.
Magic 98, Suns 90
Rookie Andrew Nicholson scored nine of his career-high 19 points in the fourth quarter and the visiting Orlando Magic pulled away to hand the Phoenix Suns their seventh loss in a row. Nicholson made 9-of-11 shots and grabbed nine rebounds, also the best of his young career. J.J. Redick scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half for the Magic.
Jazz 117, Lakers 110
Paul Millsap scored 24 points, Mo Williams added 22 and Utah defeated host Los Angeles for its third straight victory.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 34 points, making 12-of-14 free throws, as they fell to 4-7 in their last 11 games.
Al Jefferson and reserves Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter added 14 points each for the Jazz.
