Knicks 100, Nets 97
Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 45 points, Jason Kidd made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 24 seconds left, and the visiting New York Knicks rallied from an early 17-point hole to beat the Brooklyn Nets.
Kidd finished with 18 points against his former team, who used to dominate the Knicks when he played in New Jersey. Now the series is tied at 1-1 since the Nets moved to Brooklyn, both games coming down to the tense final minutes.
Andray Blatche scored 23 points. Deron Williams added 18 points and 10 assists, and Reggie Evans grabbed 18 rebounds, but the Nets lost their fifth in a row.
Gerald Wallace scored 17 points, but both he and Williams missed potential tying 3-pointers on the last possession after Kidd broke a 97-all tie with his 3-pointer from the left side while being fouled by Jerry Stackhouse.
Kidd pumped his fist afterward in what he said was as much emotion as he shows, though denied taking any special pleasure in beating the Nets.
“I’m a competitor. I want to win,” he said.
The crowd was loud and energetic, the players and fans eventually matching the playoff-like intensity from the first meeting, a 96-89 Nets victory in overtime here on Nov. 26. That had left both teams tied atop the Atlantic Division at 9-4, but the Knicks have since gone 7-1 to surge to the top of the Eastern Conference, while Brooklyn has gone 2-5.
Nuggets 101, Pistons 94
Ty Lawson had 26 points, seven assists and five rebounds to lead the visiting Denver Nuggets.
Corey Brewer added 15 points and Andre Iguodala had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, who rallied from a slow start in which they trailed by as many as 17 in the first quarter.
Brandon Knight had 20 points and five assists for the Pistons. Jason Maxiell added 18 points.
After Stuckey pulled the Pistons within two on a layup with 7:27 remaining, Andre Miller’s three-point play with 7:11 left and Brewer’s 3-pointer with 6:45 to go put the Nuggets up 82-74.
Wizards 77, Hornets 77
Jordan Crawford scored 26 points to lead the Washington Wizards. Bradley Beal added 15 points for the Wizards, who trailed by as many as 13 and never led until the fourth quarter. Washington won for the first time on the road after losing its first eight. Ryan Anderson led New Orleans with 17 points but did not score in the second half.
Clippers 94, Bulls 89
Blake Griffin scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the visiting Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers led 89-80 on Griffin’s basket with 2:20 to play and then held off a rally by the Bulls, who scored seven unanswered points to cut their deficit to two with 48 seconds left. Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
