NBA roundup: Finally at home, Spurs stifle overmatched Bobcats
CBSSports.com wire reports
SAN ANTONIO -- Manu Ginobili scored 18 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to an 85-65 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night in the defending NBA champions' first home game in more than three weeks.
Michael Finley scored 14 points and Ime Udoka added 12 points and 10 rebounds in the Spurs' third straight victory. Tim Duncan shot poorly, going just 2-of-12 from the field, but he got five blocks and 15 rebounds.
Raymond Felton led Charlotte with 19 points, Jason Richardson added 13 and Nazr Mohammed scored 12.
The Spurs were sloppy early, committing 18 turnovers in the first three quarters and 21 in the game. But they outscored Charlotte 31-16 in the decisive fourth period.
Still, it was clearly good to be home, where the Spurs have lost just five games this season. Tuesday was the team's first home game since going on a three-week, nine-game road trip.
The Spurs went 6-3 on the trip, an annual event that happens when the rodeo rolls into town and takes over the AT&T Center.
After a slow first half, both teams picked up the pace in the third quarter. A quick Spurs burst gave them a 44-34 lead off recent addition Damon Stoudamire's 3-pointer with 9:38 to play in the period. Full story
Lakers 122, Hawks 93
LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol each scored 23 points before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Atlanta Hawks for their fifth consecutive victory.
It was Gasol's first home game with Los Angeles, Bryant's first since deciding to forego surgery on his injured shooting hand, and Mike Bibby's debut with Atlanta following Saturday's trade from Sacramento.
Bryant, who dislocated his right pinkie during the Lakers' 7-2 trip, was 8-for-16 from the field with five steals, five rebounds and three assists. He played free and easy and didn't seem at all inhibited by the ailing finger, making a pair of dunks and going 1-for-4 from 3-point range.
The 10-time All-Star and two-time defending NBA scoring champ has averaged 30.4 points over his last five games after scoring 11 on 4-for-16 shooting in a 98-95 loss in Atlanta on Feb. 6. Bryant risked having to sit out this one had he not played in an All-Star Game, so he suited up in New Orleans on Sunday and spent only 2 minutes, 52 seconds on the court to rest his sore finger.
Kings 105, Trail Blazers 94
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Ron Artest scored 24 points, Francisco Garcia added 23, and the Sacramento Kings snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Travis Outlaw had 23 points for the flat Blazers, who lost their fifth straight.
Sacramento was playing its first game without veteran Mike Bibby, who was traded over the weekend to the Atlanta Hawks for point guards Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue, 2006 first-round pick Shelden Williams, veteran forward Lorenzen Wright and a 2008 second-round pick.
Portland trailed by as many as nine points early in the fourth quarter, but closed to within 74-73 on Martell Webster's 3-pointer. Portland went ahead on Outlaw's off-balance layup under pressure and free throw.
SuperSonics 108, Grizzlies 101
SEATTLE -- Earl Watson scored a season-high 26 points and Wally Szczerbiak had 24, including the go-ahead score with 31 seconds remaining, to rally the Seattle SuperSonics to a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Sonics, who were without flu-ridden rookie star Kevin Durant, roared back from a 19-point deficit early in the second half to win for the first time in four games against Memphis this season.
Rudy Gay scored 23 points and Hakim Warrick had 22 for the Grizzlies, who lost their 10th consecutive road game and are 1-6 since trading star Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1.
Gay was just 9-for-23 from the field and shot airballs on two long jump shots in the final minute, leaving him wincing and tapping the top of his head in frustration.
Timberwolves 104, 76ers 88
MINNEAPOLIS -- Reserve Rashad McCants scored 20 points, Al Jefferson had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 76ers had their five-game winning streak snapped. Philadelphia held opponents under 85 points during the streak, all at home, but had allowed that many midway through the fourth quarter.
Smith, nicknamed "Rhino," bulldozed his way to nine first-half points before finishing with 11. McCants had nine in the fourth as the Sixers never got closer than 10 in the game's final 12 minutes.
Marco Jaric added 15 for Minnesota and Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair and Randy Foye all finished in double figures.
