BERLIN -- Chris Paul showed no signs of fatigue as he set the tone for the New Orleans Hornets in a 96-80 victory against the Washington Wizards in an NBA preseason game in Berlin on Tuesday.
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"I feel like I need to hold up my end of the deal, and that's to continue to get better and take as good care of my body as possible," the All-Star point guard said.
Paul had eight assists and scored four points to help the Hornets jump out to an 18-0 lead. He played the entire first and third quarters and sat out the other two, finishing with 11 assists and nine points.
Hornets coach Byron Scott said he was trying to keep Paul fresh after a long summer in which Paul helped the U.S. Olympic team win gold in Beijing.
"He is a competitor, but also I understand how long the season is," said Scott. "I have to make sure he gets as much rest as possible."
It was the first of two games between the Hornets and Wizards in the NBA's annual preseason tour of Europe. They will meet again on Friday in Barcelona.
The injury-plagued Wizards did not score until 5¼ minutes into the game when Darius Songalia scored off an offensive rebound.
The Hornets built on their lead in the second quarter, relying largely on their reserves. Full story
Celtics 90, Cavaliers 86
PITTSBURGH -- Leon Powe scored 17 points, including the go-ahead basket with a little over two minutes left.
Powe's final points of the game put the Celtics ahead 85-84. Boston trailed 81-74 following an 8-0 Cleveland run early in the fourth quarter.
Ray Allen had 15 points in 23 minutes for the Celtics (3-1). Paul Pierce added 14 points and Kevin Garnett had 11 points and seven rebounds. Each of Boston's "Big Three" left the game for good midway through the third quarter.
Daniel Gibson led Cleveland with 14 points. LeBron James had 12 points, three rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes. Jawad Williams added 13 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had six rebounds.
Spurs 86, Pistons 64
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Desmon Farmer scored 13 points and Tim Duncan had 10 points and eight rebounds to lead San Antonio.
The Spurs (1-2) opened with an 11-0 run and led the entire game to send the Pistons (4-1) to their first loss of the preseason. The Pistons closed to 48-44 early in the third quarter on Richard Hamilton's 3-pointer, but San Antonio held Detroit scoreless for nearly seven minutes during a 12-0 run to regain control.
Ime Udoka's 3-pointer late in the third gave the Spurs a commanding 69-46 lead. Detroit's offense generated only two free throws in the final 9:44 of the quarter and was 17-for-57 from the floor heading into the fourth.
The Spurs led 48-38 at halftime and limited the Pistons to their lowest point total of the preseason.
Clippers 90, Thunder 88
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Mike Taylor set up the go-ahead basket with a steal and then sent home an emphatic right-handed jam in the final minute as the Los Angeles Clippers spoiled the Oklahoma City Thunder's only preseason home game.
Taylor picked Russell Westbrook's pocket and missed a fast-break layup, but Ricky Davis was there with the putback to give the Clippers an 84-83 lead with 49.9 seconds remaining.
Taylor then followed two missed free throws by Westbrook, the Thunder's No. 4 overall draft pick, by driving past him down the lane for a dunk with 31.4 seconds to play and kept the lead at three by matching Kevin Durant's two free throws with two of his own.
Durant had a potential tying 3-pointer with nine seconds left, but it caromed off the rim and Los Angeles got the rebound.
Timberwolves 96, Bulls 86
CHICAGO -- Corey Brewer scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, and the Minnesota Timberwolves shook off poor early shooting.
The Timberwolves (3-1) made only five of 20 shots (25 percent) in the opening quarter but ended up with six players in double figures.
Brewer also had a game-high nine rebounds for Minnesota. Al Jefferson scored 13 points, Rashad McCants had 12, forward Ryan Gomes added 11 and forwards Craig Smith and Kevin Love each scored 10.
Timberwolves guard Sebastian Telfair, who will begin serving a three-game suspension later this month, scored seven points in nearly 20 minutes of play.
76ers 116, Knicks 109
NEW YORK -- Andre Miller scored 22 points, and the Philadelphia 76ers spoiled Mike D'Antoni's first preseason home game at Madison Square Garden.
Andre Iguodala added 18 points and Thaddeus Young had 16 for the 76ers in the second meeting between the Atlantic Division rivals in five nights. The Knicks won 110-104 last Friday night in Philadelphia.
Reserves Nate Robinson scored 21 points and Wilson Chandler 20 for the Knicks, who were 15-for-32 (47 percent) from 3-point range but allowed the 76ers to shoot 51 percent from the floor.
Elton Brand, Philadelphia's key offseason addition, was only 3-for-12 but finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Raptors 86, CSKA Moscow 78
TORONTO -- Chris Bosh had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Jose Calderon added 14 points and six assists, and Toronto defeated the defending Euroleague champions.
The Raptors took a 60-58 lead after three quarters and surged ahead with a 13-2 run to start the fourth, including six points from Bosh.
CSKA's Trajan Langdon made two free throws to cut it to 80-76 with 1:53 left, but Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal scored on back-to-back trips to keep the Raptors in front.
O'Neal and Andrea Bargnani each scored 11 points for Toronto.
