MINNEAPOLIS -- Larry Hughes scored 21 points before leaving the game with a dislocated right shoulder, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 85-75 on Wednesday night.
Chicago raced to a 22-point lead early in the second quarter behind a 29-4 run spanning more than 10 minutes, then had to grind out its third preseason victory in the last four games. Minnesota cut the score to 74-73 on Rashad McCants' 3-pointer with 7:42 to play, but the Bulls scored seven unanswered to pull away.
Bulls No. 1 draft pick Derrick Rose scored 17 points after a 30-point performance against Dallas on Tuesday, Andres Nocioni added 12 points and Luol Deng chipped in 10.
Al Jefferson scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Minnesota, which lost its Target Center preseason debut. McCants also scored 19, including 11 straight in a two-minute stretch late in the third quarter to pull the Timberwolves within four points after trailing by double-digits for most of the first half. Randy Foye also finished in double figures with 12 points.
Despite Ben Gordon missing his fifth preseason game with a jammed right big toe and Tyrus Thomas sitting with a sore right ankle, the Bulls raced out to a 33-11 lead early in the second quarter during a stretch that saw Minnesota go 6:38 without scoring a point.
But Chicago went scoreless for nearly five minutes in the second quarter and the Timberwolves took advantage with a 13-2 run to get back in the game. Full story
Trail Blazers 87, Clippers 75
LOS ANGELES -- Brandon Roy scored 17 points and rookie Greg Oden added 12 points and 13 rebounds in the Portland victory.
Oden, the only player to appear in all six of Portland's exhibition games, is averaging 11.5 points and 7.8 boards. The 7-foot center from Ohio State was the first overall pick in the June 2007 draft, but missed all of last season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee.
Al Thornton had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers. Steve Novak scored nine points, going 3-for-4 from 3-point range. All 29 of his field-goal attempts during the preseason have been from behind the arc, and he has made 14 of them.
The Clippers opened the third quarter with an 11-0 run capped by Thornton's layup, slicing a 39-26 halftime deficit to 39-37 with 7:51 left in the period. But the Blazers maintained the lead the rest of the way, building it to 61-49 by end of the quarter.
Magic 101, Grizzlies 90
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu each scored 22 points and J.J. Redick, competing for time at shooting guard, added 15 as Orlando cruised to its sixth consecutive preseason victory.
Dwight Howard, who played sparingly in the second half, had 11 points and eight rebounds as Orlando showed signs of being ready to improve on its 52-victory, Eastern Conference semifinal performance last season.
Turkoglu, nursing a groin injury, started and played 34 minutes. He scored six of the Magic's first 11 points and finished with seven rebounds and four assists.
Reserve Darrell Arthur led Memphis with 18 points. Mike Conley added 13. The Grizzlies are counting on rookie O.J. Mayo to replace them, but he was 0-for-2 from 3-point range in the first half. Memphis missed all four of its 3s in the first half. Mayo struggled early, missing his first six shots.
Pistons 97, Cavaliers 79
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Rodney Stuckey scored 20 points, Tayshaun Prince added 17 points and Detroit capitalized on LeBron James' absence to beat Cleveland.
James went through pregame warmups before taking a planned day off. The Cavaliers will play their final exhibition Friday against the Wizards. Cleveland (2-5) was led by Daniel Gibson's 16 points, while Mo Williams had 14 and Wally Szczerbiak added 12.
Detroit, which finishes the preseason with another home game Thursday against Atlanta, received 15 points from Richard Hamilton to improve to 6-1.
The final 0.7 seconds were played on a floor covered with streamers after the arena workers mistakenly thought the game had ended on a Detroit 24-second violation.
76ers 118, Nets 100
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Lou Williams scored 18 points and hit five of Philadelphia's 14 3-pointers.
Rookie Marreese Speights also had 18 points and Thaddeus Young added 16 as the 76ers finished the preseason with a 4-3 record. They will open the regular season at home next Wednesday against Toronto.
Yi Jianlian and rookie Brook Lopez had 16 points apiece for the Nets, who lost their fourth in a row after opening the exhibition season with two victories agianst Miami in Europe.
The long ball decided this game, and surprisingly it was 76ers hitting them. They were the NBA's worst 3-point shooting team last season (31.7 percent). They had eight or more only four times during the season, twice finishing in double digits with their season high being 11.
Wizards 100, Spurs 95
SAN ANTONIO -- Nick Young scored 15 points in his preseason debut to help Washington earn the victory. Young, a second-year swingman from USC, made his first five shots and finished 7-for-8 from the floor. Young had missed the first five preseason games with a sore left knee.
Washington also received 15 points in 23 minutes from Caron Butler, who has scored in double figures the past two games.
The Spurs were led by Tim Duncan's 20 points in 22 minutes. Duncan, who made eight of nine free throws, also grabbed eight rebounds.
The Wizards made four of its first five 3-point attempts to start the game and finished 10-for-19 from beyond the arc. Washington (2-4) is trying to avoid its worst preseason since a 2-6 record in 2003-04.
