Warriors’ Five-Game Home Win Streak Ends

Denver 124, Golden State 120

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 28 (AP) -- Shots were flying, both teams were running and defense appeared to be an afterthought for long stretches of the game.

If that seems to be the type of game a great open-court player like Allen Iverson would prefer, think again. Even Iverson would have liked a few more walk-it-up-the court possessions than there were in Denver's 124-120 victory over Golden State on Friday night.

"No, it's not fun playing them,'' Iverson said. "I don't know why you all think it would be fun. It's fun for the fans, but it's not fun for the guys trying to defend the way they play. They just keep coming at you all game.''

Iverson performed just fine playing at the Warriors' preferred frenetic pace, scoring 39 points, including a late jumper that gave the Nuggets the lead for good. Carmelo Anthony added 30 to help Denver win the fast-paced, offensive showcase everyone expected when two of the NBA's top three scoring teams face off.

"I like to run up and down the court, but they make it outrageous,'' Iverson said. "They might run even too much for me, especially on the defensive end. It has to be fun to play that style, but to defend it isn't too nice.''

Celtics Beat Raptors, Extend Win Streak to Nine

Boston 90, Toronto 77

TORONTO, Dec. 16 (AP) -- With another dominant defensive performance, the Boston Celtics matched their longest winning streak in 14 years.

Paul Pierce scored 18 points, Kevin Garnett had 16 and the Boston Celtics extended their streak to nine games by beating the Toronto Raptors 90-77 on Sunday.

"Our philosophy is that defense is going to win games for us,'' Garnett said. "We're trying to have the defense fuel the offense, and it's been working.''

The Atlantic Division leaders matched their longest winning streak since March 16-31, 1993.

Boston is 20-2. The only other time the franchise opened the season with that record, it won the 1963-64 championship.

The Celtics lead the NBA in opponents' scoring average and scoring differential.

"That's going to be our staple pretty much all year long,'' Pierce said. "We're going to take pride on the defensive end.

"When you get 12 guys committed and on the same page, night in and night out, anything is possible,'' Pierce added. "That's what we have right now.''

James’ Fourth Triple-Double Leads Cavs Past Pacers

Cleveland 111, Indiana 106

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 25 (AP) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers were having a blast laughing at the Indiana Pacers for about 2 1/2 quarters.

The joke almost was on them.

Indiana erased a 14-point deficit in the third quarter before Cleveland rallied behind LeBron James' fourth triple-double of the season to beat the Pacers 111-106 Sunday for their third straight win.

Cleveland's obnoxious behavior and the lapse that followed bothered coach Mike Brown.

"We have to do a better job of respecting the game,'' he said. "Especially when we're up. We've got to continue doing the little things on both ends of the floor that got us the lead.''

James, the league's leading scorer, finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Iverson’s 37 Lead Nuggets Past Cavs

Denver 122, Cleveland 100

DENVER, Nov. 12 (AP) -- Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James were the headliners, but Allen Iverson and J.R. Smith stole the show.

Iverson scored a season-high 37 points and Smith added 29 to help the Denver Nuggets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 122-100 on Monday night.

"They didn't steal my spotlight,'' said Anthony, who had 22 points and nine rebounds. "They did what they were supposed to do. They took advantage of the defense that they threw at us.''

Iverson set the tone early with his sharp shooting. He had 18 points at halftime, when the Nuggets took a 58-43 lead. He came out firing in the second half, scoring 11 points in the first six minutes, including two 3-poiners, to push Denver's lead to 78-51.

"I got into a rhythm in the second half,'' said Iverson, who finished 14-for-20 from the field and added eight assists. "The basket looked like an ocean; I was throwing rocks in. It feels good when you catch a rhythm like that.''

LeBron James led Cleveland with 27 points, but the Nuggets were able to contain the rest of the Cavaliers.

"Even though LeBron had a great game, his great game came from getting fouled,'' Nuggets coach George Karl said. "We took away what we wanted to take away, him making other people better.''

The Cavaliers struggled offensively. They shot 41.9 percent from the field and were 21-for-38 from the foul line.

"I'm not too disappointed,'' James said. "We did a lot of things that we wanted to do differently. We didn't execute offensively or defensively. I think we tried to do some things right.''

Even though his team was playing its fifth game in seven days, Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown said fatigue was not an excuse.

"Denver got off a (four)-game road trip in a short amount of time,'' he said. "It wasn't as if they were sitting here for five days waiting on us.''

LeBron’s Big Second Half Lifts Cavs Over Kings

Cleveland 93, Sacramento 91

SACRAMENTO, Nov. 9 (AP) -- Four years after LeBron James made his NBA debut in Arco Arena, he can perform much greater feats with a whole lot less effort.

Back in 2003, the teenage phenom put in a full night of relentless effort in an outstanding first outing. These days, the King of the Eastern Conference can take most of the night off and still flatten the Sacramento Kings.

James rallied the Cavaliers with eight points on a series of dynamic moves in the final 2:57, and Cleveland hung on for a 93-91 victory Friday night.

James finished with 26 points despite seeming to sit back and watch much of the Cavs' fourth game in six nights. He scored just seven points in the first half, and was passive for much of the second until rising up for his late flurry, capped by a beautiful three-point play with 53 seconds left.

"You've just got to seize the moment,'' James said. "For the first three quarters, I didn't force anything. I like to just take what the offense gives me, and I make plays happen. In the fourth, I was able to get some rebounds and force the issue more, and it turned into good things. The team did a great job feeding off me.''

Nowitzki, Mavericks Golden Against Warriors

By GREG BEACHAM
Posted Nov 9 2007 3:09AM

Dallas 120, Golden State 115

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 8 (AP) -- Baron Davis lined up a straightaway 3-point shot to tie it in the waning seconds, and the Golden State crowd rose while the Mavericks' hearts sank.

From Dirk Nowitzki to the peanut vendors, everybody assumed the man who became a Bay Area folk hero with his dynamic playoff performances against Dallas last spring would hit another magical shot to hurt the Mavs.

"We gave Baron a look like that, and it looked like he was going to get it,'' Nowitzki admitted.

But Baron blew it, and the Dallas Mavericks fled Oracle Arena with a 120-115 victory over the winless Golden State Warriors on Thursday night -- and a bit of hollow revenge from their historic playoff defeat in the same arena they finally silenced.

Nowitzki scored eight of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, while Jason Terry and Josh Howard both had 24 points as the Mavericks snapped a five-game regular season losing streak against an opponent that always brings out the worst in one of the NBA's best franchises.

Until Davis' 3-point attempt clanged off the front of the rim with 4 seconds to play, the Mavericks were all but expecting a calamity. They lost three games in Oakland last spring in front of frenzied crowds as Davis led the eighth-seeded Warriors to the NBA's first upset of a top-seeded opponent in a seven-game series.

"We're always going to look at how that season ended,'' Nowitzki said. "That won't leave us, but this is a young team, and our team may still have its time.''

With a whole lot less at stake Thursday night, the Mavericks needed strong efforts from every veteran to hang on against an 0-5 Golden State team with 10 players in uniform. No matter the circumstances, the Mavs finally moved their biggest mental block a few inches.

LeBron Just Misses Triple-Double in Win Over Warriors

Cleveland 108, Golden State 104

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 6 (AP) -- The water-saturated stat sheet floated between LeBron James' shins as he soaked his feet in the ice bath. Lifting one swollen eyelid, he could just make out his numbers: 24 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists and three big blocked shots.

Yet the most eye-popping parts of James' all-out effort in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 108-104 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night weren't reflected in that soggy box score.

For starters, James took an accidental blow to the face in the first quarter, but barely missed 90 seconds before returning. He barked orders at his teammates with authority, and he demanded a fourth-quarter defensive assignment on Baron Davis.

And when the Warriors triple-teamed him with the game on the line, James got what coach Mike Brown termed "the big hockey assist,'' making the pass that led to the pass that set up the shot that won it for Cleveland.