Blazers burn up Heat 99-83 to close on NBA lead

PORTLAND, Oregon — Portland used a big third quarter to beat Miami 99-83 on Thursday, pushing the Trail Blazers closer to the top of the NBA standings.

In the day’s other games, Charlotte won at Toronto while Houston predictably defeated New York, sending the hapless Knicks to their 14th successive loss.

Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 12 rebounds, including 10 points in the third, when the Blazers outscored the Heat 33-16 to take control of the game.

Wesley Matthews had 18 points for Portland, which moved a yawning 11 games clear in the Northwest Division and closed within 1-1/2 games of league leader Golden State.

Dwyane Wade led Miami with 23 points.

Charlotte’s Gerald Henderson scored a season-high 31 points and Kemba Walker added 29 to lead the Hornets past Toronto 103-95.

Walker made a jumper from just inside the 3-point line with 19.6 seconds to give the Hornets a six-point lead, all but securing their fourth straight win.

Kyle Lowry’s 24 points, seven assists and seven rebounds led the Raptors, who were coming off a six-game trip.

New York’s 120-96 home defeat by Houston stretched the Knicks’ losing streak to 14; their worst ever within a single season.

The Rockets beat New York for the 11th straight time and handed the Knicks their 24th loss in 25 games.

James Harden had 25 points and nine assists in just three quarters, with the Rockets already up by 24 points at the last break.

Trevor Ariza added 18 points for the Rockets.

Rookie Travis Wear scored a season-high 21 points for New York, which is closing in on its worst-ever losing streak of 20, which straddled the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons.

source: sports.inquirer.net

NBA: Pacers pound Derrick Rose-less Bulls

CHICAGO — Solomon Hill tallied 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 99-90 win over the Chicago Bulls, who were once again without injury-plagued star Derrick Rose.

AJ Price came off the bench to score 21 points while Luis Scola finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won three of their last four National Basketball Association games on the heels of a six-game losing streak.

“We’ve got some tough-minded guys in there,” said Pacers coach Frank Vogel. “To get wins in Miami and Chicago, I couldn’t be more proud of our guys.”

Jimmy Butler tallied 30 points and six rebounds for Chicago, whose brief two-game winning streak snapped in front of the 22.248-strong crowd at United Center arena.

Rose missed the game after tweaking his hamstring during Thursday’s win in Toronto. He has missed five contests of the young season so far due to ankle and hamstring issues.

But the Bulls could have used Rose, who has expressed a desire take more time off during the regular season.

Rose has drawn criticism from former players like Charles Barkley who said playing through aches and pains is part of being a multi-millionaire NBA player.

“There are people that work harder than Derrick Rose that go home to a shack,” Barkley said.

“Derrick Rose is making $20 million dollars a year … there are pros and cons of what we do for a living.”

Chicago dropped to 3-2 without Rose in the lineup this season.

The Pacers led 23-20 heading into the second quarter and 46-42 at halftime.

Pau Gasol hit two free throws to cut the Pacers lead to two, 67-65, late in the third, before the Pacers went on an 8-0 surge that stretched into the fourth quarter.

Hill’s layup gave Indiana a 69-65 lead heading into the final frame, and he hit another from beyond the arc to start the fourth. Price’s three-pointer capped it and increased the lead to 75-65.

An Aaron Brooks field goal and a pair of free throws from Butler got Chicago back to within 77-71 with just over nine minutes in regulation. But Indiana responded by ripping off 11 consecutive points to help ice the contest.

Price netted seven points and hit two triples during the run, including one to finish it off and give the Pacers a 17-point lead.

Indiana cruised the rest of the way.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Key dates in 2013-14 NBA season

LOS ANGELES — Some key dates in the 2013-14 NBA season that starts on Tuesday:

Oct 29: Season openers feature Derrick Rose returning for Chicago against NBA champions Miami

Dec 18: San Antonio and Minnesota square off in Mexico City, first of two regular-season games to be played outside the United States and Canada

Dec 19: Brooklyn Nets host New York Knicks in season’s first battle of the Big Apple

Dec 25: NBA celebrates Christmas with Miami at the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago at Brooklyn, Oklahoma City at the New York Knicks, Houston vs San Antonio, LA Clippers vs Golden State Warriors

Jan 16: Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks play in London

Jan 20: Knicks and Nets continue New York cross-town rivalry on Martin Luther King Jr. day

Jan 26: Heat and Spurs meet for first time since Miami beat San Antonio in 2013 finals

Feb 14: NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans

Feb 19: Dwight Howard returns to LA to face Lakers for first time since departing for Houston

Feb 20: Trade deadline

April 16: Regular season ends

April 19: Playoffs begin

May 20: NBA draft lottery

June 5: NBA Finals begin

June 26: NBA draft

source: sports.inquirer.net