NBA Round-Up: March 11, 2015
There was a myth that LeBron James’ trademark headband is supposed to limit his skills and strength. It seems the tale must be true.
James scored 27 points, grabbed seven boards and eight assists to lead Cleveland’s demolition of Dallas 127-94 at American Airlines Center, on the same night the Cavaliers’ star got a hold of the franchise’s record of assists.
The 30-year-old entered the match tied with Mark Price on the Cavs’ all-time assists list with 4,206 dimes in a Cleveland jersey, and reached the milestone in the second quarter when he set up James Jones for three-pointer.
Cleveland saw three other players end up with 20 points in the win, their fourth in their last five games. Kyrie Irving added 22 points, five rebounds and five helpers for the Cavs, who got 21 markers each from J.R. Smith and Kevin Love, who added 14 boards.
The Mavericks, who lost for the third time in five games, were led by Chandler Parsons’ 18 points and five boards. Monta Ellis added 17, and Amare Stoudemire scored 15 off the bench. Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki shot 3-of-10 and scored 13 in the game.
This was only the second time in recent history that James played without a headband, the first was when he was with Miami in the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the NBA Finals against San Antonio in 2013. The then Heat star scored 16 points in that quarter, allowing the eventual champions to force it to overtime and win the game on the extra period.
GOOD TIMES ROLL
Meanwhile in Texas, San Antonio banked on a balanced scoring effort to keep their win-streak rolling, outlasting Toronto 117-107 at AT & T Stadium to record their sixth straight win and climb up to sixth in the West.
The Spurs once again played unselfish team basketball, but it was Kawhi Leonard’s and Tony Parker’s big night that propelled the hosts to their 40th win of the season. Leonard scored 24 points, grabbed 11 boards and had five steals, while Parker added 23 markers with nine dimes.
Danny Green shot 5-of-6 from the arc and finished with 19 points for San Antonio, who got 12 points and 13 rebounds from Tim Duncan.
Kyle Lowry paced the Raptors with the game-hgih 23 points, and DeMar DeRozan scored 21 and Amir Johnson 16. The trio led the Canadians in erasing a 26-point deficit and cutting it into just seven in the fourth, but their rally just fell short against the rampaging defending champions.
LAKERS WIN IN SCOTT’S 1000TH GAME
Seven players from Los Angeles scored in double figures as the Lakers defeated Detroit 93-85 and gifted Byron Scott a win in his 1000th game as head coach.
Jordan Hill scored a team-high 16 points, while Ed Davis and Wesley Johnson added 13 markers each for the Lakers, who also snapped a five-game losing skid. Jeremy Lin had 12 points and seven boards, while Wayne Ellington had 11 and Tarick Black and Jordan Clarkson added 10 each with Clarkson having eight dimes.
Scott, who previously coached three other NBA teams, won for the 433rd time in 1000 games as mentor. He first coached then New Jersey Nets, before going to New Orleans (now Charlotte) and later, to Cleveland. He had five winning seasons, including two losing trips to the NBA Finals with the Nets.
Greg Monroe scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Pistons, who lost seven straight and eight of their last 10. Andre Drummond added 14 points and 21 rebounds, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 15. Reggie Jackson continued to struggle with only two points on 2-of-9 shooting.
OTHER RESULTS
In Utah, Derrick Favors scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Jazz eked out an 87-82 victory over New York at Energy Solutions Arena for their fourth win in their sixth victory in their last seven games.
Utah, who won in the first game of a five-game home stand, were without the injured Gordon Hayward, but got the needed scoring lift from Favors, who shot 11-of-17 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the free throw line.
Rookie Rodney Hood added 17 for the Jazz, who got 12 points from Joe Ingles, and 10 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks from Rudy Gobert.
Alexey Shved scored 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven dimes for the Knicks, who got 20 markers from Andrea Bargnani, and 17 points and 13 rebounds from Cole Aldrich.
In New York, New Orleans recorded their third straight win as six of their players scored at least 12 points in their 111-91 rout of Brooklyn at Barclays Stadium.
Quincy Pondexter made all but one of his three-pointers to finish with a team-high 17 points for the Pelicans, who had 17 points from Alex Ajinca. Eric Gordon and Norris Cole each scored 16 markers, and Omer Asik had 12 points and 15 rebounds. Anthony Davis had a quiet night with 15.
The Nets, who suffered their fourth straight loss, got 15 points each from Jarrett Jack and Brook Lopez. Bojan Bogdanovic had 12, and the trio of Joe Johnson, Thaddeus Young, and Deron Williams each had 10.
In Michigan, Rodney Stuckey had a surprising efficient night to score 34 points, with six rebounds and seven assists to lead Indiana over Orlando 118-86 at Auburn Hills Palace and give the Pacers their sixth straight victory.
Stuckey shot 13-of-19 from the field, including 6-of-9 from the arc, and finished with season high in points for Indiana, who are back in playoff contention for the East with a 29-34 standing.
Damjan Rudez added 17 points spiked by five three-pointers for the Pacers, who received 15 points and 10 rebounds from Luis Scola and 13 points and six assists from George Hill. C.J. Watson ended up with 12 points, four boards and five dimes.
Tobias Harris paced the Magic with 22 points and six boards, while Elfrid Payton added 14 and six helpers. Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic each finished with 13, and no other Orlando player scored more than six points.
Stories from Yahoo Sports.
Photo by Sportige
