The Philippine Online Chronicles

Games get tougher as playoffs near

A total of 11 games were played in the NBA on January 23. With the playoffs just around the corner, the competition has gotten tighter and tougher.

The surging New Orleans Hornets snapped the San Antonio Spurs' eight-game winning streak to claim their own eight-game winning stretch.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder escaped a squeaker, courtesy of Kevin Durant’s desperation heave to beat the struggling New York Knicks.

Read the rest of the action in the NBA in today’s NBA news roundup.

New Orleans 96, Spurs 72

The New Orleans Hornets earned the distinction of being the only team to beat the league-leading San Antonio Spurs twice this season.

Earlier, the Hornets displayed excellent defense and all-world offense to stifle the Spurs, 96-72.

Power forward David West had a double-double performance by scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Aside from West, Marcus Thornton and Trevor Ariza waxed hot from the outside, nailing all of their four three-point attempts. Thornton finished with 18 points while Ariza had 15. Center Emeka Okafor on the other hand, tallied 12 rebounds and blocked five shots.

Even with the setback, the Spurs still own the league’s best record and have a 5.5 game advantage over the Los Angeles Lakers, their closest rival in the West.

The Hornets on the other hand, have improved their record to 29-16 to place fifth in the same conference.

Dallas 87, New Jersey 86

It took a vintage Dirk Nowitzki performance in the end game for the Dallas Mavericks to beat the New Jersey Nets, 87-86.

With less than six seconds remaining, Nowitzki buried a tough fadeaway jumper that finally broke the backs of the pesky and gritty Nets squad.

Nowitzki finished the game with 23 points on 7/24 shooting while center Tyson Chandler tallied 19 points.

Center Brook Lopez had 24 points for the Nets, which lost 19 of their last 22 games against the Mavericks.

The win improved the Mavericks’ record to 28-15 to be in a virtual tie with the Thunder in the standings. The Nets (12-32) on the other hand, are six games behind the eighth-placed team in the East.

Orlando 118, Houston 104

The Orlando Magic were on cruise control all night, building a huge lead in the first quarter. With the lead so big, the Magic coasted to an easy victory against the Houston Rockets, 118-104.

Center Dwight Howard had another monster performance, tallying 22 points and 14 rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu meanwhile added 21 points to help the Magic win their third straight victory.

Aside from Howard and Turkoglu, swingman Jason Richardson made all four of his three-pointers and finished the game with 18 points.

For the Rockets, who lost their second straight game, sophomore forward Chase Budinger finished with 19 points while Kevin Martin added 18.

The Rockets fell to 20-28 while the Magic improved to 29-15 to stay in fourth place in the East.

Washington 85, Boston 83

In what could be the biggest upset of the day, the Washington Wizards pulled off a nail-biter by beating the East-leading Boston Celtics, 85-83.

Rookie point guard John Wall made a tough, off-the-glass three-ball to help the Wizards beat the mighty Celtics.

With less than three minutes remaining, Wall stole the ball and finished a difficult layup to give the Wizards their first lead of the game.

Though the Celtics tied it, Wall finished the game by making his team’s first and only three-pointer.

Forward Kevin Garnett made a layup to trim the lead down to one and in the next possession, Rajon Rondo stole the ball and gave it to Paul Pierce with the game clock winding down. Pierce pulled up for a jumper, but the ball hit the rim as time finally expired.

The win improved the Wizards’ record to 13-29, while the Celtics still maintain the top spot in the East with a 33-10 win-loss slate.

Oklahoma City 101, New York 98

Big-time players show up during big-time moments and that’s exactly what Kevin Durant did. With the time clock winding down and forward Danilo Gallinari all over him, the 6'10 Durant made a tough three-pointer to give the Oklahoma City Thunder the victory against the reeling New York Knicks, 101-98.

Durant, who scored 30 points, made the first game-winner of his career.

The loss is the Knicks’ sixth straight, matching their longest skid of the season. With the win, the Thunder are slowly but surely piling up wins in the Western conference. Right now, they sport an impressive 28-15 record, which is third in their conference.

The Knicks meanwhile, fell to sixth place in the East by sporting a 22-21 record.

Miami 120, Toronto 103

After waiting for more than half of the NBA season, Mike Miller finally made his first breakout game in Miami Heat uniform by finishing with 32 points. Exploding from the perimeter, Miller helped the Heat beat the Toronto Raptors, 120-103.

The win snapped the Heat’s four-game losing streak.

Aside from Miller, LeBron James had 38 points 11 rebounds for the Heat, who didn’t have Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

The Heat improved their record to 31-13, which is just two and a half games behind the Celtics. The Raptors on the other hand, extended their losing skid to seven.

Detroit 75, Phoenix 74

With 53 seconds remaining, Austin Daye made a clutch jumper to give the Detroit Pistons a hard-earned victory over the Phoenix Suns, 75-74.

The Pistons’ win snapped the Suns five-game winning streak.

Forward Tayshaun Prince led the way for the Pistons by tallying 17 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists.

Steve Nash on the other hand, scored 14 points and dished out nine assists for the Suns.

With the win, the Pistons improved their record to 16-28, while the Suns fell to 20-22.

Atlanta 103, Charlotte 87

After losing by more than 30 points against the Hornets the other night, the Atlanta Hawks bounced back by beating the Charlotte Bobcats, 103-87.

Joe Johnson had 32 points for the Hawks while Josh Smith added 16.

Point guard D.J. Augustin meanwhile led the Bobcats by scoring 20 points.

The Hawks improved their record to 29-16 with this win. The Bobcats, on the other hand, had their two-game winning streak snapped, falling to 17-25.

Philadelphia 96, Utah 85

In another upset victory, the Philadelphia 76ers made a late run in the final quarter to stop the Utah Jazz, 96-85.

Swingman Andre Iguodala scored 22 points, Lou Williams added 20, and Elton Brand finished with 19 points to notch their 18^th victory of the season.

For the Jazz, who have now lost four in a row, Deron Williams finished with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 14 assists.

Because of their current losing skid, the Jazz fell to sixth place in the West with a 27-17 record.

Memphis 94, Milwaukee 81

Spanish center Marc Gasol played his best game of the season by scoring 24 points and hauling down 16 rebounds to help the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 94-81.

Aside from Gasol, power forward Zach Randolph tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds to record his 10^th straight double-double for this season.

The Grizzlies now improved their record to 21-23 to place ninth in the West. The underachieving Bucks, on the other hand, fell to 16-25 in the East.

Chicago 92, Cleveland 79

Point guard Derrick Rose had another excellent performance by scoring 24 points to help the Chicago Bulls beat the woeful Cleveland Cavaliers, 92-79.

With the win, the Bulls are just one and a half games behind the Heat for the second best record in the East.

The Cavaliers, who have lost for the 16^th straight time, sport the league’s worst record at 8-35.