RECAP:

Dwight Howard scored 19 points, had 16 rebounds and blocked eight shots, and hit some key late free-throws to help the Magic ward off a late Cavs’ charge to earn their second straight victory after a four-game losing streak while LeBron James shifted to a 6-8 point guard to help Dwyane Wade who scored 26 points lift the Miami Heat to a 99-79 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Leandro Barbosa shook off flulike symptoms to score 19 points, Amir Johnson had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors beat Washington 106-89, handing the Wizards their third straight defeat while in a rematch with the Bucks, Brandon Knight was at his best, scoring a season-high 26 points and helping the Detroit Pistons snap a seven-game losing streak with an 88-80 victory. Luke Ridnour made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:23 left, Nikola Pekovic scored a career-high 27 points, and the Timberwolves overcame a career-high 42 points from Anthony Morrow, whose eight 3-pointers in 11 attempts were the most in the NBA this season, to beat the New Jersey Nets 108-105 while Kevin Durant scored 36 points and hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer in the final minute to lift the Thunder to a 101-94 victory against Memphis in a rematch of their epic Western Conference semifinals series. Paul Pierce scored 30 points and Ray Allen had nine of his 14 in the final quarter to lift the Celtics to a 91-89 win over the struggling Knicks while Kevin Martin scored 16 points got another strong effort from the Rockets reserves to beat the Suns for only the second time in their last nine meetings. Paul George hit seven 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 30 points as the Pacers won in Dallas for the first time in eight years, beating the defending NBA champions 98-87 while Andrew Bynum scored 22 points and Kobe Bryant added 20 to help the Los Angeles Lakers opene a season-high six-game trip with a 93-89 victory over the weary Denver Nuggets.

NBA TOP TEN:



NBA GAME ACTION:


SCORES:

Cleveland @ Orlando: 94-102
Miami @ Philadelphia: 99-79
Washington @ Toronto: 89-106
Milwaukee @ Detroit: 80-88
Minnesota @ New Jersey: 108-105
Memphis @ Oklahoma City: 94-101
New York @ Boston: 89-91
Phoenix @ Houston: 81-99
Indiana @ Dallas: 98-87
Los Angeles L @ Denver: 93-89