RECAP:

On the Clippers’ final possession, Paul sent a pass to Griffin, but the ball bounced through his legs. Griffin went on the floor, passed back to Paul, who somehow scored over the outstretched arm of Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala who is one of the best defenders in the league. Paul had 24 points, including the game-winning 17-footer with 3.2 seconds left, Griffin added 16 points and 11 rebounds and the Clippers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 78-77 while Atlanta used most of the same blueprint that allowed them to dominate the Magic in both the regular season and playoffs last season, the Hawks used their size and some timely free throw shooting late to grind out an 89-87 overtime victory over Orlando. Dwyane Wade finished with 26 points, and James had 18 points and nine assists Friday night in the Heat’s 106-89 win over the Washington Wizards, a rebound victory on a road trip that had a tough start in Orlando two days earlier while Joakim Noah had 17 points and 14 rebounds, Carlos Boozer scored 16 points and the Bulls throttled the Charlotte Bobcats 95-64 Friday night despite the absence of their leading scorer and reigning league MVP. DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points, Jose Calderon had 17 points and 14 rebounds and the Raptors led wire-to-wire in beating Boston 86-74, just their third win in the past 20 meetings with the Celtics while Greg Monroe had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons routed the New Jersey Nets 109-92 Friday night for their fourth straight victory-- their longest winning streak for the Pistons since a five-game run in December 2009 while Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and made a big layup in overtime as the Milwaukee Bucks rallied for a 113-112 win Friday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were without rookie guard Kyrie Irving and lost center Anderson Varejao in the third quarter with a sprained wrist. Jeremy Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points and outdueling Kobe Bryant as the New York Knicks held off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85. Buried deep on the bench a little more than a week ago, Jeremy Lin led the Knicks to their fourth straight win, tying their longest streak of the season. His two free throws with 52 seconds left and some booming “MVP! MVP!” chants stopped the Lakers’ final rally and allowed the undrafted Harvard product to pass Carmelo Anthony for the highest-scoring game by a Knicks player this season. Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 31 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a two-game skid while handing New Orleans its eighth straight loss, 94-86. Dirk Nowitzki welcomed Kevin Love back from his two-game suspension with a season-high 33 points, winning the matchup of Western Conference All-Star power forwards and helping the Dallas Mavericks stave off a Minnesota rally with 104-97 victory over the Timberwolves while Rudy Gay scored 21 points, Marreese Speights added a season-high 19 points and nine rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Indiana Pacers 98-92. Russell Westbrook scored 28 points and Kevin Durant had 19 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 101-87. With Oklahoma City’s win, the Thunder (21-6) have clinched the best record in the conference through games played Feb. 15.

NBA TOP PLAYS:



NBA GAME ACTION:


SCORES:

Los Angeles Clippers @ Philadelphia Sixers: 78-77
Atlanta Hawks @ Orlando Magic: 89-87
Miami Heat @ Washington Wizards: 106-89
Chicago Bulls @ Charlotte Bobcats: 95-64
Boston Celtics @ Toronto Raptors: 74-86
New Jersey Nets @ Detroit Pistons: 92-109
Milwaukee Bucks @ Cleveland Cavaliers: 113-112
Los Angeles Lakers @ New York Knicks: 85-92
Portland Blazers @ New Orleans Hornets: 94-86
Dallas Mavericks @ Minnesota Timberwolves: 104-97
Indiana Pacers @ Memphis Grizzlies: 92-98
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Utah Jazz: 95-82