NBA Sports Daily

Sixers avoid back-to-back losses again

The Sixers are making the NBAs lockout-induced compressed schedule a vehicle to show off their superior depth and resiliency. Playing without Elton Brand and facing one of the Eastern Conferences top five teams for the second straight night, Philadelphia had double figures from each of its four bench players to overwhelm the Atlanta Hawks 98-87 Saturday night.

Cavs beat Mavs on Irving’s late layup

Rookie Kyrie Irving made a driving layup in traffic with 15.8 seconds left to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a 91-88 win over the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night, Irving, who is showing a knack for last-second drama in his first season, finished with 20 points and Anderson Varejao added 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Cavs.

Howard leads Magic to third straight win

Dwight Howard had 27 points and eight rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to an 85-81 win over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. Danny Granger had 19 points and seven rebounds and Tyler Hansbrough had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who have lost two of three to the Magic in less than two weeks.

Lin’s career-high 25 get Knicks by Nets

Jeremy Lin scored a career-high 25 points and the New York Knicks salvaged the finale of a back-to-back-to-back set by beating the New Jersey Nets 99-92 on Saturday night. Lin came off the bench to control a struggling offense, adding seven assists while outplaying Nets All-Star point guard Deron Williams.

Griffin’s near triple-double lifts Clips

Blake Griffin had 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 107-81 victory against the Washington Wizards on Saturday night. Mo Williams added 17 for the Clippers, who won for the fifth time in six games. Nick Young and John Wall each scored 14 for Washington, which lost its fourth game in a row and dropped to...

Knicks coach D’Antoni not panicking

Mike DAntoni insists he is not worried about his Knicks or his job. Cant panic. We are who we are, weve got to get better and panickings not going to help, DAntoni said Saturday before the Knicks hosted the Nets. I could run out of here with my hair on fire, thats not going to help.

Pistons’ Knight breaks nose vs. Hornets

Brandon Knight broke his nose in the first quarter of the Detroit Pistons game against the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday night. The rookie point guard, who had a career-high 26 points in Fridays win over Milwaukee, sustained the injury midway through the first quarter. While going for an offensive rebound, he was hit by teammate Greg Monroes elbow.

Hawks C Collins to miss 2 weeks

The Atlanta Hawks say reserve center Jason Collins will miss the next two weeks with a sprained left elbow. Collins, the primary backup to Zaza Pachulia with All-Star center Al Horford sidelined the next three months, was injured in Thursdays home loss to Memphis. Collins, an 11-year NBA veteran, has started 31 of 81 career games in three seasons with Atlanta.

Lakers beat weary Nuggets to open trip

The Los Angeles Lakers opened a season-high six-game trip Friday night with a rare win in Denver, where the Nuggets were bleary-eyed and, in Danilo Gallinaris case, blurry-eyed. Lakers coach Mike Brown was simply red-faced after a non-call in the waning seconds gave Denver one last shot at the victory.

Durant scores 36, Thunder beat Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies know the team they are chasing to reach the top of the Western Conference. Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder keep finding ways to stay one step ahead. 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 on Friday night in a rematch of their epic Western Conference semifinals series.