NBA Monday Roundup: Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics and Sacramento Kings win - (Part 2)
Denver Nuggets 100 - Atlanta Hawks 90
J.R. Smith scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, as the Denver Nuggets overcame the Atlanta Hawks 100-90, at the Pepsi Centre on Monday night.
Wilson Chandler netted 15 points and pulled down five rebounds for the Nuggets, while Kenyon Martin contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Joe Johnson finished with 22 points while Al Horford scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for Atlanta. It was his third double-double in the last six games and 29th of the 2010-11 season.
Forward Marvin Williams added 13 points while Jamal Crawford chipped in with 11 points for Atlanta, who finished their two-week road trip on 3-4.
Smith scored eight points in the first quarter to help Atlanta grab a 25-21 lead, and the Hawks held a 47-46 edge going into the break. The Nuggets battled back in the third quarter, making 8-of-16 shots in order to take a 71-70 lead into the final stanza.
The Nuggets were trailing 74-73 early in the fourth quarter when they went on an 8-0 run, capped by Smith's three-pointer. Down the stretch, Denver held Johnson scoreless for the final six minutes and used a 16-7 run to seal the win.
Boston Celtics 107 – Utah Jazz 102
Ray Allen recorded a team-high 25 points and shot 5-for-8 from the three-point range, as the Boston Celtics held on for a 107-102 win over the Utah Jazz, at the Energy Solutions Arena on Monday.
Each of the Celtics' starters scored in double figures. Paul Pierce posted 21 points while Kevin Garnett added 18 points and pulled down 16 rebounds for the Celtics, who won their second consecutive game. Al Jefferson led the Jazz with a game-high 28 points
and 19 rebounds while Devin Harris contributed 19 points.
Forward Andrei Kirilenko had 18 points while Paul Millsap finished with 17 points for Utah, who lost their second straight game. The Celtics began the contest very strongly, taking an impressive 30-21 lead into the second. The Jazz then got their shooting
touch back in the second quarter to trail by 56-53 when the half time buzzer sounded.
Boston controlled every aspect of the third quarter, limiting turnovers and taking a 79-75 lead into the fourth. Leading by four points after three quarters, Allen drained his fifth three-pointer of the game to put the Celtics up at 98-94 with three minutes
left.
The Jazz got closer at 98-96, but Pierce sank a three-pointer to make it 101-96. Utah got to within two points three more times in the dying minutes. However, the Celtics continued to play offensively to seal the road victory at 107-102.
Houston Rockets 103 – Portland Trail Blazers 87
Kyle Lowry scored 21 points and dished out 11 assists as the Houston Rockets crushed the Portland Trail Blazers 103-87 at the Rose Garden on Monday night.
Luis Scola had 21 points while Kevin Martin scored 20 points for the Rockets, who won their fifth consecutive game of the season. Nicolas Batum did all he could as he came off the bench with a game-high 22 points in the defeat.
LaMarcus Aldridge played a simple but effective game as he ended with 14 points for Portland, who lost their 27th game of the season. Forward Gerald Wallace ended with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, who lost their second consecutive
game.
Houston got a nice lift from Lowry as he finished the first quarter with eight points, six assists and four rebounds. The Rockets managed to make it to the free throw line early, taking a 30-26 lead into the second.
In the second quarter, the Jazz continued to play sloppy basketball while Houston stretched their lead to 53-42 at half time. Leading by 11 points at the break, the Rockets scored the first six points of the third quarter to build a 17-point lead. However,
the Blazers never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.
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