Pacers beat 76ers; Nets pummel the Raptors; New York Knicks scorch the Trail Blazers: NBA Roundup
Indiana Pacers 111 – Philadelphia 76ers 94
Danny Granger scored 20 points; David West dropped 18 on 8-of-12 while George Hill finished with 17 points as Indian Pacers finally managed to beat a team with a winning record after eight consecutive failures.
Up against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Pacers had it tough till late in third period, 74-73. A 9-2 quarter closing run however gave them the breathing space early in the fourth a Hill fade away jumper pushed the Pacers to a 93-80 edge.
Back came the Sixers though, with an 8-2 run, making it a seven point game nearly midway. What followed however was 10 point unanswered spurt including two consecutive triples from Hill and The Pacers were never threatened after that. Evan Turner paced the Sixers with 21 points and Jrue Holiday had 17.
New Jersey Nets 98 – Toronto Raptors 84
With Deron Williams and Brook Lopez out injured, Kris Humphries delivered yet another monster night with 16 points and a career-high 21 rebounds while Gerald Green erupted with 26 points as the Nets took down the Toronto Raptors 98-84 on Wednesday night.
20 of Green’s points in the second half as the Nets turned the screws. The Nets were leading by 29-27 inside the first four minutes of the second quarter, before the Raps raced off to 13-2 run and after some resistance from the visitors, closed the first half ahead at 46-41.
Aaron Brooks drilled a three to start the second half and Humphries then scored 6 on the next eight points for them to carve out a 52-20 lead. Nearly a minute later, the Raps equalized, but after a Jordan Farmar jumper on the next possession, the game only headed in one direction as the Nets never trailed.
Jared Bayless and James Johnson led Toronto with 16 apiece.
New York Knicks 121 – Portland Trail Blazers 79
On the same day Mike D’ Antoni decided to end his three and a half years association with the New York Knicks, the team showcased its true potential by thrashing the spineless Portland Trail Blazers 121-79.
The Knicks shut the game down early. They held the Trail Blazers to 12 points in the first quarter and ensured a 55-29 first half. After seeing off some resilience from Portland in the third, the Knicks then exploded with 10 three pointer in the final 12 minutes and led by as many as 42, as they put an emphatic end to a 6 game skid.
J.R Smith led the Knicks with 23 point knocked down 4 of his 7 treys in the 4th. Steve Novak also made four three’s in that frame and finished the game with 20 points. The listless Blazers were led by 15 points and 12 rebounds from Gerald Wallace.
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