NBA Roundup: Saturday’s other games

Bobcats 94, Heat 82

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gerald Wallace scored 26 points, Jason Richardson had 24, and the Charlotte Bobcats held off an early fourth-quarter rally to beat the Miami Heat and snap a five-game losing streak. Nazr Mohammed added 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Raymond Felton had 10 assists for the Bobcats, who saw a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter trimmed to three points early in the fourth. Jason Williams scored 19 points, Ricky Davis had 15 and Chris Quinn 14 for the injury-riddled Heat, who dressed just nine players in losing their third straight and 11th in 13 games in March. Ahead by seven points entering the second half, Charlotte opened the third quarter with a 10-3 run, with Emeka Okafor’s layup with 7:42 left putting the Bobcats up 56-42. Miami — missing starters Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Alexander Johnson and Dorell Wright to injuries — fought back, with back-to-back layups by Williams cutting Charlotte’s lead to 73-70 with 9:49 left in the fourth quarter.

Hawks 98, Magic 90

ATLANTA — Joe Johnson scored 34 points, Mike Bibby had 20 and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 98-90 on Saturday night. Josh Smith finished with 19 points for Atlanta, which took its sixth straight home victory against Orlando. The Magic, who dropped to 22-2 on the road when entering the fourth quarter with a lead, had won seven of eight overall. Bibby caused matchup problems for the Magic and had a game-high eight assists. Dribbling from the perimeter into the top of the lane, Bibby drew Orlando center Dwight Howard and another defender toward him. Al Horford cut in behind Howard to catch Bibby’s bounce pass and hit a runner that gave the Hawks a 91-85 lead with 2:04 remaining. Johnson hit five of seven shots from the field in the third quarter, and finished off the win with two free throws in the final seconds. Hedo Turkoglu led Orlando with 18 points. Jameer Nelson had 16 points, and Howard finished with 16 rebounds.

Flyers 91, Nets 87

PHILADELPHIA — Andre Iguodala scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half, Samuel Dalembert had 11 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks, and the Philadelphia 76ers rallied for a victory over the New Jersey Nets. Andre Miller had 21 points and five assists, and Lou Williams added 15 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field for the Sixers, who have won 17 of their last 22 games. Vince Carter led New Jersey with 27 points but was only 10-for-25 from the floor. Richard Jefferson was held to 11 points on 3-for-15 shooting.

Timberwolves 114, Knicks 93

MINNEAPOLIS — Ryan Gomes scored 26 points, reserve Rashad McCants had 24, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the New York Knicks, another lottery-bound team. The Timberwolves (18-51) and Knicks (19-50) are in the NBA’s bottom five, fighting for draft position and figuring out which young players are keepers over the season’s final weeks. The difference? The Wolves have won six of nine, while the Knicks have lost 11 of 12. Al Jefferson had only eight points, just his third single-digit scoring game of the season for Minnesota. For New York, reserve Malik Rose had 20 points. Knicks coach Isiah Thomas spent the week insisting the franchise’s future includes him, and he ordered up another evaluative starting lineup with Zach Randolph benched in favor Randolph Morris. With Stephon Marbury and Eddy Curry done for the season and Quentin Richardson — who didn’t play Friday, either — not on the trip for what the team called personal reasons, Jamal Crawford was the only preferred starter on the floor. His backup, Nate Robinson, also sat out due to a sprained right knee.

Hornets 113, Celtics 106

NEW ORLEANS — David West scored 37 points and the New Orleans Hornets overcame an early 15-point deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics. Chris Paul, despite playing only 28 minutes because of foul trouble, had 19 points and hit a pair of clutch jumpers in the waning minutes as New Orleans added a win over the mighty Celtics to recent triumphs over San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston. The Celtics came in riding a four-game winning streak that included a three-game swing through Texas, with wins over San Antonio, Houston and Dallas.

Grizzlies 117, Kings 111

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Juan Carlos Navarro scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and the Memphis Grizzlies held on for a victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Associated Press