NBA Roundup: Tuesday’s games

Spurs 107, Magic 97

ORLANDO, Fla. — Manu Ginobili scored 28 points and Michael Finley added 24 as San Antonio won its fourth straight. Dwight Howard had 24 points and 21 rebounds, his eighth game this season with at least 20 in both categories. Rashard Lewis added 24, Keyon Dooling 19 and Carlos Arroyo 17. Tim Duncan had 19 points and 15 rebounds for San Antonio. Orlando was short-handed after losing starters Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson in the first half. Nelson left with a bruised jaw after apparently running into Howard, while Turkoglu sprained his right wrist. Orlando trailed 80-73 entering the fourth quarter, but drew to 87-85 on Rashard Lewis’ 3. But the Magic scored only two points over the next three minutes — also from Lewis — as the Spurs pulled away.

Hornets 114, Pacers 106

INDIANAPOLIS — David West had 35 points and 16 rebounds in Indiana’s first game since CEO Donnie Walsh announced he was leaving the team at the end of the season. Chris Paul had 31 points and 14 assists as the Hornets won their fourth straight to maintain the best record (48-21) in the Western Conference. Danny Granger led Indiana with 26 points and nine rebounds against his hometown team. The Pacers had been on a four-game winning streak, but the loss gave the Pacers back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1987-88 and 1988-89. The Hornets led 59-56 at halftime, then went on a 13-2 run at the start of the third quarter to take a 72-58 lead.

Mavericks 103, Clippers 90

DALLAS — Josh Howard took over a tight game midway through the third quarter, carrying Dallas past Los Angeles in the Mavericks’ first game since losing Dirk Nowitzki to injury. Dallas, which had lost three straight, led only 60-58 when Howard got rolling. Howard scored 20 of the Mavericks’ next 26 points, putting them up by 16 early in the fourth quarter. He finished with 32 points, easily his most since Jason Kidd arrived. Erick Dampier also stepped up for Dallas, scoring 19 points and matching his season high with 17 rebounds. Jerry Stackhouse scored 20 and Kidd had 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds. The Mavericks need all the contributions they can get with Nowitzki, the team’s top scorer and rebounder, out with a sprained left knee and ankle. The team is tightlipped about a return date, but the reigning MVP is likely to miss most of the remaining games, jeopardizing Dallas’ playoff chances. The Mavericks (45-26) are seventh in the West, two games ahead of Golden State and 21‚Ñ2 ahead of Denver — the two teams they play next, both on the road. The Mavs improved to 10-0 against teams with losing records since adding Kidd, but are 0-8 against teams with winning records. Corey Maggette led Los Angeles with 21 points before fouling out. Tim Thomas had 13, most coming on consecutive 3-pointers in the third quarter, and Nick Fazekas had 10 points in 16 minutes.

Bulls 103, Hawks 94

CHICAGO — Drew Gooden scored a season-high 31 points and matched a season best with 16 rebounds as Chicago held on in the fourth quarter. The Bulls, one of several teams chasing the Hawks for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, led by 12 after three quarters before Atlanta rallied within two with just more than six minutes left. Ben Gordon’s 3-pointer with 1:27 to go gave the Bulls a 97-90 lead, and he added two free throws with 28 seconds left. Gordon finished with 16 points. Josh Childress scored 22, including eight in the final quarter, to lead Atlanta. Mike Bibby added 18. The Bulls took a 79-67 lead after three quarters, going on a 20-4 run that included two highlight-film plays from Joakim Noah. He went high to drop in a shot on a pass from Larry Hughes, and seconds later made a steal and took a pass from Kirk Hinrich for an emphatic dunk as the Bulls took a 10-point lead. Hinrich’s 3-pointer, a basket by Luol Deng and a three-point play from Gooden capped the 20-4 spurt that put Chicago up 75-59.

Associated Press