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nba roundup

Thunder dominate in win over Sixers

The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Nenad Krstic scored 20 points and Malik Rose added a season-high 14 as the Oklahoma City Thunder continued their strong play without their two leading scorers, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 89-74 on Sunday night.

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Philadelphia 76ers guard Andre Miller goes up for a shot in front of Oklahoma City Thunder center Nenad Krstic in the second quarter on Sunday. In the 76ers’ 89-74 loss, Miller scored 20 points.

AP photo

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The Thunder surged ahead by outscoring Philadelphia 20-2 to start the second quarter, and the 76ers were never able to get within 10. Rose had eight of the Thunder’s points in that stretch, while the 76ers went 1-for-9 from the field and committed six turnovers.

Andre Miller and Thaddeus Young led Philadelphia with 20 points apiece. Miller has scored at least 20 points in five straight games for the first time in his career.

Nets 106, Knicks 101

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Devin Harris had 35 points and 10 assists, and New Jersey ended a frustrating stretch of close losses by edging New York.

Vince Carter added 25 points for the Nets, who had lost three of four, failing to pull out tight games against New Orleans, Boston and Orlando. This time they made the plays down the stretch, while the Knicks melted down amid an ugly combination of missed shots and turnovers in the final 2 1/2 minutes.

Brook Lopez’s bucket inside gave New Jersey a 100-99 lead, then Harris took Larry Hughes’ turnover the other way for an uncontested layup, making it a three-point game with 1:15 to go.

Jazz 109, Raptors 101

TORONTO — Deron Williams had 25 points and nine assists, Mehmet Okur had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Utah beat Toronto for its 11th straight win.

Kyle Korver matched a season-high with 20 points. Paul Millsap had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Andrei Kirilenko scored 18 for the Jazz, who have won eight straight over Toronto.

Utah matched its longest winning streak since an 11-game run from April 1-18, 1999.

Chris Bosh had 30 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, with Andrea Bargnani scoring 20 and Jose Calderon adding 10 points and 11 assists. Anthony Parker scored 16 points, but Toronto still lost its fifth straight.

Magic 86, Celtics 79

BOSTON — Dwight Howard scored 18 points with 15 rebounds, making a pair of free throws with 13.9 seconds left to ice it after Boston cut a 22-point deficit to three. With the win, Orlando moved two games behind Boston and three behind first-place Cleveland in the East.

Rashard Lewis scored 15 and Rafer Alston had 10 points and eight assists for Orlando, which won its fourth straight. One game after turning back Cleveland to grab the tiebreaker edge in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics offered a feeble start on their home court against third-place Orlando.

Ray Allen had 17 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, scoring nine straight to make it 82-79 with 1:22 to play. But he hit the back of the rim on a three-point attempt from the left side that would have tied it with 41 seconds to play.

Spurs 103, Suns 98

SAN ANTONIO — Putting away the Suns with 12 points in the fourth quarter, Tony Parker notched his fourth 30-point performance in his last seven games and the Spurs sent Phoenix home 0-for-4 on its road swing. Averaging 25.6 points since the All-Star break, Parker sealed San Antonio’s third win this season over the slumping Suns with a one-handed runner with 26.2 seconds left.

Rockets 93, Grizzlies 83

HOUSTON — Yao Ming had 24 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks and Houston extended its home-court winning streak to 12 games.

Luis Scola added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets, who got an easy victory heading into a tough week that includes games against Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio.