NBA

Green, Spurs drop Bobcats

— Danny Green scored 23 points and the San Antonio Spurs set a franchise record with 19 three-pointers to hand the Charlotte Bobcats their seventh consecutive defeat, 132-102 on Saturday night.

Green was 7 of 9 from three-point range and the Spurs shot 56 percent from three-point range.

Tony Parker had 22 points and nine assists as the Spurs won for the ninth time in 10 games, improving to 17-4.

Green and Parker were a combined 18 of 22 from the field.

Parker scored 11 points in the third quarter and Green had eight as the Spurs pulled away and were never challenged after that point.

Kemba Walker led the Bobcats with 23 points and Gerald Henderson had 13.

Manu Ginobili chipped in with 11 points and seven assists for the Spurs in their first game with Joey Crawford officiating since a Halloween photo emerged earlier this week on the internet depicting Tim Duncan and Parker holding fake guns to the head of a bald man dressed up as Crawford.

Duncan and Crawford have had a confrontational past but there were no incidents Saturday night.

Duncan only played 23 minutes and finished with 11 points and was called for one foul. Parker was not called for any fouls.

The Spurs opened a 59-44 lead at halftime after hitting 63 percent (12 of 19) from threepoint range.

The game was tied at 20 when Ginobili entered the game and quickly knocked down 3 three-pointers in between a three-pointer from Green to help the Spurs open a double-digit lead.

San Antonio continued to build on that advantage and wasn’t challenged again.

Frustrated by the team’s six-game losing streak, Bobcats Coach Mike Dunlap benched center Brendan Haywood and Byron Mullens to start the game to send a message to his players.

Gana Diop and Bismack Biyombo started in their spots, leaving Charlotte without a true scoring presence in the frontcourt. Biyombo and Diop came in averaging a combined 4.8 points and, true to form, they combined for just four points on Saturday night.

The Bobcats have lost seven consecutive after a 7-5 start and their schedule isn’t going to get any easier next week as they host Golden State and the Los Angeles Clippers before traveling to Atlanta.

Charlotte received a scare in the second quarter when rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist injured his tailbone. But he returned to the game in the third quarter after receiving treatment in the training room.

WARRIORS 101, WIZARDS 97

WASHINGTON - David Lee had 24 points and 17 rebounds, Klay Thompson added 23 points and the Golden State Warriors beat the Washington Wizards for their third consecutive road victory.

Stephen Curry scored 22 points for the Warriors, who won the first three games of a road trip for the first time since February, 2003.

Golden State is 13-7, the first time it’s been six games over .500 since the end of the 2007-08 season.

Jordan Crawford had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, tying a season high for points and assists. Bradley Beal scored 17 points, Kevin Seraphin and Cartier Martin both had 14.

CELTICS 92, 76ERS 79

BOSTON - Kevin Garnett scored 19 points, Jeff Green added 16, and the Boston Celtics won the back end of a home-and-home with Philadelphia, beating the 76ers.

Paul Pierce finished with 13 points and Rajon Rondo dished out 11 assists and collected nine rebounds, one night after his first triple-double of the season. Rondo had just seven points.

Thaddeus Young led Philadelphia with 22 points and Evan Turner scored 13. The 76ers have lost three of four.

MAVERICKS 116, ROCKETS 109

HOUSTON - O.J. Mayo scored 40 points, including 10 in the last three minutes, to lift the Dallas Mavericks to a victory over the Houston Rockets.

James Harden had 30 points at halftime, but he scored just nine points in the second half.

Chris Kaman added 20 points for Dallas, and Vince Carter and Darren Collison had 12 each.

HEAT 106, HORNETS 90

MIAMI - Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, LeBron James finished with 24 points and seven assists, and Miami snapped a two-game slide.

Chris Bosh scored 13, and Ray Allen and Shane Battier each added 11 for Miami, which took control by outscoring the Hornets 33-10 over the final 11 minutes of the first half.

Ryan Anderson scored 24 for New Orleans, which got 20 from Robin Lopez and 12 from Jason Smith.

BULLS 93, KNICKS 85

CHICAGO - Marco Belinelli and Luol Deng scored 22 points apiece as Chicago snapped New York’s five-game winning streak.

Carlos Boozer had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago. Raymond Felton led the Knicks with 27 points.

HAWKS 93, GRIZZLIES 83

MEMPHIS - Josh Smith had 24 points, Lou Williams scored 18 of his 21 in the second half, and Atlanta won for the nine time in 10 games.

Al Horford had 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Atlanta, while Jeff Teague finished with 13 points and six assists.

Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol scored 18 points apiece, with Randolph grabbing 13 rebounds. Rudy Gay scored 17 points and Mike Conley had 12.

PISTONS 104, CAVALIERS 97

CLEVELAND - Brandon Knight scored a career-high 30 points and Detroit beat Cleveland for the second time in six days.

Tayshaun Prince scored 14 points while Jason Maxiell added 11 for the Pistons, who defeated the Cavaliers 89-79 on Monday in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Jeremy Pargo (Arkansas Razorbacks) scored 24 points for Cleveland.

CLIPPERS 117, SUNS 99

LOS ANGELES - Jamal Crawford led a fourth-quarter rally with 13 of his 21 points, and Los Angeles won its fifth in a row while sending Phoenix to a seasonworst sixth consecutive loss.

Blake Griffin added 24 points, and Chris Paul had 16 points and 11 assists. Crawford made all four of his free throws to extend his streak to 55 in a row since Nov. 3. Michael Beasley scored 21 points, and Shannon Brown had 19.

Sports, Pages 27 on 12/09/2012

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