NBA: Lin-led Knicks win fifth straight

Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

Steve Novak scored 15 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer with 36 seconds to play, and Lin used his quickness to draw a foul and get to the line in the closing seconds. He finished with 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Kevin Love had 32 points and 21 rebounds for the Wolves.

NEW YORK (100): Walker 0-5 3-4 3, Jeffries 3-5 2-4 8, Chandler 6-10 0-2 12, Lin 8-24 4-7 20, Fields 8-10 3-4 19, Novak 5-10 1-1 15, Shumpert 9-16 0-0 20, Bibby 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 40-84 13-22 100.

MINNESOTA (98): Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Love 10-21 10-10 32, Pekovic 9-10 3-3 21, Rubio 5-15 2-2 12, Ridnour 2-7 0-0 5, Barea 4-10 2-2 11, Beasley 3-9 1-2 8, Webster 1-1 0-0 3, Williams 3-6 0-0 6, Ellington 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 37-84 18-19 98.

New York

—

100

Minn.

—

3-Point Goals—New York 7-19 (Novak 4-6, Shumpert 2-4, Bibby 1-3, Fields 0-1, Walker 0-2, Lin 0-3), Minnesota 6-19 (Love 2-6, Webster 1-1, Beasley 1-2, Ridnour 1-4, Barea 1-4, Rubio 0-2). Fouled Out—Shumpert, Ridnour. Rebounds—New York 49 (Jeffries 8), Minnesota 52 (Love 21). Assists—New York 20 (Lin 8), Minnesota 18 (Rubio 8). Total Fouls—New York 22, Minnesota 21. Technicals—Chandler, Rubio, Minnesota defensive three second. A—20,232 (19,356).

NUGGETS 113, PACERS 109: Ty Lawson scored 27 points to lead Denver to a win over Indiana that ended the Nuggets' five-game losing streak.

Danny Granger scored 26 points for the Pacers, who have lost four of five.

Arron Afflalo had 23 points and five rebounds and Corey Brewer had 19 points and five rebounds in his first game back after missing three straight because of the death of his father.

DENVER (113): Brewer 8-16 2-4 19, Nene 5-9 1-4 11, Koufos 3-4 1-2 7, Lawson 10-17 5-7 27, Afflalo 8-11 6-6 23, Harrington 4-18 2-2 10, Miller 2-6 2-4 6, Faried 1-2 1-2 3, Fernandez 2-4 2-2 7. Totals 43-87 22-33 113.

INDIANA (109): Granger 10-18 4-5 26, West 10-11 2-3 22, Hibbert 5-11 2-2 12, Collison 3-7 1-1 7, George 5-9 1-2 15, Hansbrough 2-3 2-3 6, Stephenson 2-6 0-0 4, Price 4-8 3-3 13, Amundson 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 1-5 2-3 4. Totals 42-79 17-22 109.

Denver

—

113

Indiana

—

109

3-Point Goals—Denver 5-17 (Lawson 2-3, Fernandez 1-2, Brewer 1-3, Afflalo 1-3, Harrington 0-6), Indiana 8-22 (George 4-7, Price 2-4, Granger 2-6, Collison 0-1, Jones 0-2, Stephenson 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Denver 54 (Koufos 7), Indiana 43 (West 7). Assists—Denver 14 (Miller 4), Indiana 22 (Collison 7). Total Fouls—Denver 22, Indiana 28. Technicals—Brewer, Denver Coach Karl, Miller, Denver defensive three second, Indiana defensive three second. A—15,313 (18,165).

SPURS 103, NETS 89: Gary Neal scored 18 points, and Tim Duncan recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds as San Antonio won its seventh in the row.

San Antonio was bolstered by the return of sixth man Manu Ginobili. The Argentinean guard had not played in 22 games after suffering a fractured metacarpal in the Spurs' 106-96 loss in Minnesota on Jan. 2. Ginobili scored eight points and had four assists in 17 minutes.

SAN ANTONIO (103): Jefferson 3-5 0-0 7, Duncan 6-11 1-2 13, Blair 5-9 1-3 11, Parker 4-11 4-4 12, Green 4-8 0-0 10, Ginobili 4-7 0-0 8, Bonner 2-6 0-0 5, Leonard 1-2 2-2 5, Neal 8-10 0-0 18, Splitter 3-5 4-6 10, Anderson 2-5 0-0 4, Joseph 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 42-80 12-17 103.

NEW JERSEY (89): Brooks 2-10 2-3 7, Humphries 7-10 1-2 15, Petro 3-5 0-0 6, D.Williams 9-23 7-8 27, Morrow 5-11 0-0 11, She.Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Sha.Williams 1-9 0-0 3, Farmar 5-10 0-0 12, Gaines 3-6 0-0 6, J.Williams 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 35-87 12-15 89.

San Antonio

—

103

New Jersey

—

3-Point Goals—San Antonio 7-22 (Green 2-4, Neal 2-4, Leonard 1-1, Jefferson 1-3, Bonner 1-4, Ginobili 0-2, Anderson 0-2, Parker 0-2), New Jersey 7-24 (Farmar 2-6, D.Williams 2-8, Brooks 1-3, Sha.Williams 1-3, Morrow 1-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—San Antonio 50 (Duncan 10), New Jersey 48 (Humphries 8). Assists—San Antonio 25 (Duncan, Parker 5), New Jersey 19 (D.Williams 8). Total Fouls—San Antonio 17, New Jersey 12. A—15,272 (18,711).

76ERS 99, CAVALIERS 84: Jrue Holliday scored 20 points to lead six Philadelphia players in double figures as the 76ers rolled to a win over short-handed Cleveland.

Cleveland played without two of its three leading scorers. The team announced before the game that center Anderson Varejao will be sidelined indefinitely because of a broken right wrist sustained Friday. Rookie point guard Kyrie Irving missed his third straight game with a concussion.

PHILADELPHIA (99): Iguodala 2-5 3-4 8, Allen 0-3 0-0 0, Brand 3-10 5-7 11, Holiday 6-13 7-8 20, Meeks 4-8 0-0 10, Young 7-11 2-2 16, Williams 6-14 5-7 19, Turner 2-7 1-2 5, Vucevic 5-8 0-0 10. Totals 35-79 23-30 99.

CLEVELAND (84): Casspi 2-9 1-2 6, Jamison 8-16 4-7 20, Erden 0-2 0-0 0, Sessions 8-15 2-2 19, Gibson 3-11 0-0 7, Samuels 3-8 0-0 6, Gee 4-8 9-10 17, Eyenga 0-3 1-2 1, Thompson 0-6 2-2 2, Hollins 1-1 0-0 2, Uzoh 1-3 0-0 2, Harangody 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 31-84 19-25 84.

Philadelphia

—

Cleveland

—

3-Point Goals—Philadelphia 6-14 (Williams 2-3, Meeks 2-5, Iguodala 1-1, Holiday 1-3, Turner 0-2), Cleveland 3-14 (Sessions 1-2, Casspi 1-4, Gibson 1-5, Gee 0-1, Harangody 0-1, Jamison 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Philadelphia 50 (Young, Iguodala 6), Cleveland 60 (Jamison, Thompson 8). Assists—Philadelphia 21 (Holiday, Williams, Iguodala 5), Cleveland 19 (Sessions 8). Total Fouls—Philadelphia 16, Cleveland 19. A—17,155 (20,562).

CLIPPERS 111, BOBCATS 86: Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan all had double-doubles after three quarters as Los Angeles handed Charlotte a lopsided loss.

Paul toyed with the Bobcats, finishing with 18 points and 14 assists in only 28 minutes.

Griffin had 21 points and 10 rebounds and DeAndre Jordan had 11 points with 12 rebounds. Caron Butler added 16 points as the Clippers opened an 84-52 lead after three quarters.

Kemba Walker had 19 points for the Bobcats, who've lost a franchise-record 14 straight and are on pace to match a dubious NBA record.

At 3-24, the Bobcats' winning percentage (.125) equals that of the NBA's all-time worst franchise, the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (9-72).

The Bobcats are on pace to finish this year's lockout-reduced 66-game slate with eight wins.

L.A. CLIPPERS (111): Butler 5-8 2-2 16, Griffin 7-14 7-8 21, Jordan 5-6 1-2 11, Paul 6-11 6-6 18, Foye 5-7 0-0 12, M.Williams 4-10 1-1 9, Evans 0-2 0-0 0, Martin 2-5 3-4 7, Gomes 1-5 0-0 2, Bledsoe 1-2 0-0 2, Cook 2-4 0-0 5, Thompkins 3-4 1-1 8, Leslie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 41-78 21-24 111.

CHARLOTTE (86): Maggette 3-8 6-7 12, Diaw 3-10 0-0 7, Biyombo 1-2 1-2 3, Walker 4-13 11-12 19, R.Williams 1-12 0-0 2, Higgins 2-8 4-6 8, Diop 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 1-3 8-10 10, Thomas 5-6 1-2 11, Mullens 4-7 2-4 10, Carroll 1-3 0-0 2, White 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 26-74 33-43 86.

L.A. Clippers

—

111

Charlotte

—

3-Point Goals—L.A. Clippers 8-20 (Butler 4-7, Foye 2-4, Thompkins 1-1, Cook 1-3, Martin 0-1, M.Williams 0-1, Paul 0-1, Gomes 0-2), Charlotte 1-14 (Diaw 1-6, Walker 0-2, Maggette 0-2, R.Williams 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—L.A. Clippers 53 (Jordan 12), Charlotte 45 (Maggette, Biyombo 6). Assists—L.A. Clippers 29 (Paul 14), Charlotte 18 (Walker 4). Total Fouls—L.A. Clippers 28, Charlotte 20. Technicals—Jordan, Martin, L.A. Clippers defensive three second. A—19,110 (19,077).

MAGIC 99, BUCKS 94: Jason Richardson scored 28 of his season-high 31 points in the second half and made nine 3-pointers to lead Orlando to a victory over Milwaukee.

The Bucks limited Dwight Howard to 11 points and 14 rebounds, but had no defense for Richardson, who unleashed a barrage of 3-pointers in the second half that helped Orlando erase a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and pull ahead. His ninth 3, and eighth out of nine attempts in the second half, gave Orlando a 94-88 lead with 2:07 to go.

ORLANDO (99): Turkoglu 7-13 2-4 19, Anderson 3-8 2-2 9, Howard 5-15 1-2 11, Nelson 2-6 2-2 6, J.Richardson 11-18 0-4 31, Redick 4-10 5-5 14, Davis 1-4 0-0 2, Q.Richardson 2-5 2-2 7, Duhon 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 35-81 14-21 99.

MILWAUKEE (94): Delfino 4-8 0-0 12, Mbah a Moute 2-7 2-2 6, Gooden 9-21 2-2 21, Jennings 3-14 1-1 7, Livingston 1-6 0-0 3, Ilyasova 7-10 2-2 17, Jackson 2-8 0-0 4, Dunleavy 6-12 0-0 14, Udrih 4-6 0-0 8, Brockman 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 39-93 7-7 94.

Orlando

—

Milwaukee

—

3-Point Goals—Orlando 15-37 (J.Richardson 9-11, Turkoglu 3-8, Q.Richardson 1-4, Redick 1-5, Anderson 1-6, Davis 0-1, Nelson 0-2), Milwaukee 9-22 (Delfino 4-5, Dunleavy 2-3, Livingston 1-1, Ilyasova 1-1, Gooden 1-3, Jackson 0-4, Jennings 0-5). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Orlando 54 (Howard 14), Milwaukee 53 (Ilyasova 16). Assists—Orlando 22 (Turkoglu, Duhon 6), Milwaukee 26 (Jackson, Jennings 5). Total Fouls—Orlando 13, Milwaukee 16. Technicals—Orlando defensive three second. A—17,723 (18,717).