The NBA Roundup: March 26, 2013

Playoffs-bound Memphis and Denver were on the wrong side of upsets, while Miami continued their winning ways. Also, the Lakers’ shot at keeping eighth spot took a hit with the loss to G-State.

Day’s Best:

We all have a new name to remember – Brian Roberts of the New Orleans Hornets. Roberts came out of nowhere to dish out EIGHTEEN ASSISTS, outplay veteran counterpart Andre Miller, and, consequently, help end the Nuggets’ winning run at 15 games.
Not even Tony Allen could slow John Wall down. Wall scored a career-high 47 points for a Washington team that has suddenly become the most dangerous spoiler squad this month.
Despite D-Wade sitting this one out, Miami still won thanks to LeBron James’s near-triple-double and great help from the supporting cast.

Brian Roberts surprised everyone, perhaps including
himself, with his strong play against Denver.
(image by Bill Haber/AP)

Day’s Worst:

Pau Gasol had a forgettable outing against GSW – just 3-of-8 from the floor in 23 minutes of play.
Jrue Holiday’s stellar play took a holiday (hehe… eh) against the Jazz. The All-Star playmaker shot just 2-of-8 from the field, had 1 rebound, 1 assists, and 4 turnovers in 24 minutes.
Jerryd Bayless’s hot shooting cooled off noticeably against Washington. Bayless missed 12 of his 17 FGs, including all 4 3pt attempts, in 28 minutes of action as Memphis stumbled on the road.

Final Score: Indiana 100, Atlanta 94

Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Gerald Green led six Indiana players in double-figures with 19 points as the depleted Pacers used a balanced attack to down the Atlanta Hawks, 100-94, on Monday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Roy Hibbert scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Orlando Johnson donated 15 points for the Pacers, who were without David West (back), Lance Stephenson (right hip flexor) and George Hill (strained left groin). Jeff Pendergraph and Paul George netted 14 and 13 points, respectively, for Indiana, which bounced back from a loss at Chicago on Saturday to pick up its fourth win in its last five games. Josh Smith had 20 points, four assists and four steals and Al Horford scored 13 points to go along with eight boards for the Hawks, who trailed by as many as 28 in the second half and were searching for a third straight road victory after coming in winners in five of their last seven games overall.

Final Score: Miami 108, Orlando 94

Orlando, FL (Sports Network) - Many in Miami may be looking ahead toward Sunday's showdown with the San Antonio Spurs. The Heat, however, still had three road games before their visit to the Alamo, including Monday's tilt with the Orlando Magic. LeBron James had 24 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and the Heat won their 27th straight game, a 108-94 triumph over Orlando. Miami is just six wins away from matching the Los Angeles Lakers' record of 33 wins in a row set in 1971-72, but the Heat's amazing stretch was nearly snapped by the Magic on March 6. James, though, came through with a go-ahead layup with 3.2 seconds left as the Heat held on to win 97-96 in Miami. The Heat, who were without Dwyane Wade for a second straight game due to a sore knee, will visit Chicago and New Orleans before Sunday's game with the Spurs. Miami won its 13th straight road game, one shy of the franchise mark set from Nov. 19-Dec. 29, 1996. Jameer Nelson had 27 points and 12 assists to lead Orlando, which was without Arron Afflalo and Nikola Vucevic, who average 15.5 and 12.4 points, respectively. The Magic have dropped seven consecutive contests.

Final Score: Washington 107, Memphis 94

Washington, DC (Sports Network) - John Wall recorded 47 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, leading the Washington Wizards to a 107-94 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. Wall shot 13-of-22 from the field and a career-high 19-of-24 from the foul line for the Wizards, who have won six of their last eight games. Emeka Okafor had 21 points and nine rebounds and Chris Singleton tallied 10 points. Mike Conley scored 23 points and dished out seven assists but also recorded six turnovers for the Grizzlies, who came into the game off a 110-106 win against Boston on Saturday. Quincy Pondexter and Jerryd Bayless scored 14 points apiece off the bench while Zach Randolph had 10 points and seven rebounds in the setback.

Final Score: New Orleans 110, Denver 86

New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Ryan Anderson scored 23 points and made 5- of-11 from behind the arc to go along with nine rebounds as New Orleans convincingly ended Denver's 15-game winning streak, downing the Nuggets, 110-86, on Monday. Darius Miller had 16 points and Roger Mason Jr. had 14, while both connected on 4-of-5 from 3-point range for the Hornets, who have won three straight. Anthony Davis chipped in 14 points and six rebounds and Brian Roberts added 13 points and a career-high 18 assists in the victory, which was also the third straight at home for New Orleans. Even more surprising was the fact that New Orleans came out on top without Eric Gordon and Greivis Vasquez, who both had sore ankles. Danilo Gallinari paced Denver with 24 points, while Kenneth Faried followed with 13 and seven rebounds for the Nuggets, who were looking to make franchise history with 16 straight wins, after matching their 1969-70 American Basketball Association team's record of 15 straight victories.

Final Score: Utah 107, Philadelphia 91

Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Randy Foye and Gordon Hayward scored 17 and 15 points, respectively, as the Utah Jazz defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 107-91. Seven Utah players scored in double digits. Derrick Favors had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Al Jefferson, Enes Kanter and Alec Burks scored 12 points apiece and Paul Millsap added 11 for the Jazz, who snapped a four-game losing streak. The Jazz are one game behind the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference with 11 games left in the schedule. They play seven of those games at home, where the Jazz are 25-9. Dorell Wright had a game-high 19 points off the bench for the 76ers, who have lost three of their last four games. Spencer Hawes and Arnett Moultrie both had 14 points and eight rebounds and Damien Wilkins tallied 13 points.

Final Score: Golden State 109, LA Lakers 103

Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Stephen Curry didn't go for 30 points this time, but he still did more than enough. Curry had 25 points and 10 assists in the Golden State Warriors' 109-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Warriors have won six of their last eight games with Curry averaging 30.2 points per game while shooting 59.6 percent from beyond the arc in the five prior victories during the stretch coming in. Curry was 3-of-9 from 3-point range Monday. Curry was questionable prior to the start of the contest due to a right ankle sprain that he suffered during the fourth quarter of a win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday. David Lee tallied 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Klay Thompson added 22 points for Golden State, which defeated the Lakers for just the second time in its last 20 tries. Kobe Bryant netted 36 points, while Dwight Howard finished with 11 points and 15 boards for the Lakers, who have dropped three in a row and four of their last six tilts.