NEW YORK — Jeremy Lin put aside his record-setting scoring to hand out a career-best 13 assists, and the New York Knicks got back to .500 with their seventh straight victory, 100-85 over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.
Lin added 10 points, focusing more on his role as a distributor while others torched the Kings for 51- percent shooting. Landry Fields had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Bill Walker and Steve Novak each chipped in with 14 points.
Lin scored 136 points in his first five starts, most by any NBA player since the NBA merged with the ABA in 1976. His 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left Tuesday allowed the Knicks to pull out a 90-87 victory in a game they trailed nearly the whole way.
The Knicks (15-15) led this one almost throughout, evening their record for the first time since they were 6-6 after a loss to Oklahoma City on Jan. 14. They host hapless New Orleans on Friday night, hoping All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony will return from a strained right groin.
Tyreke Evans scored 19 points for the Kings.
SPURS 113, RAPTORS 106
TORONTO — Tony Parker had 34 points and 14 assists, and San Antonio beat Toronto to extend its season-best winning streak to nine games.
Danny Green scored 13 points and matched his career high with seven rebounds, Tiago Splitter also had 13 points and Manu Ginobili added 11. The Spurs haven’t lost since a 101-100 overtime defeat at Dallas on Jan. 29.
Parker went 12 for 12 from the foul line for San Antonio, which last won nine straight during a 10-0 stretch from Dec. 3-22, 2010. The victory was the sixth straight away from home for the Spurs, their longest run since winning eight straight road games to begin the 2010-11 season.
DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points for Toronto. The Raptors have lost three straight and eight of 10.
ROCKETS 96, THUNDER 95
HOUSTON — Kevin Martin tied a season high with 32 points, including the winning free throws with 23.6 seconds remaining, in Houston’s victory over Oklahoma City.
Kevin Durant missed three shots in the last 16 seconds and Houston finally grabbed the rebound on the last miss to secure the win. Goran Dragic missed a pair of free throws for Houston after that, but the Thunder didn’t have time to get down the court for another shot.
Martin’s performance came a night after he went scoreless for the first time in six years in Houston’s 93-83 loss to Memphis. He didn’t score in the fourth quarter until his free throws for the win.
Durant led the Thunder with 33 points, and Russell Westbrook added 26.
MAGIC 103, 76ERS 87
ORLANDO, Fla. — Ryan Anderson had seven 3-pointers and 27 points, Dwight Howard added 17 points and 14 rebounds and Orlando shot its way past Philadelphia.
Orlando made 15 of 25 attempts from 3-point range, and had all five starters reach double figures for the second consecutive game. Jason Richardson had 14 points, including four 3s, and Jameer Nelson tied a career high with 14 assists and added 12 points.
The Magic have won three straight and seven of nine since losing to the 76ers last month.
Louis Williams led Philadelphia with 21 points and seven assists.
MAVERICKS 102, NUGGETS 84
DALLAS — Shawn Marion had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Dallas beat Denver to stretch its winning streak to a season-high five games.
Vince Carter had 15 points for Dallas. Lamar Odom scored 14, Jason Kidd 13 and Dirk Nowitzki 12. None of the starters played more than 27 minutes.
Rudy Fernandez led the Nuggets with 14 points.
CAVALIERS 98, PACERS 87
CLEVELAND — Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 22 points in his return after missing three games because of a concussion, leading Cleveland past Indiana.
Irving played for the first time since Feb. 7, when he banged his head following a collision in Miami. The 19-year-old was only cleared to play in the morning by Cavs doctors, who followed the NBA’s new guidelines on head injuries during his recovery. The
Semih Erden, starting with center Anderson Varejao sidelined indefinitely by a broken wrist, had a career-high 18 points. Darren Collison scored 18 points for Indiana. The Pacers have lost five straight.
PISTONS 98, CELTICS 88
BOSTON — Rodney Stuckey scored 25 points and Ben Gordon hit three 3-pointers in the opening 4:09 of the fourth quarter during a game-breaking spree that Detroit past Boston.
Greg Monroe had 22 points and nine rebounds, and Gordon finished with 22 points Detroit. The Pistons won for the fifth time in seven games.
Rajon Rondo had a season-high 35 points for Boston one game after he recorded a triple-double. Chris Wilcox, starting in place of the injured Kevin Garnett, had 17 points and nine rebounds. Garnett was a late scratch because of a hip flexor.
TIMBERWOLVES 102, BOBCATS 90
MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Love had 30 points and 18 rebounds and Minnesota handed Charlotte its 16th loss in a row.
Nikola Pekovic added 21 points and 11 rebounds in 43 minutes for Minnesota. The Timberwolves snapped a four-game skid of their own. Kemba Walker had 21 points and six rebounds, and Corey Maggette scored 18 points for the Bobcats, who have lost 22 of the last 23 games.
GRIZZLIES 105, NETS 100
NEWARK, N.J. — Rudy Gay scored 25 points, Tony Allen matched his season high with 21, and Marreese Speights added a season-high 20 points and a career-high 18 rebounds to help Memphis beat New Jersey, handing the error-prone Nets their season-high seventh straight loss.
Mike Conley had 16 points and 10 assists for Memphis. The Grizzlies have won four of their last five.
Deron Williams scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half for the Nets.
HAWKS 101, SUNS 99
PHOENIX — Josh Smith matched his season high with 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to rally Atlanta.
Smith, whose career best is 32, had 20 points and 12 rebounds in the second half to help Atlanta snap a two-game skid and win for the third time in eight games.
Steve Nash, back after a night off as the Suns played their third game in three days, had 22 points and 16 assists. Grant Hill, who also sat out Tuesday night in a loss at Denver, scored 18 points for Phoenix.
HORNETS 92, BUCKS 89
MILWAUKEE — Marco Belinelli made a career-high six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 22 points to lead short-handed New Orleans past Milwaukee.
Chris Kaman added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Gusvtavo Ayon had 12 points and 12 rebounds to help New Orleans (6-23) win consecutive games for the first time starting the season 2-0.
Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with a season-high 23 points.
Linn dishes 13 assists as Knicks win seventh straight
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