Cavs end record losing streak: NBA Roundup

Antawn Jamison lead the Cavs with 35 points as Cleveland ended the NBA's longest losing streak with a 126-119 OT victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

It's over. Finally. Barely.

Nearly two months after it started innocently, the Cleveland Cavaliers stopped their NBA-record losing streak at 26 games Friday night with a 126-119 win in overtime against the Los Angeles Clippers, who did all they could to extend the Cavs' misery.

Cleveland won for the first time since Dec. 18, and had to go an extra five minutes to ensure it didn't set a record for the longest skid in pro sports history. The Cavs will gladly settle with tying the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the worst streak among the four major sports.

Antawn Jamison scored 35 points and made the game's biggest basket, a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in OT for the Cavs. Daniel Gibson scored 10 in overtime and J.J. Hickson, playing like a man possessed all night in a matchup with Blake Griffin, added 27 points and 14 rebounds.

The Clippers quickly cut a six-point deficit to 120-119 on Randy Foye's 3 with 44 seconds to go. But Jamison responded by popping outside and draining his 3 from the left wing to revive the hopes of Cleveland fans, whose emotions went up and down all night.

After Foye's 3 rattled in and out with 14 seconds remaining, Gibson was fouled and Clippers guard Baron Davis was ejected for arguing. Gibson made a technical and dropped two more free throws to put the Cavs up by seven. When Los Angeles misfired on its last trip, Cavs forward Jamario Moon grabbed the loose ball and held it high as the clock ticked off the precious last seconds.

76ers 77, Spurs 71

PHILADELPHIA —Jrue Holiday scored 27 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 77-71 victory over the league-best San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

Spencer Hawes added 13 points and Elton Brand tied his season high with 17 rebounds for the Sixers, who defeated the Spurs for the fourth consecutive season in Philadelphia.

Despite shooting poorly all night, the Sixers were able to fend off the Spurs and remain in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Sixers have won eight of their last 11 overall.

Tim Duncan had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Antonio McDyess added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.

Hornets 99, Magic 93

ORLANDO —Willie Green had 24 points and David West added 17 points and 17 rebounds as the New Orleans Hornets rallied to beat the Orlando Magic, 99-93.

The Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak, while Orlando's loss stopped a string of two straight wins. The Magic are now 5-6 since posting their last three-game winning streak last month.

Chris Paul added 15 points, Jarrett Jack had 13 and Trevor Ariza 10 for the Hornets.

The Magic erased a nine-point halftime deficit, but came up short down the stretch thanks to a slew of late turnovers. They had 16 for the game.

Dwight Howard led the way for Orlando with 20 points and 17 rebounds, and Hedo Turkoglu added 16. J.J. Redick and Earl Clark both chipped in 14 off the bench.

Nets 94, Bobcats 89

CHARLOTTE —Brook Lopez had 31 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, and the New Jersey Nets held off the sluggish Charlotte Bobcats 94-89 on Friday night to snap a 12-game road losing streak.

The Nets improved to 4-24 on the road as Lopez posted his first double-figure rebounding game since Dec. 1, leading an energized team that seemed to respond to coach Avery Johnson changing the travel schedule.

Devin Harris added 16 points and eight assists and Kris Humphries had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Nets, who raced to a 12-2 lead and never trailed in their second straight win.

Stephen Jackson scored 21 points and Gerald Wallace added 20 for the Bobcats, who have dropped six of eight.

Pacers 116, Timberwolves 105

INDIANAPOLIS —Dahntay Jones scored 17 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and the Indiana Pacers rallied to win for the sixth time in seven games under interim coach Frank Vogel with a 116-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Danny Granger also had 19 points for Indiana, which trailed by nine points in the second half.

Jones, who played sparingly under former coach Jim O'Brien, keyed the victory by making six of seven shots from the field —including 2 of 2 from 3-point range —as Indiana rallied from a seven-point deficit to start the fourth quarter.

Kevin Love finished with 22 points to lead Minnesota, which entered having won its last two.

Heat 106, Pistons 92

AUBURN HILLS —Dwyane Wade scored 24 points and LeBron James added 16 points and 10 assists, helping the streaking Miami Heat take over sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference with a 106-92 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.

Miami (39-14) has won eight straight games since losing five of six last month. The Heat entered the night tied atop the conference with Boston, which was off after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.

The Celtics host the Heat on Sunday.

Wade threw down an impressive alley-oop dunk from James in the first quarter to give his team a 16-7 lead. Although the Pistons trailed by only four after that quarter, Miami broke the game open with a 12-2 run to start the second.

Austin Daye scored 18 points for Detroit.

Lakers 113, Knicks 96

NEW YORK —Kobe Bryant scored 33 points in another effortless night at Madison Square Garden, and the Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 113-96 victory over the struggling New York Knicks on Friday night.

Bryant scored 19 points in the first quarter, and perhaps only the lopsided score kept him from recording a sixth 40-point game at the arena. He also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Pau Gasol added 20 points for the Lakers, who beat the Knicks for the eighth straight time overall and fifth in a row at the Garden, where Bryant owns the scoring record of 61 points that might've been in jeopardy if he played more than 29 minutes.

He sat on the bench in the fourth quarter, rising only to pump his fist a few times after baskets by teammates who were too good for the Knicks even without him.

Grizzles 89, Bucks 86

MEMPHIS —Mike Conley had 23 points, including a key three-pointer with 1:12 left, and eight assists as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Milwaukee Bucks 89-86 on Friday night.

Sam Young finished with 19 points and a career-high eight rebounds as Memphis gave coach Lionel Hollins his 100th victory. Rudy Gay had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Darrell Arthur added 12 points. Tony Allen scored 10.

Corey Maggette led the Bucks with 22 points, including 20 in the third quarter to help Milwaukee erase a first-half deficit. John Salmons had 18 points and six assists, while Brandon Jennings finished with 16 points.

Conley's three-pointer with the shot clock running down capped five unanswered points for Memphis, breaking a 77-all tie with 2:58 left.

Suns 95, Jazz 83

Steve Nash had 18 points and 10 assists to lift the Phoenix Suns over the Jazz 95-83 on Friday night in Utah's first game without Jerry Sloan as the head coach in more than 22 years.

The Suns (26-25), who have won four straight against Utah, moved above .500 for the first time since Dec. 7 with their sixth win in seven games, spoiling the debut of new Jazz coach Ty Corbin.

Deron Williams and CJ Miles each scored 19 points, but the short-handed Jazz have dropped 11 of 15.

Sloan was a fixture on the Utah bench for 26 years, 23 as a head coach —the longest active tenure in major American professional sports before he abruptly retired Thursday.

The Hall of Famer is the third-winningest coach in NBA history with a record of 1,221-803.