There were wins for injury-ravaged Detriot Pistons, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Detroit Pistons shook off a rash of injuries to extend their winning streak to a season-high five games with an 83-75 win over the New Jersey Nets last night.
All-Star Richard Hamilton sat out a third straight game due to a groin injury, forward Antonio McDyess was sidelined by a rib injury and centre Rasheed Wallace left early in the second quarter with a sore foot but strong defence and a fine second-half performance by Allen Iverson ensured that Detroit’s hot run continued.
The Pistons, who have allowed just 83.8 points per game during their winning streak, held the Nets to 11 points and forced four turnovers in the second quarter before Iverson got hot in the second half, when he made 17 of his 19 points.
The Nets were not helped by the loss of Vince Carter, who was ejected for the second time in his career after picking up back-to-back technical fouls in the second quarter. Carter had to be restrained by teammate Devin Harris and coach Lawrence Frank before leaving the floor.
The Orlando Magic moved to within two and a half games of the first-placed Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference with a 113-94 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Rashard Lewis scored 21 points, Hedo Turkoglu had 18 and Dwight Howard added 15 and 14 rebounds as the Magic ended 2009 in third place in the Eastern Conference and top of the Southeast Division.
Yao Ming had 22 points and 11 boards and All-Star guard Tracy McGrady chipped in with 10 assists and seven points despite struggling with a bad knee as the Houston Rockets held off a late comeback by the Milwaukee Bucks for an 85-81 win.
In Toronto, Nene collected 21 points and seven rebounds, Carmelo Anthony had 19 and Chauncey Billups added 16 points and seven assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 114-107 win over the Raptors.
Second-year forwards Kevin Durant and Jeff Green combined for 51 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped a five-game losing skid and claimed only their fourth win of the season with a 107-100 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Finally, Andre Iguodala scored 14 of his 28 points in the final seven minutes and added seven assists and seven rebounds to help the Philadelphia 76ers end a season-high four-game skid with a 100-92 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
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