No time to savor wins or dwell on losses in the Western Conference. Not when there’s usually another big game the next night.
That’s the way Golden State has to look at things after its 116-92 loss at San Antonio on Tuesday night. That dropped the Warriors out of the top eight in the West, but instead of worrying too much about that, they were already looking ahead to Wednesday’s visit to Dallas.
The Mavericks – who upgraded Dirk Nowitzki to day to day on Tuesday – are seventh in the West, a game ahead of the ninth-place Warriors.
“It’s just like last year – it’s just that we have a better record this year, but we’re still fighting to get in the playoffs like last year,” Warriors forward Stephen Jackson said. “This one was definitely tough, but we’re a tough team. We’ve got another game tomorrow and we’ve got to be ready to play that one. We still have a chance to get in and our focus is getting in.”
Denver rebounded in a big way from Monday’s 132-117 loss to Phoenix by beating the Suns 126-120 in the back end of their home-and-home series. That moved the Nuggets into eighth place, but it’s not like they’re getting giddy.
“One loss and you’re back down the totem pole,” Denver’s J.R. Smith said. “We can’t be too excited about this. We’ve got to just keep playing our game.”
In other NBA games, it was: New Orleans 98, Orlando 97; Philadelphia 108, New Jersey 99; Milwaukee 119, New York 115 in overtime; Detroit 94, Minnesota 90; Boston 106, Chicago 92; and Sacramento 99, Houston 98.
Allen Iverson scored 31 points to lead Denver, which blew a 22-point lead Monday in Phoenix. Carmelo Anthony grabbed two key rebounds and sank two free throws in the final 27 seconds and finished with 25 points. Kenyon Martin chipped in 18 points and Smith had 17.
Leandro Barbosa led the Suns with 27 points but missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it with 15 seconds left. The teams combined for a half dozen individual technicals, four of them on the Suns, who lost guard Raja Bell to an ejection after he picked up two.
“Sometimes you get heated, sometimes it’s emotional,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said. “This is not a regular-season game. For them, it’s do or die. For us, it’s do or die.”
At San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 26 points in the Spurs’ eighth straight victory. Tim Duncan added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili scored 16 points as the Spurs remained percentage points behind West leader New Orleans.
Monta Ellis scored 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting and had five turnovers for the Warriors. Jackson was just 2-for-12 from the field for six points, well below his 20-plus scoring average, in Golden State’s 20th straight loss in San Antonio since the Spurs drafted Duncan in 1997.
“The shots they were giving us we could not make. I thought they were good shots for us,” Golden State coach Don Nelson said. “And we had two of our best players, both of them had their worst games of the year. We’re going to have a hard time winning when that happens.”
Hornets 98, Magic 97
At Orlando, Fla., Peja Stojakovic hit a 3-pointer and three free throws in the final minute to lift New Orleans to its franchise-record 24th road victory.
Chris Paul had 19 points and 12 assists for the Hornets, Morris Peterson scored 19 points and David West had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Hedo Turkoglu had 26 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Orlando. Rashard Lewis added 24 points and Dwight Howard had 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Kings 99, Rockets 98
At Sacramento, Calif., Ron Artest scored 30 points, Kevin Martin added 27 and Sacramento dealt a blow to Houston’s chances of winning the Southwest Division.
The Rockets (49-25) fell 2 1/2 games behind New Orleans and San Antonio in the division race with only eight games remaining, hurting their chances of hosting a first-round playoff series.
Tracy McGrady scored 32 to lead Houston, but missed a jumper at the buzzer that would have won it. The Rockets have lost five of eight since a franchise-record 22-game winning streak.
76ers 108, Nets 99
At East Rutherford, N.J., Lou Williams hit three consecutive baskets in the final 3:47, and surprising Philadelphia posted its 20th win in 27 games.
Andre Miller had 24 points, 11 assists and five rebounds, while Andre Iguodala added 17 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for Philadelphia. The 76ers (38-37) snapped a two-game losing streak and pulled within a half game of idle Washington and Toronto in the three-way fight for playoff positions 5-7 in the Eastern Conference.
The Nets’ third straight loss dropped them 3 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the conference. Vince Carter had 29 points to lead New Jersey.
Celtics 106, Bulls 92
At Chicago, Ray Allen scored 22 points and Boston moved a step closer to the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Kevin Garnett scored 20 points and blocked four shots and Paul Pierce added 17 points for Boston, which won its fourth straight and remained six games ahead of Detroit in the conference standings.
Chicago continued to fade from the playoff picture, despite getting a season-high 24 points from Tyrus Thomas.
Pistons 94, Timberwolves 90
At Minneapolis, with stars Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton sitting out to rest for the playoffs, rookie Rodney Stuckey scored a career-high 27 points to help Detroit overcome a 21-point deficit.
Minnesota’s Al Jefferson had 26 points and seven rebounds, but only managed 12 shots while being hounded by double- and triple-teams.
Bucks 119, Knicks 115, OT
At Milwaukee, Michael Redd finished with 36 points and Bobby Simmons added a season-high 24 as the Bucks snapped a four-game losing streak.
Andrew Bogut, who missed the past two games because of a broken nose, chipped in with 24 points and 13 rebounds for Milwaukee.
Quentin Richardson scored 22 points and Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford each added 19. The Knicks lost their fifth straight road game and are 2-15 in their past 17 overall.
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