Bobcats fall short against Chicago

John Salmons scored 27 points, Joakim Noah added a career-high 21 points and had 16 rebounds, and the host Chicago Bulls defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 93-90 on Saturday night for their third straight win.

The Bulls had a 16-0 run in the third and fourth quarters that turned a nine-point deficit into a seven-point lead at 77-70. They hung on despite some shaky free-throw shooting, with Charlotte's Flip Murray, a former Shaw star, missing two 3-point attempts in the closing seconds.

Boris Diaw led Charlotte with 20 points.

Also Saturday

Celtics 86, Nets 76: Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce each scored 16 points, and visiting Boston bounced back from its first loss of the season to beat winless New Jersey.

Ray Allen came alive after three dismal quarters to score eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter for the Celtics (7-1), who lost 110-103 to Phoenix on Friday night and gave up 20 more points than in any previous game. Their defense was back Saturday - and it needed to be, because the Celtics couldn't shoot for most of the night.

Boston finished with 20 steals, five by Rondo, scoring 19 points off New Jersey's 24 turnovers.

Kevin Garnett shot 3-of-13 but added nine points and 13 rebounds to help the Celtics beat the Nets for the 10th straight time.

Brook Lopez scored 23 points for the Nets (0-7).

Hawks 125, Nuggets 100: Jamal Crawford scored 25 points, and Josh Smith had 22 points, nine rebounds, six blocked shots and seven assists for Atlanta.

Joe Johnson added 21 points, and Marvin Williams had 14.

Carmelo Anthony had 30 points for Denver, and Chauncey Billups added 25. The Nuggets have lost two straight after opening 5-0.

Late Friday

Lakers 114, Grizzlies 98: Kobe Bryant scored 41 points while becoming the youngest player to reach 24,000, leading short-handed host Los Angeles.

Ron Artest had 19 points and seven assists in the fourth straight win for the defending NBA champions, who played without injured big men Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

Trail Blazers 96, Spurs 84: Brandon Roy had 24 points and five rebounds, Steve Blake added 15 points and host Portland got a lift from its new-look lineup.

Richard Jefferson had 19 points, Manu Ginobili had 17 and Tim Duncan added 14 points and eight rebounds, but San Antonio lost Tony Parker to a sprained ankle.

Clippers 118, Warriors 90: Chris Kaman had 22 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes and visiting Los Angeles ended a seven-game losing streak in the Oakland Arena.

Rockets 105, Thunder 94: Trevor Ariza and Carl Landry scored 21 points apiece and host Houston extended its winning streak over the Oklahoma City franchise to 11.

Russell Westbrook scored 33 points and Kevin Durant added 27 for the Thunder.

Notes

Pistons' Prince has ruptured disk: The Detoit Pistons say forward Tayshaun Prince will be out of the lineup indefinitely with a small rupture of a disk in his lower back.

The team said Saturday that the injury was confirmed through an MRI and evaluation by team doctors this week. The Pistons say Prince will continue to receive treatment.

Net has swine flu: The New Jersey Nets say forward Chris Douglas-Roberts has swine flu.

Douglas-Roberts already had been sidelined with flu-like symptoms. Nets president Rod Thorn confirmed on Saturday that Douglas-Roberts tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

Iverson leaves Grizzlies: Disgruntled Memphis guard Allen Iverson returned to his home in Atlanta after receiving permission to leave the team to attend to personal business.

Team owner Michael Heisley gave the four-time NBA scoring leader permission to skip the Grizzlies' game Saturday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Latest Comment View all comments

Images