Clippers take 9-game winning streak into Detroit

(My Sportsbook) - The Los Angeles Clippers look to extend their longest winning streak in over 38 years on Monday night when they close out a four- game road trip versus the Detroit Pistons.

The Clippers logged their ninth straight win on Saturday night, besting the Milwaukee Bucks 111-85. It is the longest winning streak for the club in Clippers history and its best since it won a franchise-high 11 in a row from Nov. 3-23, 1974 as the Buffalo Braves.

Matt Barnes scored a season-high 21 points off the bench, while starters Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul all had double-doubles. Griffin had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Jordan notched 15 points and 11 boards and Paul finished with 10 points and 13 assists.

"I thought we played well tonight defensively. We forced a lot of turnovers and we limited them to one shot a lot of the times," Jordan said.

The Clippers, who haven't lost since Nov. 26 at home to the New Orleans Hornets, are 17-6 on the season, their best start through 23 games in franchise history. They surpassed the 16-7 start by the 1974-75 squad.

Los Angeles has won two straight and four of its last five versus Detroit, taking the lone matchup last season 87-83 in overtime at home.

Griffin had a tip-in with 19.2 seconds left in regulation that forced overtime and Paul's bucket gave the Clippers a one-point edge in overtime. Detroit missed on its next possession and had to foul.

Paul ended with 19 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds for Los Angeles, which has won two in a row in Detroit since an eight-game series road losing streak.

Greg Monroe paced the Pistons with 23 points and 15 rebounds last season versus the Clippers and leads his club this season with 15.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

Monroe had 18 points and eight rebounds on Saturday versus the visiting Indiana Pacers, but the Pistons couldn't overcome 23 points by David West in an 88-77 setback.

The Pistons trailed by just two with 8:59 to play, but the Pacers ripped off an 11-0 run that spanned nearly six minutes.

"It came out to be a grind game in the last eight minutes, and they did what they do best. They win grind games," Pistons center Andre Drummond said. "They're a great team and David West hit a lot of tough shots. It was a learning game for us today."

Rodney Stuckey had 15 points and seven assists in defeat, Detroit's fourth straight both overall and at home, while Brandon Knight ended with 14 points.

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Denver crushes Kings

Sacramento, CA (My Sportsbook) - JaVale McGee led six Denver players in double figures with 19 points as the Nuggets stomped the Sacramento Kings, 122-97, on Sunday.

Danilo Gallinari had 18 points and Jordan Hamilton added 15 for the Nuggets, winners in three of their last four.

Andre Iguodala had 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists while Ty Lawson dropped in 11 points to go with seven assists. Kosta Koufus posted 12 points and seven rebounds in the win.

Isaiah Thomas finished with 20 points while DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson each registered a double-double for the Kings, who have dropped four straight. Cousins had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Thompson finished with 16 points and 10 boards in the setback.

The teams traded blows over the first few minutes of the first quarter, but a 20-7 burst put Denver up 28-15 with 1:38 left in the frame. Sacramento, though, outscored the Nuggets 8-4 the rest of the way and trailed 32-23 after the first 12 minutes.

Denver opened the second quarter with a 10-2 run to go up 42-25 just three minutes into the stanza. Francisco Garcia's 3-pointer pulled the Kings within 45-32, but the Nuggets outscored Sacramento 19-14 over the final seven minutes of the first half and led 64-46 at the break.

The Nuggets led 97-67 after three quarters and cruised to the easy win despite being outscored 30-25 in the fourth.

Denver shot 54.1 percent from the floor and held the Kings to just 34.1 percent shooting.

"I think the energy was good, but the defense I think motivated us to play the right way the whole game," Nuggets coach George Karl said.

Game Notes

Denver outscored Sacramento 64-38 in points in the paint ... Thomas Robinson had 10 points for the Kings ... Sacramento guard Tyreke Evans left the game after the second quarter with a sore left knee.

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Kobe outshines Young as Lakers beat Sixers

Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - Kobe Bryant returned to his hometown and dropped a game-high 34 points while handing out six assists as the Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 111-98 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday at Wells Fargo Center.

Dwight Howard netted 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds, while Darius Morris scored 15 points on 5-of-8 from the floor for Los Angeles, which has won back-to-back games since losing four in a row.

Metta World Peace donated 19 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, while former Sixer Jodie Meeks added 12 points in the victory.

Nick Young scored a season-high 30 points, while Evan Turner contributed 16 points and six assists for Philadelphia, which played without point guard Jrue Holiday for the second consecutive game due to a foot injury.

Spencer Hawes and Thaddeus Young gave 16 and 14 points, respectively, in the setback, the Sixers' third in a row.

After a back-and-forth first quarter which featured six lead changes and five ties, Los Angeles scored the final five points of the frame to snag a 28-24 lead.

Despite being down by four after one, Philadelphia shot 55 percent from the floor. The Sixers were done in by the long ball, though, as Los Angeles shot 6-of-10 from beyond the arc in the session.

The Lakers continued their outrageously hot shooting in the second quarter, hitting 12-of-18 from the floor and making 4-of-5 shots from 3-point range in the period.

A driving slam by Dorell Wright cut Philadelphia's deficit to five with 8:37 to play in the half, but Meeks later buried a deep trey with 6:01 on the clock, lifting the Lakers to a 46-35 advantage.

Philadelphia cut it to single digits on three occasions, but LA was firmly in control at the break, holding a 60-50 margin.

Los Angeles continued to play the front-runners for the duration of the third stanza, and a 21-footer by Meeks with 2:27 to play in the frame gave the visitors an 83-66 advantage.

Young came up with a steal and a run-out layup at the tail end of the quarter to slice the deficit to 12, but the Lakers regrouped and led 87-73 heading into the final stanza.

Hawes buried his second 3-ball of the night early in the fourth to pull the Sixers within 91-82, but the home side could not get any closer and Los Angeles led by as many as 18 down the stretch.

Game Notes

Los Angeles completed a four-game road trip at 2-2 ... The Lakers improved to 8-2 in their last 10 matchups against Philadelphia ... Lakers forward Pau Gasol missed his eighth straight game with knee tendinitis ... The Lakers finished 14-of-34 from beyond the arc, including 10-of-15 in the first half ... Philadelphia shot 49.4 percent from the floor, but turned the ball over 18 times which led to 16 Lakers points.

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Aldridge, Blazers beat up Raptors

Portland, OR (My Sportsbook) - LaMarcus Aldridge recorded a double-double with 30 points and 12 rebounds, as the Portland Trail Blazers handled the Toronto Raptors, 92-74.

J.J. Hickson added 16 points and 11 boards for the Blazers, who have won eight straight against Toronto. Nolan Smith and Sasha Pavlovic had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Portland won Monday's game without the services of forward Nicolas Batum (back) and guard Wesley Matthews (hip flexor).

"I thought Sasha Pavlovic played a terrific game -- defensively more than anything else, but he played heavy minutes and I thought he did a terrific job defensively and offensively. Obviously, LaMarcus did everything we needed from him," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "I thought it was a really good team win. We got a lot of good effort from a lot of people."

DeMar DeRozan ended with 20 points for the Raptors, who went winless on a five-game road trip to fall to 1-14 away from home this season. Ed Davis and Jose Calderon donated 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Toronto center Andrea Bargnani hurt his right elbow in the first quarter. X- rays came back negative. The Raptors also lost guard Kyle Lowry to a right triceps injury.

"He (Bargnani) landed on his elbow and lost feeling in his hand," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "We'll have to wait and see tomorrow how it is."

The Raptors held a 19-18 lead following a tight first quarter that featured seven lead changes and three ties.

With the score tied at 38 with 3:23 left in the second stanza, Portland closed out the half on a 6-2 spurt. Luke Babbitt's 22-foot jumper at the buzzer gave the Blazers a 44-40 edge at the break.

Holding a 49-46 lead with 9:24 remaining in the third frame, Portland put together a 13-2 run to create some distance. Aldridge and Hickson each tallied five points during the surge to make it a 62-48 game.

Toronto stayed in the game by scoring the final nine points of the quarter, which cut the gap to 64-59.

Ahead by seven, 75-68, with 6:30 to play, the Blazers went on an 8-0 spurt to pull away. Babbitt's slam, Pavlovic's layup, Damian Lillard's two free throws and Hickson's alley-oop dunk made it an 83-68 contest.

Game Notes

Toronto's Amir Johnson was ejected in the third quarter for arguing with an official ... The Raptors went 3-for-21 from beyond the arc, while the Blazers failed to make a 3-pointer on 20 attempts ... Matthews missed a game for the first time in his four-year NBA career. He had played in 250 straight games.

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Hornets' Davis set to return on Tuesday

New Orleans, LA (My Sportsbook) - New Orleans Hornets forward Anthony Davis is expected to play for the first time in nearly a month Tuesday when the Hornets host the Washington Wizards.

Davis, the first overall pick in June's draft, has missed the last 11 games with a stress reaction in his left ankle. New Orleans is just 2-9 since Davis last played on Nov. 17.

"It was tough because you want to be on the floor," Davis remarked at the team's shootaround on Tuesday. "Sitting out 11 games is tough, but it's good to be back."

In six games this season, the 19-year-old Kentucky product has averaged 16.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per contest.

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Wizards, Hornets collide in the Big Easy

(My Sportsbook) - Either the Washington Wizards or the New Orleans Hornets will end a losing streak on Tuesday night when the two teams meet in the Big Easy.

The Wizards have dropped two in a row since their upset of the defending champion Miami Heat one week ago Tuesday. They lost in Atlanta and fell at home to the Golden State Warriors 101-97 on Saturday.

In that setback, the Wiz lost starting point guard A.J. Price in the first quarter with a fractured right hand. He is out of the lineup and Price was only the starter because John Wall is still on the shelf with a knee injury.

In Price's absence, Shaun Livingston is expected to get the start, but Washington is considering all options.

"We're looking at different scenarios," acknowledged head coach Randy Wittman. "We haven't done anything, don't know when, or if, we will do anything, but we're looking at different options, different people."

Wittman conceded that they brought some players in as possible replacements.

Against the Warriors, the Wizards were done in by a poor first quarter. Washington lost the opening frame 28-21 and ultimately fell by four. The Wizards only committed eight turnovers and were led by 22 from Jordan Crawford off the bench.

The Hornets have dropped three in a row, including a Saturday loss to the Heat by a 106-90 score. The three losses came at the expense of very good NBA Championship contenders, the Heat, the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Hornets struggled in the second quarter against the Heat. Miami out-paced New Orleans 33-15 before the half and that proved to be enough.

"There was bad stuff in both quarters to start the game defensively," said head coach Monty Williams. "The first half, I think our young guys were in awe and that's natural."

Ryan Anderson once again led the way for the Hornets with 24 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the 3-point line. Robin Lopez added 20 points and eight rebounds.

The Hornets allowed over 100 points for the third time in the last five games. The poor defensive performance has forced Williams to make some decisions.

"We should get some help when we get Anthony Davis back sometime next week and I may have to make another change," Williams said. "Because our guards aren't guarding the ball defensively the way that we need to."

The Wizards, who play their next two away from home and are the only winless road team in the NBA, have won two of their last three in New Orleans.

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Pistons welcome Nuggets to the Palace

(My Sportsbook) - So far the Denver Nuggets' road trip has been a rocky one and they are set to play back-to-back games, starting with Tuesday's showdown with the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Nuggets are 1-2 on a five-game sojourn and dropped a 112-106 decision against the New York Knicks Sunday night. Denver had to deal with the return of Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony, who netted 34 points after missing two straight games with a laceration on his finger.

Ty Lawson led six Denver players in double figures with 23 points to go along with six assists and four rebounds. Danilo Gallinari had 21 points and nine boards, while Andre Iguodala and Corey Brewer both scored 15 points in the setback, Denver's fifth in the past seven games.

"We have to learn how to finish games better," Gallinari said.

Denver was outscored 32-22 in the fourth quarter and committed 16 turnovers, which led to 22 points for the hosts. On a positive note, the Nuggets posted 25 fastbreak points and are averaging 19.6 fastbreak points in their past nine contests.

The Nuggets are 5-10 away from the Pepsi Center this season and will close out the road swing Wednesday in Minnesota.

Detroit suffered a 104-97 loss in Philadelphia Monday night as Greg Monroe and Brandon Knight scored 22 points apiece in a losing cause.

Rodney Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince netted 19 and 16 points, respectively, for the Pistons, who lost for the fifth time in their last seven tries and shot 39.5 percent for the game.

Detroit did pull within 98-95, but couldn't hit the shots it needed down the stretch. It had a 49-46 halftime lead until the Sixers opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run.

"We had some great looks at the rim that unfortunately didn't go in," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said.

The Pistons are back at home, where they have lost two straight and own a 5-5 record. The Pistons are 1-10 when allowing 100 points this season and are quite strong on the defensive end, yielding 97.1 ppg. Denver is averaging 100.7 ppg this season -- ninth in the NBA.

Denver defeated Detroit 109-97 back on Nov. 6 this season at the Pepsi Center and has won five straight in the series. The Nuggets, though, haven't had much success at The Palace, losing 14 of the last 15 matchups there.

The Nuggets snapped a 14-game slide in Auburn Hills with a 109-100 win on Jan. 26, 2011.

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