NBA Capsules: Spurs set Popovich-era record against Warriors

SAN ANTONIO — The Golden State Warriors have lost 24 consecutive times in San Antonio, but they’ve never seen anything here like this.

Ditto for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

Scoring the most points in a game in nearly 20 years, the Spurs throttled the Golden State Warriors 147-116 on Friday night in the most points scored under Popovich since he took over in 1996. Manu Ginobili scored 23 points, and Richard Jefferson had 21 for the Spurs, who’ve won nine of their last 11.

"The win is more important than the points," Spurs guard George Hill said.

It was nonetheless impressive.

Not since a 140-91 win against Dallas to open the 1991-92 season had the Spurs scored so many points in a single game.

Monta Ellis scored 39 points for the Warriors, who haven’t won in San Antonio since Valentine’s Day in 1997 and whose defense was dreadful even by their NBA-worst standards. The Spurs shot 65 percent from the field and flirted with eclipsing 70 before emptying their bench for the entire fourth quarter.

The Warriors didn’t dwell much on the blowout.

"Got another one tomorrow, so I’m not worrying about this," Ellis said. "I’m glad it’s over with."

It was over even earlier for Don Nelson. The Golden State coach was ejected late in the late first quarter for apparently arguing a foul called against C.J. Watson, earning Nelson two quick technicals.

Assistant coach Keith Smart took over from there, but he declined after the game to elaborate on what happened. The Warriors didn’t have answers, either.

"It’s mind-boggling," said Corey Maggette, who scored 30 points.

Livid as Nelson was with referee Matt Boland, few at the AT&T Center seemed to notice Nelson’s ejection — fans were distracted while giving a standing ovation to gold medal bobsledder Justin Olsen.

The Spurs looked practically Olympic-caliber thanks to the lowly Warriors.

After scoring just 84 points in a loss to Orlando on Wednesday, the Spurs already had 77 on the scoreboard by halftime against Golden State.

The eye-popping numbers didn’t stop there.

The Spurs led 121-90 at the end of the third quarter — just 10 points shy of their previous single-game high this season. San Antonio missed just three shots in the third and already had a season-high 34 assists by then, and finished the game with 39.

Tim Duncan had 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting, but most importantly played just 14 minutes. The Spurs will need their 33-year-old All-Star as fresh as possible for what’s ahead: their toughest five-game stretch of the season, starting with Atlanta on Sunday.

From there, the Spurs will face Oklahoma City, the Lakers, Cleveland and Boston. Even though the Spurs are playing one of their best stretches of the season, they’re still fighting to move up from the seventh spot in the playoff picture.

The Spurs are looking at the standings. But Popovich said that’s about it.

"It’s a waste of time to want and desire (to move up)," Popovich said. "Go play, and you are where you are."

Reggie Williams had 15 points, and Watson had 11 for the Warriors, who played again without Stephen Curry. The rookie missed his second straight game because of a sprained left ankle after being the lone Warriors player to appear in every game this season before this week.

NOTES: The previous record for points scored under Popovich was 136 in a double-overtime win against — guess who — Golden State in April 2005... The Spurs franchise record for points in regulation is 163 set against the then-San Diego Clippers in 1978. ... The Spurs never trailed.

Pierce, Allen lead Celtics past Rockets

HOUSTON — No matter where Aaron Brooks ran Friday night, Rajon Rondo seemed to follow him. And when Houston’s speedy point guard found space, another Boston Celtic seemed to step in front of him.

Paul Pierce scored 26 points, Ray Allen hit five 3-pointers and had 19 points, and the Celtics snapped Houston’s four-game winning streak with a 94-87 victory.

Rondo had 10 assists for the Celtics, who smothered Brooks and held the Rockets to 39.5 percent shooting (30 of 76). Brooks, coming off consecutive 31-point games, was held to 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting and had a streak of games with a 3-pointer stopped at 39.

"I just wanted to make him take contested shots," Rondo said. "I didn’t want to leave him open tonight. I just tried to send him in with the big guys. Not just me, but they did a great job as well."

Brooks needed a driving layup with 2:14 left to extend his streak of double-digit scoring games to 39.

"We’ve just got to run our sets," Brooks said. "Their guards are pretty good at denying the ball. Besides that, their big guys are an excellent rotating team."

Boston remained tied with Atlanta for third place in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks beat Charlotte on Friday night.

The Celtics improved to 23-12 on the road, compared to 21-12 at home.

"The road is hostile," Garnett said. "You expect the worst, and that’s what it is. Maybe we’re too confident at home."

Luis Scola and Kevin Martin scored 17 points apiece for the Rockets, who’ve lost their last four home games against Boston.

"They played a pretty intense game," Scola said. "They were focused, they knew what to do. They were talking a lot, and communicating between themselves. They were just ready to play."

Boston trailed early, then hit nine of its last 14 shots of the first quarter to take a 28-24 lead.

The Celtics’ reserves held Houston scoreless for the first 3 minutes of the second quarter and extended the lead to nine. Chase Budinger’s dunk with 8:23 left in the half snapped a string of 11 straight misses for the Rockets.

Scola, who led Houston with 13 first-half points, left with his third foul with 2 minutes left before halftime. Brooks, guarded well by Rondo most of the night, had only two points at the break on 1-for-3 shooting.

Houston shot 32.5 percent (13 of 40) in the first half and trailed 50-41.

"We kept everybody intact for the most part," Garnett said of Boston’s defense. "It was just a collective effort. We needed that with a team like this."

Allen, Garnett and Pierce combined for 28 points in the first half.

Pierce went to the bench with his fourth foul early in the third quarter, and the Rockets launched an 11-2 spurt. Brooks tipped in a Scola miss before Martin and Trevor Ariza hit consecutive 3s to tie it at 52.

Allen hit three 3-pointers over the next 4 minutes, but Martin and Ariza converted steals into breakaways to keep Houston close. But the Rockets missed their last five shots of the third quarter, and Boston stretched it to 72-62 by the start of the fourth.

The Celtics shot 50 percent from the field (9 of 18) and 3-point range (4 of 8) in the third quarter. Boston finished with 25 assists on 37 field goals, and Allen said the smooth offense fed into the stingy defense on Friday.

"Executing offensively, that’s been our Achilles’ heel, when we’ve been bad," Allen said. "With bad offense, you put teams in transition, and we don’t give our defense a chance."

Kyle Lowry replaced the ineffective Brooks in the final quarter, and the Rockets cut the deficit to four with 8 minutes remaining. Pierce scored inside, then hit two free throws with 7:23 left to put Boston up 79-71.

He sank back-to-back 3s to give the Celtics an 88-77 lead with about 5 minutes left, and fans started filing for the exits.

NOTES: The Rockets are 0-9 when they score fewer than 90 points this season. ... Pierce played in his 871st game with Boston, tying Sam Jones for ninth on the Celtics’ career list. ... The Celtics and Rockets were playing for the first time this season. They will meet again in Boston on April 2. ... Houston F Jordan Hill blocked a career-high five shots. ... The Celtics were 10 for 23 from 3-point range.

-- Chris Duncan

Nets’ Harris and Yi expected back on Saturday

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New Jersey Nets are getting reinforcements in their bid to avoid the worst record in NBA history.

Point guard Devin Harris and power forward Yi Jianlian practiced Friday and both said they will play for the Nets (7-61) on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors at the Izod Center.

Harris has missed the last two games with an upper respiratory infection. Yi has missed the last six with a sprained left ankle.

"Yi made it through practice. Devin made it through practice, so at this point I think we will have everyone," interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe said.

The Nets need to win three of their final 14 games to avoid tying or breaking the league’s record for single-season futility, a 9-73 mark set by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1972-73.

New Jersey has lost six in a row, including dreadful efforts in losses to Atlanta and Philadelphia in its last two games.

The team spent time Friday watching the performances, maybe as punishment.

"The effort just has to be there," Harris said. "I think the wins and losses will take care of itself. We have to play hard enough in order to win these games. We, at points in time, play for 39 minutes, maybe 41 and sometimes 47, but we need to give those 48 minutes."

Harris said there are guys who are not playing as much as they want, but they also need to give maximum effort when they play.

Harris said there has been more talk about the dubious record in recent weeks, but the team is trying to focus on one game at a time.

Without Harris, the Nets played two horrible games, especially the game in Philadelphia.

"That was not a pretty sight," Harris said. "We watched a little bit today in the film room. We didn’t bring it transition wise. We got beat all night long. It’s tough to win when you give up so many transition points."

Vandeweghe said he wanted to see how Yi felt at Saturday’s morning shoot-around before deciding whether he would start and how much he will play.

Yi, who wore an ice bag on his ankle after Friday’s workout, said it took him a little extra time to warm up but once he got going he was OK.

"I feel pretty good," Yi said, adding he expects to play on Saturday.

The better scenario for Yi would be to start, since he would be warmed up entering the game.

The return of Harris also should help center Brook Lopez, who has struggled the past few games on offense without the team’s star point guard dishing to him.

"Teams have been a little bit more aware (of him)," Harris said. "He’s been more of the focal point of the offense. His catches aren’t as deep as they were earlier in the year. It’s probably both on myself and him — it’s kind of a partnership that way.

"We need to make more of a conscious effort that when he has deep position, we need to give him the ball regardless of if he has an open shot or not. He’s our focal point in the paint. We need to first and foremost try to get him going and try and get the rest of the guys going."

-- Tom Canavan

Pistons’ Stuckey will be monitored in return

INDIANAPOLIS — Detroit guard Rodney Stuckey is eager to start playing basketball again.

He’d just rather not talk about anything else.

Stuckey was expected to return to action Friday night in Indiana, his first game action since collapsing on the bench two weeks ago.

"I’ll play a little bit tonight just to see where I’m at," Stuckey said before the game. "I just don’t like talking about it. That’s just how it is. That’s just how I am. I mean it happened, it’s over."

The Pistons aren’t just going to move on, though.

No, Stuckey will not be subject to any limitations on playing time coach John Kuester said before the game, but the team will try to help Stuckey ease his way back into playing shape.

"He’s a full-go, but it’s a situation that when he comes off the bench we’re going to monitor him," Kuester said. "He hasn’t played full bore for two weeks, so your wind is going to be a little different."

Doctors cleared Stuckey for exercise last week after extensive cardiac tests. Last season, Stuckey missed two games after experiencing dizziness.

His return adds another body to the Pistons’ rotation, something that should help the Pistons as they try to snap a three-game losing streak. The Pistons have won just two of their past 12 games.

Stuckey is Detroit’s second-leading scorer with 17.1 points per game.

He’s not the only player expected to return Friday night.

The Pacers are expected to have All-Star forward Danny Granger back in the starting lineup, just two days after the team announced he would be out indefinitely after taking a shot to his upper right cheek in Tuesday night against Charlotte.

Granger, Indiana’s top scorer at 23.1 points, missed Wednesday night’s game in Cleveland.

"He’s ready to go, he sure is," coach Jim O’Brien told reporters before the game.

Ilgauskas back in Cleveland area

AVON, Ohio — Zydrunas Ilgauskas is back in the Cleveland area three days before he is eligible to re-sign with the Cavaliers.

Ilgauskas declined to comment to The Associated Press on Friday following a workout at a suburban gym.

His agent, Herb Rudoy, told the AP in an e-mail that he will talk to Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry next week about returning the 7-foot-3 center to Cleveland. The first day he can re-sign is Monday.

"You’ll have to ask Danny Ferry," coach Mike Brown said Friday night before the Cavs’ game at Chicago, when asked about Ilgauskas returning. "We’d certainly love to have him back, but he’s not on our roster."

The Cavaliers traded Ilgauskas to Washington at the NBA’s trade deadline as part of a three-team deal that brought Antawn Jamison and Sebastian Telfair to Cleveland. Ilgauskas’ contract was bought out by the Wizards, making him a free agent.

James becomes youngest to 15,000 points

CHICAGO — LeBron James became the youngest player to score 15,000 points, breaking Kobe Bryant’s mark by more than two years in the first quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 92-85 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.

James had 29 points against the Bulls to push his total to 15,026.

Three points shy of the milestone when the night began, James soared in for a hard right-handed dunk on a break about 4:40 into the game. He then hit two free throws about 40 seconds later, giving him 15,001 career points

James reached the milestone at 25 years, 79 days, and he did it in his 540th game. Bryant was 27 years, 136 days and playing his 657th game, according to STATS LLC, when he did it for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Deng to miss 2 to 3 more weeks

CHICAGO — Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng could miss two to three more weeks because of a strained right calf, putting his status for the rest of the season in question.

Deng, averaging 18.0 points, missed his fifth straight game Friday night when Chicago played Cleveland after re-injuring his calf earlier in the week in Dallas. Coach Vinny Del Negro says Deng’s calf locked up while jogging and an MRI showed more fluid than there was previously.

The Bulls also were without All-Star point guard Derrick Rose, who missed his fourth straight because of a sprained left wrist he sustained in a collision with Orlando’s Dwight Howard. He is a gametime decision for Saturday at Philadelphia, as is center Joakim Noah, who has missed the past 10 games with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Del Negro says Noah will get limited minutes "at most" if he’s able to play.

The injuries come at the worst possible time for the fading Bulls, who have dropped nine in a row during a tough stretch in the schedule.

Knicks’ Lee sidelined by right knee tendinitis

NEW YORK — David Lee missed the New York Knicks’ game against Philadelphia on Friday night because of right knee tendinitis.

The Knicks announced the All-Star center was out minutes before the start of the game. It was the first missed game this season for Lee, who leads the team with 20.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.

With Eddy Curry still not ready to play because of a sore right calf, the Knicks gave Jonathan Bender his first start since March 21, 2003, as the center. The Knicks also were without starting forward Wilson Chandler (sore left groin).

The Knicks listed Lee as day to day.

Warriors’ Nelson ejected in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO — Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson was ejected in the first quarter against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

Nelson was tossed with 2:42 left after apparently arguing a foul called on guard C.J. Watson during a timeout. Nelson picked up two quick technicals while squawking with referee Matt Boland.

The Spurs were leading 32-26. Assistant coach Keith Smart took over for Nelson.

Few fans at the AT&T Center caught Nelson’s ejection. The crowd was giving a standing ovation at the time to gold medal Olympian bobsledder Justin Olsen.

Johnson returns to Hawks lineup

ATLANTA — Atlanta Hawks scoring leader Joe Johnson started against the Charlotte Bobcats after missing two games because of Achilles’ tendinitis.

Johnson ranks 11th in the league with his average of 21.5 points per game. The four-time All-Star also leads Atlanta with 4.7 assists per game.

The Hawks split the two games without Johnson.

Livingston signs with Wizards for rest of season

WASHINGTON — Guard Shaun Livingston has signed with the Washington Wizards for the rest of the season after playing through a pair of 10-day contracts.

Livingston originally joined Washington on Feb. 26.

He has played 10 games for the Wizards, including two starts, and is averaging 4.9 points and 3.3 assists in 15½ minutes.

Washington is 21-45 and on a nine-game losing streak heading into its game at against the Trail Blazers in Portland on Friday night.