NBA Capsules: Spurs beat Clippers for 16th straight time

SAN ANTONIO — George Hill was a scorer and distributor for the San Antonio Spurs, and then a player-coach briefly as well.

Hill had 14 points and a career-high 11 assists to help the Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers for the 16th straight time, 118-88 Saturday night.

With the Spurs up by 25 midway through the fourth quarter, coach Gregg Popovich called timeout and handed the clipboard to Hill, who had exited the game for good with 2:41 left in the third.

"Sometimes it’s good to let the players do some of the coaching," Popovich said. "It makes them think a little bit and really give them confidence in what we’re doing as a group.

"(Hill) didn’t really draw up a play. He was showing (newcomer) Cedric Jackson about the defensive error that was made on a double-team in the post. But he does get the credit (for Roger Mason’s subsequent field goal) because after that he said, ‘Pop, what play do you want to run?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know, whatever you want."’

Manu Ginobili and All-Star forward Tim Duncan saw little playing time after the first quarter. Ginobili had 14 points in 19 minutes, and Duncan totaled eight — all in the first 6:23 of the game — in 13.

Hill had eight assists in the first quarter as the Spurs sprinted to a 32-18 lead. He surpassed his previous career-best nine assists just before halftime. He said Popovich’s goal is for Hill to be more like Avery Johnson, a former Spurs point guard who went on to become an NBA coach.

"I didn’t call a play," Hill said. "I tried to keep it very simple: Run angles and rolls. When you don’t know something, keep it simple; don’t try and do too much."

Matt Bonner scored 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting to lead the Spurs, who have the longest winning streak by one team against another. Richard Jefferson added 18 points and nine rebounds.

The Spurs (39-25), winners of three straight and six of seven, moved into sixth place in the Western Conference by .003 over the idle Phoenix Suns (40-26). Fourteen of San Antonio

s remaining 18 games are against teams with .500-or-better records, compared to eight of 16 for Phoenix.

Baron Davis scored 18 of his team-high 22 points in the first half for the Clippers, who last defeated the Spurs in March 2006. The loss was Los Angeles’ 15th straight in San Antonio, dating back to January 2002.

"Oh, man. You know, they just own us," Davis said. "They own us in discipline and their focus. They know that they’ll outlast us.

"We’re not coming to the gym with the right mentality and it’s starting to show. We have to change that. Everybody on the Spurs scored. Everybody shared the ball. We just got to a better job. That’s all I got to say. I ain’t got nothing else to say. We have to do a better job of playing with some heart and passion."

Bonner summed up the Spurs’ night late in the third period when he hit a baseline jumper that went over the top of the backboard from behind. By the 1:40 mark of the quarter, each of the Spurs’ starters was done for the night.

"I practiced that shot a thousand times at the Concord (N.H.) YMCA," Bonner said. "It was perfect because I had to shoot it — the shot clock was running down. Since I’ve been playing basketball since the second grade, I’ve never made that shot in a game."

DeAndre Jordan summed up the Clippers’ night with an airball on a free-throw attempt with less than a minute left.

"We probably had four guys compete tonight. That’s not enough," Clippers coach Kim Hughes said. "Whether they think the season is done, whether they’re going for points, whatever’s going on with them has to change, because we’re not done. It’s still a teaching process. I don’t intend to let it happen that we’re going to play like that. If it’s going to play like that, then minutes will have to be adjusted. It’s just not fair."

The Spurs rolled to a 22-point lead late in the second quarter before settling for a 65-48 lead at the break despite not attempting their first free throw until Hill’s with 2:02 remaining in the half.

The Clippers closed the gap to 13 with a brief flurry to open the second half, but San Antonio regained control and carried a 90-68 lead into the final period.

San Antonio took the lead for good at 6-5 on a layup by Ginobili.

NOTES: The Spurs on Saturday signed Garrett Temple from the Rio Grande Vipers of the NBA Developmental League to a 10-day contract. Temple, who has seen NBA time this season with the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings, is the fourth former D-League player on the current Spurs roster, joining Malik Hairston, Cedric Jackson and Ian Mahinmi. ... The Spurs are 6-6 in second games of back-to-backs, but have won their past three. ... Tony Parker, who missed his fourth straight game with a fractured fourth metacarpal, was the last Spur before Hill to record 10 or more assists in a half, totaling 11 in the first half of San Antonio’s 2008 regular-season finale against the Utah Jazz. ... The Clippers (25-42) clinched a losing record for the third straight season and the 16th in the past 17.

Spurs sign G Garrett Temple to 10-day deal

SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs have signed rookie guard Garrett Temple to a 10-day contract.

The signing Saturday came the day after Temple’s 10-day deal with Sacramento expired. He averaged 2.2 points in five games for the Kings.

Temple played nine games for the Houston Rockets under a pair of 10-day contracts, averaging five points per game.

The 6-foot-6 Temple has spent most of the season with Rio Grande Valley of the NBA Development League after the Rockets waived him during training camp.

Temple is the career leader in games played at LSU.

Knicks end Mavericks’ 13-game win streak, 128-94

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks had the most lopsided victory in franchise history when they beat the New York Knicks by 50 points in the teams’ last meeting nearly two months ago.

This time, it was the Knicks’ turn for a rout.

Bill Walker scored a career-high 23 points, Wilson Chandler added 22 and New York snapped the Mavericks’ 13-game winning streak with a 128-94 victory on Saturday night.

"Revenge is sweet sometimes. That’s a really good team over there but we caught them at the right time. They were ripe for the picking," said New York reserve Al Harrington, who had 20 points. "When you’re rolling along and the Knicks are coming in, you figure you can score 150 points on ‘em in your sleep. But that Knick team didn’t show up today. We caught ‘em by surprise."

Rookie Toney Douglas had 21 points, and David Lee contributed 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who’d lost 14 of their previous 17 and nine straight in Dallas.

"We felt they’d take us lightly," said Douglas, making his first start since Nov. 18. "A lot of teams look at the schedule and say, ‘Oh, that’s the Knicks. That’s a win.’ But we’ve got to come out and compete every night."

The Knicks celebrated a rare highlight in an otherwise forgettable season, shooting 56 percent from the floor (50 for 89) and 16 of 30 from 3-point range. Dallas hadn’t been beaten by the Knicks at home since Dec. 16, 1999.

Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Jason Kidd added 15 points for Dallas, which won 128-78 at New York on Jan. 24 and hadn’t lost since Feb. 16.

Slow starts had become a habit for the Mavericks during their streak, and the Knicks carried a 30-25 edge into the second quarter.

Early on, several Knicks told the Mavericks that Dallas would be in for a tough night.

"They remembered (the blowout in New York)," said Dallas’ Shawn Marion, who scored 14 points. "They even said something to me about it before the game. They said they were going to give us a spanking."

Harrington had 15 points in the first half and Douglas 13 in his third career start to help the Knicks take 58-48 lead at the break.

The Knicks opened the third quarter with a 20-9 spurt, capped by Tracy McGrady’s three-point play, to expand their advantage to 78-57.

McGrady had 11 third-quarter points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and the Knicks took a 91-66 lead into the final quarter.

New York went on to lead by as many as 37 points in the fourth quarter behind 16 points from Walker.

Afterwards, the Mavericks didn’t seem overly concerned about the blowout.

"You especially don’t want it to come to an end like this, but at the same time it was a great run," Marion said. "Now it’s time to start another one. I think we’ve just got to learn from it. It seemed like everything we did out there wouldn’t go right tonight."

NOTES: Kidd’s first-quarter 3-pointer was his 140th of the season, a new career high. ... Mavericks G Jose Juan Barea had 14 points after missing the previous game with a left ankle injury. ... Dallas’ No. 2 scorer Jason Terry sat out his fifth consecutive game (surgery to repair facial injuries). Terry has resumed practice while wearing a protective mask, but there’s no timetable for his return. ... The Knicks had lost 15 of the previous 16 meetings with the Mavericks. ... Dallas’ longest winning streak in franchise history is 17 games during the 2006-07 season. ... The Mavericks wore "Los Mavs" uniforms as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. ... New York G Chris Duhon made his first appearance in 12 games.

Scola carries Rockets past Nets

HOUSTON — Luis Scola glanced at the scoreboard during the second half of Saturday’s game against New Jersey and the night he was having finally started to sink in.

Scola finished with a career-high 44 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and the Houston Rockets beat the Nets 116-108 to keep their fading playoff hopes alive.

Scola hit 20 of 25 shots, many of them open layups, and reached the highest point total by a Rockets player since Tracy McGrady scored 47 against Utah in November 2007.

"It was one of those nights where you’re feeling good, but then everything you try, works," Scola said. "I’m probably as surprised as you are."

The Argentine forward had 32 points after three quarters — already a career high — and sneaked a peek at his stat line in the lights above him.

"Just for a moment, I looked up and saw 32 or 33 (points)," Scola said. "I was like, ‘Whoa, that is good."’

Kevin Martin scored 20, Aaron Brooks added 18 points and seven assists and Houston strung together consecutive victories for the first time since early February.

Scola seemed to slip inside for layups all night, and finished off the Nets with a straight-on jumper that put Houston up 103-93 with just over four minutes left. Scola hit 6 of 8 shots and scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and got chest bumps from Brooks and forward Chuck Hayes after the final buzzer sounded.

"I’m not surprised," Brooks said. "He played for Argentina, and we’ve got the ‘Argentina Luis’ now, so it’s pretty good."

Martin, traded from Sacramento on Feb. 18, said Scola’s performance reminded him of a big night Carmelo Anthony once had against the Kings. Shane Battier, who came off the bench for the first time this season, went a step further.

"Luis was awesome," Battier said. "They’re erecting statues of him in Buenos Aires as we speak."

Courtney Lee scored 24 and Brook Lopez added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who finished a five-game road trip with four straight losses.

Nets coach Kiki Vandeweghe pointed to Houston’s 27-4 edge in second-chance points as the difference.

"We were a little tired and it was tough in the fourth quarter," Vandeweghe said. "They pulled away at the end, and the offensive rebounding killed us. The second-chance points really hurt."

The 7-foot Lopez scored 10 of New Jersey’s first 15 points and drew two quick fouls on Hayes, who was giving up six inches trying to guard him.

The Rockets hit eight of their first 10 shots, then missed five in a row, and the Nets took an eight-point lead. Houston mounted a 17-5 run to pull ahead, and the teams traded the lead 11 times for the rest of the half.

New Jersey shot 63 percent in the first half and led 55-54 at the break.

Scola had 16 in the opening half, then scored the first four baskets of the third quarter, all layups, to give the Rockets their biggest lead to that point.

"When I’m in the game, you can see I’m running all over the place, trying to touch all the loose balls," Scola said. "That’s when I feel better. From then on, everything works well — the shooting, the post-up, everything works better if I can get easy shots."

The Nets continued to shoot well, and Scola just beat the quarter buzzer with a layup to put Houston up 82-78. The basket pushed Scola over his previous career high (30), set against San Antonio on Feb. 26.

Houston led 89-85 when Trevor Ariza sank his first 3-pointer of the game and Scola flipped in a hook to stretch the lead to nine. Ariza made his first start since missing seven games with a hip pointer.

NOTES: The Rockets have won eight straight meetings with New Jersey. ... Brooks sank a 3-pointer late in the first half, tying a franchise record by hitting a 3 for the 37th consecutive game. Brooks’ streak of games with a 3-pointer is the longest active one in the NBA. ... Scola has five straight double-doubles and 26 this season. ... Devin Harris picked up his 500th career steal in the first half. ... Harris scored 19 and Jarvis Hayes added 16 off the bench for New Jersey.

-- Chris Duncan

Bobcats sign G Hughes; Wallace’s MRI negative

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Bobcats signed veteran guard Larry Hughes to help with depth in the backcourt as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time.

Also, an MRI on forward Gerald Wallace’s left ankle on Saturday revealed no fractures or ligament ruptures. But Wallace likely will miss Sunday’s game at Orlando after being injured on Friday.

General manager Rod Higgins announced this month they wouldn’t sign Hughes because of his broken finger. But the injury has healed sooner than expected, and Hughes could be ready to play in about a week. He walked through plays and participated in shooting drills in practice Saturday.

Charlotte has been looking for help in the backcourt after trading Flip Murray to Chicago last month in a deal that brought forward Tyrus Thomas to the Bobcats. Coach Larry Brown coached Hughes in Philadelphia after the 76ers took him with the eighth pick in the 1998 draft.

The 31-year-old Hughes, who has averaged just over 14 points in his career, was traded by New York to Sacramento last month, then waived by the Kings. He’s also played for Golden State, Washington, Cleveland and Chicago.

The Bobcats are hopeful Wallace could return within the week after he rolled his ankle on a hard foul in the closing second of the first half in the win over the Clippers. Wallace is averaging 18.5 points.

Cavs’ Jamison expected to face Celtics

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Cavaliers forward Antawn Jamison is expecting to play Sunday when Cleveland hosts the Boston Celtics in a game between division leaders.

Jamison missed Friday’s win against Philadelphia because of a cyst behind his left knee. He said Saturday he thought he could have played against the 76ers, but team doctors advised him to rest. Jamison did not make the trip to Philadelphia.

He says the knee feels fine and there are no problems.

Jamison is averaging 17 points and 7.5 rebounds since coming to Cleveland in a trade with Washington.

Bulls’ Hinrich suspended; Suns coach Gentry fined

NEW YORK — Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich has been suspended one game without pay by the NBA for making contact with a referee.

The NBA also announced Saturday that Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry has been fined $25,000 for improper conduct toward a referee and for failing to leave the court in a timely manner after his ejection.

Hinrich’s infraction took place with 4:43 left in the Bulls’ 108-95 loss at Miami on Friday night. He will miss Chicago’s game at Memphis on Tuesday night.

Gentry’s incident also occurred Friday night, with 5:06 left in Phoenix’s 102-96 loss at home to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Posey to sit out vs. Phoenix

NEW ORLEANS — Hornets forward James Posey did not travel with the team to Phoenix on Saturday and will miss Sunday night’s game against the Suns.

Posey sat out Friday night’s loss to Denver with flulike symptoms. Hornets spokesman Dennis Rogers says his status for Monday’s road game against the Los Angeles Clippers is uncertain.

Meanwhile, Rogers said reserve center Sean Marks will undergo right shoulder surgery on Tuesday morning and will be out the remainder of the season.

Rogers also said forward Peja Stojakovic, who has missed the past two games with a lower abdominal strain, will remain out for a minimum of the next 10 days.