DeMarcus Cousins had 26 points and nine rebounds, and Marcus Thornton made four 3-pointers and had 21 points for the Kings. Tyreke Evans, Sacramento’s leading scorer, shot 1 of 9 and finished with four points while being guarded all game
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINNEAPOLIS — Jeremy Lin did it again.
Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Steve Novak scored 15 points, including the tying 3-pointer with 36 seconds to play and Lin used his quickness to draw a foul and get to the line in the closing seconds. He finished with 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Lin had just five points on 1-for-13 shooting and four turnovers in the second half.
Kevin Love had 32 points and 21 rebounds for the Wolves, who missed two chances to win the game in the final 5 seconds.
The Knicks trailed by seven with 6:41 to play and it looked as if a week of Tebow-like hype was finally catching up to Lin. But the Wolves only scored one field goal the rest of the way, and the Knicks hung in.
SPURS 103, NETS 89
NEWARK, N.J. — Gary Neal scored 18 points, and Tim Duncan recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs won their seventh in the row.
Tony Parker added 12 points, DeJuan Blair finished 11, while Daniel Green and Thiago Splitter each had 10 for the Spurs.
San Antonio was bolstered by the return of sixth man Manu Ginobili. The Argentinean guard had not played in 22 games after suffering a fractured metacarpal in the Spurs’ 106-96 loss in Minnesota on Jan. 2. Ginobili, who spelled Green, scored eight points and had four assists in 17 minutes.
Deron Williams scored 27 points to lead the Nets, who have lost six in a row. Kris Humphries added 15, while Jordan Farmar had 12 and Anthony Morrow 11 as New Jersey fell to 3-10 at home.
76ERS 99, CAVALIERS 84
CLEVELAND — Jrue Holiday scored 20 points to lead six Philadelphia players in double figures as the 76ers rolled over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers.
Philadelphia bounced back from a difficult home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night to break a season-high two-game losing streak.
Cleveland, which dropped an overtime decision to Milwaukee at home on Friday, played without two of its three leading scorers. The team announced before the game that center Anderson Varejao will be sidelined indefinitely because of a broken right wrist sustained Friday. Rookie point guard Kyrie Irving missed his third straight game with a concussion.
Antawn Jamison led Cleveland with 20 points, while Ramon Sessions — starting in place of Irving — scored 19 points and had eight assists.
CLIPPERS 111, BOBCATS 86
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan all had double-doubles after three quarters as the Los Angeles Clippers handed the dreadful Charlotte Bobcats yet another lopsided loss.
Paul toyed with the Bobcats, finishing with 18 points and 14 assists in only 28 minutes.
Griffin had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Jordan had 11 points and 12 rebounds. Caron Butler added 16 points as the Clippers opened an 84-52 lead after three quarters.
Kemba Walker had 19 points for the Bobcats, who’ve lost a franchise-record 14 straight and are on pace to match a dubious NBA record.
At 3-24, the Bobcats’ winning percentage (.125) equals that of the NBA’s all-time worst franchise, the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers finished 9-72. The Bobcats are on pace to finish this year’s lockout-shortened 66-game schedule with eight wins.
NUGGETS 113,
PACERS 109
INDIANAPOLIS — Ty Lawson scored 27 points to lead the Denver Nuggets over the Indiana Pacers, snapping the Nuggets’ five-game losing streak with the win.
Danny Granger scored 26 points for the Pacers, who have lost four of five.
Arron Afflalo had 23 points and five rebounds, and Corey Brewer had 19 points and five rebounds in his first game back after missing three straight because of the death of his father.
The Nuggets, who jumped to a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter after never taking more than a six-point lead in the first three quarters, survived a late run by the Pacers.
MAVERICKS 97, TRAIL BLAZERS 94, 2OT
DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points, Jason Terry added 19, and the Mavericks held on for a double-overtime victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Former Dallas-area high school star LaMarcus Aldridge had 33 points, 15 during a fourth-quarter rally, and Jamal Crawford contributed 19 points for the Trail Blazers. Shawn Marion had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas, which won its third in a row.
Brendan Haywood’s tip-in with 45 seconds remaining in the second overtime gave Dallas a 95-93 edge. Crawford missed from 15 feet, and Nowitzki swished a 15-foot fadeaway with 16.9 seconds left for a 97-93 lead. Wes Matthews made one of two free throws with 11.4 seconds remaining, Portland got the rebound of the second miss, but Crawford’s desperation 26-footer failed to hit the rim as the final buzzer sounded.
MAGIC 99, BUCKS 94
MILWAUKEE — Jason Richardson scored 28 of his season-high 31 points in the second half and made nine 3-pointers to lead the Orlando Magic past the Bucks.
The Bucks limited Dwight Howard to 11 points and 14 rebounds, but had no defense for Richardson, who unleashed a barrage of 3-pointers in the second half that helped Orlando erase a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and pull ahead. His ninth 3, and eighth out of nine attempts in the second half, gave Orlando a 94-88 lead with 2:07 to go. Richardson finished 9 for 11 from 3-point range.
The Bucks never got closer than three the rest of the way.
Drew Gooden scored 21 points and Ersan Ilyasova added 17 for the Bucks.
SUNS 98, KINGS 84
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jared Dudley had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Phoenix Suns, who never trailed in defeating the Kings.
The victory was the fourth in five games for the Suns, who have won their last three on the road. Phoenix took a double-digit lead in the second quarter and maintained a comfortable margin for the remainder of the game.
Markieff Morris came off the bench for 18 points, Channing Frye had 17, and Marcin Gortat had 15 points and seven rebounds for Phoenix.
DeMarcus Cousins had 26 points and nine rebounds, and Marcus Thornton made four 3-pointers and had 21 points for the Kings. Tyreke Evans, Sacramento’s leading scorer, shot 1 of 9 and finished with four points while being guarded all game by Grant Hill.
