Danny Granger scored 32 points and led Indiana back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit, and Troy Murphy tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer to complete the Indiana Pacers' improbable 118-117 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
The Lakers (14-2) came into the game with seven straight wins, the league's best record and reigning MVP Kobe Bryant. But even another terrific night from Bryant, who scored 28 points and had seven rebounds, wasn't enough to fend off the pesky Pacers.
The Pacers, who had won only once since Nov 21, fought back from the 101-86 deficit with an incredible defensive performance.
Murphy finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds, and T.J. Ford added 17 points as all five Indiana starters scored at least 16 points.
Trail Blazers 104, Knicks 97
At New York, Brandon Roy scored 23 points, and Portland dominated the fourth quarter to beat New York for its fifth straight victory.
Rudy Fernandez made a pair of 3-pointers early in the final period and scored 18 for the Trail Blazers, who shut down the Knicks' high-powered offense for the first seven-plus minutes of the fourth and improved to 13-6, their best start after 19 games since the 1999-00 season club was 15-4.
The Blazers shook off a dismal offensive night from rookie Greg Oden, who botched two dunks in the first five minutes and finished with two points, matching Kwame Brown for the lowest-scoring effort by a No 1 overall pick in his Madison Square Garden debut in 40 years.
Nuggets 132, Raptors 93
At Denver, Chauncey Billups had 24 points and 14 assists in Denver's rout of Toronto in a game that was out of reach by halftime.
After a slow start, Anthony finished with 23 points 48 hours after scoring just one bucket in 14 agonizing minutes against Houston, which snapped his NBA-best double-digit streak at 222 games.
Jermaine O'Neal returned from a sprained left ankle that had cost him three games and he scored 12 points to go with Chris Bosh's 24, but they couldn't keep the Raptors from being routed.
Nene added 19 points and 11 boards for the Nuggets, who are 12-3 since trading Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons for Billups.
Mavericks 100, Clippers 98
At Dallas, Jose Barea hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute, Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points and Dallas rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
Barea capped Dallas' closing 18-4 run with a long-range jumper with 50.2 seconds left that gave Dallas its only lead of the game.
Jason Terry scored 26 points for the Mavericks, who moved over .500 for the first time this season. Barea chipped in with a season-high 15 points, and Brandon Bass added 14.
Zach Randolph had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Al Thornton had 23 points and Davis added 22 points for the Clippers, who didn't score in final 2:55.
Pistons 89, Spurs 77
At San Antonio, Rasheed Wallace made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 19 points as Detroit rallied from 10 points down to beat San Antonio despite the return of Manu Ginobili to the Spurs' starting lineup.
Allen Iverson also scored 19 for Detroit (11-6), which has won two of three. Richard Hamilton added 16 points and Tayshaun Prince scored 15.
The Spurs (9-8) have dropped two straight after winning four in a row. They were led by Tim Duncan, who had 23 points, but just one point in the fourth quarter.
Ginobili scored 13 in his first start of the season after missing the first 12 games because of offseason ankle surgery.
(Agencies via China Daily December 4, 2008)
