MAVERICKS 99, SPURS 93
DALLAS -- Monta Ellis equaled his season high with 38 points, including 11 during the final four minutes, to spark a late rally as the Dallas Mavericks beat the depleted San Antonio Spurs 99-93 Saturday in Rajon Rondo's debut with the Mavericks.
Ellis broke a 91-91 tie with a basket from the right corner that sailed over the corner of the backboard to give Dallas the lead for good.
Rondo, the four-time All-Star who played his first eight-plus seasons with the Boston Celtics, finished with 6 points on 3-for-11 shooting. He had nine assists and seven rebounds. Acquired in a multi-player trade Thursday, he went into the game leading the league averaging 10.8 assists.
Marco Belinelli led San Antonio with 21 points. Aron Baynes added a career-high 16 points.
Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich dressed 10 players and played only eight after his team played triple-overtime games Wednesday and Friday. Veterans Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, who logged 90 and 71 minutes, respectively, in those two games, were left home. Danny Green and Tiago Splitter dressed but didn't play.
The Spurs have lost four consecutive games for the first time since the 2012 Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Rondo missed his only two field-goal attempts of the opening half and scored his first points as a Mavericks with 7:59 to play in the third quarter on goaltending by Boris Diaw.
The Spurs used a 12-point run starting in the final minute of the opening quarter to break a 21-21 tie and lead for the rest of the half. The Mavericks trailed 47-42 at intermission having scored their fewest first-half points of the season.
Dallas went into the game leading the league in field-goal shooting at 48.1 percent, but shot only 38.1 in the half. Nowitzki hit 1 of 8 from the floor.
HORNETS 104, JAZZ 86
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kemba Walker had 20 points, Al Jefferson added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Utah Jazz for the first time in six years.
Jefferson nearly registered his third consecutive game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds but left the game with six minutes remaining with a mild groin strain and did not return. Jefferson was available to play, but the Hornets had the game in hand and didn't want to risk further injury.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets, who have won back-to-back games for only the third time this season.
TRAIL BLAZERS 114, PELICANS 88
NEW ORLEANS -- LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Portland to a victory over the Pelicans.
While Portland (22-6) was coming off a triple overtime victory at San Antonio a night earlier, it was New Orleans that appeared tired. Including Anthony Davis' 3-of-14 shooting, the Pelicans (13-13) made only 35 percent of their shots. Davis finished with seven points and six rebounds.
Portland showed no signs of slowing down from the 15 extra minutes against the Spurs. The Trail Blazers shot 53 percent and forced 17 turnovers.
HAWKS 104, ROCKETS 97
HOUSTON -- Kyle Korver scored 22 points, including seven late, to help the Atlanta Hawks hold on for a victory over the Houston Rockets.
The game was tied with three minutes left before Atlanta used a 7-0 run to make it 97-90 with just under a minute to go. Korver hit one of his four three-pointers during that run.
Atlanta made seven free throws down the stretch, with four from Korver, to secure the victory.
The Hawks led by 16 points, but Houston used a big third quarter to tie it entering the fourth. The teams stayed close throughout the fourth quarter, with the lead changing or the game being tied several times before Atlanta put it away in the final minutes.
SUNS 99, KNICKS 90
NEW YORK -- Eric Bledsoe had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Isaiah Thomas scored 22 points, and the Phoenix Suns beat the New York Knicks.
Markieff Morris added 19 points for the Suns, who won their second consecutive after a six-game skid.
Thomas made a three-pointer to open the fourth quarter, giving Phoenix the lead for good and triggering an 8-0 burst. Marcus Morris made another, and Alex Lin tipped in a miss for a 75-68 lead, and the Knicks were playing catch-up from there.
NUGGETS 76, PACERS 73
DENVER -- Danilo Gallinari scored 19 points, including a three-pointer to spark a key fourth-quarter run, and the Denver Nuggets hung on to beat the Indiana Pacers.
Ty Lawson added 15 points and 10 assists for the Nuggets, who won games on successive nights after losing 6 of 7 coming into the back-to-back set.
David West had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pacers, who lost for the 10th time in 11 games. Indiana also dropped its sixth consecutive game in Denver.
Sports on 12/21/2014