NEW YORK (NBA) - Lithuania international Linas Kleiza weighed in with 15 points as the Denver Nuggets ended a three-game losing streak with a 102-95 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

The stars of the Denver show were Carmelo Anthony, who scored 34 points, and Eduardo Najera, who added 18 and nine rebounds for the Nuggets, who played without superstar Allen Iverson.

Anthony shot 11-of-24 from the field and 12-of-13 from the line.

Returning to the lineup after missing one game with a left knee injury, All-Star Jermaine O'Neal scored 16 points for Indiana, which shot 43 percent (38-of-89).

Sam Cassell scored 22 points off the bench to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 90-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Shaun Livingston snapped an 83-83 tie on a jumper with 56 seconds left in the game, giving Los Angeles the lead for good.

Cuttino Mobley scored 17 points and Chris Kaman added 15 and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who shot 44 percent (34-of-77), including 5-of-10 from 3-point range.

Zach Randolph scored 40 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers posted a 108-100 overtime victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

Jarrett Jack had 20 points, including 12 in the extra period, and rookie Brandon Roy added 15 and eight rebounds for Portland, which weathered its fifth overtime game in its last nine contests.

Ime Udoka added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Randolph shot 13-of-27 from the field and 13-of-15 from the line for his second 40-point game this season.

LeBron James scored 29 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out six assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers blew out the Miami Heat 103-79.

Larry Hughes had 16 points and Sasha Pavlovic added 15 off the bench for Cleveland.

James, who was just named to his third All-Star game, connected on 12-of-22 from the floor.

Dwyane Wade scored 27 points and dished out seven assists and Shaquille O'Neal had 14 and seven rebounds for Miami, which had a five-game winning streak snapped.

Dwight Howard made a one-handed dunk with six-tenths of a second remaining to finish with 30 points and Jameer Nelson had a season-high 31 as the Orlando Magic snapped a three-game losing streak with a 106-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Orlando rallied from an 18-point second-quarter deficit to top the Spurs for the third time in their last four meetings.

Chris Bosh had 29 points and 11 rebounds and Anthony Parker scored 18 points as the Toronto Raptors pushed their winning streak to five games with a 96-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

It was the Raptors' first victory in four tries against the Lakers, who entered with a commanding 17-4 all-time record in the series.

The Boston Celtics surrendered the first 10 points and shot 34.6 percent from the floor as they extended their franchise-record losing streak to 17 games with a 92-78 loss against the struggling New Jersey Nets.

Vince Carter scored 21 points and Jason Kidd added 13, eight rebounds and nine assists for the Nets, who have won two straight after losing four in a row.

Rudy Gay scored seven of his 19 points in overtime and Mike Miller added 17 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 105-97 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves, ending their four-game losing streak.

Gay scored the first five points during the extra session to push the Grizzlies lead to 97-92 with 3:28 to play.

Mark Blount hit a three-pointer with 46 seconds remaining to get Minnesota within 102-97, but it did not score thereafter.

Josh Howard scored 22 points and Jason Terry added 18 as the Dallas Mavericks set a franchise record with their 17th straight home win, using numerous runs en route to an easy 95-74 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Holding the best record in the NBA, Dallas (41-9) continued to dominate at the American Airlines Center, surpassing a previous franchise mark set from January 3-March 3, 2006. 

Tracy McGrady scored 20 points for the Rockets, who shot 33 percent (26-of-78) to absorb just their second defeat in their last seven road contests.

Joe Johnson scored 32 points and Josh Smith added 25 and five blocks as the Atlanta Hawks posted a 120-111 triumph over the Phoenix Suns, who were without two-time MVP Steve Nash.

The duo of Johnson and Smith combined to shoot 20-of-44 from the field, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range, to help Atlanta end its five-game losing streak against Phoenix.

Josh Childress scored 19 points and Marvin Williams chipped in 16 and seven rebounds for Atlanta.

All-Star Amare Stoudemire had 29 points and 13 rebounds and Raja Bell scored 23 for the Suns, who dropped back-to-back home games for the second time this season.

Monta Ellis scored 16 points and nailed the go-ahead jumper with 42 seconds left in overtime, and Al Harrington added 24 points and nine rebounds as the Golden State Warriors posted a dramatic 123-121 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Stephen Jackson had 23 points and eight assists for the Warriors, who shot 43 percent (44-of-103) from the field, including 11-of-25 from the arc.

Ben Gordon scored 24 points and Luol Deng added 23 for the Bulls, who shot 45 percent (42-of-93).

Jamie Strickland
FIBA