USA - Gasol stars in Grizzlies win

SALT LAKE CITY (NBA) - It was Spanish night in the NBA on Wednesday.

Several members of the team that took gold at the FIBA World Championship had big nights for their teams, none more so than unsettled All-Star Pau Gasol.

The 7ft center shrugged off the ongoing speculation about a trade to register a triple-double in the Memphis Grizzlies’ thrilling 132-130 overtime win against the Utah Jazz.

Gasol was facing fresh questions about his future on Wednesday after the Chicago Bulls revealed they were looking at trade options for the 26-year-old, but he has promised to ignore the rumours and give 100% to Memphis.

That certainly looked to be the case in Salt Lake City as Gasol collected 17 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for the Grizzlies.

"We definitely needed it," Gasol said of the win. "We're having a tough year, so it took a lot of fight. It took a lot of effort.

"It feels good to work for it and to get that reward."

Eddie Jones was the hero for Memphis, sinking the game-winning shot as time expired.

In overtime, Turkey international Mehmet Okur hit a deep shot from the arc that brought the Jazz within 128-127 with 15 seconds remaining.

Reserve Chucky Atkins sank two free throws one second later as Memphis rebuilt a three-point bulge, but Deron Williams fed Okur once again for another three-pointer from the left wing, tying the game at 130-130 with seven seconds to play.

Jones raced up the court and drained a 22-foot pull-up jumper over Williams to seal the win and end the Grizzlies' four-game losing streak against Utah.

"We couldn't stop Gasol inside," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "What are you going to do?"

Okur finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds for Utah, while Carlos Boozer had a career-high 39 points and 15 rebounds. Williams handed out a career-high 21 assists.

Atkins finished with 29 points for Memphis.

Gasol’s international team-mate Jose Calderon came up with the key players as the Toronto Raptors edged out the New Orleans Hornets 90-88.

Calderon scored six points down the stretch and made a key block, and Team USA forward Chris Bosh scored a club season-high 35 points as the streaking
Raptors came back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to win.

Anthony Parker added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, who have won eight of their last 11 and improved to 3-1 on a five-game homestand.

Calderon finished with 14 points and eight assists with no turnovers in his fifth start. He has averaged 13 points and eight assists since taking over from TJ Ford, who is nursing a sore right ankle.

Rasual Butler led the Hornets with 19 points.

In Portland, it was rookie Sergio Rodriguez who was flying the Spanish flag.

He added 18 points off the bench as the Portland Trail Blazers saw off the Minnesota Timberwolves 101-98 after overtime.

Zach Randolph led Portland with 22 points and 15 rebounds as they denied Randy Wittman a win in his first game in charge of Minnesota.

Wittman took over on an interim basis on Tuesday after Dwane Casey was fired.

Kevin Garnett scored 31 points and Ricky Davis had 23 for the Timberwolves, who dropped their third consecutive road game and are 8-13 away from home.

The Phoenix Suns overcame an early wobble to tie their franchise record with a 15th consecutive win, 112-107 over the New York Knicks.

Stoudemire had 30 points and 11 rebounds and Nash added 22 and 14 assists for the Suns, who had begun sluggishly, holding only a 49-46 lead at half-time.

However, in the second half, the devastating combination of Nash and Stoudemire were too much for New York's defence.

With other players on the floor becoming spectators, the duo ran pick-and-rolls that ended in numerous monstrous dunks by the 6ft 10in Stoudemire - demoralising the Knicks.

After earning the praise of President George Bush in Washington on Tuesday, Dikembe Mutombo was back with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, helping them to a 90-85 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Mutombo got special mention in the State of the Union Address for his tireless work in setting up a hospital in his homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But it was back to the day job as he grabbed eight rebounds and had one of Houston’s seven blocks in holding off the Spurs.

Tracy McGrady scored 37 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Rockets, while Rafer Alston added 19 points and seven assists.

Tim Duncan scored 37 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who have lost eight games at home this season, one more than all of last season.

Argentina’s Manu Ginobili had 15 points and French star Tony Parker added 10.

A season-high 39 points and 10 rebounds from Team USA star LeBron James was not enough for the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 118-115 double overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Andre Iguodala scored a career-high 34 points, including 12 of 12 from the free-throw line, for Philadelphia.

Shaquille O’Neal returned for the Miami Heat, but could not help them avoid defeat in a 96-94 overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Troy Murphy scored 17 points and hauled in 12 rebounds for the Pacers, who not only withstood O’Neal’s return but also a superb effort from Dwyane Wade, who had 32 points in the game.

O’Neal scored five points and grabbed five rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.

Richard Hamilton scored 22 points to lead all five Detroit Pistons starters in double figures as they beat the Charlotte Bobcats 103-92.

Joe Johnson and Josh Smith each scored 21 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to an 82-76 comeback victory over the slumping Boston Celtics, who suffered a ninth straight defeat.

Ron Artest scored a season-high 36 points to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 114-106 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks while Al Harrington had 29 points for the Golden State Warriors in a 110-109 win over New Jersey.

PA Sport