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 The 6-foot-11 Brazilian has been slow to return from a back injury
that cost him the entire preseason and helped limit him to 45 games.
But Sunday, Splitter scored a season-high 23 points, added eight
rebounds, and was instrumental in helping the Spurs to a 114-95 win
over the Atlanta Hawks.
"It's taken him the whole year to get back in shape and get over the
injuries," San Antonio coach Greg Popovich said. "The last couple
weeks he's gotten back to who he was for us last year."
Splittler scored 18 against Boston on Friday to establish a season
high. He's scored in double figures in four of the last five games.
He averaged 8.2 points and 6.2 rebounds last year. This season, he's
averaging 8.0 points and 4.8 rebounds.
"They got the ball in the paint," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer
said. "Splittler had a heckuva game."
The Spurs also got 20 points and 10 rebounds from forward Kawhi
Leonard and 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four blocks
from forward Tim Duncan in sweeping the season series against the
East-leading Hawks.
Atlanta was led by forward Paul Millsap with 22 points and seven
rebounds, and guard Dennis Schroder added 18 points and eight
rebounds. Forward DeMarre Carroll scored 12 points and forward Pero
Antic scored 11.
Nuggets 119, Magic 100
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Danilo Gallinari scored 40 points and five
teammates reached double figures as Denver routed Orlando.
Guard Jameer Nelson, who played eight seasons in Orlando, had 15
points and five assists for the Nuggets, who stopped a three-game
losing streak. Forward Kenneth Faried, center Jusuf Nurkic, swingman
JJ Hickson and guard Will Barton scored 11 points each for Denver.
Orlando put five players in double figures, led by guard Victor
Oladipo's 21 points.
Kings 109, Wizards 86
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Forward Rudy Gay scored 26 points, and center
DeMarcus Cousins returned from a two-game absence to add 20 points,
seven rebounds and five assists as Sacramento defeated Washington at
Sleep Train Arena.
The Kings posted consecutive victories for the first time in four
months.
Gay, coming off a 33-point effort in Sacramento's 101-91 win over
the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, canned 10 of his 19 shots to pace
five Kings in double digits. Gay missed the previous two contests
because of a strained tendon in his left knee.
Pistons 105, Celtics 97 (OT)
BOSTON -- Detroit Pistons threw a monkey wrench into Boston's
improbable playoff run.
The Pistons, who rallied from 19 points down to beat the Chicago
Bulls on Saturday night, tied Sunday's game on a Reggie Jackson
basket with 58.9 seconds left in regulation and then scored the
first seven points of overtime to walk off with a victory.
The loss was the third straight for the Celtics, who began play
Sunday in the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference after moving from
ninth to eighth despite losing two games on the road.
Thunder 93, Heat 75
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Guard Russell Westbrook posted 12 points 10
rebounds and tied a career high with 17 assists, and center Enes
Kanter scored 27 points while pulling in 12 rebounds to lead
Oklahoma City past Miami at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Kanter's game-high point total came on 12 of 20 shots after missing
the team's last game with an ankle sprain. It was also his ninth
double-double with Oklahoma City.
Westbrook notched his 10th triple double of the season.
Clippers 107, Pelicans 100
LOS ANGELES -- The Clippers shrugged off the return of their
opponent's MVP candidate to remain one of the NBA's hottest teams
and beat New Orleans at Staples Center despite the presence of
Pelican forward Anthony Davis, who returned from a two-game absence.
The victory extended the Clippers' winning streak to four games, the
second-longest current streak in the league behind Golden State's
five-gamer.
Point guard Chris Paul had a strong, balanced game with 23 points,
11 assists, seven rebounds and four steals. Center DeAndre Jordan
controlled the glass with 16 rebounds, eight of them offensive,
along with 12 points. Power forward Blake Griffin had 23 points.
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Cavaliers 108, Bucks 90
MILWAUKEE -- Forward LeBron James scored 28 points and guard J.R.
Smith made seven 3-pointers to finish with 23 points as Cleveland
beat Milwaukee at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
James scored 17 of his points over the final 13:54 of the game.
Milwaukee scored just 19 during that same stretch.
Smith connected from distance on three consecutive fourth-quarter
possessions. Cleveland trailed by as many as 11 in the third quarter
before James scored six straight points and tied the game at 73-73
on a put-back with 30 seconds left in the period.
Raptors 106, Knicks 89
TORONTO -- For the first time since 2009-10, Toronto won a season
series against New York.
Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan had a team-high 23 points, seven
rebounds and five assists to pace the Raptors.
With the victory, the Raptors won three of four meetings with the
Knicks this season.
Suns 98, Mavericks 92
PHOENIX -- Guard Eric Bledsoe scored 20 points and forward Markieff
Morris added 19 as Phoenix moved within 2 1/2 games of eighth place
in the Western Conference with a victory over Dallas at US Airways
Center.
Morris' 18-foot jumper from the left baseline over 7-foot-1 center
Tyson Chandler with two seconds remaining on the shot clock gave the
Suns a 94-89 lead with 29.9 seconds left, and Bledsoe made four free
throws in the final 20.5 seconds left as the Suns (38-33) won their
fourth straight.
Guard P.J. Tucker had 15 points, 13 in the first quarter, as the
Suns finished on an 18-6 run.
Suns reserve guard Archie Goodwin scored on a layup to cap a 7-0 run
for an 87-86 lead, and he hit a 3-pointer from the left wing for a
91-88 lead with 2:00 remaining. Goodwin had 10 3-pointers this
season.
Dallas forward Chandler Parsons had 19 points and former Phoenix
forward Amare Stoudemire added 16 points (44-27) for the Mavericks,
who have lost two in a row after a three-game winning streak.
Lakers 101, 76ers 87
LOS ANGELES -- In a game that fans of both teams probably hoped they
would lose, Los Angeles and Philadelphia competed hard.
The Lakers pulled away from a tight, gritty game early in the fourth
quarter and led the rest of the way, beating the Sixers at Staples
Center.
The Lakers now have 18 wins, one more than the Sixers. Only the
Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks would have had more
ping-pong balls in the draft lottery had the season ended Sunday.
Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin led all scorers with 29 points on
10-of-16 shooting. Ed Davis grabbed 11 rebounds and the two players
were both a game-high plus-10 for the game. The Lakers had just
seven turnovers in the game.
Hornets 109, Timberwolves 98
MINNEAPOLIS -- In a game Charlotte desperately needed to win as its
chases a playoff spot, the Hornets turned things around when they
stopped playing like a team in desperate need of a win.
Guard Mo Williams led the way with 24 points as the Hornets snapped
a three-game losing streak, rallying in the second half to beat
depleted Minnesota.
Playing his first game vs. the team that traded him away last month,
Williams looked comfortable and had his ninth game with 20 or more
points with the Hornets (30-38). Forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and
center Al Jefferson each added 18 points for Charlotte, which
trailed by double digits before halftime, but turned the tables on
Minnesota.
The Wolves (15-54) were led by 16 points from forward Gorgui Deng,
and controlled long stretches of the first half, but faded after the
break. Minnesota managed a season-low three offensive rebounds for
the game. Kevin Martin added 15 points for Minnesota, which had
beaten the New York Knicks in overtime in the last game, but could
not record a win streak.
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