Lawson, Faried lead Nuggets past Mavericks, 114-107

                               

DENVER : The Denver Nuggets escaped with Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki sitting out Wednesday night. They know they will have to deal with the former MVP when they meet again Friday night in Dallas.

Ty Lawson had 29 points and 12 assists and the Nuggets beat the slumping Dallas Mavericks 114-107.

Kenneth Faried scored four of his 22 points down the stretch and grabbed 14 rebounds to help the Nuggets run their winning streak to five.

The next one is against the Mavericks in Dallas against some rested stars. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle gave three of his best players the night off after an overtime victory Tuesday night in Sacramento.

Tyson Chandler and Rajon Rondo, as well as Nowitzki, rested while Raymond Felton, Richard Jefferson and Greg Smith started. It was the first starts for Felton and Smith.

The starters struggled for much of the night, leaving the bench to keep the Mavericks in the game. The Dallas reserves scored 62 points, led by J.J. Barea with a season-high 17.

Richard Jefferson scored 16 points for Dallas, which has lost three of four.

The Nuggets, like Dallas, had only 10 available players after Tuesday's trade that sent guard Nate Robinson to Boston for Jameer Nelson. Lawson played all but 3:37 of the game to help get Denver (18-20) closer to .500.

Denver took control of the game early in the third quarter. After Parsons' 3-pointer made it 61-55 the Nuggets scored 13 straight points to take a 74-55 lead midway through the period.

Dallas got within eight after a 12-1 run but Denver led 90-78 going into the fourth. 

    Warriors beat short-handed Heat 104-89 for 8th straight win

                 

OAKLAND: Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has nothing but "good problems" right now.

It's the beginning of the dog days of the NBA season, he said, those few weeks before the All-Star break when the newness of the schedule has worn off and players begin to physically and emotionally tire. And despite more lapses than he'd like, Kerr's team just keeps on winning - and usually by a lot.

The NBA-leading Warriors continued their latest roll Wednesday night, overwhelming the undermanned Miami Heat 104-89 for their eighth straight victory. Golden State (31-5) has won by an average of 19.8 points during its current streak.

With a strained left hamstring sidelining Heat star Dwyane Wade, the Warriors mowed down Miami the way they have most opponents recently.

Stephen Curry made seven 3-pointers and finished with 32 points, and Klay Thompson scored 19 to help the Warriors build a 19-point lead in the second quarter. They responded every time Miami moved close, winning their 15th consecutive home game, tying the longest streak since the franchise moved West before the 1962-63 season.

Chris Bosh had 26 points and seven rebounds but couldn't carry the Heat alone. Luol Deng added 19 points, and Hassan Whiteside had 10 points and 12 rebounds in his first start for Miami.

Wade left with the hamstring injury in the first half of the Heat's win at the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. The team said he is "day to day."

Miami's victories at the Lakers and Clippers in a three-day span marked the first time since Nov. 23 the Heat had won two straight - a stunning span of 24 games for the four-time defending Eastern Conference champions, who are still adjusting to life without LeBron James.

A night later in Northern California, the Warriors wore down the depleted Heat (17-22) behind a familiar formula: smothering defense, pushing the pace in transition and finishing on the other end - often from long range.

Curry and Thompson got Golden State off to a strong start behind their potent 3-point shooting, and the second unit helped stretch the lead to 19 points in the second quarter. The Warriors led 55-38 at the half.

Miami moved within single digits in the third and fourth quarters, but in routine fashion, the Warriors quickly pulled away each time behind a big burst.

Curry shot 11 for 19 from the floor, including 7 of 10 from beyond the arc. Reserves Andre Iguodala and Leandro Barbosa each scored nine points for Golden State.

       Pierce's 22 points lead Wizards over Rose, Bulls, 105-99

CHICAGO: For all the talk about LeBron James going home and Derrick Rose returning, the Washington Wizards were easy to overlook at the start of the season.

Not anymore.

Paul Pierce had 22 points and the Washington Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 105-99 on Wednesday night, despite Derrick Rose's season-high 32.

John Wall scored 10 of his 21 in the fourth quarter. Bradley Beal added 17, and the Wizards knocked off the Central division leaders for the second time in six days.

They did it on the road this time after winning at home last week. And the latest victory over the Bulls comes after the Wizards knocked off defending champion San Antonio at home the previous night.

Those are two impressive wins by a team that's demanding attention after Cleveland and Chicago got most of it in the Eastern Conference at the start of the season.

Washington trailed by as much as 11 in the first half but outscored Chicago 32-19 in the third to take a seven-point lead to the fourth. The Wizards hung on after Chicago pulled within one, handing the Bulls their fourth loss in five games.

Rose was at his best right from the start, scoring 17 in the first quarter and nailing a half-court heave at the end of the period. He hit a season-high six 3-pointers. But the Bulls were shaky on defense again and played the second half without Joakim Noah after he injured his right ankle.

Taj Gibson had just dunked to pull Chicago within 83-82 when Kris Humphries put back a vicious one-hander off a miss by Rasual Butler to start a 12-3 run that bumped the lead back up to 10.

Pierce capped that run with a 3-pointer to make it 95-85 with just over four minutes remaining.

The Bulls were within six after Aaron Brooks nailed one from long range. Wall answered with a 3 of his own to make it 100-91 with 2:29 left. With the win, the Wizards took out another top team after ending a 17-game losing streak to the Spurs the previous night.

   

Results:

San Antonio Spurs- 98 beat Charlotte Hornets- 93, Orlando Magic- 120 beat Houston Rockets- 113, Memphis Grizzlies- 103 beat Brooklyn Nets- 92, New Orleans Pellicans- 105 beat Detroit Pistons- 94, Toronto Raptors-100 beat Philadelphia 76ers- 84, Washington Wizards- 105 beat Chicago Bulls- 99, Atlanta Hawks- 105 beat Boston Celtics- 91, Denver Nuggets- 114 beat Dallas Mavericks- 107, Los Angeles Clippers- 100 beat Portland Trail Blazers- 94

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