Kyle Lowry had a scraped right forearm, a sore right ankle and a smile on his face after the Houston Rockets pulled out a grinding victory over his hometown team on Wednesday night. Lowry scored 13 points and converted two crucial three point-plays in the final two minutes of the Rockets' 93-87 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Houston's third straight victory.
A rare triple-double was all well and good for Joakim Noah. More important for him was this: the Bulls got another big win. Noah had 13 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the first triple-double by a Bulls center in roughly 35 years, and Chicago pounded the Milwaukee Bucks 110-91 on Wednesday night.
Luke Ridnour hit a floater in the lane at the buzzer, capping Minnesota's comeback from 16 points down in the fourth quarter as the Timberwolves beat the Utah Jazz 100-98 on Wednesday night. Utah's Al Jefferson sank a jumper with Kevin Love in his face to tie the score at 98 with 7 seconds remaining.
Jeremy Lin had an easy night ahead of his toughest opponent yet, and the New York Knicks tuned up for their trip to Miami by beating the Atlanta Hawks 99-82 on Wednesday night. Lin had 17 points and nine assists, sitting out most of the fourth quarter in a rare game during his remarkable run that the Knicks needed little from him.
Russell Westbrook scored 31 points, Kevin Durant added 28 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Boston Celtics 119-104 on Wednesday night for their 11th straight win at home. Kevin Garnett's return after a two-game absence wasn't enough to lift the Celtics, who were still without point guard Rajon Rondo as he served the second game of a two-game suspension.
Dwight Howard had 20 points and 17 rebounds and the Orlando Magic rolled to a 108-91 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night. Howard, who can become a free agent in July if the Magic don't trade him by the March 15 trading deadline, got the loudest cheers from the crowd of 15,364 in the pregame introductions.
Tyler Hansbrough had a season-high 22 points and nine rebounds as the Indiana Pacers continued their dominance of the Charlotte Bobcats with a 102-88 victory Wednesday night. The Pacers have now beaten the Bobcats nine time straight times, including twice this week. This game was much closer than the 35-point rout Sunday in Indianapolis -- at least for three quarters.
