Lin’s late free throw lifts Knicks
MINNEAPOLIS – Jeremy Lin did it again.
Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Steve Novak scored 15 points, including the tying 3-pointer with 36 seconds to play and Lin used his quickness to draw a foul and get to the line in the closing seconds. He finished with 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Lin had just five points on 1-for-13 shooting and four turnovers in the second half.
Kevin Love had 32 points and 21 rebounds for the Wolves, who missed two chances to win the game in the final 5 seconds.
Spurs 103, Nets 89: At Newark, N.J., Gary Neal scored 18 points, and Tim Duncan recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds as San Antonio won its seventh in the row.
Tony Parker added 12 points, DeJuan Blair finished 11, while Daniel Green and Thiago Splitter each had 10 for the Spurs.
San Antonio was bolstered by the return of sixth man Manu Ginobili. The Argentinean guard had not played in 22 games after suffering a fractured metacarpal in the Spurs’ 106-96 loss in Minnesota on Jan. 2. Ginobili, who spelled Green, scored eight points and had four assists in 17 minutes.
76ers 99, Cavaliers 84: At Cleveland, Jrue Holiday scored 20 points to lead six Philadelphia players in double figures as the 76ers rolled over short-handed Cleveland.
Philadelphia bounced back from a difficult home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night to break a season-high two-game losing streak.
Cleveland, which dropped an overtime decision to Milwaukee at home Friday, played without two of its three leading scorers. The team announced before the game that center Anderson Varejao will be sidelined indefinitely because of a broken right wrist suffered Friday. Rookie point guard Kyrie Irving missed his third straight game with a concussion.
Clippers 111, Bobcats 86: At Charlotte, N.C., Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan all had double-doubles after three quarters as Los Angeles handed Charlotte yet another lopsided loss.
Paul toyed with the Bobcats, finishing with 18 points and 14 assists in only 28 minutes.
Magic 99, Bucks 94: At Milwaukee, Jason Richardson scored 28 of his season-high 31 points in the second half and made nine 3-pointers to lead Orlando past Milwaukee.
The Bucks limited Dwight Howard to 11 points and 14 rebounds, but had no defense for Richardson, who unleashed a barrage of 3-pointers in the second half that helped Orlando erase a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and pull ahead. His ninth 3, and eighth out of nine attempts in the second half, gave Orlando a 94-88 lead with 2:07 to go. Richardson finished 9 for 11 from 3-point range.
Nuggets 113, Pacers 109: At Indianapolis, Ty Lawson scored 27 points to lead Denver over Indiana, snapping the Nuggets’ five-game losing streak with the win.
Danny Granger scored 26 points for the Pacers, who have lost four of five.
Mavericks 97, Trail Blazers 94 (2OT): At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points, Jason Terry added 19, and Dallas held on for a double-overtime victory over Portland.
