Spurs end Grizzlies’ long home win streak

MEMPHIS, Tennessee – San Antonio ended Memphis’ long home-court winning streak while extending their own dominance of the Grizzlies, winning 107-101 on Friday in a clash of rivals from the tightly-contested NBA Southwest Division.

The top four teams in the division are separated by just one game, with all have a winning percentage above .700.

Dallas dropped to the bottom of that grouping of four after losing at home against Phoenix, while other key results saw LeBron James lead Cleveland to victory at Toronto, and Washington maintain its sole leadership of the Southeast Division by comfortably beating Denver.

Memphis had won its previous 22 regular-season home games, but never led against a San Antonio team that shot 14 of 25 from 3-point range.

Manu Ginobili scored 17 points, and Tim Duncan had a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Spurs beat Memphis for the ninth-straight time.

Marc Gasol led Memphis with 28 points and 12 rebounds as the Grizzlies dropped into a tie with Houston for the Southwest lead.

Phoenix’s Goran Dragic had 28 points and a season-high 13 assists to lead the Suns to a 118-106 win at Dallas, ending the Mavericks’ run of five consecutive wins.

Markieff Morris scored 22 for the Suns, who ran out to an 18-point lead in the first quarter and held on after the hosts pulled within five in the fourth.

Monta Ellis scored 33 points for the Mavericks, who had no answer to a Phoenix team that shot 56 percent for the game and an impressive 70 percent in the first quarter.

Cleveland won its sixth straight, with LeBron James contributing 24 points and a season-best 13 assists to lead the Cavaliers to a 105-91 win at Toronto.

Washington racked up its biggest score and biggest win for the year, defeating Denver 119-89, with Kris Humphries scoring 20 points.

Atlanta’s DeMarre Carroll scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half to set up the Hawks’ 98-75 win at Brooklyn.

Milwaukee’s Kendall Marshall came off the bench and scored a season-high 20 points, including three big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter which shored up a 109-85 win against Miami.

Houston escaped with a 114-112 win at Minnesota, with James Harden having 38 points before fouling out and Nick Johnson scoring the winner on a driving layup with 0.8 seconds to go.

Orlando condemned Utah to its eighth-straight loss, beating the Jazz 98-93, with Tobias Harris scoring 22 points for the Magic.

Boston’s Tyler Zeller had season highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Celtics over the Los Angeles Lakers 113-96.

Charlotte ended a 10-game losing slump by beating the equally hapless New York Knicks 103-102. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook had 27 points in the Thunder’s 103-91 win over Philadelphia.               (AP)