NBA roundup: Nuggets nab road victory at Houston

HOUSTON — J.R. Smith scored 22 points, Kenyon Martin added 12 points and 15 rebounds and the Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to eight games with a 97-92 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

The Nuggets won for the second straight time without Carmelo Anthony, the NBA's second-leading scorer, who sat out with a sprained left ankle.

Chauncey Billups scored 21 points, Nene added 18 and Denver went 29-for-39 from the free-throw line to win in Houston for just the fourth time in its last 16 trips.

Aaron Brooks scored 22 points and Luis Scola added 20 for the Rockets.

NETS 103, CLIPPERS 87: At East Rutherford, N.J., Kris Humphries scored a career-high 25 points and New Jersey avoided the worst 44-game start in NBA history with a victory over Los Angeles.

The Nets (4-40) were tied with the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks (3-40) for the NBA's worst record after 43 games and all they had to do was lose another to secure another mark in this miserable season that opened with a league-record 18 straight losses.

CAVALIERS 109, TIMBERWOLVES 95: At Cleveland, J.J. Hickson scored a career-high 23 points, LeBron James added 11 assists and the Cavaliers finally won comfortably after a string of nail-biters, beating Minnesota for their sixth straight victory. The Timberwolves dropped to 3-21 outside Minnesota.

LAKERS 118, PACERS 96: At Indianapolis, Kobe Bryant scored 29 points and Andrew Bynum added a season-high 27 to lead Los Angeles. Bryant also had nine rebounds and seven assists, and Bynum had 12 rebounds. Pau Gasol had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Lamar Odom added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers.

RAPTORS 111, HEAT 103: At Toronto, Chris Bosh had 24 points and a season-high 18 rebounds, Andrea Bargnani scored 27 points and Toronto beat Miami. Dwyane Wade had 35 points and 10 rebounds and former Raptors center Jermaine O'Neal scored 22 for Miami, which lost Michael Beasley to a right knee injury.

BULLS 96, THUNDER 86: At Oklahoma City, Derrick Rose scored 26 points, Joakim Noah added 13 points and 11 rebounds and Chicago won its fourth straight road game. The Bulls improved to 22-22, returning to .500 for the first time since they were 6-6 on Nov. 21. Kevin Durant had 28 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City.

GRIZZLIES 99, PISTONS 93: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Marc Gasol scored eight of his 25 points in the final two minutes as Memphis beat Detroit. Gasol added 12 rebounds while Zach Randolph had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis.

SPURS 105, HAWKS 90: At San Antonio, Tim Duncan grabbed a career-high 27 rebounds and scored 21 points, and the Spurs snapped a three-game slide despite losing Tony Parker with a sprained ankle. Joe Johnson scored 31 points for the Hawks.

BUCKS 91, 76ERS 88: At Milwaukee, rookie Brandon Jennings scored 18 points, hitting a 12-footer with 22 seconds left, and Milwaukee snapped a six-game losing streak against the 76ers.

HORNETS 123, WARRIORS 110: At Oakland, Calif., Chris Paul scored 38 points to lead five New Orleans starters in double figures to lead the Hornets to their fourth win in five games. Paul shot 14 for 19 from the field and dished out nine assists.