NBA-Highlights of Wednesday's NBA games

Feb 5 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Wednesday's National Basketball Association games: - - - Hawks 105, Wizards 96 The Atlanta Hawks, who had their 19-game winning streak snapped Monday in New Orleans, got back on the winning track at the expense of the slumping Washington Wizards. Guard Jeff Teague scored 26 points and handed out eight assists as the Hawks increased their lead over the Wizards in the Southeast Division to 10 games with a victory. It was the 11th consecutive victory at Philips Arena for the Hawks (41-9) and they will host Golden State on Friday in a matchup of the teams with the two best records in the NBA. - - - Pacers 114, Pistons 109 The lineup Indiana expected to have at the beginning of the season started for the first time, and the result was encouraging for the struggling Pacers. Point guard George Hill and small forward C.J. Miles celebrated their respective returns to the first unit by combining for 16 of the team's final 18 points, and the Pacers won a shootout over the Detroit Pistons. - - - Celtics 104, Nuggets 100 The Celtics capped a day of Boston celebration with a victory over Denver. Hours after the city held its latest duck boat parade, this one for the NFL champion Patriots, the Celtics won for the second time in 24 hours, following a wire-to-wire win over the Knicks in New York with another strong effort. With Patriots owner Robert Kraft and some of his players among the crowd, the Celtics (18-30) went 9 of 13 from three-point range in the first half and then survived after blowing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter to sweep the two-game season series from the Nuggets. - - - Grizzlies 100, Jazz 90 Center Marc Gasol scored 23 points as Memphis won for the eight straight time, beating the Utah at EnergySolutions Arena. Gasol hit 9 of 18 shots from the field, scored 15 points in the second half, grabbed six rebounds and had four assists in helping Southwest Division-leading Memphis improve to 37-12. - - - Spurs 110, Magic 103 While some debate whether Tim Duncan deserves the spot he was given on the NBA Western Conference All-Star team, the San Antonio forward quietly excels. Duncan scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Spurs defeated Orlando, handing the Magic their 10th straight loss. - - - Nets 109, Raptors 93 Guard Jarrett Jack scored 24 points and guard Alan Anderson added 22 points as Brooklyn defeated Toronto. Forward Joe Johnson added 11 points for the Nets (20-28) who won their second game in a row while the Raptors (33-17) have lost two straight following a six-game winning streak. - - - Bucks 113, Lakers 105 (OT) O.J. Mayo hit a three-pointer with 0.5 seconds left to force overtime and Brandon Knight scored 12 of his 24 points in the extra session as Milwaukee ran its winning streak to five games with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Knight, a guard, had struggled much of the game, going 4-for-12 from the field and 2-for-5 from three-point range in overtime. But he hit all three of his attempts in overtime, including a pair of three-pointers, and was 4-for-4 from the free throw line. - - - Timberwolves 102, Heat 101 Kevin Martin scored 30 points, and Minnesota overcame a 10-point deficit with under 10 minutes to play to beat Miami. The Heat had two chances to pull out the win in the final seconds, but guard Mario Chalmers missed on a drive to the net and guard Norris Cole came up short on a 25-foot shot at the final horn. - - - Rockets 101, Bulls 90 Bolstered by their bench, Houston held Chicago scoreless during the opening four-plus minutes of the fourth quarter and claimed the win at the Toyota Center. Houston (34-15) opened the fourth quarter with a 13-0 run before Bulls guard Jimmy Butler sank two free throws with 7:52 left. The Rockets' surge bumped their lead to 88-70 -- a deficit too large for Chicago (30-20) to overcome. - - - Thunder 102, Pelicans 91 Guard Russell Westbrook exploded for a season-high-tying 45 points, and keyed a 13-0 run late in the final 5:21 to lift Oklahoma City past New Orleans. The Pelicans (26-23) led 91-89 with 5:39 left when forward Ryan Anderson canned a three-pointer from the right baseline. But in the final five minutes, Westbrook took over. He fed forward Serge Ibaka for a dunk to tie the score and then hit one of two free throws to put OKC up 92-91. (Editing by Cameron French)