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Brandon Roy's first career win at Oracle Arena couldn't have come at a better time for Portland as it tries to hang on to the eighth spot in the Western Conference. Roy scored 41 points, Andre Miller added 15 points and seven assists and the Trail Blazers overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Golden State Warriors 110-105 on Thursday night.

Dwight Howard insists he didn't intend to hurt Derrick Rose. He was just protecting the basket. So when Rose drove the lane hard and tried to finish over the towering center for the second time this season, the man who goes by "Superman" again delivered on his nickname. The Man of Steel. "I think if you hit something that doesn't move," Howard said, "you usually end...

As he sits on the bench at the start of each game, Jamal Crawford analyzes the opposition, the defenses they are employing, and the flow of the game. The Atlanta Hawks are sure glad their sixth-man extraordinaire is a quick study. Crawford scored 29 points and the Hawks avoided a three-game losing streak by beating the Washington Wizards 105-99 Thursday night.

Bulls guard Derrick Rose has sprained his left wrist after another collision with Orlando's Dwight Howard. Rose drove the lane hard for a layup in the final minute of the first quarter against the Magic on Thursday night when he was knocked to the floor in a midair collision with Howard. Rose clutched his lower back and hand before slowly rising to his feet, making one of the free throws.

Miami Beach police say Heat forward Dorell Wright has been charged with DUI and driving with a suspended license. Wright was stopped around 3:30 a.m. Thursday, then booked. Bond was set at $1,000, according to Miami-Dade County corrections officials. In a statement, the Heat said they were "aware of the traffic stop" and declined to comment until they could learn more about the incident.

Goodbye, "Agent Zero." Gilbert Arenas is switching his uniform number. The suspended guard submitted paperwork to go from No. 0 to No. 6, and the NBA approved the change, league spokesman Tim Frank confirmed in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Thursday. Arenas has worn zero since college, saying he picked that number because that's how many minutes people expected him to play at...

Cavaliers star LeBron James is tired of watching basketball and ready to start playing again. James missed two games after twisting his right ankle last Friday against Detroit, but is likely to play at Philadelphia on Friday night. "I'm always a guy who wants to play every game, but I think now looking back it was definitely the right decision to give the injuries I had some rest,"...

Officials broke ground Thursday on a much-delayed 22-acre development project that will bring the NBA's New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn. As protesters chanted and staged a mock funeral for the "soul" of Brooklyn, supporters enjoyed a lavish spread catered by developer Bruce Ratner. "Today is a great day for Brooklyn and for the soul of Brooklyn, which is very much alive," said...

On a night the Sacramento Kings openly campaigned for Tyreke Evans to be Rookie of the Year, the exciting first-year guard appropriately obliged with another vintage performance. Evans recorded his first career triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, leading the Kings to a 113-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

Top scorer Dirk Nowitzki was struggling, and the Dallas Mavericks needed points from other sources. Jason Kidd, Caron Butler, rookie Roddy Beaubois and Shawn Marion picked up the slack. Kidd had 20 points and nine assists, hitting 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and the Mavericks recovered from a lethargic start to match the NBA's longest winning streak this season with their 13th straight victory,...

Losing Tony Parker hurt, just like when Manu Ginobili went down around this time last season. Parker picked up the slack then. Ginobili is doing the same so far. Ginobili scored 28 points and the San Antonio Spurs won for the fifth time in six games with a 97-87 victory over the New York Knicks, who guaranteed themselves a franchise-record ninth consecutive losing season.

Since point guard Chris Paul went out with a knee injury, rookie Darren Collison has been able to duplicate the All-Star's production against just about anyone the New Orleans Hornets play. Just not the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kevin Durant scored 29 points, Russell Westbrook added 17 points and came up just shy of a triple-double, and the Thunder beat injury-depleted New Orleans 98-83 on...

Soaring through the air for a jaw-dropping, 360-dunk off an alley-oop pass, J.R. Smith showed everyone what teammate Chauncey Billups already knew -- the Denver Nuggets are so much more than a two-man team. Even though they held Billups and Carmelo Anthony in check for much of the game, the Minnesota Timberwolves were still powerless against a deeper and far more talented opponent.

The Memphis Grizzlies keep winning on the road. And now they're even beating Boston. Rudy Gay scored 28 points on Wednesday night to lead Memphis to a 111-91 victory over the Celtics and give the Grizzlies a franchise-record seventh straight road win. The previous six were against non-contenders, but this was Memphis' first victory over the Celtics in seven tries.

Most NBA coaches would be thrilled by their team scoring 247 points in two nights, especially in consecutive road victories. Jerry Sloan, though, wasn't impressed. A night after putting up 132 points in a rout of Chicago, Sloan's Utah Jazz put on another offensive show, beating the Detroit Pistons 115-104 on Wednesday.

The Charlotte Bobcats are on pace to take the next step. Refusing to let down the night after a big win over Miami, they won again and the destination could be the first playoff berth in the sixth season of the franchise. Gerald Wallace scored 28 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field, Stephen Jackson added 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the Bobcats won their fourth straight game with a 102-87...

Denver coach George Karl stayed at home to receive treatment for cancer and did not make the trip to Minnesota for the Nuggets' game against the Timberwolves on Wednesday. It has long been planned that Karl would remain in Denver for this trip to the Twin Cities. Assistant Adrian Dantley filled in as head coach for the fourth time in his career and second time this season.

The New Orleans Hornets' depleted starting lineup is taking another hit. Forward Peja Stojakovic joined All-Star point guard Chris Paul on the injured list Wednesday, and he's expected to miss at least two weeks with a lower abdominal strain. "That's a minimum timeframe, and it will all be dictated by the healing process," Jeff Bower, the Hornets' coach and general...

Centers Erick Dampier and Brendan Haywood returned to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night against the New Jersey Nets. Dampier missed the previous 12 games with a dislocated right middle finger. Haywood sat out two games with lower back tightness. Dallas played long stretches of zone defense and used small forward Shawn Marion at center while its two big men were sidelined.

Rafer Alston's absence from the Miami Heat took another turn Wednesday, with the team denying that the embattled point guard was told shortly before his sudden departure he would no longer get playing time. Alston was quoted by ESPN.com saying that he chose to leave because of a personal issue involving a family member, plus said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told him that he "wouldn't be...