NBA-Highlights of Saturday's NBA games

Jan 18 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Saturday's National Basketball Association games. - - - Pacers 106, Clippers 92 Paul George and Lance Stephenson continued their push toward NBA All-Star Game bids in leading the team with the NBA's best record, the Indiana Pacers, to their fourth straight victory. George and Stephenson scored 36 and 22 points respectively in a 106-92 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers. The Central Division-leading Pacers improved to 32-7 while the Clippers, who lead the Pacific Division, fell to 28-14 as they saw a five-game winning streak stopped. George has averaged 30.7 points in the past three games. - - - Heat 104, Bobcats 96 (overtime) LeBron James had 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Miami Heat, missing Dwyane Wade, pulled out a 104-96 overtime win over the Charlotte Bobcats. The Heat scored the first four points of overtime and never trailed in the extra session, outscoring the Bobcats 14-6 after the teams were tied at 90 at the end of regulation. The Heat raised their record to 29-11 and won for the second straight night after losing three in a row earlier on this six-game road trip while the Bobcats dropped to 17-25. - - - Pistons 104, Wizards 98 Josh Smith scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half and Rodney Stuckey had 20 as the Detroit Pistons rallied during the third quarter for a 104-98 win over the Washington Wizards. Kyle Singler added 14 points and Greg Monroe had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons (17-23). John Wall scored 34 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, and Martell Webster had 15 for the Wizards (19-20). - - - Timberwolves 98, Jazz 72 The Minnesota Timberwolves clobbered the Utah Jazz 98-72. The Wolves limited the Jazz to 23 first-half points, led by 28 before halftime and by as many as 36 after intermission against a Utah team that won by 21 points in Detroit the night before. The Wolves ended a three-game losing streak and got back within two games of .500 (19-21) after a 27-point night from Nikola Pekovic and an 18-point, 13-rebound game from Kevin Love. - - - Rockets 114, Bucks 104 Terrence Jones scored a career-high 36 points with an exceptional shooting performance as the Houston Rockets ran to a 114-104 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Jones matched his career high of 25 points in the first half and converted 12 consecutive shots from the field during one stretch. - - - Bulls 103, 76ers 78 Joakim Noah produced 21 points and 16 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls rolled to a 103-78 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The margin of victory was the largest this season for the Bulls, who led by as many as 36 points. Chicago are now 7-2 this month and have won 10 of their last 14 games. D.J. Augustin added 19 points and eight assists for the Bulls (19-20) while Philadelphia (13-27) have lost seven of their last eight games. - - - Trail Blazers 127, Mavericks 111 The Portland Trail Blazers are rolling again. The NBA's surprise team of the season hit a recent snag but bounced back with five consecutive victories, the latest being a near-flawless 127-111 domination of the Dallas Mavericks. At 31-9, the Blazers moved into a tie with the Spurs atop the rugged Western Conference while the Mavs dropped to 24-18. Dallas native LaMarcus Aldridge always has monster performances in his hometown and he did so again with a team-high 30 points and 12 rebounds. - - - Warriors 97, Pelicans 87 The Golden State Warriors produced a 97-87 comeback victory over the New Orleans Pelicans to improve their road record to 14-11 and get to 26-16 on the season. Stephen Curry's team-high 28 points lifted the Warriors to their seventh consecutive victory over New Orleans. New Orleans (15-24) forward Anthony Davis scored 21 first-half points on seven of 10 shooting and finished with 31 points and 17 rebounds. (Editing by Peter Rutherford and John O'Brien)