Reserve J.R. Smith scored a season-high 41 points, hitting 10 3-pointers, to power the Denver Nuggets to a 124-104 win over the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Wednesday. Carmelo Anthony added 24 points for Denver, which won its sixth in a row at home to maintain a two-game lead in the Northwest Division. The victory was the first for Denver this season in six games missed by Chauncey Billups. Jamal Crawford scored 24 points for Atlanta, which fell 1-1/2 games behind Southeast Division leader Orlando. Magic 102, Rockets 97: In Orlando, Florida, Orlando retained its lead in the Southeast Division with a comfortable win over Houston. Dwight Howard had 20 rebounds and 13 points, outmuscling a Rockets team lacking size and strength in the middle. Jameer Nelson added 15 points in his first start for five weeks, helping the Magic win for the fifth time in six games ahead of a big Christmas Day match against the Boston Celtics. Carl Landry had 20 points for the Rockets. Cavaliers 117, Kings 104, OT: In Sacramento, California, Cleveland held Sacramento scoreless in overtime to pick up a hard-fought win. LeBron James had 34 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. He had 26 points in the first half but it was his defense in the final quarter and overtime that proved the difference, as the Kings missed all seven shots and turned the ball over twice in the extra period. Zydrunas Ilgauskas hit three 3-pointers in the extra session and finished with 25 points as the Cavaliers beat the Kings for the seventh straight time. Tyreke Evans finished with 28 points for the Kings, but made only one of eight shots in the fourth and overtime when manned by James. Trail Blazers 98, Spurs 94: In San Antonio, Jerryd Bayless scored a career-high 31 points in his first start for injured All-Star Brandon Roy, leading hobbled Portland over San Antonio. Portland played without Roy and center Joel Przybilla, but still posted a third straight win. Tim Duncan had 24 points for the Spurs, who are 2-10 against teams with winning records this season. Thunder 117, Suns 113: In Phoenix, Kevin Durant scored 38 points, including a key jumper from behind the key with 14 seconds left, as Oklahoma City ended its nine-game losing streak to Phoenix. Durant, who scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, gave Oklahoma City a 115-111 lead with his final field goal. Russell Westbrook added 19 points for the Thunder. Amare Stoudemire had a season-high 35 points and 14 rebounds for the Suns. Heat 80, Jazz 70: In Miami, the hosts won in a game where both sides had their lowest points total of the season. Dwyane Wade scored 29 points and Udonis Haslem added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, who improved to 11-1 against Utah since the start of the 2004-05 season. Deron Williams scored 18 points for the Jazz, who outshot Miami by a slim margin. But the Jazz had 21 turnovers, which Miami turned into 28 points. Utah is 0-5 when scoring under 90 points this season. Raptors 94, Pistons 64: In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Toronto held undermanned Detroit to its equal lowest score in franchise history. In other games it was: Wizards 109, Bucks 97; Hornets 108, Warriors 102; Timberwolves 103, Nets 99.
