NEW YORK (AP):
CHRIS PAUL scored 27 points and had a hand in three clutch baskets in the final minutes, leading the New Orleans Hornets over the New York Knicks 100-88 in the NBA on Monday night.
Tyson Chandler added 15 points and 18 rebounds for the Hornets, who made sure the Knicks will suffer their seventh straight losing season. They did it by controlling the final minutes behind Paul, who finished with eight assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Jamal Crawford scored 20 points and Eddy Curry ended a month-long slump with 19 for the Knicks.
Jazz 116 Mavericks 110
At Salt Lake City, Deron Williams had 20 assists and 17 points, and Utah rallied for a 16-0 run late in the fourth quarter to down Dallas.
The Jazz took a 21-point lead shortly after forward Andrei Kirilenko was knocked out of the game with a hip injury on a flagrant foul by Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki in the first quarter. But they allowed the Mavericks to creep back and take a late lead before Utah's rally at the end.
Utah made all 18 free throws in the fourth quarter and improved to 26-3 at home, the best home record in the league.
Mehmet Okur had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Carlos Boozer scored 28 points and three steals, stripping the ball two times in a row from Nowitzki as Utah pulled away in the final minutes.
Josh Howard scored 25 points and Nowitzki finished with 23 for Dallas, which fell to 4-4 since acquiring Jason Kidd.
76ers 106 Clippers 80
At Los Angeles, André Iguodala scored 18 points, five of his teammates also scored in double figures, and the Philadelphia avoided a letdown after their upset win at Phoenix.
Samuel Dalembert had 12 points and 12 rebounds, helping Philadelphia win for the 10th time in 13 games. The 76ers, trying to earn their first play-off berth since 2005, are a game ahead of eighth-place New Jersey and two ahead of ninth-place Atlanta in the Eastern Conference.
Rookie Al Thornton had 20 points for the Clippers, who have dropped six straight, and are one shy of their longest losing streak this season. They committed 18 turnovers, which Philadelphia converted into 27 points. Eight of the Clippers' last 11 losses have been by double-digits.
