Jason Terry is accustomed to carrying the load for the Dallas bench. With the Mavericks missing three starters, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year got some much needed help from his fellow reserves Friday night. Terry scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, Dallas got 52 points from the bench and the Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 104-102 for their fifth straight win.

Scott Brooks spent his first year as the Thunder's coach trying to turn Oklahoma City into a defensive-minded team. While that's still a work in progress, at least he's made his team a winner. Kevin Durant scored 35 points, Russell Westbrook added 26 and the Thunder had their highest-scoring output of the season in a 127-108 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

Kevin Garnett missed last season's playoff series against Orlando with a knee injury. Rasheed Wallace signed with Boston after it was over. But the Magic made a key offseason pickup of their own. Vince Carter scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, including a tiebreaking fadeaway jumper with 2:33 left to give Orlando an 83-78 victory over Boston on Friday night.

The Toronto Raptors snapped their three-game skid Friday night, while the Miami Heat kept on stumbling. Chris Bosh had 29 points and 12 rebounds, Andrea Bargnani had 24 points and 10 boards and the Raptors beat the Heat 120-113. It was the second straight game that Bosh and Bargnani each had a double-double, after doing it in Wednesday's 104-91 loss at Utah.

Josh Smith spent most of the fourth quarter cheering on his teammates from the bench. He was on the court, though, for the biggest play of the game. After sitting for all but 44 seconds of the final period because of foul trouble, Smith soared through the lane to drop in a missed shot with 0.7 seconds remaining and the Atlanta Hawks won their seventh in a row, beating the Houston Rockets 105-103...

Cleveland's offense was stagnant, and the Indiana Pacers had turned a five-point halftime deficit into a five-point lead entering the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers went back to their tried-and-true formula -- LeBron, LeBron and more LeBron -- and it got the usual result. James scored 10 of his season-high 40 points in the final 7:07, and Cleveland beat the Pacers 105-95 on Friday night.

Rudy Gay received the pass and never hesitated. When the shot swished through the net, the giddy Memphis Grizzlies had plenty to celebrate. Gay tied his season high with 33 points, including a clutch jumper with 19 seconds remaining, Zach Randolph added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and the Grizzlies registered their first road win of the season with a 102-97 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on...

Retired NBA star Jayson Williams has agreed to a plea deal that would send him to prison for up to three years for accidentally shooting a driver at his New Jersey estate in 2002, a person with knowledge of the case told The Associated Press on Thursday. Williams, who retired in 2000 after playing nine seasons in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, was to face a retrial in...

Andre Miller had no excuses for Portland's near slip Wednesday night against the Pistons. "We relaxed," he said simply. Miller had 10 points and 11 assists for the Trail Blazers in their 87-81 victory over tenacious Detroit. Portland led by as many as 20 points in the second half, but the Pistons closed to 78-77 with 1:05 left.

The Dallas Mavericks needed a big game from Dirk Nowitzki to compensate for the loss of three injured starters, and that's exactly what he gave them. Nowitzki scored 11 of his season-high 41 points in overtime and the Mavericks held on to beat the injury-depleted San Antonio Spurs 99-94 on Wednesday night.

With LeBron James taking a second-half breather, Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler put the Washington Wizards way ahead. When James returned to the court, instead of leading a comeback, he became part of the problem in his Cleveland Cavaliers' 108-91 loss to Washington on Wednesday night.

Brandon Jennings knew it was a gamble. So far, all the odds have been in the rookie's favor. Jennings made a swipe and slam past two stunned Nets during a 15-0 run to start the second half, Andrew Bogut and Carlos Delfino each scored 21 points, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat winless New Jersey 99-85 on Wednesday night.

Al Harrington helped the Knicks finally get a win. Now, he hopes they can get a superstar. Harrington scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and New York beat Indiana 110-103 on Wednesday night to snap a six-game losing streak and halt the Pacers' win streak at five games. Much of the talk after the game was about Allen Iverson.

Al Jefferson crumpled to the court in pain, the victim of an inadvertent kick to the head by Houston's Carl Landry in the fourth quarter. It was a literal rendition of what has been happening on a proverbial level to the Minnesota Timberwolves nearly all season long. Luis Scola had 20 points and a season-high 16 rebounds in Houston's 97-84 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night,...

Rashard Lewis thinks he had a triple-double sometime in his basketball career, so he wasn't all that concerned that he didn't get a chance to post another one. Lewis sat out the entire fourth quarter of the Orlando Magic's 108-94 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in only his second game back after missing...

Kevin Garnett needed just one name to explain what keyed Boston's strong third quarter. "Rondo," Garnett said, pausing for effect. "I thought he changed the momentum of the game. I thought he was a lot more solid. He was aggressive. He picked up the energy." Rajon Rondo scored 12 of his season high-matching 18 points in the third and the Celtics rebounded from a two-game skid...

When Joe Johnson is scoring and Josh Smith is doing a little bit of everything, the Atlanta Hawks are awfully hard to beat. The Miami Heat got a sampling of that 1-2 punch Wednesday night. Johnson made it two straight 30-point games, Smith dominated during a decisive first-half run and the Hawks won their sixth in the row, beating Miami 105-90 to reclaim a share of the NBA's best record with...