Nate Robinson came off the bench to lead the Chicago Bulls over Minnesota on Saturday, ending the Timberwolves’ three-game winning streak with an 87-80 victory.
Robinson played 31 minutes for 18 points after starting point guard Kirk Hinrich left the game with a right hip strain in the second quarter, but not before he scored 11 points in the period to help Chicago beat Minnesota for the sixth straight time.
Joakim Noah added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Luol Deng chippd in with 16 points and seven rebounds, as the Bulls bounced back from their second home loss in three outings for its fourth win of the season.
Nikola Pekovic led the short-handed Timberwolves with 18 points and eight rebounds. Andrei Kirilenko added 11 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Minnesota’s three-game streak matched its season high from last season.
Marco Belinelli hit three 3-pointers in the opening minutes to help the Bulls establish a nine-point lead. Chicago hit 6 for 13 from behind the arc, its season high for makes. The Bulls entered the game last in the NBA in 3-point makes and attempts.
The Bulls led by as many as 10 points down the stretch, going up by that margin when Deng hit a jumper from the corner with 3:53 remaining.
The Timberwolves closed within five points on Dante Cunningham’s layup with 42.6 second to play, but the Bulls held on down the stretch.
The Indiana Pacers continued the misery for the winless Washington Wizards, with Paul George scoring points for the Pacers beat in its 89-85 victory at home. Roy Hibbert added seven points, 11 rebounds and two blocks for the Pacers, who ended a three-game slump, despite trailing by two at the start of the final quarter.
Manu Ginobili hit two big free throws in the final seconds as the San Antonio Spurs edged the Portland Trail Blazers 112-109.
The Blazers hit four straight 3-pointers to tie it at 109 with 40.5 seconds left, but Portland stumbled from there and was saddled with its third consecutive loss, despite Nicolas Batum’s career-high 33 points.
Gary Neal had 27 points and Tim Duncan added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs, who ended its seven-game losing streak at the Rose Garden.
In Charlotte, Rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had a career-high 25 points and 12 rebounds to help the Charlotte Bobcats snap a 16-game losing streak against the Mavericks.
Kemba Walker added 26 points and seven assists for Charlotte and Ramon Sessions made some big shots down the stretch and in overtime, finishing with 12 points.
O.J. Mayo scored 22 points and Vince Carter had 19 points for the Mavericks, which lost for the second straight night on the road after a 3-0 start.
At Milwaukee, Paul Pierce scored 25 points, Kevin Garnett added 18 and the Boston Celtics rallied for a 96-92 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Monta Ellis led the Bucks with 32 points, while Samuel Dalembert added 14 points and eight rebounds.
Rajon Rondo had 10 points and 10 assists for the Celtics, giving him 30 straight games with 10 or more assists, the third-longest streak in NBA history. Magic Johnson has the longest streak at 46 games from April 1983 to February 1984.
In other games, Thaddeus Young, Jrue Holiday and Nick Young scored 16 points apiece and the Philadelphia 76ers beat Toronto 93-83, James Harden’s 20 points led the Houston Rockets over the winless Detroit Pistons 96-82 and Al Jefferson had 27 points and 14 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz held on for a 94-81 win over the Phoenix Suns.
In a late game Saturday, the Denver Nuggets needed two periods of overtime to finally overcome the Golden State Warriors 107-101.
