NBA 2014-15: Baynes nails dunk for Spurs, Indiana trounce Bryant and the listless Lakers, Bucks grab nailbiting win

ARON Baynes has a standout performance for the Spurs, Kobe crashes back to earth and the Bucks land miracle win. All today’s action in the NBA wrap.

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 24: Aron Baynes #16 of the San Antonio Spurs dunks against Gustavo Ayon #14 of the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on January 24, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

ARON Baynes is the twice the player he used to be — and there are stats to prove it.

Baynes equalled his career-high of 15 points in the San Antonio Spurs’ 108-95 loss to Portland on Tuesday, continuing a trend of standout performances this year as he picks up extra game time thanks to a reduced workload for Tim Duncan and the absence so far of Tiago Splitter.

San Antonio Spurs forward Aron Baynes.

The Boomers forward averaged 9.3 minutes, 3.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game last season, which was a significant improvement on his rookie numbers the previous season.

But Baynes has effectively doubled those stats in 2014/15. Following Tuesday’s excellent outing against the Trail Blazers, which included nine rebounds and a steal in 32:16 minutes, he is averaging 16.9 minutes, 7.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

This was Baynes’ ninth double-digit scoring performance of the season. He managed that feat just three times throughout the regular- and post-seasons last year and not once in his rookie season of 2012/13.

Baynes’ outing against Portland was highlighted by a powerful dunk from a Boris Diaw assist in the second quarter, however his performances were not enough to lift the Spurs to victory who were without regular starters Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.

Meanwhile, Matthew Dellavedova toughed it out for 11:33 minutes of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 97-88 win over Charlotte after almost missing the game with a stomach bug.

Cavs coach David Blatt said Dellavedova had lost more than three kilograms in recent days due to the illness.

Cameron Bairstow was not activated by the Chicago Bulls in their 93-86 loss to Atlanta. It was the sixth time in the Bulls’ last nine games that Bairstow hasn’t stepped on court.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, right, goes to the hoop.

RAPTORS 95 — MAGIC 82

The Toronto Raptors followed up a second quarter to forget with a second half to remember.

Lou Williams scored 18 points, Kyle Lowry had 17 and the Raptors won their 10th straight game over the Orlando Magic.

Lowry opened the second half with five straight points to turn the game in Toronto’s favour as the Raptors boosted their Eastern Conference-leading record to 19-6 and won their third straight overall. It’s Toronto’ longest streak since a six-game run from Nov. 15 to 26.

Amir Johnson scored 11 points and Patrick Patterson had 10 for the Raptors, who improved to 11-1 this season against opponents with losing records.

Tobias Harris scored 18 points, Ben Gordon had 16, Nikola Vucevic had 13 and Victor Oladipo 12 for the Magic, who have not won in Toronto since March. 26, 2012.

CLIPPERS 113 — PISTONS 91

Blake Griffin scored 18 points, DeAndre Jordan had 16 points and 15 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers breezed to a 113-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.

Chris Paul had 11 points and eight assists. He committed one turnover in 24 minutes, after getting six in each of his previous two games. Paul finished last season with a league-best 4.57 assist-to-turnover ratio. Jodie Meeks had 20 points for Detroit.

J.J. Redick scored 14 points, and his streak of 29 games with a 3-pointer ended one game shy of teammate Matt Barnes’ franchise record.

Jodie Meeks had 20 points and Andre Drummond had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons, who were coming off road wins against Phoenix and Sacramento after losing 13 straight.

The Clippers led 55-44 at halftime. Griffin set up a pair of alley-oop dunks by Jordan 68 seconds apart, capping a 16-4 run that turned a one-point deficit into a 47-36 lead with 4:41 left in the second quarter.

Milwaukee Bucks' Khris Middleton celebrates after scoring the game-winning basket.

BUCKS 96 — SUNS 94

Khris Middleton hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Milwaukee Bucks a 96-94 win over the Phoenix Suns Monday night. Middleton’s shot bounced off the backboard and curled into the net for the game winner. It was the biggest three points of the 14 he scored on the night.

Morris led the Suns with 25 points, including two buckets in the last 24 seconds of a back-and-forth final five minutes.

Brandon Knight dropped in a running jump shot with 7.2 seconds left, part of his team-high 20 points for the Bucks (13-12).

Isaiah Thomas scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Thomas hit three 3-pointers and a layup between the 9:41 and 8:03 marks of the fourth.

But the Suns (12-14) dropped their sixth straight game, despite the Bucks losing prized rookie Jabari Parker to injury early in the second half.

Parker’s injury was announced as a left knee sprain. Parker left the game at the 10:52 mark of the third quarter, helped off the court by teammates after his knee appeared to buckle on a drive to the basket.

PACERS 110 — LAKERS 91

It didn’t take long for the Los Angeles Lakers to come down from their high of watching Kobe Bryant pass Michael Jordan for third place on the all-time NBA scoring list.

Just 24 hours after Bryant hit a pair of free throws against Minnesota to pass Jordan, the Indiana Pacers compiled a 33-point half-time lead en route to a 110-91 thrashing of Los Angeles.

“We were just embarrassed with the way we played in the first half,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said.

“We can’t afford to do that. We have got to come out and be desperate as well.”

The Lakers trailed 60-27 at the half as Bryant shot three from 13 and the bench was two from 19. The Lakers stumbled to 16.3 per cent shooting accuracy in the first 24 minutes.

The half-time score would have been much worse if the Lakers hadn’t scored the final six points of the half.

Rodney Stuckey posted his second straight double-double for the Pacers, who snapped the Lakers’ modest three-game win streak.

Stuckey tallied 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and Miles came off the bench to score 20 for Indiana, who hadn’t won a game since November 28.

Bryant finished with 21 points on eight of 26 shooting. Nick Young finished with 18 points and Carlos Boozer had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

LeBron James was toying with Charlotte in his team’s latest impressive win.

CAVALIERS 97 — HORNETS 88

If you’re planning on beating LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving up a 21-0 in the opening minutes isn’t the right way to go about it.

James scored 27 points with 13 assists while Love added 22 points and 18 rebounds in a game highlighted by big runs from both teams.

The Cavaliers jumped to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Hornets regrouped and got within two points early in the third quarter before Cleveland again pulled away.

The 21-0 lead to start a game was the largest since Portland scored the first 22 points against Boston in 2004.

“Being 21 down against an elite team on their floor is tough to overcome,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said.

“We played a good enough offensive game to win against a terrific team, but our first-quarter defence was obviously poor.”

Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 24 points. Al Jefferson added 14 for the Hornets, who are 1-10 away from home — the worst road record in the NBA. Charlotte has lost three straight and 13 of 15.

Charlotte centre Cody Zeller left the game late in the fourth quarter after hitting his head on the floor while scrambling for a loose ball with Anderson Varejao.

Atlanta Hawk Al Horford drives by the Bulls.

HAWKS 93 — BULLS 86

The Atlanta Hawks have shown they can beat up on the NBA’s weaker teams.

This time, they took down one with a more impressive resume.

Al Horford scored 21 points, including a huge jumper with just under a minute remaining, as the streaking Hawks won for the 10th time in 11 games with a 93-86 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Atlanta had a nine-game winning streak — its longest since 1997 — until Orlando hit a buzzer-beating shot on Sunday for a 100-99 victory.

But that run, as impressive as it was, came with a very large asterisk: none of the teams the Hawks beat had a winning record.

That wasn’t the case with the Bulls, who came in with three straight wins and just behind Atlanta in the Eastern Conference standings.

Kelly Olynyk goes up hard against Philadelphia.

CELTICS 105 — 76ERS 87

Kelly Olynyk scored a career-high 30 points after a pep talk from his coach, as the Boston Celtics cruised to a 105-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

“I talked to coach a couple of days ago,” Olynyk said, “and he said, `We need you to be aggressive. You need to stay aggressive. That’s when you’re at your best. That’s when you’re helping us’. That’s something I’m really focusing on and really been working on dialling in my shot and getting in a groove and it’s feeling good.”

Olynyk, a reserve, entered averaging 10.3 points per game but just 7.5 over his last 10 contests. But he came out with a scorer’s mentality against Philadelphia, tallying 18 points in the first half on seven-of-9 shooting before ending 12 from 17 from the field, including three of five from behind the arc.

Avery Bradley had 15 points and Brandon Bass and Jeff Green added 14 apiece for Boston (8-14), which snapped a three-game skid.

Rookie Nerlens Noel had a career-high 19 points for the 76ers (2-22), who dropped to 0-13 at home this season. Philadelphia moved closer to the NBA mark for worst home start to a season, set in the 1993-94 season when the Mavericks began 0-19.

Originally published as NBA 2014-15: Baynes nails dunk for Spurs, Indiana trounce Bryant and the listless Lakers, Bucks grab nailbiting win