Oct 12, 2008 - 1:47 AM
0 shoutsBy PA SportsTicker
DENVER 77, PHOENIX 72 ---------------------
INDIAN WELLS, California (Ticker) -- Mateen Cleaves scored 12 points off the bench as the Denver Nuggets downed the Phoenix Suns, 77-72, in a game that will be best remembered as the first NBA contest played outdoors in 35 years.
A crowd of 16,236 attended the AutoTrader.com Open at Indian Wells Tennis Gardens. The basketball floor was placed over the green tennis surface.
Steve Nash was the only member of the Suns to reach double figures, scoring 16 points in a game that was tied 10 times and featured eight lead changes.
Cool weather and winds played havoc with the teams' shooting. Denver hit 36.2 percent from the field; Phoenix connected at a 31.6 percent rate, going 25-for-79.
BOSTON 90, HOUSTON 89 ---------------------
BOSTON (Ticker) -- What was a simple preseason game between the Houston Rockets and world champion Boston Celtics nearly turned into much more.
Gabe Pruitt hit a bank shot with 6.6 seconds remaining as the Celtics edged the Rockets, 90-89, in a fiery matchup on Saturday.
Kevin Garnett scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Glen Davis scored 12 for the Celtics (2-1).
Hostilities began early when Ron Artest hit Paul Pierce on the right shoulder on a drive to the basket midway through the first quarter. No foul was called, but the Celtics' forward went to the locker room briefly with a bruised right shoulder.
Pierce returned and scored all of his 15 points by halftime.
GOLDEN STATE 122, OKLAHOMA CITY 102 -----------------------------------
OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- The Golden State Warriors scored the first eight points of the game and never gave up the lead en route to a 122-102 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in a preseason game.
Second-year guard Marco Belinelli led the Warriors with 22 points, while undrafted rookie DeMarcus Nelson from Oakland added 20 with seven assists and four steals. Veteran forward Al Harrington had 16.
Golden State was in midseason form by running the floor with a fast pace, scoring 70 points in the first half.
The Warriors also saw a 15-point halftime crumble to eight at the end of the third quarter.
DETROIT 111, MILWAUKEE 99 -------------------------
MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Arron Afflalo scored 19 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter to help the Detroit Pistons hold off the Milwaukee Bucks and post a 111-99 exhibition victory.
Detroit, which improved to 4-0 in the preseason, was in complete control of the contest early, opening up its lead with a 13-0 run in the first quarter before building a 61-44 advantage at the half.
Milwaukee surged back into contention in the third quarter, opening up the second half with a 13-2 run.
Andrew Bogut's basket with 4:27 to go in the period pulled the Bucks within 65-63. However, new Buck Richard Jefferson was whistled for a foul shortly thereafter and slapped with a technical foul when he protested, allowing the Pistons to replenish their lead after draining the subsequent three free throws.
