Caron Butler

Chauncey Billups made his first three shots of the fourth quarter, leading the Detroit Pistons to an 87-71 win over the Cavaliers last night at Cleveland in the first matchup between the clubs since last season's playoffs. Billups, who was just 1 of 9 from the floor after three quarters, dropped three jumpers -- two 3-pointers -- in the first 3:02 of the fourth as the Pistons went on a 14-3 run to open a 71-58 lead with 8:19 left. Billups scored 17 points, including 12 in the fourth, and added 10 assists.

Clippers forward Caron Butler broke his left hand Sunday in Game 1 of Los Angeles' series against the Memphis Grizzlies. Butler had 12 points and two rebounds in 23 minutes, and the Clippers rallied without him. They tied the NBA playoff record for largest deficit overcome at the end of three quarters, when they trailed by 21, and beat the Grizzlies 99-98. The forward said he thinks he got hurt early in the third quarter when his hand got caught during a pin-down screen in the jersey of Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay, another former Connecticut star.

Blake Griffin had 23 points and 15 rebounds, Caron Butler added 21 points and Randy Foye scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter against his former team, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 102-84 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. Five players scored in double digits for the Clippers, who increased their lead in the Pacific Division to two games over the idle Lakers with their ninth victory in 12 contests. The Clippers took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter before John Wall cut it to 75-72 on a 16-footer with 10:12 remaining.

Blake Griffin had 23 points and 15 rebounds, Caron Butler added 21 points and Randy Foye scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter against his former team, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 102-84 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. Five players scored in double digits for the Clippers, who increased their lead in the Pacific Division to two games over the idle Lakers with their ninth victory in 12 contests. The Clippers took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter before John Wall cut it to 75-72 on a 16-footer with 10:12 remaining.

Amare Stoudemire had 36 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots and the Suns won their third in a row while snapping Golden State's three-game winning streak with a 123-115 victory last night in Phoenix. Steve Nash had 21 points - including 8 in a row in a big fourth-quarter stretch - and 13 assists. Raja Bell had 18 points, Boris Diaw 16, and Leandro Barbosa 14. Nash and Bell both were 4 of 6 on 3-pointers. The Suns made 12 of 24 threes, 7 of 12 in the second half. Baron Davis scored 38 points, 2 shy of his career high, for the Warriors.

Coaching his first game of any sort since a spot on the bench in his daughter's youth league in 1993 - "We won, but she complained about playing time," he said - Ed Tapscott juggled a few things and guided the Wizards to a 124-100 blowout of visiting Golden State last night, breaking Washington's five-game losing streak and avoiding the worst 12-game start in franchise history. Caron Butler scored a season-high 35 points, Andray Blatche had season highs with 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Antawn Jamison added 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Wizards improved to 2-10 with their best...

Caron Butler scored 29 points, Antawn Jamison had 28, and the Wizards beat the Toronto Raptors, 101-97, in Washington last night in a game in which each team was missing its best player. Butler went 10 for 18 from the field and added seven assists. Jamison was 11 for 18 and had 14 rebounds for the Wizards, who broke a two-game losing streak by shooting 56 percent. The Wizards improved to 5-4 without Gilbert Arenas, who is out several months with a knee injury, while Toronto is 1-1 without Chris Bosh, who did not make the trip because of a strained right groin.

Kevin Garnett had 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists and Richie Frahm hit key shots in the fourth quarter to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 109-98 victory over the Washington Wizards last night in Minneapolis. Wally Szczerbiak scored 17 points and Frahm and Troy Hudson added 16 each. Six Timberwolves players scored in double figures as Minnesota snapped a two-game losing streak. Gilbert Arenas had 33 points and Caron Butler added 15 for Washington, which has lost two straight.

Andrew Bogut had 24 points and 20 rebounds in his third career 20-20 game, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Knicks, 83-67, last night in New York for their third straight victory. Limited to just 5 1/2 minutes at Madison Square Garden three weeks ago because of a migraine, Bogut played 36 this time and overwhelmed the Knicks’ smaller front line. He shot 12 of 15 from the field in his first 20-20 game since Dec. 13, 2008, against Indiana, according to STATS, LLC. John Salmons scored 15 points for the Bucks, who forced the Knicks into their worst offensive performance of the season and...

LeBron James and Erik Spoelstra had a pregame meeting yesterday afternoon to talk about Miami’s offensive woes. Early returns suggest it was a productive chat. James scored 30 points, Dwyane Wade added 26, and the Heat beat Washington, 105-94, last night in Miami, keeping the Wizards winless away from home this season. James had 20 of his points in the first half, Wade added 15 in the third quarter, and though it didn’t get into a blowout until the fourth quarter — it’s the fifth time already this season where the Wizards have lost by double digits — it was comfortable...

Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan all had double-doubles after three quarters as the Los Angeles Clippers handed the dreadful Charlotte Bobcats yet another lopsided loss, 111-86 on Saturday night. Paul toyed with the Bobcats, finishing with 18 points and 14 assists in only 28 minutes. Griffin had 21 points and 10 rebounds and DeAndre Jordan had 11 points with 12 rebounds. Caron Butler added 16 points as the Clippers opened an 84-52 lead after three quarters. Kemba Walker had 19 points for the Bobcats, who've lost a franchise-record 14 straight and are on pace to...

WASHINGTON — Flip Saunders was fired Tuesday as coach of the NBA-worst Washington Wizards and replaced by assistant Randy Wittman, who has the job for the rest of the season. The Wizards fell to 2-15 this season, including 0-7 on the road, with a 20-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. Washington's next game is at home Wednesday against the Charlotte Bobcats. ‘‘We felt the team had become unresponsive, and we will look to Randy to provide a different voice and a change in philosophy moving forward," Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld...

Blake Griffin and the rest of the Los Angeles Clippers returned to their Playa Vista training facility together for the first time since April and greeted the newest member of the team, free agent Caron Butler, who is back in familiar territory. The nine-year veteran signed a three-year, $24 million contract on Friday, the first day that teams were allowed to sign free agents. His arrival gives the Clippers a much-needed boost at the small forward position, where they got less than adequate production last season from inexperienced youngsters Al-Farouq Aminu and...

LeBron James and Erik Spoelstra had a pregame meeting yesterday afternoon to talk about Miami’s offensive woes. Early returns suggest it was a productive chat. James scored 30 points, Dwyane Wade added 26, and the Heat beat Washington, 105-94, last night in Miami, keeping the Wizards winless away from home this season. James had 20 of his points in the first half, Wade added 15 in the third quarter, and though it didn’t get into a blowout until the fourth quarter — it’s the fifth time already this season where the Wizards have lost by double digits — it was comfortable for Miami (10-8)

Andrew Bogut had 24 points and 20 rebounds in his third career 20-20 game, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Knicks, 83-67, last night in New York for their third straight victory. Limited to just 5 1/2 minutes at Madison Square Garden three weeks ago because of a migraine, Bogut played 36 this time and overwhelmed the Knicks’ smaller front line. He shot 12 of 15 from the field in his first 20-20 game since Dec. 13, 2008, against Indiana, according to STATS, LLC. John Salmons scored 15 points for the Bucks, who forced the Knicks into their worst offensive performance of the season and...

Stephen Jackson scored 29 points and the Bobcats took advantage of Antawn Jamison’s miserable debut for Cleveland in a 110-93 victory last night in Charlotte, N.C., to send the league-best Cavaliers to their second straight loss. Two days after being acquired from Washington in a key trade, Jamison came off the bench and promptly went 0 for 12 from the field. He was blocked five times and tossed up two airballs, while looking out of synch with his new teammates. The Bobcats used a big run to end the third quarter to beat the Cavaliers for a third straight time and take the series,...

WASHINGTON - In a way, it wasn’t just a taunt, it was an insult to a team that made locking down scorers its business. Caron Butler, one of the last pillars of the disaster area that is the Washington Wizards, was pinned in the corner by Brian Scalabrine near the Celtics’ bench. Butler tried a crossover, but he lost the dribble. He picked the ball back up and heaved a three with Scalabrine extending his arm in a futile attempt to block it. After it splashed through the net, the look on his face said, “He can’t guard me’’ and the gesture with his hand - slashing motion across...

Kevin Garnett had 23 points, 19 rebounds, and 8 assists, and the Minnesota Timberwolves used a tough defense to snap the Suns' nine-game winning streak, 97-93, last night in Phoenix. Sam Cassell scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to help the Timberwolves win their fourth in a row and hand the Suns just their third defeat in 16 games. Garnett had 11 offensive boards, and has 65 rebounds in the last four games. Latrell Sprewell scored 22, including a 4-of-5 performance on 3-pointers, and Wally Szczerbiak added 14 points for Minnesota, which is 3-0 on a four-game...

Caron Butler made a 19-foot jumper with 0.5 seconds remaining, capping the Washington Wizards’ comeback from a 21-point deficit in a 92-91 victory over the Magic last night in Orlando. Washington went down by 21 in the first quarter, went ahead by 9 in the fourth, lost the lead again and then came back to cap a wild, wacky win. The last-place team in the Southeast Division improved to 2-0 against the Magic this season. Butler’s jumper from the corner swished over a charging Matt Barnes and he held his hand in the air right in front of the Magic’s bench as Orlando snapped its four-game winning...