NBA News

[abadani69]

The Phoenix Suns keep winning. That's about the best you can say for their uninspired effort lately.

The worst came Wednesday night, when they escaped with a 115-106 overtime victory over a Charlotte team at the end of a winless six-game road trip.

The Suns needed a career-high 32 points from Leandro Barbosa and 19 3-pointers -- one shy of their franchise best -- to send the Bobcats to their seventh loss in a row.

Phoenix is 8-1 since the All-Star break, but the record has been far more impressive than the Suns' level of play.

"I'm getting kind of tired of coming up here and making excuses," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We're not focused. We're not playing hard enough."

Steve Nash wondered about the Suns' commitment to be a title contender.

"How long does it take to learn a lesson?" he said. "We've got to learn a lesson and be more committed to our goals, and take more pride in that."

Barbosa saved the day.

The "Brazilian Blur" made a career-best seven 3-pointers in 11 attempts. He made two in the overtime, the first putting the Suns ahead for good 103-100 with 3:38 left. The second one put the game out of reach at 113-104 with 1:04 to play.

"I'm doing great on my shot right now," he said. "I always try to do my best. I've been working a lot for that to happen, so it's good."

The Suns played the last 25 minutes without Amare Stoudemire, who was ejected after drawing his second technical foul with 8:10 left in the third quarter. Stoudemire has 14 technicals this season. Two more and he will be suspended for a game.

Stoudemire left without talking to reporters.

"He's playing with fire now," Nash said. "The first suspension is livable because it's one game. After that it gets bigger every time, and we can't afford that. Hopefully he doesn't get any the rest of the year."

Without Emeka Okafor for the sixth game, Charlotte made it extremely tough on the ragged home team.

"I've been on great basketball teams and good basketball teams," Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff said, "and on this last game, a lot of guys would mail in that game to get home, so I'm really proud of those young men. I really am."

Gerald Wallace and Adam Morrison scored 22 apiece for the Bobcats, who have never beaten Phoenix in six tries. Wallace also had 15 rebounds.

Ex-Sun Jake Voskuhl had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte.

"The last place you want to play in the last game on a trip is Phoenix," Voskuhl said, "especially when you've lost five in a row. We came out and we competed tonight. We didn't win but we competed. We played hard."

Nash had 24 points and 11 assists for the Suns, but missed a driving layup with six seconds left in regulation. Shawn Marion matched his career best with six blocked shots, along with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Raja Bell scored 18, going 5-of-11 of 3s. Phoenix finished 19-for-38 from 3-point range.

Charlotte played zone defense against the best long-range shooting team in the league.

"It's personnel," Bickerstaff explained. "Some things we do out of necessity. A drowning man will grab a razor blade."

Using an ultra-small lineup that had Marion as their biggest player on the court, the Suns dominated the overtime, going 6-of-8, including 3-of-4 on 3-pointers.

Before that, it was dangerously close to the ugliest loss of the season for a Phoenix team that has the second-best record in the NBA at 47-14.

The Suns led by as many as 16 in the first half but went more than eight minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter.

With the score tied at 98, Nash missed a driving layup with six seconds left in regulation, then Raymond Felton was called for an offensive foul with 0.4 left. Boris Diaw, back after missing nine games with back spasms, threw an inbounds lob to Marion, whose tip at the buzzer bounced off the rim, sending the game to overtime.

Stoudemire's ejection came at the start of a 10-2 run that gave the Bobcats a 69-62 lead on Wallace's breakaway dunk after Nash's turnover with 6:44 left in the first quarter.

Referee Jack Nies called the first technical on Stoudemire just after the halftime buzzer. Bob Delaney whistled him for his second, for tossing the ball at Charlotte's Matt Carroll, with 8:10 to play in the third.

Consecutive 3s by Bell and Nash triggered a 10-2 Suns' run that put Phoenix back on top 72-71. Barbosa's 3-pointer capped the rally, and it was tied at 79 ^Notes: The Suns are a franchise-record 25-4 against the Eastern Conference with one game left, March 16 against Detroit. ... Phoenix's 114-84 victory in Charlotte on Dec. 10 was the team's most one-sided win of the season. ... The Suns' previous five victories over the Bobcats were by an average of 15.8 points.

[Rasputin]

Carmelo Anthony had 29 points and six rebounds Sunday night as Denver beat the Sacramento Kings, 113-101.

Denver faced a two-point deficit after the first 12 minutes, but out-scored Sacramento, 32-16, to forge a 59-45 halftime advantage.


Sacramento never staged a serious rally in the second half.


Linas Kleiza had 24 points and eight rebounds; Allen Iverson had 24 points, seven assists, and six rebounds; while Marcus Camby had 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists for the Nuggets, who had lost their previous five games against the Kings.


Mike Bibby paced Sacramento with 34 points and four assists.


In his return following an arrest on suspicion of domestic violence,


Ron Artest had 17 points and eight rebounds; and Kevin Martin had 19 points, three rebounds, and four steals for the Kings, who have lost their last two games.

[Rasputin]

An elbow thrown at the Sixers' Kyle Korver by the Lakers' Kobe Bryant in the final moments of the first half of Friday night's game is "being looked at" by league officials, an NBA source indicated.

Bryant was coming off a one-game suspension for a blow to the face of Minnesota guard Marko Jaric and had served an earlier one-game suspension for a similar incident with San Antonio guard Manu Ginobli.

In an Associated Press report from Indianapolis Saturday night, Korver said, "I didn't think it was that big a deal. I thought it was an offensive foul. After I saw it on replay, it looked a lot worse than I thought it was during the game. It all happens fast. It's no big deal. It's just part of the game."

Henderson to return?

Alan Henderson could be returning to the 76ers.

President/general manager Billy King won't say it, but that is apparently the plan.

The Sixers sent the backup big man to the Utah Jazz just before the NBA trading deadline to bring their payroll below the league's luxury-tax trigger-point. In the deal, the Sixers sent along sufficient cash to cover the remainder of Henderson's salary. The Jazz subsequently waived him.

The Sixers, left with just 12 players on their roster, one below the minimum league requirement, added forward Louis Amundson Thursday on a 10-day contract. They could not bring Henderson back until March 24, 30 days after the trade.

[Rasputin]

Richard Hamilton scored 15 of his 23 points in the first quarter and the Detroit Pistons beat the Clippers, 98-80, yesterday in Los Angeles while Rasheed Wallace sat out a one-game suspension.

The Pistons, who lead the Eastern Conference standings by 2 games over Cleveland, became the first team in the conference this season to win 20 road games. Hamilton made his first eight shots and was 10-for-12 from the field overall, helping Detroit beat the Clippers for the ninth straight time and 18th in the last 22 meetings.

Antonio McDyess scored 17 points and Chris Webber had 19 points and 11 rebounds.



Wallace was suspended without pay for receiving his 16th technical foul of the season from referee Bob Delaney during Friday night’s victory at Denver. Players and coaches are allowed 15 technicals before the automatic suspensions kicks in. Every other technical after that also will result in a one-game ban.

Mavericks 108, Lakers 72 - Dallas endured a minimum of stress in extending its franchise-record winning streak to 17 games with a win in Los Angeles.

Josh Howard scored 24 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 19, and the Mavericks took control early in embarrassing the Lakers to match the longest winning streak in the NBA this season. The loss was the most one-sided setback at home for the Lakers since they moved to Los Angeles from Minneapolis in 1960.

The Mavericks (52-9) lost to the Lakers in their last visit to Los Angeles a little over two months ago, snapping a 13-game winning streak. They were never in jeopardy this time after taking a 59-35 halftime lead.

Cavaliers 99, Pacers 88 - LeBron James scored 26 points - his lowest total in 11 games - but Cleveland won its fifth straight, handing wilting Indiana its ninth straight loss.

James, who has been on a scoring binge since before the All-Star break, had scored at least 32 points in his previous six games. Larry Hughes added 23 points and Drew Gooden 19 for the Cavaliers.

Heat 106, Wizards 104 - Udonis Haslem’s 10-footer in the lane with 0.3 seconds left capped a wild back-and-forth game and gave host Miami a victory over Washington.

The Heat blew a 16-point first-half lead, then rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to win their sixth straight overall and 12th straight at home - plus get within one game of Washington in the Southeast Division.

Eddie Jones had 18 points and Gary Payton added a season-high 17 for the Heat, who had all eight players in their rotation score in double figures.

Nuggets 113, Kings 101 - Allen Iverson [stats] had 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds to spoil Ron Artest’s return to the lineup, and Denver snapped a 20-game losing streak in Sacramento.

Carmelo Anthony added 29 points and six rebounds and Marcus Camby had 16 points, 10 boards and six assists as the Nuggets ended a five-game skid to the Kings.

Artest had 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists in his return following his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence. Mike Bibby scored 34 points for Sacramento.

[abadani69]

Leandro Barbosa matched his career best with his second 32-point performance in three games and the Phoenix Suns improved to 10-1 since the All-Star break with a 103-82 rout of the Houston Rockets on Monday night.

Shawn Marion had 14 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Suns, who beat Houston for the sixth time in a row.

Phoenix had been winning ugly, but not in this one, turning the game into a blowout in the fourth quarter. Boris Diaw Aadded 15 points for the Suns, who had six players in double figures.

Suns coach Mike D'Antoni wasn't around to see the end of his 200th NBA career victory. He drew two quick technicals from referee Ron Olesiak with 5:28 left in the third quarter for his first ejection in two seasons.

Tracy McGrady, defended by Marion most of the night, scored 19 on just 8-for-28 shooting.

Yao Ming, who scored 37 in a home victory over Orlando on Sunday, had his usual difficult night against the Suns' fast-paced style. The big center scored 10 points but made only 1-of-9 shots in 30 frustrating minutes.

In a 2-minute, 37-second stretch of the fourth quarter, Yao had consecutive shots blocked by Kurt Thomas, was called for a three-second violation twice and was whistled for two offensive fouls. He dejectedly went to the bench for good with 7 minutes to play.

Phoenix completed a 5-0 homestand and plays at Dallas on Wednesday in a matchup of the teams with the two best records in the NBA.

Barbosa made 12-of-18 shots, and missed his last two.

Juwan Howard made all seven of his shots and finished with 14 points for Houston.

[abadani69]

When the second overtime began in a game that already had plenty of thrills, Amare Stoudemire was ready to settle things.

So he went to the basket. Hard.

Between points and fouls that got Dallas Mavericks starters disqualified, Stoudemire's strong start got the Phoenix Suns going toward a 129-127 victory Wednesday night in a tense, thrilling game between the league's two best teams.

"He's a great finisher," marveled teammate Steve Nash. "That was quite a performance."

Stoudemire had 41 points and 10 rebounds, and Nash played like a two-time MVP down the stretch. He scored 10 points in the final minute of regulation, capped by a tying 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left. He finished with 32 points, 16 assists and eight rebounds.

Jerry Stackhouse scored 33 points, his most in three seasons with Dallas, and Dirk Nowitzki added 30 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. He had eight points and seven rebounds in the third quarter, when the Mavs turned what had been a 16-point deficit into a 15-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

Phoenix rallied by opening the fourth by making eight straight shots and 10-of-12. While that set up Nash's great finish, four missed free throws by Dallas -- including two by Nowitzki -- were equally important.

The Mavericks remained shaky at the start of overtime, then Jason Terry scored five points in the final 48 seconds, including a long 3 over Nash with 4.5 seconds to go that the second OT.

Stoudemire helped Phoenix take it from there, although it still took a missed 8-footer by Nowitzki as time expired to end Dallas' 23-game home winning streak and tighten the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.

"This was a big game. We aren't going to try to downplay it," Stackhouse said. "It was a little disappointing not to get the win but we'll bounce back."

The Suns won their sixth straight and 11th in 12 games, moving them within 2 1/2 games of the Mavericks for the best record in the league.

Dallas seemed like a lock for the top spot just a few days ago, when a 17-game winning streak prompted talk of 70 wins for the season.

But now the Mavs have dropped consecutive games for the first time since their 0-4 start. This was their first home loss since Dec. 7.

"They might not lose two more the rest of the season," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said.

The Suns have 18 games left and the Mavs have 19. The clubs meet again April 1 in Phoenix, with the Dallas leading the season series 2-1.

The top seed in the West is worth much more than bragging rights. In addition to the home-court advantage in every round, there's also a better draw; whichever team doesn't get No. 1 likely will be on course to meet the San Antonio Spurs in the second round.

No wonder both teams played as if this was more than just another game.

"That was a playoff atmosphere," Stoudemire said. "Both teams played with high intensity. Both teams were in it until the end. We definitely wanted to win but we also want to improve."

By game's end, these weren't the same Mavericks.

Josh Howard and Erick Dampier fouled out early in the second overtime, Devin Harris was hurt in the second quarter and Devean George missed the game with an injury.

The calls that got Howard and Dampier tossed were booed loudly by a season-high crowd of 20,525. Then Nowitzki got a technical foul for arguing a non-call. Stackhouse had a bigger beef about a missed foul soon after -- but didn't dare say anything.

When Nowitzki's last try missed and he wound up on the ground, a building that had been buzzing all night went eerily silent, as if no one was sure it was really over. Then there were some boos at officials, with Mavs owner Mark Cuban seemingly making a hurried exit.

Terry had 27 points, five assists, five rebounds -- and five turnovers, including one in the final half-minute of the second overtime. Howard scored 19 points and Dampier had eight points with 11 rebounds; amazingly, all were on the offensive end.

Phoenix's Leandro Barbosa, who missed a potential winner at the end of the first OT, scored 17 points before fouling out. Shawn Marion had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Raja Bell scored 11 points.

Stoudemire made 16 of 19 shots. His dominance inside reminded the Suns how badly they could've used him against Dallas in the Western Conference finals last year.

"He was unstoppable," D'Antoni said. "He had a little sore back, a little muscle cramp or something in the first half. ... But, man, did he rise to the occasion in the fourth quarter."

So did Nash and Nowitzki, the good friends, former teammates and MVP front-runners.

The game ended with Nash rebounding Nowitzki's miss. Overall, though, both made plenty of big plays and had their share of regrettable ones.

There were several 1-on-1 matchups, too, with Nowitzki getting the best of them in the overtimes. Earlier, Nash scooped a left-handed layup around the big German, prompting Nowitzki to tell officials he was elbowed. Nowitzki later smiled as he recommended a technical foul against Nash for complaining about a non-call.

Midway through the fourth, Nowitzki dribbled around Nash and no one else was between him and the basket, so he sped up and threw down a dunk about as hard as he ever does.

Notes

The same "impostors" Dallas coach Avery Johnson said he saw while watching tape of the loss to Golden State on Monday night seemed to be back on the court for the Mavs in the first quarter. They had more turnovers (seven) than field goals (five) and allowed 32 points. ... Phoenix's James Jones went 3-for-3 on 3s in the second quarter, but finished with just those nine points. ... George missed the game because of a flare-up of a knee injury. The Mavs plan to be extra cautious with George the rest of the regular season in hopes he'll be ready for the playoffs.

[donsaeid]

رقابتهاي بسكتبال ليگ حرفه*اي آمريكا( (NBAيكشنبه شب باانجام چند ديدار در شهرهاي مختلف اين قاره پيگيري شد.

درپايان رقابتهاي اين شب تيم*هاي تورنتو،ديترويت،واشنگتن، يوتا، فونيكس و دالاس صدرنشين رقابتهاي مناطق مختلف باقي ماندند.

به گزارش ايرنا نتايج اين رقابتها به شرح زير است.

واشنگتن ۱۲۵نيواورلئان ۱۰۳
اينديانا ۱۱۳اتلانتا ۹۰
كليولند ۸۲يوتا ۷۳
ساكرامنتو ۹۵اورلاندو ۸۳
بوستون ۹۱سن آنتونيو ۸۵
ممفيس ۱۰۴شيكاگو ۱۰۳
ميلواكي ۹۷شارلوت ۹۱
دنور ۱۳۱فونيكس ۱۰۷
گلدن استيت ۹۹سياتل ۹۸
جدول رده بندي - كنفرانس شرق
.............................

منطقه اتلانتيك
تورنتو ۳۶برد ۳۰باخت
نيوجرسي ۳۶ ۳۰
نيويورك ۳۶ ۲۹
منطقه مركزي
ديترويت ۴۰ ۴۲
كليولند ۴۰ ۴۱
شيكاگو ۲۵ ۳۹
منطقه جنوب
واشنگتن ۲۸ ۳۶
ميامي ۲۹ ۳۶
اورلاندو ۳۷ ۳۰
كنفرانس غرب
................

منطقه شمالغرب
يوتا ۲۳ ۴۳
دنور ۳۱ ۳۳
مينه سوتا ۳۶ ۲۸
منطقه پاسيفيك
فونيكس ۱۶ ۵۰
ليكرز ۳۲ ۳۴
گلدن استيت ۳۶ ۳۲
منطقه جنوب غرب
...............

دالاس ۱۱ ۵۳
سن انتونيو ۲۰ ۴۶
هوستون ۲۵ ۴۱
برنامه ادامه اين مسابقات در روز دوشنبه
........................................

تورنتو با نيويورك
دالاس با ديترويت
اورلاندو با ميامي
كليپرز با نيوجرسي
هوستون با فيلادلفيا
مينه سوتا با ليكرز
سياتل با پورتلند

[abadani69]

One bad game was more than enough for Amare Stoudemire.

The Phoenix Suns' big man bounced back from one of his worst outings of the season to score 33 points and grab 21 rebounds and lead the Phoenix Suns to a 118-100 victory over a Sacramento team playing without Ron Artest on Thursday night.

It was the first time Stoudemire had topped 30 points and 20 rebounds in a game in his career.

"Welcome to the 30-20 club buddy," said teammate Shawn Marion, the last Phoenix player the achieve the feat with 31 points and 24 rebounds a year ago.

They are the only Suns to do it since 1995.

Steve Nash had 17 points and 16 assists to help Phoenix hand the Kings their eighth loss in nine games.

With Artest absent, Phoenix dominated the game inside with a 58-33 rebound advantage that offset the Suns' 5-for-22 3-point shooting. Phoenix was 1-for-16 on 3s until Jalen Rose made three of them in the fourth quarter.

Stoudemire's string of double-digit scoring games ended at 55 with his four-point, two-rebound performance against Minnesota on Wednesday night. He started a new streak with his 11th 30-point game of the season.

"I couldn't believe I had four points and two rebounds the game before," Stoudemire said. "It was tough for me to realize what it was. I wanted to come out tonight and set a tone and get better before the playoffs."

He was 12-for-17 from the field and 9-of-16 from the foul line.

"He was just real active," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "You know, some games teams play us different ways. We don't know how they're going to play and we really don't care. If they're going to collapse on Amare, we're going to shoot 3s. If they're going to kind of stay out, we'll go to Amare. If they put little guys on him, we'll go inside."

Boris Diaw added 15 points and tied a career high with 14 rebounds. Leandro Barbosa -- starting in place of Diaw for the second game in a row -- scored 17 for Phoenix.

Mike Bibby scored 28 and Kevin Martin 19 for Sacramento, playing for the second night in a row and also missing Kenny Thomas and Brad Miller because of injuries.

"We maybe ran out of a little bit of gas on the second night of back-to-back with only a rotation of eight guys," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "It's a tired locker room. You walk in there and guys laid it on the line and played significant amount of minutes."

Artest was in court Thursday on misdemeanor charges, including battery and corporal injury to a spouse, stemming from an incident with his wife. He had planned to catch a flight to Phoenix after the hearing, but the plane was diverted to Ontario, Calif., because of thunderstorms. After still more delays in California, Artest returned to Sacramento on the advice of Kings president Geoff Petrie.

The team found out shortly before the game that they wouldn't have Artest.

"We've got to deal with what we have," Bibby said. "We played with the guys we had. Regardless of who's out there, we still have to play the game. Everything moves on. We played good. They just had a slight run in the third quarter, and that's what killed us."

Diaw's three-point play punctuated a 14-3 run that put the Suns ahead 78-62 with 5:15 left in the third quarter. Stoudemire's fastbreak three-point play after a Sacramento turnover put Phoenix up 89-71 with 33.2 seconds remaining in the quarter. The Suns led 89-73 entering the fourth.

Sacramento got no closer than 12 in the final quarter.

Phoenix was 1-for-14 on 3-pointers and committed 10 turnovers in the first half and still led 57-52 at the break, thanks largely to a 36-15 rebounding advantage.

Sacramento used an 11-3 run to take a 38-32 lead on Martin's 18-footer 7:26 before halftime. Diaw scored four and Stoudemire three in a 7-1 spurt that tied it at 39 5:43 before the break.

Notes

The Suns had a 64-38 advantage in points in the paint. ... The Suns can sweep the season series 4-0 when the teams play again Sunday in Sacramento. ... Phoenix is 28-5 against teams with a losing record. Three of the losses came without Nash. ... The Kings are 3 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers -- with three teams between them -- in the fight for the Western Conference's final playoff spot. Sacramento has made the postseason eight years in a row.

[abadani69]

I went to this game, it was awsomeeeeeeeeeeeeee. It's fun toooooooooo

[donsaeid]

تيم ديترويت صدرنشين منطقه مركزي رقابت*هاي بسكتبال حرفه*اي باشگاه*هاي آمريكا روز شنبه مقابل سن آنتونيو تن به شكست داد.

به گزارش خبرگزاري فرانسه، در اين ديدار تيم ديترويت با نتيجه نزديك ۹۰بر ۸۹مغلوب تيم سن آنتونيو شد اما در صدر جدول رده بندي منطقه مركزي باقي ماند.

درساير بازي*ها نتايج زير بدست آمد :
..................................

فيلادلفيا ۱۰۶شارلوت ۹۷
اينديانا ۹۵ميامي ۷۰
تورنتو ۱۲۱دنور ۹۴
كليولند ۹۰نيويورك ۶۸
دالاس ۱۰۹بوستون ۹۵
پورتلند ۱۰۲آتلانتا ۱۰۰
اورلاندو ۹۰نيوجرسي ۸۲
ليكرز ۱۱۱نيو اورلئان ۱۰۵
سياتل ۸۵مينه سوتا ۸۲
كليپرز ۱۰۴يوتا ۷۲
جدول رده بندي
..............


* كنفرانس شرق
منطقه آتلانتيك
تورنتو ۳۸برد ۳۱باخت
نيوجرسي ۳۸ ۳۱
نيويورك ۳۹ ۳۰
منطقه مركزي
ديترويت ۲۵ ۴۳
كليولند ۲۷ ۴۲
شيكاگو ۳۰ ۴۰
منطقه جنوب شرقي
واشنگتن ۲۹ ۳۷
ميامي ۳۱ ۳۷
اورلاندو ۳۸ ۳۲

* كنفرانس غرب
منطقه شمال غرب
يوتا ۲۴ ۴۴
دنور ۳۳ ۳۴
مينه سوتا ۳۹ ۲۹
منطقه پاسيفيك
فونيكس ۱۶ ۵۲
ليكرز ۳۲ ۳۷
كليپرز ۳۶ ۳۳
منطقه جنوب غرب
...............

دالاس ۱۱ ۵۷
سن آنتونيو ۲۰ ۴۸
هوستون ۲۵ ۴۴

[abadani69]

"Don't hesitate. Knock 'em down," read a sign in the Phoenix Suns' locker room before their game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Raja Bell took the advice to heart.

Bell hit six 3-pointers and scored 29 points and the Suns added to lowly Memphis' road woes by beating the short-handed Grizzlies 105-87 Monday night.

"This was one of those nights where we were out in transition and I was going to get a lot of looks," Bell said, after missing his season high in points by one and his career best by two. "I recognized that early and just tried to shoot them when I was open and my teammates delivered the ball."

Amare Stoudemire had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns.

"Raja Bell is one of the most underrated players in the league and Stoudemire is an All-Star," Memphis coach Tony Barone said.

The Grizzlies, the only team eliminated from playoff contention, fell to an NBA-worst 17-54 and 5-30 away from home, also the league's worst mark.

Phoenix, the Pacific Division champions for the third straight season, is only one win away from matching last year's win total of 54.

Stoudemire shot 12-of-17, hitting from both inside and outside. Bell finished 6-of-8 from 3-point range and the Suns were 11-of-22, outscoring the Grizzlies 33-3 from behind the arc.

"That was a beautiful shooting performance," Phoenix's All-Star guard Steve Nash said of Bell's prolific production from long distance. "He really had his stroke going and it was a lot of fun to watch."

Suns coach Mike D'Antoni also admired Bell's scoring burst.

"Raja has been here two years, and has shot extremely well," D'Antoni said. "You can tell his whole being is better when he shoots well. We have to have a shooter out there and with Steve and Raja we have it."

The Grizzlies were without two of their usual starters -- forward Mike Miller, the NBA leader in 3-point field goals made (202), and guard Damon Stoudemire. Both were sidelined with patella tendinitis, Miller in both knees, Stoudemire in the right knee.

Pau Gasol led the Grizzlies with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Rudy Gay added 13 points, Hakim Warrick, Tarence Kinsey and Dahntay Jones each scored 12.

The Suns never trailed in the first half, opening their biggest lead, 58-43, just before intermission on a tomahawk dunk by Stoudemire.

Stoudemire and Bell, who hit all four of his 3-point attempts, each had 14 points at halftime.

"We lost Raja Bell a couple of times and he was on fire," the Grizzlies Chucky Atkins said of Memphis' defensive lapses.

After leading only by four points, 31-27, at the end of the first period, the Suns took command by outscoring the Grizzlies, 27-16, in the second quarter.

Jones, with eight points in the second period, was the only effective player for Memphis, finishing with 12 by the half.

Phoenix padded its lead to 62-43 early in the third quarter, but a 10-0 run, then three straight baskets by Gasol and a slam by Alexander Johnson, helped the Grizzlies get within 71-63. But the Suns closed the period with a 9-1 burst.

"When you play those guys, it's going to be a game of runs," Atkins said. "They're going to get hot for a second and then they cool off for a minute and then they got hot again. We've got to be able to maintain that cycle. We had a couple of bad shots, a couple of bad turnovers and allowed them to get some run outs."

Memphis never threatened in the fourth period, as the Suns built their advantage to as many as 22 points and coasted to the finish.

Memphis also was missing two reserves -- forward Brian Cardinal (arthroscopic surgery on his left knee) and guard Kyle Lowry (fractured left wrist).

Notes

The Suns' James Jones made both his free throw attempts, extending his consecutive streak to 44 makes, the longest such run in the league this season. ... The Grizzlies, having lost at Utah Saturday night, continue their six-game road trip with games against the Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle, Portland and Golden State before returning home April 3 to face the Suns again. ... Memphis is the league's only team that hasn't won consecutive games this season. ... The Grizzlies have a 3-18 road record against Western Conference rivals, including nine consecutive losses. ... The Suns must win at least 10 of their 12 remaining games to break the franchise record of 62 victories in the regular season, accomplished twice -- in 1992-93 and 2004-05.

[abadani69]

After the Phoenix Suns had run past the Denver Nuggets, Shawn Marion slipped into some ripped and worn jeans.

The outfit seemed appropriate, since Marion had ripped and torn apart the Nuggets.

The All-Star forward snapped out of a prolonged shooting slump with 33 points, and the Suns overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Nuggets 125-108 Friday night.

The victory avenged the Suns' 131-107 loss at Denver on March 17 and kept Phoenix two games ahead of San Antonio for second place in the Western Conference. It also gave the Suns 54 wins, matching their total of last season.

Marion connected on 13 of 17 shots, scoring more than 20 points for the first time since Feb. 27 against Indiana, his most points in a non-overtime game and his most since scoring 33 at New Jersey in a double-overtime victory Dec. 7.

He also grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots, tying Alvan Adams for third place on the Suns' career list of blocks with 808.

"It's the first time in a long while that I've touched the ball a lot and gotten into the offensive flow," Marion said, after ending a 12-game drought without a 20-point game. "You can't score without the ball. Everybody was making a big hoopla over it (his recent lack of scoring). I got some good looks tonight. It's definitely a plus when I can get involved."

Leandro Barbosa and Raja Bell each scored 19 points for Phoenix, Steve Nash had 18 points and 11 assists, and Kurt Thomas, making a rare start, had 10 rebounds.

"The way Shawn plays is the result of the way we play as a team," Bell said. "I don't think it's Shawn not playing well as much as it's been us not playing the way we need to play for Shawn to be effective."

Suns coach Mike D'Antoni was elated to see Marion finally break out of his slump.

"If he supplies the energy we'll supply the possibilities on the floor," D'Antoni said. "He was 33 and nine and that's Shawn Marion. That's how he has always been and that is how he needs to be."

Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 32 points and 10 rebounds, but was hobbling late in the game with an apparent ankle injury.

"I don't want to make an evaluation right now but tomorrow I'll see how it feels," he said.

Allen Iverson scored 26 points, Nene added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Marcus Camby finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

"They are a team with a lot of firepower," Camby said. "We knew the game wasn't over, especially when they're on their home court. They're very explosive. They came back in the second half and picked us apart and got whatever they wanted."

The matchup could have been a preview of the opening round of the playoffs. If the season ended now, the teams would open the postseason at Phoenix, with the Suns facing the seventh-seeded Nuggets.

After scoring 11 points in the first half, Marion got rolling in the third period, hitting all six of his field goal attempts and scoring 14 points. During a stretch covering the second through fourth quarters, he connected on nine straight shots.

Marion's eight straight points within a 50-second span midway through the third quarter gave the Suns the lead for good, 78-73. Denver never got closer than three points after that.

Iverson scored 19 points and Anthony had 17, including a desperation 28-foot 3-point bank shot with the shot clock expiring in the second period, as the Nuggets twice bolted to 18-point leads, the last at 51-33. They settled for a 65-60 halftime advantage.

Denver began building its big early lead by outscoring the Suns 15-2 in a 3:04 span of the first period, pulling ahead 30-20. Iverson led that burst with six points, while Nene had five and Anthony four.

Phoenix closed the gap with a 15-6 spurt ending the first half, with Nash and Barbosa connecting on 3s.

The game got chippy, with Bell being charged with a flagrant foul after tripping Linas Kleiza on a drive to the basket with 3:27 gone in the second period and Marion fouling Camby hard on a jump shot with 3:05 left in the quarter.

Notes

Denver is trying to make the playoffs for the fourth straight year, something the Nuggets haven't done since current assistant coach Doug Moe took them to nine postseason appearances in a row from 1981-90. ... The Suns are the only team that has kept Iverson under an average of 25 points. In 15 games, going into Friday's contest, he was averaging 21.5. ... Nuggets forward Eduardo Najera returned to action after missing three games with a bruised left leg. ... The Suns had won each of their previous three home games by 18 points, against Minnesota, Sacramento and Memphis. ... Arizona State's women's basketball team, which reached the final eight of the NCAA tournament, sat courtside.

[abadani69]

Progressing in their pursuit of home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, the Miami Heat moved back into first place in the Southeast Division.

With more complete games like this one, maybe they'll stay there.

Udonis Haslem had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and all five starters scored at least 15 points for the Heat, who led from start to finish and beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 92-77 on Friday night.

"It is nice when guys respond to the beck and call," said coach Pat Riley, who was most pleased by the energy brought on both ends of the court by Haslem and James Posey, who fast-breaked his way through a 12-point first half and finished with 16 points.

Shaquille O'Neal was relatively quiet with 15 points and nine rebounds, perhaps a bit worn out from moving more than usual on defense while Minnesota's Mark Blount -- who plays outside more than inside -- scored 18 points.

But Eddie Jones scored 18 points, Jason Williams had 15 points and 10 assists, and Miami held off every charge by the Timberwolves -- who trailed by as many as 17 points early in the second quarter.

Kevin Garnett, who had 22 points and 20 rebounds for Minnesota, spoke afterward with exasperation over the too-slow transition defense in the first half that let the Heat build a comfortable lead.

"We've got to focus on getting back," Garnett said.

O'Neal was grouchy after Wednesday's game, a 96-83 loss at Toronto that dropped Miami to sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings. He wanted his teammates to be more aggressive instead of settling for 3-pointers so much when he's getting bumped around underneath.

They sure started fast, using long outlet passes off Wolves misses and fast-break layups by Williams and Posey for five of their first 14 baskets on the way to a 47-35 halftime lead. Offensive spacing problems and mistimed cuts by the Heat kept O'Neal from finding his rhythm, but the defensive intensity was such that the Wolves rarely found an uncontested shot they wanted.

Minnesota had several opportunities thwarted in the second half by plain old poor shooting. Craig Smith tipped in his own missed layup to cut Miami's edge to 61-57 at the end of the third quarter, but that was as close as the Wolves came. Posey responded by swishing a 3-pointer on the other end seconds before the buzzer, and Minnesota went 1-for-10 from 3-point range in the final period to finish a miserable 2-for-18.

"Everything was an exhaustion with whoever caught it -- I am going to exhaust my play first," Wolves coach Randy Wittman said. "They are the best in the league in taking away your first option and the strong side. If you don't get the ball moved to the weak side, you are going to struggle like we did."

Minnesota (30-42), which finished 4-11 in March, has a mathematical chance to make the playoffs, but after guaranteeing their second straight losing season the Wolves are realistically aimed toward the lottery instead.

Wittman benched Trenton Hassell in favor of Marko Jaric after halftime, the latest player to be faulted for a lack of effort. Rookies Randy Foye and Smith, Jaric, and Rashad McCants joined Garnett for much of the second half -- the lineup that Wittman appreciated the most for its energy.

Energy was what drove Miami (39-33), which has been giving Riley inconsistent efforts in recent weeks. The Heat lead the Washington Wizards by a half-game in the division.

"It's important, but at the same time we've still got a lot of basketball to play so if we turn around and lose Sunday it's all for nothing," Haslem said. "It's good to be in this position right now, but we've got a lot more basketball to play so we'll try to keep it up."

Notes

Gary Payton's nagging injury, a strained right groin suffered two weeks ago, kept him from playing for Miami. He might take some time off to let it heal, but Riley said he hasn't settled on a plan. ... The Timberwolves celebrated the 1980s, with giveaway warmup shirts for fans featuring with the team's original uniform design and music from the era playing frequently over the arena system. Pooh Richardson, the franchise's first draft pick in 1989, was honored with a framed jersey. ... Alonzo Mourning became Miami's all-time leading scorer with 9,252 points, passing Glen Rice.

[abadani69]

As much as Stephon Marbury tried, he couldn't keep Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks from a record night.

There's a big difference between a team closing in on a No. 1 seed and another just hoping to remain in contention for a playoff spot.

Marbury felt he had to do it alone for the injury-depleted New York Knicks. Nowitzki had help, though he didn't need much.

"In the fourth, I wanted to go into attack mode and make stuff happen," Nowitzki said.

Nowitzki scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, including nine straight in the final 1:56, and the Mavericks beat New York 105-103 Friday night for their franchise-record 61st victory.

Marbury had a season-high 43 points, but his undoing at the end kept the Knicks from forcing overtime. After twice putting the Knicks ahead in the closing stretch, his bad pass with 21 seconds left was stolen by Jason Terry. Marbury's final shot was blocked to end the game.

"It's a learning experience when we got that turnover. They were trying to double and get the ball out of my hands," Marbury said of his attempted pass to Renaldo Balkman. "But he got caught up and couldn't get there. He's a rookie."

A three-point play by Marbury put the Knicks up 101-100 with 1:18 left. Nowitzki then made two free throws, but Marbury answered with another basket.

"This is the best basketball I've ever seen him play in this league. Mentally, physically, he's been a rock," Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "He did everything he could possibly do for us tonight. It's a bitter and tough loss but it's one we have to learn from."

Dallas went ahead for good after Nowitzki gave the ball up with a pass to a wide-open Jerry Stackhouse. After Stackhouse missed the 3-pointer, Nowitzki grabbed the rebound and made both free throws after being fouled.

Terry hit the second free throw after the steal and a foul with 17 seconds left. Marbury couldn't make up for his mistake, his last shot blocked by Josh Howard.

"We hate the thought of losing. When it's a tight game we're going to do the necessary things to win," Terry said. "But it's not about winning streaks or wins in the regular season. It's about momentum. So when we get to the playoffs we'll be hitting on all cylinders."

The Mavericks, who have won nine straight games, next play Sunday at Phoenix with a chance to move closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the playoffs. They can also become the first NBA team ever to have four winning streaks of at least 10 games in the same season.

And they still could join the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (72-10) as the only teams to reach the 70-win plateau. They would have to win nine of the last 10 games.

The Knicks are two games behind New Jersey for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference, even though they scored more than 100 points for the first time in 11 games.

"We played with a different mentality tonight. If we play like that the rest of the way, we'll give ourselves a chance to win," Marbury said. "Tonight we played with a lot of intensity. ... We showed we want to make the playoffs."

On his first basket of the game, Nowitzki surpassed 15,000 points. He came out of Wednesday night's game with a sore left ankle, playing only a minute after halftime, stuck at 14,999.

Nowitzki hadn't made a field goal since the 4:46 mark of the second quarter when he made three within two minutes early in the fourth quarter, taking the Mavericks from their first second-half deficit to an 84-81 lead.

Even after their worst shooting quarter of the season, going only 2-of-19 (11 percent) in the third quarter, the Mavs didn't lose their lead, though the Knicks tied it at 76.

Dallas was only 1-of-8 in the third quarter when it extended the lead to 67-57 on two free throws by Devin Harris. The Mavs made 15 of 17 free throws in the quarter, the only thing that kept them from falling behind.

Nate Robinson, who started for injured Steve Francis, had a layup to start the fourth quarter and put the Knicks ahead. Nowitzki followed with his first surge of the fourth quarter, and wasn't finished.

Robinson had 15 points, while Eddy Curry had 17.

Howard added 20 points for the Mavs. Terry had 14, including two tiebreaking 3-pointers in the final quarter.

Marbury scored 23 points in the first half, but Dallas used an 8-2 run over the final 1:40 to lead 57-53. Erick Dampier had consecutive short jumpers before Stackhouse's half-ending alley-oop dunk from Harris.

Notes

Nowitzki is the 105th NBA player with 15,000 points. ... The last time New York had scored 100 points was March 3 in a 104-100 overtime victory against Atlanta. ... Knicks forward Quentin Richardson is out for the rest of the season after back surgery Thursday. ... Francis is also expected to miss Saturday's game against New Orleans. New York was also without forward David Lee (leg) and Jamal Crawford (ankle). ... Dallas will sign 44-year-old forward Kevin Willis to a 10-day contract Monday -- if he passes a physical. The 7-foot Willis is a veteran of 20 seasons who last played 29 games for Atlanta in 2004-05.

[abadani69]

Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady helped the Houston Rockets withstand Kobe Bryant's latest 50-point night.

Bryant scored 53 points and brought the Los Angeles Lakers back from a late 12-point deficit in regulation, but the Rockets beat them 107-104 in overtime Friday night.

Yao had 39 points and McGrady added 30, enough to overcome Bryant's fifth 50-point outing in the last seven games.

"He's amazing," said Houston's Rafer Alston, who made a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left to cap the scoring.

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said: "I was fine on our defense on Bryant. There's only so much you can do."

Bryant, who had made a dramatic 3-pointer late in regulation to tie the game at 95 and send it into regulation, bounced another shot from beyond the arc off the rim and the Rockets rebounded as the overtime ended.

With Los Angeles trailing 88-76, Bryant took charge, scoring 17 points in the final 4:07 of regulation.

"My shots were going long. I took a few deep breaths and regrouped," said Bryant, who scored 25 of the Lakers' final 28 points and finished 19-of-44 from the field.

Yao intentionally fouled Kwame Brown with 16 seconds remaining in regulation, and Brown missed both free throws. But Bryant got the long rebound off to the left and made a fallaway 3-pointer from the corner to tie it at 95.

McGrady then missed a jumper, with Bryant guarding him, as time ran out in regulation.

Los Angeles was up 104-100 with 1:03 remaining in overtime, but Bryant fouled McGrady beyond the 3-point line and McGrady made three free throws.

"That was a big play for us because we were down four and we were fortunate enough to get three free throws and knock all of them down," McGrady said.

Yao scored on a layup with 23 seconds left, then Alston made the two free throws.

Yao, who had 11 rebounds, went 17-of-21 from the free throw line and 11-of-18 from the floor. McGrady scored 15 points from the line, and had 10 assists. But he was 7-of-24 from the floor.

"Obviously, Tracy was struggling from the floor," Van Gundy said. "Yao came through in a big way."

Alston added 19 points.

Bryant scored 50 or more for the eighth time this season and 19th time in his career. He was coming off a 23-point game in an 88-86 loss to Memphis. He had scored at least 40 in the previous five games, including 50 or more in the first four. He scored 65 in one of those and 60 in another.

Lamar Odom had 16 points and 17 rebounds for the Lakers before fouling out with 15 seconds left in overtime.

Chuck Hayes had 14 rebounds and six points for Houston.

The Rockets were up 75-67 heading into the fourth quarter after leading 53-48 at halftime.

Notes

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said playing 82 regular-season games causes injuries, and suggested that the NBA consider cutting back. "Our league has to discuss the number of games we play. Eighty-two games is too many," he said before the game. "They train year-round. During the season they play 3 1/2 games a week or seven games in 14 days. They play when they are fatigued and that's when they get hurt. I've cut practices to 45 minutes. I've never had a team with this many injuries. Guys need time to recharge and rehab." ... Houston held Bryant to 20 points on 6-for-18 shooting, in the Rockets' 102-77 win on Jan. 10.