NBA News

[abadani69]

The Denver Nuggets thought they were pretty good.

Then two weeks ago along came the Boston Celtics, who humiliated the Nuggets in a blowout win and put Denver in its place.

The Nuggets haven't lost since. Carmelo Anthony had 24 points, Allen Iverson added 23 and Denver won its fifth straight game with a 115-83 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday night.

The winning streak traces back to the humbling 119-93 loss to the Celtics on Nov. 7. The Nuggets trailed by 39 points at halftime in that game.

But they found their identity in that drubbing.


"Before that game we were walking around thinking we won something before we won anything," Anthony said. "It was a blessing. The way they beat us? We learned a lot from that."

The Knicks might want to take note. New York dropped its sixth straight game. The Knicks went 0-4 on their five-day road trip through the West.

Fatigue played a factor in Denver's blowout win. The Knicks lost a 123-118 double-overtime game to the Sacramento Kings on Friday night and didn't arrive into Denver until the early morning hours.

"Sometimes in this game, the schedule beats you," Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "The guys tried to play with as much as they could. The Nuggets beat us tonight and it was a combination of them and the schedule. Tough night for us."

Zach Randolph rejoined the Knicks in Denver and finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Randolph missed the Knicks' loss to the Kings on Friday night to attend his grandmother's funeral in Indiana.

"This has been a very emotional week for him," Thomas said.

Things got a little testy early in the fourth quarter with the Nuggets comfortably ahead, 86-58. Renaldo Balkman was called for a hard foul and Linas Kleiza took exception, and began jawing at him. Kleiza was given a technical.

"Heat of the moment," said Kleiza, who had 18 points. "We exchanged a couple of words."

Nuggets coach George Karl, not wanting to take any chances, pulled Anthony, Iverson and Marcus Camby soon after the incident.

The two teams were involved in a brawl at Madison Square Garden last Dec. 16 in which seven players were suspended and both teams fined $500,000.

Kenyon Martin walked off the court midway through the third quarter with a lower back strain. He later returned to the bench, but only as a spectator. He finished with six points and three rebounds in nearly 19 minutes.

Martin missed 106 games over the past two seasons because of microfracture surgeries on both knees. He didn't think the injury was anything serious.

"Just a little spasm," he said. "Had them before and they went away. Hopefully, that will be the case this time."

Eddy Curry had 12 points for the Knicks and David Lee came off the bench to grab 11 boards and score nine points. Lee started in place of Randolph on Friday night in Sacramento and scored a career-high 24 points.

"These are times to pull together," Lee said. "We are pulling together. We need to pull further."

That's what the Nuggets did after the Boston debacle. Looking back, the loss had a galvanizing effect.

"That's the worst one I've been a part of in my 12 years," Iverson said. "But we left that game in Boston. Coach (Karl) always says during the course of the year you're going to have games where you can't do anything right, you can't stop nobody and you get blown out. But you've got to leave that game right there."

The Nuggets were able to do just that.

"We've taken that loss and turned it into a win," Karl said. "That's a sign of a pretty professional team."

Notes

Denver starts the season 7-3 for the first time since the 1988-89 season. ... Camby finished with 20 rebounds and five blocked shots against his former team. ... Denver G Mike Wilks' wife gave birth to the couple's first child Thursday, naming him Isaiah Sharod Wilks. ... Denver held the Knicks to a season-low 83 points. ... Knicks G Mardy Collins had 10 points.

[abadani69]

The Indiana Pacers had become experts at winning the first half, losing the second half and losing games.

They finally won all three in a 117-97 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night that ended a six-game losing streak.

Indiana blew halftime leads in four of those losses, and looked ready to do it again before going on a 19-4 run in the third quarter to regain control.

"It feels a whole lot better to get that monkey off our back," said Pacers forward Shawne Williams, who scored 16 points. "A lot of people were getting disgruntled because everybody is competitors in here. Nobody likes to lose."

Mike Dunleavy scored 25 points, Danny Granger scored 19 and Jamaal Tinsley had eight points and 13 assists for the Pacers (4-6). Marquis Daniels added 17 points for Indiana after sitting out Friday's loss at Toronto with a sore left knee.

"A great team victory," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "I thought our guys did an outstanding job concentrating on keeping the tempo where it needed to be."

Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 19 points and Andrei ***ilenko added 12 points and five blocks. They were the only Utah players to reach double figures in a game the Jazz never led.

Indiana made 11 of 23 3-pointers, while Utah made 2 of 9. Dunleavy made 3 of 6 3-pointers, Williams made 2 of 5 and Granger made 2 of 4.

The Pacers had the league's longest losing streak, their worst since an 11-game skid last season. They ended it by shooting a season-best 58 percent from the field after shooting no better than 44 percent during the losing streak.

"You have to keep shooting," Granger said. "If you're open, you've got to shoot them. We're all really good shooters, we know that. Our shots are going to fall eventually."

Utah (7-4) had won five in a row before losing Friday night in Cleveland.

Indiana shot 61 percent in the first half to take a 65-46 lead.

Utah opened the second half on an 8-0 run that forced the Pacers to call timeout less than 2 minutes into the third quarter. The Jazz cut Indiana's lead to 69-60 on two free throws by Ronnie Brewer.

"We were playing a good team, they weren't going to fold," O'Brien said. "I told them we needed to get stops. It comes down to defense. You get stops and you get out and run."

Williams scored seven points, including a dunk and a 3-pointer, to spark a 19-4 run that gave the Pacers an 88-64 lead. The Pacers led 95-72 at the end of the third quarter, and weren't challenged in the fourth.

"Take your hats off to them, they kicked our butts," Boozer said. "They shot the ball great, and we didn't execute on offense or make them drive the ball. We missed some shots and they hit some, and the next thing you know, we're down double digits again."

The Pacers had played four games in five days, but appeared to be the more energetic team.

"When you get sore and you play that many games, it becomes mental more than physical, and I think we did a good job of overcoming that tonight," Granger said.

Sloan was disappointed in Utah's atypically poor effort and said Indiana looked more prepared to play.

"It's mind-boggling to me that we didn't have more energy than we had," he said. "They had all the energy. They looked fresh. They looked like they were having fun playing. They came out and dominated the ballgame."

Notes

Indiana C Troy Murphy earned the start after coming off the bench and scoring 20 points Friday. He finished with five points and five rebounds before fouling out in 25 minutes. He missed Wednesday's loss to Washington with a sore left Achilles' tendon. It's the same injury that sidelined him for the first three games of the season. ... Granger, Dunleavy and Tinsley are the only Pacers to play in every game. ... Utah G Deron Williams had six assists and six turnovers. ... Indiana has won eight of its past 10 against the Jazz . ... Indiana's bench scored 52 points.

[abadani69]

The Dallas Mavericks needed late-game heroics from Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki to outlast the stubborn Memphis Grizzlies and remain unbeaten at home.

Howard matched his season high with 27 points, six during a key fourth-quarter stretch, and Nowitzki added 21, including two free throws with 8 seconds left, in the Mavericks' 108-105 victory over the Grizzlies on Saturday night.

"They were tough," Dallas' Jason Terry said. "They're a gritty team. We didn't play well tonight, but we came away with the win and are on to our next task."

Devin Harris had 19 points and eight assists to help the Mavericks remain perfect in five home games.

Mike Miller led the Grizzlies with 23 points, Hakim Warrick added 17 and Pau Gasol had 15. Memphis has lost three in a row.

The Mavericks, who began the night with an NBA-leading free-throw percentage of 84, missed 12 of 40 foul shots but managed to hang on.

"We'll keep working on that," coach Avery Johnson said of the poor performance from the free-throw line. "We have really solid free-throw shooters, but since I mentioned our free throw stats the other day, we've been going down."

Terry hit a 3-pointer and Howard scored six points during a 12-2 run that gave the Mavericks a 101-91 lead with 3:31 left.

But the Mavericks had a defensive letdown and the Grizzlies fought back with a 10-0 run capped by Miller's 3-point shot and his three-point play with 1:13 left that tied it at 101.

"We lost focus for a while but the guys stuck together," Howard said. "Miller's a great 3-point shooter. We should have been out there on him."

Nowitzki's basket with 1:01 remaining put Dallas ahead, Rudy Gay scored on the other end to tie it at 103, then Nowitzki connected on two free throws to give the Mavericks a 105-103 lead.

Harris stole the ball from Gasol on Memphis' next possession, and Harris converted one of two free throws for a 106-103 advantage with 17.5 seconds to play.

Harris' fifth steal of the night matched a career high, and it proved to be one of the biggest plays of the night.

"We scouted him before," Harris said. "He likes to spin and come back to his left. He just happened to have the ball out and I got a piece of it."

Juan Carlos Navarro's two foul shots with 10.2 seconds left pulled Memphis to 106-105.

Nowitzki's two free throws with 8 seconds remaining extended Dallas' lead to 108-105, and Navarro missed two open 3-pointers in the final 3.5 seconds.

"I was alone," Navarro said. "I was just trying to find one good shot and make it. It was bad luck."

Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni said Navarro was the first option on the final possession.

"We got the open look," Iavaroni said. "I thought we caught (the Mavericks) there but it didn't go down."

Memphis lost its eighth in a row to Dallas, but the Grizzlies were competitive. Memphis was coming off a 120-118 overtime loss to New Orleans on Friday night.

"Anytime we come into this place, we compete," Miller said. "But I'm not going to say it was a moral victory because I don't believe in that."

Memphis was ahead by 10 points midway through the second quarter, but Howard's 3-point play triggered a 21-10 run over the final 7:20 of the second quarter to give Dallas a 54-53 halftime advantage.

Notes

Memphis C Darko Milicic was out with a badly sprained left thumb sustained early in the second half of Friday night's overtime loss to New Orleans. He'll be evaluated by team medical personnel on Monday. ... Dallas G Eddie Jones will be out for a few more games because of a sore right leg. ... G Maurice Ager started his second straight game for Dallas and will continue in that role for at least the next three games. ... Johnson recorded his 150th coaching victory in his 191st game, making him the fastest coach to 150 in NBA history. Runner-up Phil Jackson needed 203 games to reach 150. ... Nowitzki, who started the night with a free throw percentage of 82, missed his first four from the line. ... Memphis rookie G Mike Conley sustained a right shoulder strain in the third quarter and did not return.

[abadani69]

Despite missing Gilbert Arenas, the short-handed Washington Wizards found a way to extend their winning streak to four.

About an hour before Saturday's game with the Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan found out that Gilbert Arenas wasn't going to be available.

Arenas, who had surgery on his left knee in April, missed the game with soreness in his knee.

Jordan envisioned Antonio Daniels playing well, and Antawn Jamison taking a bigger role.

Everything worked out for Jordan and the Wizards, as Jamison had 30 points and 11 rebounds to lead short-handed Washington over Portland 109-90 on Saturday night.

Jamison's season-high scoring mark enabled Washington to win its fourth straight game -- the first time they've won four straight since Jan. 15-20.

The Wizards began the season 0-5.

"There's nothing good about losing Gilbert. We want him healthy," Jordan said.

Before the game, Jordan said that Arenas and everyone else had participated in a shootaround and everything was fine. But after his talk, Jordan said Arenas and the team's medical staff felt the knee was too sore for him to play.

Jordan expects Arenas to be ready for the Wizards' next game -- Tuesday against Philadelphia.

In stepped Jamison, who had just 21 points in Washington's previous two games -- both wins. Jamison's shooting wasn't spectacular. He was 8-for-19, but he made four 3-pointers -- three in the first half.

"I think guys really got extra focused," Jamison said. "To miss what Gil does on a night-to-night basis is a total blow."

Daniels started in Arenas' place and had 10 points and 10 assists, but it was Nick Young, the Wizards' first-round draft choice, who took advantage of Arenas' absence. After not scoring more than five points in his first six games, Young had 17 points in 14 minutes.

An 11-0 run put Washington up 11-2 in the first 5 minutes. The Trail Blazers, who are 0-6 on the road, were 1-for-9 from the field. Portland then scored the next seven points.

But Jamison, who had six points in the first quarter and nine in the second, helped the Wizards built a 47-38 halftime lead.

Brendan Haywood, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds, began the third quarter with a 3-point play, and Washington extended its lead to 63-44 midway through the quarter on Jamison's 3-pointer.

"We did a good job on both ends of the floor -- offensively -- and especially defensively," Jamison said.

"We played pretty darn well throughout the 48 minutes," Jordan said.

Portland, which blew a 25-point lead in Friday's loss in Philadelphia, was led by LaMarcus Aldridge with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Jarrett Jack also had 18 points.

The Trail Blazers have won all their home games and wonder what's wrong away from the Rose City.

"We're more confident at home," Aldridge said. "We're running more and more free at home. On the road, I think we're more hesitant and not playing with as much energy."

Before the game, reflecting on Friday night's Philadelphia loss, Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan said he was eager to have another game within 24 hours, but after absorbing a second-straight sobering defeat, he may be having second thoughts.

"We just look like we have heavy legs. We look a step slow on both ends of the floor," McMillan said. "We looked kind of the same way (Friday) night."

Notes

Arenas has scored 30 or more points in a game against every NBA team -- except Portland. Haywood's double-double was his sixth of the season. He had seven last season. Washington's margin of victory was its largest since beating New Orleans 125-103 on March 17.

[abadani69]

The offensive-minded Phoenix Suns turned up their defense at the right time.

Amare Stoudemire had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and the Suns held on for a 100-98 win over Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.

Stoudemire scored the Suns' final six points and blocked a John Salmons 3-point attempt with a second left, leading Phoenix to its sixth straight win. Seconds earlier, Ron Artest missed a shot for the Kings that would have tied it.

"Our defense definitely spurred us," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We got it going (offensively) then just got stagnant; we put it on cruise. We can't do that on the road."

Leandro Barbosa scored 22 points, Grant Hill had 19 and Steve Nash finished with 14 points and 12 assists for the Suns. Shawn Marion scored just two points, but had 13 rebounds.

Sacramento outscored Phoenix 24-14 in the fourth quarter but fell to 4-2 at home.

"One thing about the Suns is you are never out of the game," Sacramento coach Reggie Theus said. "They will allow you to get back in it."

Helping keep the Kings close was Artest, who had 13 of his season-high 33 points in the third quarter.

Artest made 12 of 23 shots and finished with 12 rebounds. But he also committed six turnovers and missed his final shot that would have tied it with 8.9 seconds left.

"I had to get it up and I thought it was going down," Artest said. "It felt like it was going right in but it didn't."

Stoudemire made two free throws with 2:49 remaining to give the Suns the lead for good at 96-94. He followed with a short jumper and two more free throws to put Phoenix ahead 100-94 with 1:35 left.

Sacramento pulled within two but couldn't complete the rally. The Suns got the rebound after Artest's miss, but Barbosa fumbled the ball out of bounds going for an uncontested layup with 3.1 seconds left. That led to Salmons' desperate attempt.

Kevin Martin missed five of his first six shots and finished with 15 points for Sacramento. Francisco Garcia had 14 points and Salmons added nine points and eight rebounds.

It was the second straight subpar game for Martin, the NBA's second-leading scorer. After opening the season with nine straight games of 20 or more points, including a career-high 43 last week against the Knicks, he was held to 19 in Sacramento's victory Sunday over Detroit.

"We tried to deny Martin the ball and make him take tough shots," Marion said. "He wasn't getting any fouls called like he usually does and he never got in a rhythm."

The Suns put together an 11-0 run in the third quarter to take a 72-55 lead. The surge started with a basket from Hill and ended with a Nash 3-pointer.

The Kings chipped away at the lead, with Artest banking in a shot from close range to tie it at 94 with 3:07 remaining.

Barbosa scored 15 points, Stoudemire had 14 and Hill added 13 to help the Suns take a 55-47 lead into halftime.

The two teams play again Wednesday night in Phoenix.

Notes

With a second left in the first half, Phoenix reserve Brian Skinner made the first 3-pointer of his career. A nine-year veteran, Skinner had only had one previous career attempt in the regular season. ... Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee watched the game from a courtside seat. ... Kings center Brad Miller fouled out early in the fourth quarter and finished with six points and four rebounds.

[abadani69]

Tony Parker helped San Antonio get a big lead and returned to the floor when the Spurs started struggling.

Parker scored 17 of his 31 points in the second quarter and added nine assists, Manu Ginobili scored 19 and San Antonio beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-83 on Tuesday night.

"I was just trying to be aggressive," Parker said. "I was just trying to get in a rhythm."

Parker went 7-for-9 from the field in the second and finished 13-of-20. He also went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

"He did tonight what he does best," said Joe Johnson, who led the Hawks with 20 points. "He had a bunch of layups. He pretty much goes where he wants to on the court."

The Spurs (9-2) have won six of seven.

San Antonio led 83-65 lead after three quarters, leading by 24 on several occasions, the last at 83-59 on a free throw by Ginobili.

"We lost two important games against Phoenix and Dallas early in the season, so we knew we had to bring it for 48 minutes," Ginobili said. "We were just trying to be aggressive, get back on track."

The Hawks went on a 14-2 run against mostly second-teamers to get within 85-75 with 6:45 left on a Johnson basket but never got closer. The Spurs took a timeout and got their starters back in. Baskets by Michael Finley and Parker got the lead back up to 89-75, ending a 6-minute drought in which they scored only one basket.

"They had a heck of a comeback," Parker said. "We had a hard time to make a shot."

Atlanta got within 10 again on a basket by Marvin Williams but San Antonio increased its lead to 95-81 on a pair of free throws by Tim Duncan and a basket by Ginobili with 2:23 left.

"You can't chalk it up as just one of those days, because we turned it on late," Atlanta's Josh Childress said. "No, it's not a broken record. It's more like we have a little scratch on it."

Atlanta has lost three straight.

The defending NBA champion Spurs led 61-44 at halftime with Parker scoring 17 of his 21 first-half points in the second quarter.

San Antonio's biggest lead of the opening half was 18 points on four occasions, the last at 58-40 on Parker's basket.

The Spurs had five players in double figures. Duncan had 13 and Fabricio Oberto and Finley had 10 apiece.

Notes

Williams had a case of food poisoning Tuesday morning, but started and finished with 16 points. He said he got sick after eating pasta and crab meat Monday night. ... The Spurs outrebounded the Hawks 16-4 in the opening quarter with Duncan grabbing five for San Antonio. ... Hawks G Anthony Johnson got his second start of the season with guards Acie Law (sprained left ankle) and Tyronn Lue (groin strain) both out. ... Atlanta rookie G Mario West played nine minutes and fouled out with more than 11 minutes left in the game. "I still have a lot to learn. It happens sometimes, just being aggressive," he said.

[abadani69]

Amare Stoudemire sat at his stool in the Phoenix Suns' locker room and smiled broadly.

He had good reason to be happy.

"Beautiful, just beautiful," Stoudemire said when asked how it felt to sit out the fourth period of the Suns' 127-111 victory over the short-handed Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. "I appreciate that. It allowed us (the starters) to get ready for the Clippers (Friday night)."

Stoudemire was not in foul trouble, but with Phoenix ahead 110-82 entering the fourth quarter, coach Mike D'Antoni let his little-used subs complete the Suns' seventh straight victory.

Shawn Marion and Steve Nash led a dazzling 47-point first quarter for the surging Suns. Marion, who finished with a season-high 25 points, scored 13 points in the opening period, while Nash, who wound up with 18 points and 15 assists, had 12 points and six assists as the Suns built a 47-38 lead and never relinquished it.

Both Marion and Nash hit their first five field goal attempts. The Suns made 18 of their first 21 shots in their highest-scoring period of the season.

"We came out with a lot of energy and intensity," Stoudemire said. "We wanted to set the tone early."

That they did, setting an NBA season high for points in a quarter.

"The first quarter was unbelievable, just the way we shot and moved the ball," D'Antoni said.

Leandro Barbosa added 18 points for the Suns, while Grant Hill had 15 and Stoudemire 13.

Francisco Garcia led Sacramento with a career-high 31 points, John Salmons had 21 and Kevin Martin 19.

Phoenix increased its advantage to as many as 20 points midway through the second quarter before settling for an 80-63 halftime bulge. By intermission, Nash already had a double-double with 14 points and 12 assists.

"That was crazy," Marion said of the 80 first-half points. "We were definitely clicking. Our first passes led to great shots."

The Suns continued to pour it on in the third quarter, twice building leads of 30 points. They reached the 100-point mark with 4:10 remaining in the period on a 23-foot jumper by Marion.

The Kings played without two starters. Forward Ron Artest, who scored 33 points in the Kings' 100-98 loss to the Suns Tuesday night, made the trip to Phoenix but returned home to be with his ailing daughter. Guard Beno Udrih was sidelined with an injured right knee.

Also absent from the Kings' roster was star guard Mike Bibby. He underwent surgery on his left thumb in October and won't be back until at least late December.

"This was tough, to say the least," Kings first-year coach Reggie Theus said. "We played them tough last night, but without Beno and Ron, it made a big difference in the morale of the team."

Garcia agreed with his coach.

"Ron is a big part of our team ... we missed him tonight," he said.

"They were just making everything. They had a great shooting night ... they didn't miss. I don't care about the 31 points. It's about what the team did."

The Suns also were missing a starting guard, Raja Bell, out with back spasms.

This was the second time in Suns' history they swept a two-day, back-to-back, home-and-home series. The other time was Dec. 26-27, 1994, against the Dallas Mavericks. They also won a back-to-back, home-and home series against Golden State in the 2001-02 season, but the games were two days apart.

Notes

The Suns' 47 first-period points were an NBA season high and tied a U.S. Airlines Center record set by Phoenix against the Miami Heat on Jan. 6, 2006. They also were the most points in a quarter in the NBA since that Phoenix-Miami game. ... The 80 halftime points were an NBA season high and the most by the Suns since scoring 81 at Washington on March 9, 1994. That also was the most in the NBA since Feb. 29, 1996, when Dallas scored 81 at Denver. ... Nash's 12 assists in the first half were more than the entire Sacramento team, which had nine.

[abadani69]

With his defending Eastern Conference champions looking rather ordinary so far this season, LeBron James has decided to take matters into his own hands.

Barely breaking a sweat, James had 45 points, eight rebounds and five assists to carry the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 97-86 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

It's been a breathtaking four-game stretch for King James, who topped 40 points for the second time in three games and is averaging 39.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists in the previous four to get the Cavs (6-6) back to .500.

"I don't know how he keeps doing what he does," coach Mike Brown said. "I'm watching him, and I get exhausted. That's how good it is to be able to do that night after night after night."

Drew Gooden added 17 points and nine rebounds and Dwayne Jones chipped in 10 rebounds off the bench for Cleveland, but this was the LeBron Show from start to finish.

ADVERTISEMENT


"I wasn't forcing anything," James said. "I was just taking what was there."

James was on a roll from the start, scoring 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting in the first quarter to help the Cavs take an early lead. He added 17 more in the fourth to keep the Wolves at bay, dropping them to 1-8 to start the season.

"We've got guys (who), when we get punched in the mouth, we quit, we stop playing," Wolves coach Randy Wittman said. "Whether it hits or doesn't hit, we have to throw something back."

Al Jefferson had 30 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who threatened in the fourth quarter before James put the game away with a stunning two-minute haymaker.

"He knows when he needs to step up and do his thing," Brown said. "And he did it tonight."

With the Cavs clinging to a six-point lead, James scored 10 straight points. He hit two long 3-pointers and then had a steal and soaring dunk to punctuate his evening and help Cleveland avoid falling into what he called "a trap game."

"That pretty much put the nail in the coffin," James said.

In what has become a recurring theme for the young Wolves this season, they were outshot at the free-throw line by an enormous margin, 33-13.

They sorely miss point guard Randy Foye, who will be out at least another three weeks with a knee injury. With backup Sebastian Telfair in New York for his grandmother's funeral, Wittman had to turn to veterans Greg Buckner and Marko Jaric to be the primary ball-handlers.

The result was another stagnant offensive performance in which the Wolves had difficulty running their sets and getting good looks at the basket, especially in the fourth quarter.

"Teams make a run, we get in the habit of putting our heads down instead of keep fighting," Jefferson said.

Notes

Mark Madsen, who has missed the first seven games after having offseason shoulder surgery because of an accident on a personal watercraft, played for the first time on Wednesday night. He entered the game with 4:40 to go in the first quarter and finished with three rebounds in 13 minutes. ... Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson was in attendance and received a standing ovation in the fourth quarter.

[abadani69]

The Dallas Mavericks are developing a dangerous tendency of falling into double-digit deficits.

So far, they've gotten away with it.

Devin Harris scored 22 points and converted a key three-point play in the closing minutes, and the Mavericks rallied from far back for the second straight game to beat the Houston Rockets 100-94 on Wednesday night.

Dirk Nowitzki shook off a slow start to score 18 points and grab 14 rebounds for the Mavericks, who overcame a 24-point deficit to beat Toronto on Tuesday night.

Just like in that one, the experienced Mavs didn't panic.

"We don't like to make habits out of that," Harris said. "But we're a veteran team and we don't get discouraged easily."

Yao Ming had 30 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks for the Rockets. Tracy McGrady added 15 points and 12 assists in his first game back from a sprained right elbow that kept him out a week.

The Rockets led 74-57 late in the third quarter, and were up 90-84 after Rafer Alston hit a 3-pointer with 3:13 left in the game. Nowitzki drove for a basket 20 seconds later as the Mavs launched a finishing 16-4 burst.

Stackhouse made a 3-pointer from a corner to cut the Rockets' lead to 91-89. Yao missed at the other end before Harris scored on a drive and took a hard hit from Yao with 34 seconds left. Harris hit the free throw to put the Mavs up 92-91.

The 6-foot-3 Harris was looking to pass to Nowitzki, but had the option to drive straight at the 7-foot-6 Yao.

"That was the play," Harris said with a smile. "The play was to go at Yao. If he switched, then isolate him and attack him. If he didn't switch, Dirk would've been open at the top. He happened to switch and I think I can beat him to the basket with a couple of dribbles."

McGrady missed a jumper and Stackhouse swooped in for the rebound. He was immediately fouled by Yao and sank both free throws with 23 seconds remaining.

Stackhouse hit two more free throws in the closing seconds for the Mavs, who've won five in a row over Houston.

"We kept plugging, kept plugging," Stackhouse said. "We've been battle-tested. We really don't fear any situation."

The Rockets have lost five in a row, their longest losing streak since March 2006, when they dropped six straight. They've lost four of their past five by six points or fewer.

This one was especially painful, because the Rockets appeared to be in control.

"With two minutes left, we had a five-point lead," Yao said. "I think that's happened before. We made mistakes again. The game was in hand and we let it slip away."

McGrady, wearing a white protective sleeve on his elbow, missed his first two shots before hitting a jumper with 4:40 left in the first quarter. He then drove past Stackhouse for a two-handed dunk that put Houston up 24-16.

McGrady said he was feeling the aftereffects of the elbow injury, which affected some nerves in his arm. He finished 6-for-19 and said he lost sensation in two of his fingers during the game.

"That was bothering me all night," he said.

Josh Howard had nine points in the first quarter -- the rest of the Mavs missed 10 of 16 shots.

While McGrady rested on the bench, the Rockets maintained a lead through the first half of the second quarter. But Harris hit a short jumper and sank two free throws to tie the game and Stackhouse finished a fast break with a layup to give Dallas its first lead at 41-39.

McGrady went 2-for-9 in the first half and the Mavs led 47-46. But Nowitzki was also off his game, going 3-of-6 for seven points.

The Rockets opened the second half with a 19-4 run, as Dallas missed 13 of its first 15 shots out of the break. Throughout the third quarter, everything seemed to be going the Rockets' way.

McGrady banked in a 3-pointer and gave a playful shrug to the fans at courtside. Late in the quarter, Harris wrapped up McGrady on a drive and the two faced off for a moment as McGrady stepped to the free-throw line. He made one of two to give Houston its biggest lead at 74-57.

Notes

Yao has seven double-doubles this season. ... Chuck Hayes grabbed 13 rebounds for Houston. ... Howard scored 20 for Dallas. ... Rap star Sean "Diddy" Combs had a courtside seat. ... Rafer Alston scored 18 and made three 3-pointers for the Rockets.

[abadani69]

The Orlando Magic shot better, Dwight Howard had a big night with 34 points and 16 rebounds, and the Spurs trailed at halftime for the first time at home this season.

It was, as Tim Duncan said, exactly the type of situation he didn't want his team to be in.

But somehow -- and their high-scoring bench and franchise-low three turnovers probably had something to do with it -- the Spurs sent the Magic home Wednesday night with a 128-110 loss that snapped Orlando's five-game winning streak and 7-0 road record.

"Probably our best win of the year, without a doubt," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

Tony Parker scored a season-high 32 points and had nine assists in the Spurs' third straight victory. San Antonio is 7-0 at home.

Duncan had 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Spurs (10-2). Reserve Manu Ginobili had 27 points.

The Magic outshot the Spurs from the field, hitting 42-of-75 (56 percent) to San Antonio's 48-of-93 (52 percent).

"They shot a high percentage the whole game, but I thought in the second half we did a little better job of getting some stops, Duncan said. "We kind of got on a roll there."

Former Spurs forward Hedo Turkoglu had 26 points for Orlando (10-3), and Jameer Nelson added 15 points and nine assists.

The Spurs had the lead for the entire fourth quarter after a close game early on.

The Spurs trailed 64-59 at the half before Bruce Bowen's second 3 of the game with 8:11 left in the third quarter gave the Spurs a 71-70 lead, their first since late in the second. After that it was back and forth, with the teams tied four times before the Spurs started to pull away.

Parker's jumper with 3:07 to go in the quarter gave San Antonio the lead for good, 82-81.

"For the most part, they just hit shots (in the second half)," Nelson said. "They executed well and capitalized on our mistakes."

The Spurs finished the game with a franchise-low three turnovers. The Magic had 13.

Ginobili took over from there, scoring nine straight points for the Spurs in the last 2:01 of the quarter to put them up 93-90 heading into the fourth.

After that, Howard's dunk off an alley-oop pass with about two minutes gone in the fourth was Orlando's last score for more than four minutes. The Spurs went on a 12-2 run to go up 111-97 with less than five minutes to play.

"It was just that stretch in the fourth quarter where we couldn't buy a basket," Howard said. "They kept making shots and opened the game up."

San Antonio led by double digits for the rest of the game.

Brent Barry had a season-high 19 points for San Antonio and Michael Finley added 11. Rashard Lewis and Keith Bogans each had 12 points for Orlando.

The Spurs went with a smaller lineup, knowing that to beat Howard and the Magic they'd have to score big.

Starting center Fabricio Oberto played less than 17 minutes. Backup center Francisco Elson played less than two minutes.

"We felt to win the game we were going to have to score. Our small lineup can score better in certain situations," Popovich said.

There was still, of course, the highly anticipated matchup between two of the best bigs in league. And Duncan and Howard certainly delivered.

Howard had a last-second, alley-oop dunk to stun the Spurs last season, and was a big factor in Orlando's early success in this game, with 19 points and 12 rebounds at that half.

"I thought Dwight was really active at the rim. They looked for him," Popovich said.

The Magic surged to a 23-15 lead in the first quarter off an 8-0 run. They finished the period up 34-30 with the help of 10 points from Turkoglu.

The Spurs started strong in the second and went up 49-42 off Barry's 3-pointer from the corner with 5:58 left in the half. But the momentum shifted after that, with Howard scoring five points in a 1 1/2 -minute span, including an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Turkoglu, to bring the Magic within 51-47.

From there, Orlando's 3-point attempts started falling, with Bogans hitting two 3s and Nelson adding one that put the Magic up 62-55 with 40 seconds on the clock. Parker's six straight points for the Spurs in the last 1:02 of the quarter that reduced the Magic's lead to 64-59 at the break.

The Magic shot better than 64 percent in the half. Howard's 12 rebounds at halftime were just three fewer than the Spurs.

Notes

The Spurs announced Wednesday that they had assigned rookie C Ian Mahinmi to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. The 6-foot-11 Mahinmi played in six games for the Spurs this season. ... San Antonio's bench outscored Orlando's 51-11. ... In the matchup of two teams that shoot well from beyond the arc, the Spurs came out on top, hitting 13-of-24. The Magic were 10-of-20. ... San Antonio was on the second game of a back-to-back after beating Atlanta on Tuesday. Parker had 31 points in that contest.

[abadani69]

Washington Wizards leading scorer Gilbert Arenas underwent two different surgical procedures on his left knee on Wednesday and will miss about three months.

Arenas had been experiencing swelling and soreness in the knee which he had surgically repaired late last season. After sitting out the past two games, Arenas did not travel with the team to Charlotte and underwent an MRI Wednesday morning, which revealed a cartilage tear.

"I'm just going to sit in my sorrows again. I have three months to (be) back positive again, but right now, it's hard," Arenas said in a posting on his blog Wednesday. "I need to start thinking about longevity in my career instead of just this injury right now. Every great player has missed at least one year."

Team physician Dr. Marc Connell repaired a partial tear of the meniscus and performed microfracture surgery on a non-weight bearing bone on the side of his knee.

"It's not as bad as the injury in April, but it's tough," wrote Arenas, who will begin rehabilitation next week.

"We expect Gilbert to make a full recovery," Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said.

The 6-foot-4 Arenas is averaging 22.4 points. The Wizards won both games against struggling Portland and Philadelphia without Arenas and earned their sixth straight victory hours after Arenas went under the knife, outlasting Charlotte 114-111 in overtime Wednesday.

"We did win two games in convincing fashion without him, but it wasn't like it was the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs," Wizards center Brendan Haywood said before the win over the Bobcats. "Playing without Gilbert Arenas is going to hurt this team."

Arenas began the season by playing as though nothing was wrong, averaging about 40 minutes per game. But after Washington's third game, he said his knee felt stiff, "like a 5-pound weight is on it."

He then had excess fluid drained from the knee for the second time in three weeks on Nov. 7. He played the next night, a loss to New Jersey that dropped the Wizards to 0-4, but had a long conversation with Nets star Jason Kidd on the court after the final buzzer. Kidd offered advice about dealing with a return from surgery.

Arenas stayed in the lineup until missing Saturday's game against Portland, then sitting again Tuesday against Philadelphia. Without Arenas, coach Eddie Jordan said Antonio Daniels will continue to play point guard.

"Every team goes through it, and every team tries to find a way to win on a consistent basis," Jordan said. "We've gotten better at moving the ball."

This whole ordeal has all been a bit new to Arenas -- a three-time All-Star -- whose only previous significant injury in the NBA was an abdominal problem that limited him to 55 games in 2003-04.

He finished third in the league in scoring average in 2006-07 at 28.4 points, but missed the last two weeks of the regular season and all of the playoffs after having knee surgery.

"Gilbert worked extremely hard this summer to be ready for the beginning of the regular season," Grunfeld said. "This is very unfortunate because he was starting to play at a high level prior to the surgery."

It's another blow to the Wizards, who lost Arenas and Caron Butler to season-ending injuries late last season. Etan Thomas is out this season after undergoing heart surgery, while Oleksiy Pecherov is recovering from a broken ankle.

Haywood didn't play against the Bobcats because of a sprained left ankle, leaving Washington with only nine healthy players.

"That's the business, man," Haywood said. "Life's not always fair. He's out right now and everybody is down about it. Everybody wishes him the best. Right now all we can do is pray for him and hope he has a speedy recovery."

Jordan wouldn't say whether he'll push management to sign another player.

AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich in Washington contributed to this report.

[abadani69]

Happy and healthy, Grant Hill delivered a reminder that he can still be an elite NBA player.

Down the hall, there was nothing but more misery for the New York Knicks, with the loss compounded by news that Stephon Marbury's father died during the game.

Hill scored a season-high 28 points, nine during a fourth-quarter flurry that broke open a close game, and the Phoenix Suns pulled away to beat the Knicks 115-104 on Sunday night.

Frequently injured in recent years, Hill said he felt rejuvenated by the move to Phoenix, where he signed as a free agent during the offseason.

"Sometimes you need new scenery," he said. "Coming here is a great environment, great coaching staff, great guys, and just the chance to break away from all the ankle talk and stuff from the past, that's all behind me and I feel good. Now it's about trying to go out and help this team win."


It was a tense atmosphere afterward in the Knicks' locker room, where almost all the players were gone by the time the media was allowed in. Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said during his postgame press conference that his team got impatient in the fourth quarter, but when asked why that happened, he paused for 10 seconds before saying, "I'll keep that thought to myself."

"We stick together," said Quentin Richardson, one of the only players who was still around. "We're going to keep working hard. We'll persevere."

Stephon Marbury was escorted out of the arena by security shortly after the loss. Don Marbury died sometime during the game, but team spokesman Jonathan Supranowitz said no other information was immediately available, other than Don Marbury wasn't at Madison Square Garden when he died.

Amare Stoudemire added 28 points and 12 rebounds to help the Suns win for the 10th time in 12 games. Phoenix, opening a five-game road trip, also got 15 points from Shawn Marion and Leandro Barbosa, and nine points and 15 assists from Steve Nash.

Hill shot 13-of-17 in his highest-scoring game in nearly two years. He went to the bench for good midway through the fourth quarter, possibly all that prevented him from his first 30-point game since he scored 34 for Orlando against Miami on Feb. 27, 2005, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"He's a seven-time All-Star," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He's healthy and playing great. Obviously he had a good game. Almost a triple-double. He's capable and has done it all his career whenever he's been healthy, and he's healthy. I don't think it's unusual that he did it."

Eddy Curry and Stephon Marbury scored 21 points apiece for the Knicks, who played the speedy Suns even for three quarters, keeping the "Fire Isiah!" chants on hold until there were under 4 minutes left. Zach Randolph added 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Despite a terrific start, Phoenix led by only one after three quarters. Hill converted a three-point play to open the fourth, then knocked down three consecutive jumpers to extend the lead to 94-84 less than 1 1/2 minutes into the period.

Barbosa added another bucket, and the Knicks didn't score in the fourth until Fred Jones made a free throw with 8:37 remaining. Phoenix outscored New York 30-20 in the final 12 minutes.

A message on the Suns' locker room board before the game read: "Let's take the crowd out of the game early. A good start will turn their crowd against them."

Phoenix certainly got the good start -- though sometimes lately the fans are on the Knicks before the game is even under way.

The Suns put on an offensive clinic in the opening minutes, making 12 of their first 17 shots and quickly building a 14-point lead. Randolph kept the game from getting away from the Knicks with 11 points in the opening quarter, which ended with Phoenix ahead 37-29.

New York tied it at 50 on Marbury's 3-pointer with 3:15 remaining in the half, but Hill hit two jumpers in the final minute to give the Suns a 61-57 lead at the break.

Hill added eight rebounds and seven assists in his highest-scoring game since also finishing with 28 for Orlando against Dallas on Dec. 16, 2005.

The Suns shot 58 percent from the field.

The Knicks twice led by a point in a tight third quarter, which ended with Phoenix ahead 85-84.

Notes

The Suns have won two in a row at Madison Square Garden for the first time since Jan. 2, 1990, and March 5, 1991. ... The Knicks played without reserve point guard Mardy Collins, who sprained his left ankle during pregame Friday night against Milwaukee. Collins started the game in Phoenix last month after Marbury went home instead of coming off the bench. ... Thomas said before the game that he read nothing into the absence of MSG chairman James Dolan at recent home games. "I think you guys pay more attention to that than I do," he said, adding he knew why Dolan hadn't been here but refused to elaborate.

[abadani69]

Tim Duncan most likely will miss no more than a few games after injuring his ankle and knee.

The San Antonio Spurs star was hurt against Portland on Sunday, and the team said his MRI came back negative Monday.


He has a sprained right ankle and will miss Wednesday's game against Dallas, Spurs spokesman Tom James said. The injury will be reassessed this week, and Duncan probably will return in the next few games.

"It's not a big deal at all," James said.

Duncan bruised his right knee and sprained his right ankle during the second quarter. He became entangled with Portland's James Jones and fell near the Spurs' basket with 7:40 left in the half.

He grabbed his knee and had to be helped off the floor by two teammates. He did not return to the game, which the Spurs won 100-79.

Duncan, a two-time NBA MVP, is averaging 17.6 points and 8.9 rebounds this season.

[abadani69]

LeBron James watched from the bench in street clothes. The show he saw wasn't very pretty.

"There'll be no video on this game, hopefully," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "It was not a piece of art."

Boston plodded to an 80-70 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. But the NBA's leading scorer was sidelined with a sprained finger, the NBA's best team had little energy, and the crowd that showed up for the rare 12:30 p.m. start was subdued.

"Afternoon games aren't one of my favorites to begin with," Boston's Kevin Garnett said.

He and Paul Pierce each scored under 10 points. Garnett had only nine in 26 minutes two games after his streak of 435 games, including playoffs, of scoring in double figures ended when he had eight points in 23 minutes of a 104-59 win over the New York Knicks.


"We just didn't have the energy we normally come out with," said Pierce, who had seven points in 30 minutes. "I don't know if part of it was (the game) being early. I don't know if part of it was LeBron not playing, but we usually come out with a better start."

James, who missed his second straight game, is day-to-day, Cleveland coach Mike Brown said.

The Celtics led just 43-39 at the end of a slow-paced first half. It was 48-44 before an 8-point run put them ahead 56-44 with 4:52 left in the third quarter.

That's when Cleveland called a timeout. James, watching from his bench in street clothes, smiled and gestured toward Boston's Scot Pollard, who played on Cleveland's Eastern Conference finalists last season.

"When King James goes down, you feel like you have to carry the team by yourself offensively," Drew Gooden said. "I think we are started to get better at doing that, but then again that is not our identity. Our identity is having him make plays for us."

On Tuesday night, the Cavaliers handed the Celtics one of their two losses of the season, 109-104 in overtime at Cleveland. James scored 38 points, 11 of them in overtime, and added 13 assists.

But the next night in a 109-74 loss in Detroit, James sprained his left index finger in the second quarter. Cleveland lost again Friday night, 91-82 at Toronto.

"Like in Toronto, the effort was there," Brown said, "but we've got to find a way to score."

Boston improved to an NBA best 14-2 and was led by Ray Allen with 20 points and Rajon Rondo with 12. Cleveland was led by Zydrunas Ilgauskas with 12 points and 13 rebounds and Sasha Pavlovic with 11 points. Gooden had a double-double at halftime and finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

"We anticipated Lebron playing," Garnett said. "He didn't, but the world doesn't stop. The game definitely doesn't stop."

Last season, without Garnett and Allen, the Celtics didn't get their 14th win until Feb. 26, their 56th game -- 40 more than it took this season. They're 9-0 at home one season after getting their ninth win there on March 14, their 32nd home game.

"As much as we have our comforts here at home, you start to extend those on the road and it makes you better on the road, too," Allen said.

Boston took its biggest lead, 77-56. Then, with substitutes on the floor, Cleveland cut the lead in the final five minutes but never threatened.

"The Celtics turned it up coming out of halftime, put pressure on us and we didn't handle the pressure," Brown said.

The Celtics opened a 64-50 lead after three quarters, then started the fourth with layups by James Posey and Glen Davis, a fun-loving rookie who provided the energy Rivers was seeking.

"Big Baby is the personality of the Boston Celtics," Garnett said, using Davis' college nickname at LSU. "He has an aura around him which followed him, which he carries on and off the court."

Boston took its 77-56 lead on a free throw by Tony Allen following a 3-pointer by Eddie House.

In the first half, Cleveland capitalized with Boston's starters on the bench and took its biggest lead of the game, 30-23 midway through the second quarter. It was 32-27 by the time all five Celtics starters were back in the court.

Ilgauskas hit a free throw before the Celtics scored the next nine points for a 36-33 lead. Ray Allen had four of the points, including a stuff that ended the run after he stole the ball at midcourt.

The Celtics won despite hitting just 37.5 percent of their shots and going only 2-for-14 from 3-point range. The Cavaliers were even worse with a 32.9 field goal percentage.

The Celtics had played back-to-back 8 p.m. games before flying home from Miami on Saturday.

"Our bodies are tired," Pierce said. "So we had to come in here and be mentally ready."

Notes

All of Boston's 14 first-half field goals came inside the paint. ... Devin Brown started in place of James and was scoreless on four shots in 21 minutes. ... Each team was assessed two technical fouls. Boston also was hit with two technicals for defensive 3 seconds.

[abadani69]

Stephon Marbury played the second half of New York's loss to Phoenix on Sunday night unaware his father had been taken to a hospital, where he died before the game ended.

Don Marbury was taken from Madison Square Garden to St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center during halftime, reportedly because of chest pains, but a family member advised a Knicks official not to inform Stephon Marbury at the time.


Stephon Marbury learned of his father's death from a family friend minutes after the game.

"It's a terrible thing that happened to him and his family last night," Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said Monday after practice. "For any parent watching their son or daughter perform, and to have something like that happen, anyone who has kids would sympathize with the son and you also sympathize with the family."

Thomas seemed a bit emotional while speaking for less than 5 minutes, and wouldn't discuss how long Stephon Marbury would be gone. Last month, forward Zach Randolph missed three games following the death of his grandmother.

"We as a family, the Knicks family, we'll give him all the support and try to be there for him and his family through this terrible time," Thomas said. "We just went through it with Zach and his family."

Marbury has endured an especially difficult time, on and off the court. He has been booed at home since skipping a game in Phoenix following a clash with Thomas, and an aunt died last month.

"I can feel his pain," Randolph said. "It's been a tough year on him, I feel real sorry for him and his family. Fans booing him, and his father passed during the game. It's tough for him right now.

"He lost his auntie a couple of weeks after I lost my grandma, so it's tough."

The day after the aunt's death, Marbury said his mother had lost eight siblings in the last five years, adding that "my mother's a mess right now." Don and Mabel Marbury had five sons and twin daughters.

The Knicks play Wednesday in New Jersey, without a clear solution at point guard if Marbury hasn't returned. Reserve Mardy Collins didn't play Sunday because of a sprained left ankle, and Thomas hasn't used Nate Robinson in either of the last two games.

"We'll continue to remain strong within the team and stay together," Thomas said.