AROUND THE NBA Saturday's other games

Knicks 129, Bucks 127, 2OT
MILWAUKEE -- Latrell Sprewell scored 31 of his 48 points in the fourth quarter and the first overtime and the New York Knicks survived a pair of game-tying 3-pointers to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks in double-overtime. Sprewell tied a Knicks record by making nine 3-pointers, but it was Clarence Weatherspoon who broke the last tie by making two free throws with 1.9 seconds left in the second overtime. The Knicks won their third in a row and handed the Bucks their third consecutive home loss. Ray Allen hit a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime, and Michael Redd hit a 3 to send it to a second overtime. Milwaukee tied it at 127 on Glenn Robinson's jumper from the top of the key with 3.2 seconds left.
Heat 90, Nets 77
MIAMI -- Alonzo Mourning scored 23 points and the Miami Heat shot 52 percent to beat the New Jersey Nets for their seventh victory in eight games. Brian Grant tied a season high with 12 rebounds and Mourning added eight for the Heat, who outrebounded the Nets 45-27. Miami's Eddie Jones scored 20 points, giving him at least 20 in six consecutive games. The Heat, trying to recover from a 2-14 start, came into the game with the NBA's worst home record at 6-13 but took another step toward climbing out of last place in the Atlantic Division. The Nets fell to 13-10 on the road, still the best in the Eastern Conference. Kenyon Martin scored 19 points for the Nets, now 1-2 this season against Miami.
Kings 114, Jazz 90
SALT LAKE CITY -- There was a time not so long ago when the Sacramento Kings tried hard to beat the Utah Jazz, failing almost every time. These days, they're doing it easily and routinely. Peja Stojakovic scored 25 points and Chris Webber had 19 points and 10 rebounds as Sacramento won its fourth straight over the Jazz, a victory that was decided early in the second half. Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson each scored 14 for the Kings, who two days earlier had embarrassed the Jazz in Sacramento with a 113-80 blowout that was Utah's worst loss of the season. The upper hand in this series clearly has swung toward Sacramento, which beat Utah for the fifth time in their last six meetings. Before that, the Jazz had won 19 of 23. Karl Malone scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds but couldn't prevent the Utah's fifth loss in their last six games. Andrei Kirilenko scored 16 and Bryon Russell had 11.
Wizards 112, Suns 102
WASHINGTON -- Michael Jordan scored 41 points, giving him back-to-back 40-plus games, and the Washington Wizards made it to the halfway mark of the season with a winning record by beating the Phoenix Suns. Jordan, voted to his 13th All-Star game in fan balloting results announced earlier in the day, followed his 40-point game against Cleveland on Thursday with a 17-for-30 performance with seven assists in 40 minutes. He has led the Wizards to a 21-20 record, already two victories better than last season's 19-63 season, prompting coach Doug Collins to grade the season as an "A-plus" before the game. Washington last had a winning record after 41 games, also 21-20, in the 1997-98 season.
SuperSonics 95, Pacers 86
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gary Payton scored 27 points and Seattle held Indiana to one field goal over the final seven minutes to beat the Pacers. Indiana's final basket, by Jalen Rose with 4:12 left, gave the Pacers their final lead, 84-83. Brent Barry, who finished with 22 points, hit a basket and free throw a minute later to put Seattle ahead for good, and Rashard Lewis gave the Sonics an 88-84 lead. Jeff Foster and Jermaine O'Neal each hit one of two free throws for the final points by the Pacers. Barry then hit a 3-pointer and Payton and Lewis had two free throws apiece in the closing seconds. The final score represented the biggest lead of the game for either team.
Timberwolves 103, Hawks 80
MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Garnett scored 20 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves rediscovered their defense in a victory over the short-handed Atlanta Hawks. The Wolves, who had allowed eight of their previous nine opponents to reach 100, held the Hawks to 37 percent shooting and forced 24 turnovers. Minnesota scored 37 points off turnovers and improved to 24-1 when holding opponents below 100. Terrell Brandon had 14 points and 12 assists in returning to the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 15 at Dallas. He missed 16 games with a left knee injury and came off the bench in his team's last four games.
Rockets 111, Hornets 104, OT
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Steve Francis celebrated his first selection to the All-Star Game by scoring 30 points, including four free throws in the final 42 seconds of overtime, to lead the Houston Rockets to a victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Francis, named a starter for the Western Conference earlier Saturday, came up with a pair of rebounds after Charlotte misses that forced the Hornets to send him to the line. He made four straight to put the Rockets up 106-102 with 20 seconds to play. Charlotte's Jamaal Magloire cut it to 106-104 on a layup, but the Hornets had to foul Cutino Mobley and he made both free throws to make it 108-104.
Bulls 95, Grizzlies 92
CHICAGO -- Ron Artest hit the go-ahead basket and made three other huge plays in the final 90 seconds to lead the Chicago Bulls over the Memphis Grizzlies. Brad Miller tied his career high with 32 points, and little-used A.J. Guyton came off the injured list to score 16 for Chicago, which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Source: Associated Press