AROUND THE NBA Wednesday/Thursday games

Thursday
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jermaine O'Neal had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Ron Artest added 21 points in the NBA-leading Indiana Pacers' 93-70 victory over the New York Knicks .
The Pacers (13-2) used an 18-2 run in the third quarter to pull away for their seventh straight victory.
Kurt Thomas had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who lost for the first time in four games.
The Pacers scored 27 points off 24 Knicks turnovers and held their opponent under 79 points for the eighth time in nine games.
Nets 102, Clippers 96
LOS ANGELES -- Kerry Kittles scored 22 points and Jason Kidd had 18 points and 10 assists for New Jersey.
The victory was the Nets' fifth in seven road games this season. They've won only two of seven at home.
Corey Maggette had 20 points for the Clippers.
Wednesday
PHILADELPHIA -- Allen Iverson spoiled Larry Brown's return to Philadelphia, scoring 30 points in the 76ers' 90-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
The boos began for Brown when the former Philadelphia coach walked out during pregame warmups and reached a crescendo when he was introduced. Brown, who left the 76ers after last season to coach the Pistons, was serenaded with chants of "traitor" and "fraud" and fans yelled a derisive chant throughout the game.
While the sellout crowd of 20,512 fans turned on him, his former players only offered hugs and handshakes.
Kenny Thomas had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Eric Snow added 13 points for the Sixers. Richard Hamilton led the Pistons with 19 points, Mehmet Okur had 17 and Chauncey Billups 15.
Knicks 97, Timberwolves 92
MINNEAPOLIS -- Latrell Sprewell was a bust in his first game against his old team, and New York got a season-high 18 points and 17 rebounds from Dikembe Mutombo to hold off Minnesota.
Sprewell had only five points on 2-for-11 shooting in his first game against the Knicks since being dealt to Minnesota in a four-team trade this summer.
New York's Allan Houston scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter in his first game back after missing two games with a sore lower back. Kevin Garnett led Minnesota with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
Spurs 109, Bulls 98
SAN ANTONIO -- Tim Duncan scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half and had 10 rebounds for San Antonio.
Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 17 points and 11 rebounds, Tony Parker added 15 points and Ron Mercer had 12.
Eddy Curry and Lonny Baxter had 19 points each for Chicago, which lost its second straight game under interim coach Pete Myers.
The Bulls, who have lost seven straight overall, are expected to hire former Phoenix coach Scott Skiles to replace Bill Cartwright, fired Monday.
Raptors 99, Hawks 97, OT
ATLANTA -- Vince Carter hit a jumper with 1.2 seconds left, part of a season-high 43 points, to lift Toronto past Atlanta.
Carter took an inbound pass from Alvin Williams, then shot from about 17 feet over Dion Glover and Theo Ratliff. The ball swished through, giving Toronto its second road victory of the season.
Carter also forced overtime with a three-point play with 13.2 seconds left in regulation.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored a season-high 30 for the Hawks.
Celtics 94, Magic 92
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Paul Pierce scored 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to help Boston hold off Orlando, extending the Magic's losing streak to 14 games.
Pierce also had eight rebounds and six assists, Vin Baker added 19 points and Eric Williams had 15 for the Celtics.
Tracy McGrady led the Magic with 24 points, but had only two in the fourth quarter and fouled out with 3:11 left.
Suns 121, Mavericks 90
PHOENIX -- Penny Hardaway scored a season-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers, leading the Phoenix Suns to their highest point total of the season.
Stephon Marbury had his fifth consecutive double-double, finishing with 18 points and 12 assists. Joe Johnson led the Suns with 21 points, and rookie Zarko Cabarkapa had a season-high 17.
Reserve Antawn Jamison led the Mavericks with 17 points.
Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks' leading scorer with a 20.6 average, left the game with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter when he sprained his right ankle.
Jazz 83, Rockets 76
SALT LAKE CITY -- Andrei Kirilenko scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half and rookie Mo Williams scored a career-high 10 points for Utah.
Raul Lopez had 10 points and five assists in his third career start, scoring eight straight for the Jazz late in the fourth quarter to help Utah seal it and improve to 7-1 at home.
Yao Ming led Houston with 20 points and 10 rebounds, going 14-for-16 from the free-throw line to help make up for a 3-for-15 night from the field.
Lakers 120, Wizards 99
LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant scored 22 points and Los Angeles took command early in beating road-weary Washington.
Shaquille O'Neal missed his second game because of a strained right calf muscle, and again the Lakers didn't miss him. They beat Memphis 121-89 without him Sunday night.
The win was the fourth straight and seventh in eight games for the Lakers (12-3). It also extended their regular-season home winning streak to 23, including eight this season.
The Wizards (6-9) lost for the seventh time in 10 games. They played their second game without leading scorer Gilbert Arenas, who went on the injured list Tuesday with a severe abdominal strain.
Devean George had a season-high 18 points, Derek Fisher and Kareem Rush added 14 points each and Karl Malone had 13 for the Lakers, who had eight players score in double figures. That hadn't happened since Feb. 19, 1998.
-- Associated Press