Knicks 79, Hornets 74

Knicks 79, Hornets 74
NEW YORK -- Allan Houston scored 18 points, and Dikembe Mutombo added 13 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks to help the New York Knicks beat New Orleans. Mutombo got the Knicks started with 11 points and seven rebounds in the first half, and Houston scored 13 during a sluggish second half for both teams.David Wesley's 16 points led the Hornets, who committed six of their 16 turnovers in the fourth quarter and shot just 32 percent from the field. Baron Davis had 13 points and 10 assists. The Hornets pulled within a point when Wesley threw up a shot to avoid a 24-second violation, but Houston and Mutombo held off the Hornets.After Davis sparked his team by blocking Kurt Thomas and pumping his fist in the air, Mutombo returned the favor by sending one of Davis' layups into the first row.P.J. Brown's dunk over Mutombo with 44 seconds left pulled New Orleans within three points, but Charlie Ward hit a running jumper with 22.3 seconds left to put New York up 76-71. Mutombo picked off Brown's pass on the next play.
Pistons 80, Wizards 69
WASHINGTON -- Richard Hamilton scored 25 points and Chauncey Billups added 22 to lead the Detroit Pistons to their eighth win in nine games.Detroit's win overshadowed a solid game by Brendan Haywood, who led the Wizards with a career-high 23 points and season-high 11 rebounds.Moments after Jarvis Hayes tied the game at 65 with a dunk with 6:57 remaining, Washington coach Eddie Jordan drew a technical for charging onto the court as Hamilton was making a layup.Hamilton made the free throw for a 68-65 lead with 6:37 left and the Pistons never trailed again.Billups' 3-pointer from the corner gave the Pistons a 76-69 lead with 1:32 left.Mehmet Okur scored 10 points for the Pistons, who got 11 rebounds from Ben Wallace.Billups scored five points early in the third quarter to give the Pistons a 48-46 lead while the Wizards missed their first 10 shots of the period.The Pistons went on an 11-0 run to take a 52-46 lead before Haywood scored Washington's first points of the third at the 5:10 mark. The Wizards shot 3-for-21 in the quarter.Haywood made seven of his first nine shots and had five rebounds in the game's first 15 minutes. His dunk for a three-point play gave Washington a 33-25 lead with 9:35 remaining in the second quarter.
76ers 98, Hawks 86
PHILADELPHIA -- Allen Iverson scored a season-high 50 points, leading Philadelphia over Atlanta.Kenny Thomas had 13 rebounds and reserve John Salmons added 13 points for Philadelphia, which leads the Atlantic Division despite a 9-9 record.Jason Terry had 20 points and Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 17 for the Hawks, who are off to a 6-12 start.It was the ninth time, including playoffs, that Iverson has scored 50 or more points in his eight seasons. He had 55 in a playoff victory over New Orleans last April.Iverson was coming off a season-low 12-point performance in which he missed 15 of 19 shots in a loss to Indiana on Friday night. He had 13 points in the first quarter against Atlanta, and kept scoring.Iverson made six of his seven shots -- all jumpers -- in the third quarter, and finished 20-of-34, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. He had 14 of Philadelphia's 18 points during one stretch as the Sixers pulled away early in the fourth quarter.Consecutive 3-pointers by Iverson and Salmons gave the Sixers an 80-68 lead less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, and the Hawks didn't threaten the rest of the way.Iverson scored 14 straight points for the Sixers, including a fallaway jumper for a 93-80 lead with 2:54 left. He made two free throws to reach 50 points with 1:06 remaining, and received a standing ovation when he went to the bench.Heat 78, Raptors 66
MIAMI -- Rookie Dwyane Wade scored 16 points to lead the Miami Heat to victory over the short-handed Toronto Raptors, who played without starters Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams.Davis and Williams are part of a six-player trade that will send Jalen Rose to the Raptors, Bulls general manager John Paxson said Saturday night. The deal is pending league approval Monday.Rookie forward Chris Jeffries, also involved with the trade, did not dress for the Raptors.Toronto, which has yet to reach 90 points in regulation this season, was held below 70 points for the fifth time.Toronto's leading scorer Vince Carter missed most of the third and fourth quarters after bruising his jaw. Carter was injured when his feet got tangled with an official near the baseline and he tumbled behind the basket after losing his balance.