AROUND THE NBA | Tuesday's other games

Pacers 93, Wizards 79
INDIANAPOLIS -- Ron Artest bounced back from his first ejection of the season with 16 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Pacers. The Pacers, coming off a rugged five-game West Coast road trip, held a 22-point lead early in the fourth quarter before the Wizards used a 14-2 run to pull to 83-73. That prompted Indiana coach Rick Carlisle to bring back four of his five starters, and the Wizards never got any closer. Kwame Brown led the Wizards with 17 points and seven rebounds, and Larry Hughes added 16 points and five rebounds.
Nets 101, SuperSonics 88
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Richard Jefferson scored a season-high 31 points, Kenyon Martin had 25 and the reawakened New Jersey Nets shot a season-best 55.1 percent. Jason Kidd added 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in just three quarters to help the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions post a season-high three-game winning streak. Ronald Murray had 27 points for Seattle, which has lost three in a row and seven of 10. The only thing that prevented a season-worst loss was an 18-0 run to end the game. The Nets, who shot 56 percent in the first half, were even better in the third quarter. They hit 12 of 19 shots from the field (63.2 percent) and broke the game open with a 20-6 spurt.
Heat 92, Suns 72
MIAMI -- Lamar Odom scored 16 points with a career-high 17 rebounds, and the Miami Heat got Caron Butler back in the starting lineup. Dwyane Wade and Brian Grant each scored 18 points as Miami snapped a three-game losing streak. Butler, who sat out the previous seven games with a quadricep injury, scored seven points in 37 minutes. The Suns, whose loss at Orlando on Monday night ended the Magic's 19-game losing streak, have lost three straight. Shawn Marion led Phoenix with 27 points. Miami took the lead for good late in the second quarter and maintained a double-digit advantage for most of the second half. The Heat outrebounded Phoenix 51-30 and had 24 offensive rebounds.
Hawks 112, Nuggets 98
ATLANTA -- Jacque Vaughn scored a career-high 23 points and the Atlanta Hawks took command after halftime to snap a four-game losing streak and set a season high for points. Atlanta won despite the absence of third-leading scorer Stephen Jackson, who served a one-game suspension for a heated exchange with the coaching staff after a weekend loss in Cleveland. With Jackson sidelined, Vaughn got extensive playing time. Averaging just 4.5 points a game, he shot 9-of-13 from the field to eclipse his previous career high of 20 points. Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 22 points, Jason Terry 20 and Theo Ratliff a season-high 12. Denver has lost two in a row for just the second time this season.
76ers 78, Pistons 76
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Aaron McKie did a great job filling in for Allen Iverson, scoring a season-high 21 points and blocking Mehmet Okur's shot as time expired. Eric Snow, his backcourt mate, had 17 points and seven assists. Chauncey Billups had 29 points and Richard Hamilton scored 15 for the Pistons, who were held to a season-low 31 points in the first half and 37.3-percent shooting overall. The Sixers, who were also without Glenn Robinson and Marc Jackson, have won three straight and are 2-0 against their former coach, Larry Brown.
Warriors 98, Timberwolves 95
MINNEAPOLIS -- Jason Richardson made a wide-open 3-pointer with two-tenths of a second left. Richardson had 30 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Golden State (10-9), which moved above .500 this late in the season for the first time since 1993-94. Kevin Garnett tied a season-high with 33 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Minnesota, whose three-game winning streak ended. Latrell Sprewell had 27 points for the Wolves, who played their first home game in nearly two weeks after going 4-1 on a Western Conference road trip. They're just 4-5 at Target Center this season.
Rockets 93, Trail Blazers 91
HOUSTON -- Cuttino Mobley had 24 points and Steve Francis hit a 16-footer with 20 seconds left, keeping the Trail Blazers winless on the road. Yao Ming missed two free throws with nine seconds to play, giving the Blazers a last chance. But Damon Stoudamire missed a 3-pointer just before the final buzzer. Yao had 16 points and eight rebounds. Francis added 15 points. Zach Randolph had 31 points and Stoudamire led a comeback with eight of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for the Trail Blazers, who fell to 0-7 on the road.
Kings 105, Clippers 95
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Peja Stojakovic scored 26 points, and Mike Bibby had 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Anthony Peeler had 14 points in a reserve role as Sacramento blew a big early lead before rallying in the fourth for its 11th straight home victory over the Clippers. The Kings wrapped up the longest homestand in franchise history with seven wins in eight games. Top reserve Bobby Jackson was sidelined with bronchitis, but the Kings jumped to a 21-point lead in the third quarter before giving away all but two points of it with dismal defense. Sacramento finished strong, with Stojakovic hitting three 3-pointers while his team pulled away.
Lakers 98, Knicks 90
LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant had 21 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and Karl Malone added 20 points in the Lakers' 10th straight win. It was the 27th consecutive regular-season home victory for the Lakers -- three shy of the franchise record set in 1951 when they played in Minneapolis. The Lakers, whose 18-3 record is the best in the NBA, are 12-0 at home this season. The loss was the fifth in a row for the Knicks (7-15), who played without leading scorer Allan Houston (sore right knee). New York's Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley scored 26 points each.
-- Associated Press