Bucks 90, Knicks 87

Bucks 90, Knicks 87
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- T.J. Ford hit a pair of free throws with 7.7 seconds left and Tim Thomas scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Milwaukee Bucks past the New York Knicks for the second time in four days, 90-87 Saturday night.
Charlie Ward missed two 3-point attempts in the final 16 seconds, the second coming at the buzzer.
Michael Redd added 22 points for the Bucks, who also beat the Knicks 106-90 Wednesday night in New York.
Allan Houston scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half and Keith Van Horn added 20 for the Knicks.
With Milwaukee leading 87-84, Ward's 3 rattled out of the basket with 16 seconds left. Joe Smith grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made one of two free throws for an 88-84 lead with 13.5 seconds to go.
Shandon Anderson hit an open 3 to pull New York within 88-87 with 8 seconds left. Ford was then fouled on the inbounds and made both free throws.
Ward inbounded the ball at halfcourt and got it back, moving to the top of the 3-point line. With Redd guarding him closely, Ward shot a 3 at the buzzer that grazed the net but hit nothing else.
Thomas scored seven consecutive points early in the fourth, giving Milwaukee a 77-71 lead on a fast-break layup with 8:17 left.
Ford had three assists in an 8-2 run that gave Milwaukee a 64-63 lead on Redd's layup with 3:12 left in the third quarter. There were five more lead changes before the end of the quarter, with Kurt Thomas scoring on a 15-footer with 30 seconds left to give the Knicks a 69-68 lead after three.
Van Horn, who scored 16 first-half points, hit a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left in the second quarter to give New York a 48-45 halftime lead.
Notes: Smith finished with 15 rebounds. ... Bucks coach Terry Porter has not played C Joel Pryzbilla, the ninth pick in the 2000 draft, in the two games since he has come off the injured list with a strained tendon in his right knee. ... Bucks C Dan Gadzuric scored a career-high 13 points. ... The Knicks held Bucks F Toni Kukoc to two points, missing all seven of his field-goal attempts, after he scored 21 against them Wednesday night.Bulls 109, Hornets 106
By BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writer
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Jalen Rose came off the bench for the first time in more than four years and scored 34 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 109-106 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday night.
Rose, who had started 323 straight games, shot 10-of-15 and made four 3-pointers to lead the Bulls, who shot 59.4 percent despite hitting only two of their last 12 shots.
Donyell Marshall scored 22 on 10-of-13 shooting and the Bulls made 12 of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter, 20 of 24 for the game.
Baron Davis scored 35 points but had a game-tying 16-foot attempt blocked by Jamal Crawford in the final minute, then missed a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left.
New Orleans had one more chance, but David Wesley's shot in a crowd was well off the mark and time expired as the Bulls knocked the rebound out to midcourt.
Davis, who led the Hornets past the Lakers the previous night, also had 13 assists and five steals, while hitting five 3-pointers.
A night after a 106-85 home loss to Philadelphia, Bulls coach Bill Cartwright made a pair of late changes to the starting lineup. Eddie Robinson replaced Rose, who had started 118 straight for the Bulls. And Kirk Hinrich, a night after shooting 1-for-10 in his NBA regular-season debut, replaced Crawford at point guard.
"That first group is not giving us anything," Cartwright said. "We'll keep searching until we find a group that is going to get us out of the gate."
Hinrich's lack of experience running the offense was evident at times as the Bulls turned the ball over 25 times, nine times by the rookie from Kansas.
Eddy Curry scored 16 to help the Bulls beat former Chicago coach Tim Floyd, while Crawford added 14 and Gill scored 12.
Wesley finished with 18 points, while P.J. Brown had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Davis helped the Hornets stay close during a sloppy first half with 19 points and five steals. The Bulls led 44-37 when Davis hit a 3, then stole the ball near midcourt and hit a pair of foul shots to cut New Orleans' deficit to two. Soon after, he found Wesley with a no-look pass on the break to tie the score at 49.
A reverse layup by Marshall gave Chicago a 54-53 lead at halftime.
Notes: It was the third time in seven games that Davis scored 30 or more points. ... Crawford swished a double-pump, half-court shot at the first-quarter buzzer. Official scorers marked it down as a 49-footer. ... Tyson Chandler, who had posted three double-doubles this season, was out after hurting his back crashing into the sideline stands a night earlier. ... The Hornets attempted 24 3-pointers, hitting nine. ... Robinson had a friendly greeting for Floyd, his former coach in Chicago, before tipoff. ... Chicago did not win in New Orleans last season, the Hornets first in the city since moving from Charlotte.
Mavericks 81, Spurs 78
Eds: SUBS 1st graf to CORRECT lead to led.
By T.A. BADGER
Associated Press Writer
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Antawn Jamison scored 20 points, capped by a putback with 4.9 seconds remaining that led the Dallas Mavericks to an 81-78 victory Saturday night over the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs, who trailed for most of the game, went up 78-77 on a corner 3-pointer by Bruce Bowen with 1:29 left. But Steve Nash made a jumper on the next possession to put the Mavericks back on top.
Michael Finley stole the ball from San Antonio's Malik Rose and then rebounded an errant 3-pointer by Antoine Walker with 29 seconds left. Nash missed on his drive to the basket, but Jamison was there for the putback.
On San Antonio's final chance, Robert Horry was way long on a 3-point attempt.
Nash, who sat out the Mavs' Thursday night loss to Toronto with a strained left shoulder, scored 15 points. Dirk Nowitzki also had 15 and Tony Delk 12.
Rose led San Antonio with 20 points and a career-high 22 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili had 17 points and Rasho Nesterovic 10.
The Spurs played without Tim Duncan for the third straight game, and Tony Parker still is yet to play this season. Both players have sprained left ankles.
A 12-0 run by Dallas in the first period overcame San Antonio's 6-0 lead, created at the free-throw line. A layup by Ginobili off a steal was the Spurs' only basket in their first 10 shots.
While San Antonio's shooters continued to struggle, the Mavericks kept pushing the ball in transition for easy inside baskets.
Dallas stretched its lead to 52-38 on a running jumper by Eduardo Najera with 1:12 left in the half before a layup by Horry and four foul shots pulled the Spurs to 53-44 at the break.
After Nowitzki made a 16-footer to open the third quarter, San Antonio went on a 15-4 run ending with a 3-pointer by Ginobili to go up 59-57 midway through the period.
Notes: San Antonio placed guard Ron Mercer (left ankle inflammation) on the injured list before the game and activated guard Devin Brown, who had two points in six minutes. ... On Monday, the Spurs host Utah, whom they have defeated 13 straight times. That game will also feature a ceremony to retire David Robinson's No. 50 jersey. ... The Mavericks made only 11 of 43 3-point attempts (25.6 percent) in their last three games. ... Dallas is now 2-3 on the road.
Rockets 96, Magic 86
By MICHAEL A. LUTZ
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON (AP) -- Steve Francis scored 31 points, Cuttino Mobley added 21 and the Houston Rockets sent the Orlando Magic to their sixth straight loss with a 96-86 victory Saturday night.
Yao Ming had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who never trailed after the opening minutes and won their third straight game.
Juwan Howard led the Magic with 22 points, and Tyronn Lue added 18. One night after an awful performance against Minnesota, Tracy McGrady scored 14 on 5-for-21 shooting.
The NBA's defending scoring champion managed only four points on 2-for-10 shooting in Friday night's 100-71 loss to the Timberwolves, his lowest total in a Magic uniform and the first time in 116 game he didn't reach double figures.
Houston forward Maurice Taylor missed the first game of a 10-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy. The Rockets suspended forward Eddie Griffin indefinitely on Oct. 16 for missing practices and a team flight.
Leading 57-51 at halftime, the Rockets couldn't pull away in the third period, and Orlando pulled to 81-78 early in the fourth on a 3-pointer by Keith Bogans.
Kelvin Cato scored four points in a 6-0 spurt that kept the Rockets in charge. He finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Houston edged ahead 29-26 after the first quarter, then made the first run of the game with a 12-1 spurt for a 41-27 lead as the Magic went scoreless for the first 3:16 of the second quarter.
Orlando responded with a 13-1 run, cutting Houston's lead to 42-40 with 4:58 left in the period before three consecutive 3-pointers, two by Mobley and one by Francis, helped the Rockets hold on for their six-point halftime lead.
Notes: The Magic are 19-12 in the regular season against the Rockets. ... Doc Rivers (171-163) needs 21 wins to pass Brian Hill and become the winningest coach in Magic history. ... Houston's Moochie Norris played in his 280th consecutive game, the second-longest active streak in the NBA.