Thursday, November 18, 2004
Pacers 93, Hawks 86
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal had 25 points and 13 rebounds to offset 30 points by former teammate Al Harrington. Austin Croshere added 13 points, 13 rebounds and two electrifying dunks in the fourth quarter. Harrington, who spent his first six seasons in Indiana before being traded in the off-season for Stephen Jackson, scored 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting in his first game against his former team. Harrington dropped an 18-foot fadeaway over Ron Artest to give the Hawks a 74-71 lead with 6:28 to play, but the Pacers responded with a 16-4 run to take control. Croshere had two dunks and O'Neal hit a turnaround in the lane during the spurt.
Wizards 110, Celtics 105, OT
WASHINGTON -- Antawn Jamison scored 27 points, Gilbert Arenas had 25, and Washington shut out Boston for the first 4:47 of overtime. Jared Jeffries added a career-high 15 points in his first start of the season. He also blocked a jumper by Paul Pierce in overtime and drew a crucial charge on Pierce in the extra period. Pierce led the Celtics with a season-high 37 points, but didn't score in overtime until making a 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds. The Wizards blew a 13-point halftime lead but erased a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit as they broke a two-game losing streak. Gary Payton recovered from a scoreless first half to get 17 points for the Celtics, who had a three-game winning streak.
Magic 107, Jazz 92
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Grant Hill scored 32 points and Steve Francis had season highs of 33 points and 11 assists for the Magic. Mostly shooting jumpers over Andrei Kirilenko, usually a dependable defensive stopper, Hill was 13-for-18 in his best offensive performance since scoring 36 points against Minnesota on April 10, 2000. Playing a season-high 41 minutes, Hill added five rebounds and five assists. It was the kind of all-around display that had become a distant memory for Hill because of his repeated ankle woes since he signed with Orlando before the 2000-01 season. Carlos Boozer led Utah with 27 points and eight rebounds.
Pistons 93, Timberwolves 85
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Chauncey Billups scored 15 of his 21 points in the third quarter and Detroit rallied to beat Minnesota. Billups, Ben Wallace and coach Larry Brown also returned to the Pistons after absences. Billups missed the previous game -- a loss in Utah -- with a sprained ankle. Wallace was out two games because of a death in his family and Brown missed five games -- including three losses -- with a hip problem. Richard Hamilton led Detroit with 24 points and Tayshaun Prince added 19. Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, while Latrell Sprewell scored 24.
SuperSonics 79, Nets 68
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Despite starting the first half 0-for-10 and the second half 0-for-8, Seattle (8-1) got some timely offense from Rashard Lewis and improved the NBA's best record. Seattle's eighth straight win came against a Nets team that had more fouls (29) than field goals (26) and committed 23 turnovers. Lewis scored 17 points and Ray Allen, Danny Fortson and Vladimir Radmanovic added 14 each for Seattle. Richard Jefferson had 20 points for New Jersey, which has four straight.
Suns 95, Hornets 84
NEW ORLEANS -- Amare Stoudemire's career-high 38 points -- one night after he scored 34 at Dallas -- led Phoenix. The Hornets attempted only two foul shots, tying an NBA low and breaking the team mark they set in Milwaukee on Saturday night when they took only three. Steve Nash had 12 assists to go with 16 points. Shawn Marion scored 23 points, including consecutive 3-pointers after the Hornets had nibbled a 12-point deficit down to five early in the fourth quarter. David Wesley's 19 points led the Hornets, who lengthened their worst-ever start to 0-7 under new coach Byron Scott.
Nuggets 112, Raptors 106
DENVER (AP) -- Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points and Kenyon Martin added 24 points and 16 rebounds for Denver. The Nuggets overcame a sluggish first half by making 14 of 23 shots in third quarter and 30 of 34 free throws overall after entering the game shooting 69 percent from the foul line. Andre Miller had 14 points and seven assists, and Bryon Russell added 12 points. Jalen Rose had 30 points -- going 15-for-16 on free-throw attempts -- and Chris Bosh had 15. Vince Carter added 14 for Toronto, which has lost five of six since a 3-0 start.
Heat 113, Bucks 106
MILWAUKEE -- Shaquille O'Neal scored a season-high 26 points and Eddie Jones had 27 to help Miami beat Milwaukee for the second time in four days. Dwyane Wade added 18 points and seven assists, but just missed extending his streak of six consecutive games with at least 20 points. Michael Redd scored a season-high 33 points, Keith Van Horn 23 and Desmond Mason 18 for the Bucks. Mike James, activated from the injured list before the game, added 11.
Associated Press
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