NBA ROUNDUP | FRIDAY'S OTHER GAMES

Nets 95, Heat 88
MIAMI -- Vince Carter tied a career high with 51 points, 37 in the second half, and the New Jersey Nets extended their season-high winning streak to five games. Carter had 19 points in the third, then 18 more in the fourth -- including 12 straight free throws to seal the win. Jason Kidd added 12 points for the Nets, who beat Miami for the first time in 11 meetings, including a four-game sweep in last season's playoffs. Shaquille O'Neal had 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade added 17 points -- on only 4-for-20 shooting -- for Miami, which hosts the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday in a much-anticipated Christmas matchup.
Hawks 111, 76ers 108
ATLANTA -- Allen Iverson scored 53 points, the fifth-highest total of his career, but Joe Johnson had 24 to lead Atlanta over Philadelphia. Zaza Pachulia added 23 points, including the go-ahead free throws, and Al Harrington scored 22 for Atlanta, which won for the fifth time in six games. Iverson, who entered with a league-best 33.5 scoring average, had 21 points and six rebounds in the first half. He shot 17-of-31 and hit 19 of 21 free throws, the last coming on a three-point play that cut the Atlanta lead to 101-100 with 5:20 remaining.
Lakers 104, Magic 88
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Kobe Bryant had 21 points and nine assists, and Chris Mihm scored 20 points to lead Los Angeles over Orlando. In his first game since scoring a career-high 62 points against Dallas on Tuesday night, Bryant was 6-of-16 from the field. Lamar Odom had 18 points, six assists and eight rebounds, and Smush Parker added 16 points, five assists and five rebounds for Los Angeles. Orlando played all but the first few minutes without forward Dwight Howard, who limped into the locker room 2:42 into the first quarter with a sprained right ankle. Steve Francis led Orlando with 28 points and nine assists. Grant Hill had 13 points and eight rebounds, and DeShawn Stevenson had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Clippers 97, Bobcats 88
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Elton Brand had 38 points and 20 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers pounded their way to a victory over the undermanned Charlotte Bobcats. Chris Kaman added 22 points and a career-high 22 rebounds for the Clippers, who snapped a five-game road losing streak by exploiting Charlotte's shortage of big men. The Bobcats came into the game as winners of three of their last four despite a depleted roster. It caught up to them against the Clippers, when the absence of Emeka Okafor (ankle), Sean May (knee) and center Jake Voskuhl (ankle) left them unable to compete under the basket.
Pistons 97, Warriors 85
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Richard Hamilton scored 28 points and Ben Wallace added 15 points and 14 rebounds to help the Detroit Pistons improve to 21-3 with a win over Golden State. Rasheed Wallace had 18 points for Detroit, which won its sixth in a row. Rookie Ike Diogu had a career-best 27 points for Golden State, making 13 of 15 field goals attempts. Baron Davis and Jason Richardson had 14 each.
Knicks 98, Jazz 90
NEW YORK -- Jamal Crawford scored 28 points and Stephon Marbury had 22 points and seven assists as the New York Knicks snapped a season-high seven-game losing streak with a victory over Utah. Gordan Giricek had 19 points and Matt Harpring added 15 for Utah, which finished a 1-4 road trip. New York (7-18) made all the big hustle plays in the fourth quarter, including one when Crawford stole the ball while falling down and knocked it to Marbury, who made a layup to make it 87-78 with 5:49 left.
Grizzlies 95, Bulls 77
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Mike Miller scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Pau Gasol added 19 points and 11 boards to lead the Memphis Grizzlies over Chicago. Miller was 8-of-15 from the field, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range. Gasol shot 6-of-9 and added four blocks and five assists. Shane Battier added 13 points, and Lorenzen Wright scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Memphis, which won for the third time in the last four. Chicago has lost four of five. Andres Nocioni led the Bulls with 14 points, while Darius Songaila scored 11. Luol Deng, Chicago's leading scorer, added 10 points but missed 11 of his 15 shots. Chicago shot 36 percent from the field.
Trail Blazers 91, Timberwolves 83
MINNEAPOLIS -- Zach Randolph had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Ruben Patterson added a season-high 23 points and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame coach Nate McMillan's ejection to earn a victory over the Timberwolves. It was Portland's third win in 14 games, a slide that has the Blazers firmly in the cellar in the Northwest Division. Wally Szczerbiak scored 26 points and Kevin Garnett added 24, eight rebounds and six assists for the Wolves, who scored only 13 points in the final period.
Nuggets 108, Rockets 86
DENVER -- Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and Denver held Tracy McGrady to a single basket over the first three quarters to snap a four-game losing streak with a victory over the hobbled Houston Rockets. Marcus Camby had 12 points and 16 rebounds and Andre Miller had 19 points and nine assists, as the Nuggets won for the first time since Dec. 13 and pulled within a game of the .500 mark -- far worse than many expected from them at this point in the season. Coming off a 2-for-11 night in a loss at Toronto, McGrady went 4-for-17 and finished with 17 points against Denver.
Bucks 101, Hornets 94
MILWAUKEE -- Michael Redd scored 14 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, leading Milwaukee past New Orleans. Andrew Bogut added 14 points, T.J. Ford had 12 and Mo Williams 11 for the Bucks. David West led the Hornets with 27 points and a season-high 18 rebounds. Rookie Chris Paul added 24 points as the Hornets lost for the sixth time in seven road games in December.
Spurs 95, Raptors 90
SAN ANTONIO -- Tim Duncan made all four of his fourth-quarter shots and nearly finished with a triple-double to lead San Antonio over Toronto. Duncan scored nine of his 27 points in the final period, and added 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Associated Press
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