Wizards 118, Raptors 109

Wizards 118, Raptors 109
WASHINGTON -- Antawn Jamison had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Juan Dixon scored 26 as Washington raced to a 15-point first-quarter lead, shot 56 percent in the first half, then withstood a Jalen Rose-led comeback in the second half. Larry Hughes, the best all-around player in the team's surprising season, watched from the bench for the first time since breaking his thumb in last Saturday's victory over Phoenix. The Wizards had been blown out in two games since. The Wizards spoke openly about coming to grips with the loss of their co-captain for four to six weeks. The Raptors had won three straight. Rose, who has been unhappy about being the subject of trade rumors as well as his demotion from the starting lineup, scored a season-high 32 points again as a reserve.
Rockets 92, Knicks 91
NEW YORK -- Scott Padgett hit an off-balance, one-hander from just inside the free-throw line at the buzzer for Houston. Tracy McGrady scored 35 points, six on two 3-pointers in Houston's 13-0 run at the start of the second half, to help the Rockets win for the fifth time in their past seven games and hand the Knicks their ninth loss in 10 games.
Mavericks 105, Bobcats 99
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points each to lead Dallas to its fourth consecutive victory. Jerry Stackhouse scored 19 points, Jason Terry had 17 and Josh Howard added 11 for the Mavericks, who have won nine of 11 games. Charlotte lost its seventh-straight and has dropped 13 of 14. Emeka Okafor had 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Primoz Brezec and Jason Kapono added 14 each.
Nets 104, Celtics 98
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jason Kidd hit a crucial 3-point shot just before the shot clock expired with 57.9 seconds to play and New Jersey posted a season-high third consecutive win. Vince Carter added 25 points despite playing in foul trouble and Travis Best came off the bench to score a season-high 24 to help the Nets (15-24) draw within 31/2 games of first-place Philadelphia (18-20) in the Atlantic Division. Kidd finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, just missing his 62nd career triple-double for the second consecutive game. Rookie Nenad Krstic added 13 points and a career-best tying 12 rebounds. Paul Pierce had 22 points to lead the Celtics (18-21).
Bucks 89, Pistons 86
MILWAUKEE -- Mike James scored 20 points and Milwaukee won when Detroit's Richard Hamilton missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer. Tayshaun Prince tied his career high with 26 points but managed only a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter for Detroit, which lost its second straight after winning six in a row.
Pacers 106, Heat 100, OT
MIAMI -- Jamaal Tinsley scored 30 points, including a jumper to force overtime, and Reggie Miller hit a pair of 3-pointers in the extra sessionfor Indiana. Jermaine O'Neal had 26 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for Indiana. Miller had 18 points. Dwyane Wade scored 30 points for Miami, which made 48.1 percent of its shots from the field -- and 47.2 percent from the foul line, missing 19 of its 36 attempts from the stripe. Shaquille O'Neal scored 24 points and Haslem had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat.
Bulls 95, Hawks 85
CHICAGO -- Kirk Hinrich had 23 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and Antonio Davis added a season-high 17 points for Chicago. The Bulls bounced back from a loss to Boston on Wednesday that ended their seven-game winning streak with their 16th win in 22 games. Curry scored 18 points for Chicago, which has won six straight at home. Antoine Walker scored 25 points for Atlanta and Al Harrington added 21 points and eight rebounds. The Hawks have lost eight straight on the road.
Associated Press