AROUND THE NBA

AROUND THE NBA
Saturday's games
Bulls 94, 76ers 88
PHILADELPHIA -- Othella Harrington scored a season-high 24 points and Ben Gordon had eight of his 22 in the fourth quarter, leading the Chicago Bulls past the Philadelphia 76ers. Kirk Hinrich contributed 21 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Bulls, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Allen Iverson, playing his second straight game with a chipped bone in his left thumb, led the Sixers with 31 points. But he converted just 9-of-24 from the field and committed 11 turnovers, one short of his season-high set March 8 against Golden State. Chris Webber was a late scratch for the 76ers with a compressed nerve in his left leg. Philadelphia is 6-6 since acquiring Webber in a trade with the Sacramento Kings. The Bulls overcame a poor shooting performance (37 percent) with some clutch baskets late in the fourth quarter.
After Philadelphia's Samuel Dalembert cut the lead to 89-87 with 2:00 remaining, the Bulls responded with a basket by Antonio Davis and a three-point play by Tyson Chandler to seal the victory. Davis had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Dalembert had 16 points and a season-high 17 rebounds while Marc Jackson added 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers.
The Sixers, who shot 27-of-76 from the field (36 percent) and just 5-of-20 from 3-point territory, led 73-67 with 11:05 left in regulation. But the Bulls went on a 12-0 run to take a 79-73 lead with 7:28 to go. Philadelphia did not hit a field goal for the first 4:49 of the fourth quarter.
Heat 97, Knicks 82
MIAMI -- Shaquille O'Neal scored 33 points and Dwyane Wade had 30 to lead the Miami Heat to its 12th straight win. O'Neal also grabbed 17 rebounds as Miami won its 15th straight at home and swept the four-game season series with New York for the first time in franchise history. O'Neal and Wade became the first Heat duo to each score 30 points or better in the same game since Glen Rice and Khalid Reeves did it in 1995 against Philadelphia Miami, which has won 19 of 21, never trailed after a late first quarter run and built the lead to double figures in the second quarter. The Knicks cut a 17-point halftime deficit with a 14-4 spurt to start the second half. Wade stopped the run with an acrobatic three-point play, when he drove deep in the lane, bumped into Kurt Thomas and converted on a shot with his back to the basket. The Knicks vehemently argued Thomas was in position to draw a charging foul but Thomas instead was called for the block.
New York remained within striking distance behind two 3-pointers from Jamal Crawford, his second cutting Miami's lead to 71-63 with 47 seconds remaining in the third period.
Wade scored the first six points of the fourth quarter and the Knicks never could get closer than 75-66 with 9:48 in the game. Stephon Marbury led New York with 23 points, while Crawford finished with 20 points.
Wizards 96, Jazz 95
WASHINGTON -- Gilbert Arenas rallied from a scoreless and sulky first half with 22 points in the second half, including two free throws with 2.3 seconds to play, leading Washington. After Raja Bell hit a fadeaway 18-footer with 18 seconds remaining, Arenas dribbled down the clock for the final shot and was fouled by Bell while driving the lane with 2.3 seconds to go. Arenas made the free throws, and Howard Eisley missed a contested 16-footer at the buzzer to send the Jazz to their ninth straight loss. Larry Hughes scored 21 points, and Steve Blake had 15, making five of six 3-pointers, as the Wizards overcame a 12-point first-half deficit, Washington's 12th double digit comeback victory of the season. The Wizards finished 11-4 at home against Western Conference teams this season. They played their next five on the road, all against West teams.
-- Associated Press
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