Knicks 100, Heat 76

Knicks 100, Heat 76
MIAMI -- The Miami Heat lost at home for the third game in a row and they'll have to shake their slump without Shaquille O'Neal. Reserve Jamal Crawford scored 19 points, and the New York Knicks took advantage of O'Neal's absence to beat the defending NBA champions. The Heat announced shortly before tipoff that O'Neal, sidelined since Sunday, will undergo surgery for torn knee cartilage and be out four to six weeks. The Knicks' Eddy Curry made all five of his shots in the third quarter when New York shot 78 percent and outscored Miami 34-14. Curry finished with 13 points. The Knicks got 46 points from their reserves and outshot the Heat 52 percent to 36. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 20 points. Alonzo Mourning, starting for O'Neal, managed only seven points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes. Antoine Walker, Dorell Wright and James Posey shot a combined 2-for-21.
Nets 100, Pacers 91
INDIANAPOLIS -- Vince Carter scored 28 points and Clifford Robinson, the oldest player in the NBA, added a season-high 14 to lead New Jersey. Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, in foul trouble and scoreless in the first half, had 13 of his 17 points in the third quarter as the Pacers came back from 14 points down and took a 75-71 lead early in the final period. Two free throws by rookie Marcus Williams and a 3-pointer by Robinson put the Nets back in the lead. Baskets by Carter and Nenad Krstic pushed the Nets' lead to 94-89 with under 2 minutes to go, and the Pacers never recovered. Al Harrington, also in foul trouble much of the game, led Indiana with 18 points, and Jamaal Tinsley added 16.
Celtics 118, Trail Blazers 90
BOSTON -- Paul Pierce scored 29 points in three quarters, and Wally Szczerbiak added 19 to help Boston beat Portland.
Delonte West scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for the Celtics, who have won two straight after starting the season 1-6. Boston outscored Portland 68-47 in the second half to run away with the victory. Neither Pierce nor Szczerbiak had to play in the fourth quarter. Zach Randolph had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Ime Udoka added 14 points for the Blazers, who have lost four straight after getting off to a surprising 4-2 start. In his first game against the Trail Blazers since being traded to Boston in the offseason, Sebastian Telfair had 15 points and seven assists.
Pistons 100, Wizards 91
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Richard Hamilton scored 27 points and Rasheed Wallace added 20 points and 10 rebounds as Detroit ended a two-game losing streak. Hamilton hit 11 of a career high-tying 27 shots to help Detroit to improve to 4-5 in its first season without Ben Wallace. Tayshaun Prince added 20 points for Detroit, which trailed by nine points in the first half before dominating the last two periods. Caron Butler had 24 points and Gilbert Arenas added 20 for Washington, which has lost three straight.
Spurs 100, Bulls 83
SAN ANTONIO -- Tim Duncan had 21 points and 11 rebounds to help San Antonio win for the sixth time in seven games.
Brent Barry added 14 points for the Spurs and Tony Parker had 13 points and eight assists. Reserve Beno Udrih had nine assists. Ben Gordon, coming off the bench for the third straight game after starting the first six, led the Bulls with 21 points in 25 minutes. The Spurs had their largest lead of 19 points with 6:41 left to play.
Mavericks 115, Grizzlies 103
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points, Erick Dampier added 22 points and 15 rebounds to help Dallas win its fourth straight. Dampier was 8-of-11 from the field, many of them on dunks or second-chance points, sending the Grizzlies to their sixth straight loss. The win puts the Mavericks at .500 for the first time this season. Nowitzki shot only 3-of-13 from the field in the first three quarters. Jerry Stackhouse had 19 points for Dallas. Hakim Warrick led Memphis with a career-high 26 points, while Stromile Swift added 21 and Mike Miller finished with 16.
Associated Press