NBA roundup
Magic beat Cavs to spoil James’ return ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Steve Francis scored 30 points and tied a season high with 13 assists, and the Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-102 on Tuesday night to spoil LeBron James’ return.
Grant Hill scored 21 for the Magic, who have won seven of their last eight home games.
James finished with 28 points, seven assists and five rebounds in his first game since rolling his left ankle last Wednesday in a win over Memphis. The Cavaliers split their two games during his absence.
Jeff McInnis appeared to send the game into overtime with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, but after a brief huddle the officials waved off the shot. Replays clearly showed the ball in McInnis’ hands as the clock ran out.
Nets 107, Bulls 97
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J – Jacque Vaughn moved into the starting lineup and tied his career high with 23 points, and Jason Kidd narrowly missed the 62nd triple-double of his career in New Jersey’s victory over Chicago Bulls.
Kidd had 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, and Vince Carter had 31 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Nets, who won their season-high fourth in a row.
Kirk Hinrich had 18 points for the Bulls, who lost their second in a row for their first two-game losing streak since late December.
Pistons 105, Wizards 96
WASHINGTON – Chauncey Billups scored 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and Detroit closed with a 20-11 run to win its fourth straight.
Billups helped break open a close game with a pair of three-point efforts: He converted a steal and layup into a three-point play with 5:10 to go, then hit a double-clutch 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer with 4:29 left to put the Pistons ahead 92-85.
Tayshaun Prince added 25 points, Richard Hamilton scored 23, and Rasheed Wallace had 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Pistons beat the Wizards for the eighth straight time on the road.
Antawn Jamison scored 26 points, and Gilbert Arenas had 21 to lead the Wizards, who have lost three straight following a four-game winning streak.
The game had 13 ties, the final time at 85-all with 5:52 remaining. The Wizards didn’t score again for two minutes.
Grizzlies 108, Suns 97
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Jason Williams scored 19 points and had eight assists to lift short-handed Memphis over Phoenix.
Memphis had seven players score in double figures and shot 12-of-23 from 3-point range in ending the Suns’ five-game winning streak. Memphis has won three straight and five of six.
Suns guard Steve Nash was ejected for arguing with 3:05 left and the Grizzlies leading 100-92. Nash screamed at referee Jack Nies after his shot was blocked by Stromile Swift. Nash was given a technical and then ejected after he continued his tirade.
Dahntay Jones score 17 points, Stromile Swift finished with 16 points. Lorenzen Wright scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Joe Johnson led the Suns with 30 points, hitting 11 of 18 shots, while Amare Stoudemire added 22 points and 19 rebounds. Shawn Marion scored 15 points and had 14 boards.
Mavericks 109, Heat 104
DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki and Jerry Stackhouse got rolling in the final five minutes, just about the time the Dallas defense found a way to throttle Shaquille O’Neal and Miami.
The Heat, who had won three straight, led 97-91 and had held the Mavs to just one field goal the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter when everything changed on both ends of the court.
Two straight baskets by Stackhouse and a jumper by Nowitzki got Dallas within one. Another jumper by Stackhouse put the Mavericks ahead 99-98, and they never gave up the lead.
Miami missed eight straight shots down the stretch, going from 4:34 until 11.6 seconds left between baskets.
Stackhouse led Dallas with 24 points, and Nowitzki added 19.
O’Neal had 25 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Bucks 91, Timberwolves 86
MILWAUKEE – Michael Redd scored 19 points, Joe Smith added 17, and Milwaukee held off Minnesota.
Toni Kukoc provided a huge lift with nine points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals in his first start in almost three seasons for the Bucks, who had lost 10 straight to the Timberwolves since winning in Minnesota on March 28, 1999.
Latrell Sprewell scored 24 points, including 19 in the first quarter, and Wally Szczerbiak added 19 for the Timberwolves.
Kukoc, who missed 23 games with a right hip strain earlier this season, started because Desmond Mason, Milwaukee’s second-leading scorer, was out with the flu.
Bobcats 109, Jazz 105
SALT LAKE CITY – Gerald Wallace scored 28 points and helped rally Charlotte from an 11-point deficit to its second road win in team history.
Brevin Knight added 21 points and eight assists, and Jason Kapono had 12 points for the Bobcats, who trailed 89-78 in the fourth quarter but improved to 2-19 on the road.
Andrei Kirilenko had a season-high 27 points and 10 assists, and Gordan Giricek scored 21 for Utah, but missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds that could have won it.
After Giricek’s shot clanged off the rim, Primoz Brezec got the rebound and threw a long pass to Wallace, who punctuated the win on a dunk with 1.7 seconds remaining.
Nuggets 96, Knicks 76
DENVER – Kenyon Martin scored a season-high 27 points, Carmelo Anthony added 19 and Denver earned its third consecutive victory under new coach George Karl by beating free-falling New York.
Martin followed a 25-point game against Indiana with an 11-for-17 shooting performance to help Karl win his home debut in Denver. He received a nice ovation when he walked onto the court, then improved to 3-0 since taking over for interim coach Michael Cooper.
Jamal Crawford scored 20 points to lead the Knicks, who have lost 14 of 16.
New York’s last lead came late in the first quarter when Stephon Marbury’s short jumper put the Knicks up 21-20. That was quickly erased when Denver outscored New York 5-0 to end the quarter.
New York managed only 12 points in the third quarter, and Denver capitalized to increase its lead to 75-57 after three.