Jeff Foster had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Ron Artest shut down Rashard Lewis, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 101-78 win over the Seattle SuperSonics on Friday night.
Foster's previous career-high of 17 came exactly two years earlier against Boston. His willingness to run the floor and hustle down rebounds created easy scoring opportunities for the Pacers as they handed Seattle its second loss of the season.
Al Harrington added 13 points off the bench for the Pacers.
PHOTO: AFP
Artest did a masterful job defending Lewis, who entered the game as the NBA's third-leading scorer. Lewis, already the object of frequent double-teams this year, was held to 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
The loss snapped a four-game road win streak for the Sonics, who were led by Ronald Murray's 16 points and Antonio Daniels' 15.
Nets 85, Knicks 80
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, a more-rested Jason Kidd scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for New Jersey.
Kidd had 10 assists, and Kenyon Martin added 21 points and 10 rebounds as the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions snapped a two-game losing streak and three-game skid at home by handing the Knicks their third straight loss.
Kerry Kittles added 15 points, including a late 3-pointer that helped break things open. Kidd played 36 minutes, with rookie Zoran Planinic getting the extra playing time and scoring nine points.
Allan Houston almost single-handedly kept the Knicks in the game in the second half, scoring 20 of his 31 points. Kurt Thomas added 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Keith Van Horn had nine points and 11 rebounds against one of his former teams.
Celtics 91, Cavaliers 82
In Boston, Paul Pierce scored 19 points and Vin Baker had 13 points with 11 rebounds and Boston sent Cleveland to its 27th consecutive road loss.
LeBron James scored 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting in his first regular-season game at the home of the NBA's most successful franchise. The Celtics had their second sellout of the season and their first since opening night. The 17,624 will be able to say they saw James' Boston debut, but they won't have much else to say about it.
Jazz 85, Timberwolves 77
In Minneapolis, Carlos Arroyo scored a career-high 30 points to lead Utah to its first road win this season.
Arroyo's previous high was 18 points in Utah's season opener against Portland. He tied that mark by halftime with a mix of short- and medium-range jumpers and a few nice drives to the basket.
Kevin Garnett led Minnesota with 23 points and 14 rebounds, but the Wolves never overcame their slow start and finished 29-for-74 from the floor.
Heat 105, Wizards 101, OT
In Miami, Eddie Jones scored 27 points and reached a 3-point milestone as Miami won its second game in a row
Jones became the 24th player in NBA history with 1,000 career 3-pointers. He finished with four 3s, giving him 1,002 for his career and tying him with Danny Ainge for 23rd on the career list.
After starting the season 0-7, the Heat have won back-to-back games for the first time since last December.
Gilbert Arenas scored 27 points for the Wizards, and Larry Hughes added 22.
76ers 100, Spurs 96
In Philadelphia, Allen Iverson scored 15 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and had 12 assists for the undermanned 76ers.
Mark Jackson scored 16 and Aaron McKie added 14 for Philadelphia, which won its second straight despite missing its starting frontcourt.
Tim Duncan had 35 points and 15 rebounds, Manu Ginobili scored 21 and Tony Parker had 19 for San Antonio. The NBA champions had won two straight since Duncan and Parker returned from ankle injuries.
After Duncan missed a 16-footer, Iverson gave the Sixers a 94-88 lead on a superb driving, one-handed runner in traffic with 1:16 remaining. San Antonio didn't get closer than three the rest of the way.
Rockets 90, Suns 85
In Houston, Steve Francis had 26 points and Yao Ming had 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Rockets to their fourth consecutive victory over the Phoenix.
Yao missed two free throws with 43 seconds left, but then hit two with 30 seconds to play. Francis added two foul shots with 22 seconds remaining and two more with 10 seconds left to clinch it.
The Rockets are in first place in the Midwest Division, the first time they've been there after five or more games since Dec. 21, 1997.
Stephon Marbury led the Suns with 33 points, 22 in the first half. Amare Stoudamire had 18 points and a season-high five blocks.
Pacers 101, SuperSonics 78
In Indianapolis, Jeff Foster had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Ron Artest shut down Rashard Lewis.
Foster's previous career-high of 17 came exactly two years earlier against Boston. His willingness to run the floor and hustle down rebounds created easy scoring opportunities for the Pacers as they handed Seattle its second loss of the season.
Foster was one of six Indiana players to score in double figures. Artest and Jermaine O'Neal scored 16 apiece, with Al Harrington adding 13 off the bench.
Artest did a masterful job defending Lewis, who entered the game as the NBA's third-leading scorer. Lewis, already the object of frequent double-teams this year, was held to 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
The loss snapped a four-game road win streak for the Sonics, who were led by Ronald Murray's 16 points and Antonio Daniels' 15.
Kings 94, Raptors 64
In Sacramento, California, Peja Stojakovic scored 17 points and Darius Songaila had 14 points and seven rebounds in the Sacramento Kings' 11th straight home victory.
Brad Miller had 10 points and 12 rebounds while tying his career high with four blocked shots against the punchless Raptors, who didn't even come close to reaching their league-low average of 76 points per game.
Sacramento took control with a 25-8 run in the third quarter, fast-breaking past the Raptors for easy baskets. Stojakovic scored eight points in the rally as the Kings won their 21st straight home game against Eastern Conference opponents.
Vince Carter scored 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting for Toronto, which lost its sixth straight in Sacramento and remained winless on the road this season.
Clippers 104, Warriors 98
In Oakland, California, Chris Wilcox scored a career-high 21 points to go with nine rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers won their third straight game with their best defensive effort of the season.
Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. won the first official father-son NBA matchup in 27 years. His son, second-year Warriors forward, Mike Jr., faced his dad twice during the preseason.
Quentin Richardson added 19 points and seven rebounds for Los Angeles, which allowed its fewest points all season and shot a season-high 49.4 percent.
Golden State's Erick Dampier recorded his league-leading seventh double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Brian Cardinal scored a career-high 24, his fifth straight game with 12 or more points.
Lakers 94, Pistons 89
In Los Angeles, Shaquille O'Neal scored 21 points, including a pair of clutch free throws late in the game, and added 15 rebounds and eight assists.
Gary Payton also had 21 points, and Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone scored 16 each. Malone, playing despite a sore left hamstring, also had nine rebounds.
The victory was the Lakers' 19th in a row at home stretching back to last February, their longest such streak since they won 24 straight on their court during the 1987-88 to 1988-89 seasons.
Chauncey Billups had 29 points for the Pistons, who lost their third in a row.
Nuggets 106, Magic 101
In Denver, Earl Boykins and Andre Miller each scored 27 points, and the Denver Nuggets withstood 51 points from Tracy McGrady to hand the Orlando Magic their eighth straight loss.
Boykins had 11 points in the fourth quarter and Miller added eight to help the Nuggets offset 19 points by McGrady in the period.
McGrady was 20-for-30, including 8-of-11 from 3-point range.
Nuggets rookie Carmelo Anthony overcame poor shooting to score 17 points and pull down 14 rebounds.
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