The Indiana Pacers, with the NBA's best record, stayed unbeaten on the road thanks to a last-second miss by New Orleans rookie David West.
Jermaine O'Neal scored 24 points and Reggie Miller hit a pair of go-ahead free throws with 8.4 seconds left to lift the Indiana Pacers to a 76-75 victory over the Hornets on Friday night.
PHOTO: AP
Ron Artest scored 22 points and O'Neal also had 11 rebounds and five blocks for Indiana, which snapped the Hornets' four-game winning streak.
The Hornets got one last chance with a second left after O'Neal missed a pair of free throws -- the second purposely in an effort to run out the clock. But West just missed converting a backdoor alley-oop pass from Sean Rooks, shooting the ball just a bit too hard off the backboard.
Baron Davis led New Orleans with 33 points.
76ers 87, Celtics 85
In Philadelphia, Allen Iverson missed 14 of his first 18 shots, including a breakaway layup, but finished with 24 points.
Paul Pierce scored 33 and Vin Baker had 22 for the Celtics, who have lost three straight and four of five.
The Sixers, again playing without Glenn Robinson (ankle) and Derrick Coleman (knee), have won two straight for just the second time this season. Kenny Thomas added 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Pierce scored eight straight points on a dunk and consecutive 3-pointers as Boston tied it at 83 with 1:28 left. Aaron McKie answered with a jumper to give the Sixers an 85-83 lead with 1:05 to go, and Boston let the shot clock expire on its next possession. After Iverson missed a driving layup, Walter McCarty missed a 3-pointer with 9.5 seconds left. Iverson then iced it with two free throws.
Pistons 95, Knicks 85
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Chauncey Billups scored 23 points and Richard Hamilton added 21 to lead the Detroit Pistons to their fourth consecutive win.
The Knicks played without forward Keith Van Horn, who missed his second game with a sprained right ankle, and lost for the sixth time in seven tries. They never led.
Kurt Thomas led New York with 16 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with four minutes to play, while Shandon Anderson scored 15 and Charlie Ward had 13.
Hamilton's three-point play in the final minute of the period helped Detroit take a 74-66 lead into the fourth. Billups' 3-pointer moved the margin to 79-69 early in the fourth, and the Knicks never got closer than seven after that.
Timberwolves 97, Cavaliers 83
In Cleveland, Latrell Sprewell scored a season-high 31 points and Kevin Garnett added 20. Sprewell's 3-pointer with 5:47 remaining gave Minnesota a 15-point lead, and the Timberwolves helding off the inexperienced Cavaliers from there.
Cleveland rookie LeBron James scored 19 points -- 13 in the fourth quarter -- and added nine rebounds. However, he shot 8-of-19 and played just four minutes of the third quarter because of foul trouble.
Garnett added 15 rebounds and Fred Hoiberg came off the bench and matched a season-high with 14 points for Minnesota, which only trailed for the game's first 2:18.
Spurs 114, Hawks 75
In San Antonio, Tim Duncan had 20 of the Spurs season-high 68 first-half points and finished with 25.
Manu Ginobili had 20 points on 9-for-10 shooting with five rebounds and five assists, and Tony Parker had 17 points and six assists as the Spurs bounced back from a 95-92 defeat the previous night at Dallas.
The Spurs opened the game with a 13-5 run in which Ginobili, who replaced Stephen Jackson as San Antonio's starting shooting guard, scored eight points. The Spurs led 37-13 by the end of the first quarter.
The Spurs extended their lead to 41 when Devin Brown hit a 22-foot jump shot with 5:46 in the fourth.
Nuggets 108, Wizards 87
In Denver, Carmelo Anthony had 23 points and seven assists and Voshon Lenard added 19 points for Denver, which has won four of five and is off to its best start (7-5) since opening the 1989-1990 season 8-4.
The Nuggets are 5-1 at home after needing until Jan. 8 to get their fifth home win last season.
Andre Miller added 15 points and eight assists.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
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