Allen Iverson and company spoiled coach Larry Brown's return to Philadelphia, scoring 30 points in the 76ers' 90-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
Brown, who left the 76ers after last season to coach the Pistons, was serenaded with chants of "traitor" and "fraud" and fans yelled a derisive chant throughout the game.
PHOTO: REUTERS
While the sellout crowd of 20,512 fans turned on him, his former players only offered hugs and handshakes.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Kenny Thomas had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Eric Snow added 13 points for the Sixers. Richard Hamilton led the Pistons with 19 points, Mehmet Okur had 17 and Chauncey Billups 15.
Celtics 94, Magic 92
In Orlando, Florida, Paul Pierce scored 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to help Boston hold off Orlando, extending the Magic's losing streak to 14 games.
Pierce also had eight rebounds and six assists, Vin Baker added 19 points and Eric Williams had 15 for the Celtics.
Tracy McGrady led the Magic with 24 points, but had only two in the fourth quarter and fouled out with 3:11 left.
Raptors 99, Hawks 97, OT
In Atlanta, Vince Carter hit a jumper with 1.2 seconds left, part of a season-high 43 points, to lift Toronto past Atlanta.
Carter also forced overtime with a three-point play with 13.2 seconds left in regulation.
Chris Bosh added 17 points for the Raptors. Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored a season-high 30 for the Hawks.
Suns 121, Mavericks 90
In Phoenix, Penny Hardaway scored a season-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers, leading the Phoenix Suns to their highest point total of the season.
Stephon Marbury had his fifth consecutive double-double, finishing with 18 points and 12 assists. Joe Johnson led the Suns with 21 points, and rookie Zarko Cabarkapa had a season-high 17.
Reserve Antawn Jamison led the Mavericks with 17 points.
Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks' leading scorer with a 20.6 average, left the game with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter when he sprained his right ankle.
Jazz 83, Rockets 76
In Salt Lake City, Andrei Kirilenko scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half and rookie Mo Williams scored a career-high 10 points for Utah.
Raul Lopez had 10 points and five assists in his third career start, scoring eight straight for the Jazz late in the fourth quarter to help Utah seal it and improve to 7-1 at home.
Yao Ming led Houston with 20 points and 10 rebounds, going 14-for-16 from the free-throw line to help make up for a 3-for-15 night from the field.
Lakers 120, Wizards 99
In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 22 points and Los Angeles took command early in beating road-weary Washington.
Shaquille O'Neal missed his second game because of a strained right calf muscle, and again the Lakers didn't miss him. They beat Memphis 121-89 without him Sunday night.
The win was the fourth straight and seventh in eight games for the Lakers (12-3). It also extended their regular-season home winning streak to 23, including eight this season.
The Wizards (6-9) lost for the seventh time in 10 games. They played their second game without leading scorer Gilbert Arenas, who went on the injured list Tuesday with a severe abdominal strain.
Devean George had a season-high 18 points, Derek Fisher and Kareem Rush added 14 points each and Karl Malone had 13 for the Lakers, who had eight players score in double figures. That hadn't happened since Feb. 19, 1998.
Mourning sickness
The New Jersey Nets will have to pay Alonzo Mourning US$22.6 million over the next four years because they were unable to insure the guaranteed contract because of the center's kidney disease.
Nets president Rod Thorn said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Nets are responsible for the payments to Mourning, who earlier this week left the game because his illness worsened.
The seven-time All-Star center needs a kidney transplant.
The added financial burden comes just months after the Nets spent US$25 million to US$30 million to buy out the contract of center Dikembe Mutombo, who spent one disappointing, injury-marred season with the team.
Thorn said the financial burden would not be an obstacle to selling the team.
"Everyone who is trying to buy the team is well aware of the situation," Thorn said when asked if Mourning's illness might make the team harder to sell.
YankeeNets, the sports conglomerate that runs the Nets, has received four bids for the team, reportedly ranging from US$250 million to US$275 million.
Thorn said the Nets cannot remove Mourning from their salary cap until July 2005, at the earliest. New Jersey is going to have to pay more than US$10 million in luxury taxes because of its salary cap problems.
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