The New Jersey Nets won their 14th straight game Tuesday -- the longest streak in the NBA this season -- by holding off the injury-plagued Toronto Raptors 86-74 behind Kenyon Martin's 25 points and 15 rebounds.
The victory was the 13th straight for boy-wonder coach Lawrence Frank, the best start to a coaching career in a major sport in North America.
A bigger challenge will come Wednesday when Frank and the Nets travel to Minnesota to play the Midwest Division-leading Timberwolves.
PHOTO: EPA
"They're the best team in the league right now, period," Nets forward Richard Jefferson said. "Have we had success against them the past three years? Yeah."
Only four of the Nets' wins in their franchise-record streak have come against teams with winning records. Toronto played without Jalen Rose, Vince Carter and Alvin Williams in losing its season-high sixth straight.
Jason Kidd added 17 points and seven assists.
"We wanted to keep fighting," Toronto rookie Chris Bosh said. "We're not going to lay down and die. We will keep fighting. The whole team kept going."
Roger Mason Jr. led the Raptors with a career-high 18 points in his first NBA start.
Timberwolves 108, Bucks 102
In Milwaukee, Sam Cassell scored 29 points in his return to Milwaukee as Minnesota became the first NBA team to win 20 road games with a victory over the Bucks.
Cassell, who played 4 1/2 seasons with the Bucks before being traded to Minnesota last summer, sank six free throws in the final 19 seconds to seal the Timberwolves' 10th straight victory over the Bucks.
Latrell Sprewell, a Milwaukee native, added 23 points, and Kevin Garnett had his NBA-leading 51st double-double with 16 points and 18 rebounds. He tied his own club record with his 19th consecutive double-double.
Michael Redd and Keith Van Horn each scored 25 for Milwaukee.
Bucks rookie point guard T.J. Ford was taken off on a stretcher for X-rays on his neck after falling hard during the fourth quarter.
Pacers 107, Warriors 96
Indianapolis, Jermaine O'Neal scored a season-high 34 points, and Jamaal Tinsley added 13 points and 11 assists to lead Indiana over Golden State.
Jonathan Bender again gave a strong performance to help fill the void left by injured forward Ron Artest, and the Pacers shot 52 percent from the field to win their third in succession.
The oft-injured Bender provided an offensive spark in the second and third quarters and finished with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Erick Dampier led Golden State with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Trail Blazers 94, Magic 91, OT
In Portland, Oregon, Zach Randolph had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Derek Anderson scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead Portland past Orlando. Damon Stoudamire had 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
The Blazers won their season-best fifth straight game to move above .500 (29-28) for the first time since Dec. 29. Theo Ratliff tied his career high with nine blocks.
Tracy McGrady led the Magic with 31 points despite shooting 11-for-32, including 2-for-14 on 3-pointers.
Hawks 86, 76ers 75
In Atlanta, Stephen Jackson scored 24 points and Chris Crawford added 19 as Atlanta ended a three-game losing streak with a victory over depleted Philadelphia.
The 76ers, losers of three straight and four of five, were without leading scorer Allen Iverson, who remained in Philadelphia with an injured right shoulder.
Glenn Robinson, the team's second-leading scorer, missed the second half with a sore elbow. Kenny Thomas, its third-leading scorer, wasn't in uniform because of a sprained right thumb.
Eric Snow led the Sixers with 17 points.
Spurs 86, Rockets 77
In San Antonio, Tim Duncan scored 27 points and Manu Ginobili added 21 as San Antonio returned home from a long road trip with a win over Houston.
The Spurs, who have won eight of their past nine games, went on an 18-3 run, capped by a long alley-oop pass from Duncan to Ginobili, to build a 78-64 lead with 5:18 left.
It was San Antonio's first home game this month. The team went on a seven-game road trip in early February and won six times.
Duncan also had 13 rebounds and five blocks.
Yao Ming led the Rockets with 20 points.
Mavericks 116, Clippers 91
In Dallas, Antoine Walker scored 21 points and Michael Finley added 20 as Dallas beat Los Angeles for the first time this season.
The Clippers won the first two meetings, including a 10-point victory in Dallas on Dec. 20. Overall, however, Dallas has won 18 of the last 22 matchups.
Dirk Nowitzki had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, who've won seven of their last nine.
Corey Maggette's 21 points paced the Clippers, who have lost six of their past eight. They matched their most lopsided loss this season.
Jazz 99, SuperSonics 86
In Salt Lake City, Raja Bell scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and Andrei Kirilenko had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead Utah over Seattle.
Carlos Arroyo also scored 23 with nine rebounds and five assists for the Jazz, who had lost four straight at home. The Jazz used a 14-0 run in the second half to pull away after blowing a 12-point lead.
Ray Allen had 26 points for the Sonics, who were outscored 26-10 in the final quarter and lost for the eighth straight time at Utah. Seattle coach Nate McMillan was ejected with his second technical foul early in the fourth.
Kings 107, Knicks 99
Sacramento, California, Mike Bibby scored 28 points and rookie Darius Songaila had career highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds in Sacramento's seventh victory in eight games.
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