Josh Howard scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on Friday as the Dallas Mavericks squandered most of a 15-point lead before recovering to beat the Miami Heat 103-90.
Dirk Nowitzki added 23 points for Dallas, which extended its league-best winning streak to seven games and snapped Miami's string of six straight home wins. Erick Dampier scored 17 points, Marquis Daniels added 14 and Jason Terry had 10 points and 10 assists for the Mavericks.
Jason Williams scored a season-high 24 points for Miami, which lost for only the eighth time in its last 61 home regular-season games. Dwyane Wade added 23 for the Heat, which also got 14 from Udonis Haslem, and 13 from Alonzo Mourning -- who also had six blocks, adding to his NBA-leading average this season.
PHOTO: AP
Hawks 87, Pacers 85
At Indianapolis, Al Harrington scored 17 points and Joe Johnson added 16 points, seven rebounds and nine assists as Atlanta edged Indiana.
Atlanta (2-9) won its second straight despite shooting 36 percent from the field. The victory snapped a seven-game road losing streak that dated to last season and ended the Pacers' seven-game winning streak in the series. It was Atlanta's first win over Indiana since March 22, 2003.
The Pacers (7-4) were led by Jermaine O'Neal with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Sarunas Jasikevicius added 14 points.
Timberwolves 99, Bucks 91
At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 17 points, 12 rebounds and six assists -- doing most of his damage after receiving six stitches in the chin in the third quarter -- and Minnesota beat Milwaukee.
Wally Szczerbiak had a season-high 30 points and Marko Jaric added a season-high 24 for Minnesota, which improved to 6-1 at home. Trenton Hassell scored 12 points and Troy Hudson had 10.
Michael Redd scored 28 points and Jamaal Magliore had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bucks, who have lost three of four. Mo Williams had 13 points, T.J. Ford had 12 and Bobby Simmons added 11.
Celtics 90, Bobcats 89
At Boston, Paul Pierce scored 27 points and made a layup with 0.3 seconds left to lift struggling Boston over Charlotte.
The Celtics had lost two straight -- including a road loss on Wednesday that gave the Atlanta Hawks their first win of the season -- and four of five. The Bobcats fell to 1-6 on the road and 4-9 overall.
Ricky Davis added 25 points and Raef LaFrentz finished with 22 and 10 rebounds for the Celtics.
Gerald Wallace and Brevin Knight each had 17 points to lead Charlotte. Emeka Okafor added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Magic 104, Trail Blazers 89
At Orlando, Florida, Jameer Nelson scored a season-high 24 points and Dwight Howard added 21 points and 18 rebounds as Orlando beat Portland.
Steve Francis added 12 points and nine assists for the Magic, who matched their season-high winning streak at two games.
Darius Miles led Portland with 23 points and point guard Sebastian Telfair added 20 points and eight assists. Joel Przybilla had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who have lost four of five.
Grizzlies 86, Rockets 81
At Memphis, Tennessee, Shane Battier scored 20 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, and Memphis beat Houston to snap a two-game losing streak.
The Rockets, again playing without leading scorer Tracy McGrady, lost their sixth straight. Houston is 0-7 without McGrady, who has been sidelined by back spasms.
Eddie Jones added 17 points for Memphis. Damon Stoudamire scored 15 points and made four free throws in the final 24 seconds to preserve the Grizzlies' lead.
Reserve Derek Anderson led six Rockets in double figures with 16 points. Yao Ming finished with 15 points, 10 in the final period, and 12 rebounds.
Bulls 106, Spurs 99
At San Antonio, Chris Duhon scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and Chicago beat San Antonio for the first time since December 2000.
The Bulls had lost nine straight to the Spurs, including an overtime game in Chicago earlier this month, and had not won in San Antonio since 1998.
Ben Gordon led Chicago with 19 points and Luol Deng added 17. Andres Nocioni had 13 points and Tyson Chandler, who defended Tim Duncan effectively late in the game, had 12 rebounds.
Duncan finished with 24 points, 12 in the fourth, and 11 rebounds. Manu Ginobili added 16 points and Nick Van Exel had a season-high 15, all but two coming in the second period. Michael Finley scored 12 points for the Spurs, who lost at home for the first time this season.
Wizards 120, Pistons 114, 2OT
At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Gilbert Arenas scored 39 points and Caron Butler added a season-high 27 as Washington beat Detroit to break a five-game losing streak.
Rasheed Wallace scored a season-high 33 points and had 11 rebounds for the Pistons, who lost at home for the first time after starting the season with five straight wins.
Washington reserve Chucky Atkins scored a season-high 20 points before fouling out halfway through the fourth quarter. Antawn Jamison added 22 points and a season-high 20 rebounds.
Nuggets 105, Clippers 95
At Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points and Denver beat Los Angeles despite the absence of Marcus Camby.
His sore left knee still not fully recovered from an offseason operation, Kenyon Martin scored 16 points in 23 minutes. Earl Boykins and Andre Miller each added 15 points for the Northwest Division leaders, who improved to 6-1 at home and snapped a four-game winning streak by the Pacific Division-leading Clippers.
Corey Maggette led Los Angeles with 22 points. Elton Brand added 20 and Cuttino Mobley 18. But the Clippers, who led 52-51 at halftime, never led in the second half after Denver's DerMarr Johnson sank a 3-pointer to make it 54-52.
Warriors 94, Jazz 90
At Salt Lake, City, Derek Fisher made a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left and Golden State rallied to beat Utah.
Jason Richardson scored 29 and made two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining for the Warriors, who trailed by 18 in the second quarter and by 11 in the fourth period before a furious rally in the final 1:35.
Deron Williams scored a career-high 24 points and had seven assists for Utah. Matt Harpring scored 21 and Mehmet Okur had 15 rebounds for the Jazz, who were trying for their first three-game winning streak of the season.
Suns 92, Nets 81
At Phoenix, Steve Nash scored 25 points and Kurt Thomas had a season-high 18 rebounds, helping Phoenix beat New Jersey for the 12th straight time at America West Arena.
Raja Bell added 13 points for Phoenix, Shawn Marion had 12 and James Jones and Boris Diaw each scored 10. Diaw also finished with nine assists and seven rebounds.
Jason Kidd led the Nets with 25 points, Vince Carter scored 23 and Richard Jefferson had 16.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
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