Ben Gordon scored a season-high 32 points, including the game-winning jumper to beat the overtime buzzer, lifting the Chicago Bulls to a dramatic 106-104 victory over the visiting New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
The hard-fought contest was overshadowed in what could have been an ugly incident, when during a timeout in the overtime, Knicks veteran forward Antonio Davis leaped over the scorer's table and raced about 10 rows into the stands out of concern for his wife.
Though no physical confrontation occurred, Davis was automatically ejected for leaving the court, and was eventually escorted to the locker room by house security after returning to the bench.
PHOTO: AP
"I witnessed my wife being threatened by a man that I learned later to be intoxicated," Davis said in a statement issued following the game.
"I saw him touch her, and I know I should not have acted the way I did, but I would have felt terrible if I didn't react. I felt I had to act. There was no time to call security. It happened too quickly," he said.
Knicks coach Larry Brown defended Davis and explained there was no similarity between his actions and the infamous brawl last season, when visiting Indiana Pacers players stormed into the stands to fight rowdy Detroit Pistons fans.
PHOTO: AP
"That's entirely different," Brown said. "He was worried about his wife, Kendra, that's why Tony went into the stands. He said he saw her falling back and someone flailing at her. That's a man concerned about his family. I don't blame him. I don't think anybody blames him."
Jamal Crawford led New York with 19 points, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left, before Gordon's game-winner.
Nets 101, 76ers 90
Vince Carter scored 31 points and had 10 assists on Wednesday at Philadelphia to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 101-90 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Allen Iverson led the Sixers with 36 points and Chris Webber had 15.
Iverson came up limping late in the fourth quarter when he appeared to knock knees with Jason Collins on a driving layup. Iverson hobbled around the court, rubbed his right leg, but remained in the game.
The Atlantic Division standings show the Nets with a four-game lead over the second-place Sixers. The gap, though, seems considerably wider considering New Jersey has won 12 of 15 while Philadelphia has lost seven of 10.
Much like how the Sixers collapsed in their embarrassing 104-76 loss to Washington on Monday, they again put up little fight in the fourth quarter.
The Nets got a pair of jumpers from Clifford Robinson and a 3 from Richard Jefferson during a 10-0 spurt that opened the fourth and gave them an 86-69 lead.
Jefferson finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds.
Magic 106, Wizards 98
At Orlando, Florida, Steve Francis had 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in his first game back from a two-game suspension and Orlando downed Washington to snap a four-game losing streak.
Antawn Jamison had 30 points and 12 rebounds, giving him more than 10,000 career points. Gilbert Arenas scored 21 on 5-of-20 shooting, while Caron Butler added 18 for the Wizards.
Francis was suspended by the team for refusing to re-enter a blowout game late in the fourth quarter. He came off the bench against the Wizards for the third time in his six-year NBA career.
Jameer Nelson had 22 points, five assists and five rebounds, and hit several pull-up jumpers in the third that helped Orlando pull away.
Pacers 98, Bobcats 92
At Indianapolis, Anthony Johnson scored 16 of his career-high 27 points in the second half to lead Indiana past Charlotte.
Johnson also grabbed 10 rebounds and shot 9-for-14 from the field. Stephen Jackson scored 17 points and Sarunas Jasikevicius and Fred Jones each added 14 for the Pacers.
Brevin Knight had 15 points and 15 assists and Primoz Brezec and Raymond Felton each scored 15 points for the Bobcats.
Johnson scored nine points in the third quarter to help the Pacers take a 73-65 lead into the fourth.
Pistons 117, Hawks 89
At Atlanta, Chauncey Billups scored 23 points and Richard Hamilton added 21 to help Detroit trounce Atlanta and win the matchup of the NBA's best and worst records.
The Pistons have won five in a row -- all by double-digit margins -- to boost their record to 31-5. Atlanta fell to 10-27.
Backup guard Maurice Evans scored 12 of his 14 points in the period, including a pair of 3-pointers that helped the Pistons run away from the hapless Hawks.
Billups connected on four 3-pointers, while Hamilton hit nine of 15 shots. Ben Wallace took care of the dirty work, grabbing 18 rebounds to go along with six blocks.
Celtics 103, Timberwolves 96
At Boston, Paul Pierce scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and the Celtics rallied to beat Minnesota.
Pierce scored 11 consecutive points for Boston to spark a 13-2 run spanning the third and fourth quarters and help the Celtics turn a seven-point deficit into a four-point lead. Boston outscored Minnesota 34-23 in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics trailed by as many as 14 early in the second quarter and 55-46 at halftime but chipped away at the lead.
Al Jefferson finished with 18 points and eight rebounds and Kendrick Perkins added 17 points and six rebounds for the Celtics, who committed a season-low five turnovers.
Minnesota's Kevin Garnett had 29 points and 13 rebounds but was held to just two points in the fourth quarter.
Hornets 87, Grizzlies 79
At Oklahoma City, David West had 12 points and 14 rebounds to help New Orleans beat Memphis for its fourth straight win. The win pushed the surprising Hornets past their win total from last season and evened their record at 19-19. It's their first four-game winning streak since December 2003.
Mike Miller scored 21 points to lead Memphis, which has lost three games in a row for the second time this season. Bobby Jackson added 13 points, Shane Battier had 10 and Pau Gasol, the Grizzlies' top scorer with 19.9 points per game, finished with nine.
Chris Paul had 16 points and nine assists for New Orleans. West finished 6-for-18 from the field.
Mavericks 103, Rockets 76
At Houston, Dirk Nowitzki scored 13 of his 29 points in the decisive third quarter and Dallas opened a five-game road trip with a win over Houston. Josh Howard added 18 for the Mavericks, who handed Houston its seventh straight loss both overall and at home.
Rafer Alston had 17 and Luther Head added 16 for Houston, which played without injured stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming for the fifth straight game.
Spurs 95, Bucks 92
At San Antonio, Tim Duncan scored 27 points and Michael Finley added 21 to help San Antonio hold out Milwaukee.
Michael Redd scored 26 points while Maurice Williams had 18 for the Bucks, who have lost seven of their last nine games to drop to one game over .500.
Tony Parker had 18 points and seven assists for the Spurs, who have won nine of their last 10.
The Spurs shot 41 percent in the first half but led 41-40 at the break. Manu Ginobili scored seven straight points in the third to help San Antonio open up a nine-point lead with 5:18 left.
Andrew Bogut finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee, which had a chance to tie it in the final seconds but T.J. Ford missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Nuggets 90, Cavaliers 89
At Denver, Carmelo Anthony and Earl Boykins scored 17 points apiece for Denver, and Cleveland's LeBron James missed a free throw with .6 seconds left.
James finished with 24 points but the Cavs lost their fifth straight, including the first four on their Western trip.
Kenyon Martin and Eduardo Najera each scored 16 for Denver.
Anthony zipped past Ira Newble for a dunk that gave the Nuggets an 89-87 lead with 21 seconds left.
Denver led 90-87 in the final seconds when Andre Miller fouled James before he could set up for a three. James made his first shot, then purposely misfired his second and grabbed his own rebound while getting fouled by Martin. James swished the first shot to make it 90-89, then missed his second.
Suns 112, Clippers 102
At Los Angeles, Shawn Marion had 30 points and 17 rebounds and Steve Nash added 20 points and 18 assists to lift Phoenix over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Leandro Barbosa scored 21 points for the Suns, who were coming off a season-worst 29-point loss at Sacramento that matched the most lopsided defeat since Mike D'Antonio became head coach. They led the Clippers by as many as 21 points early in the third quarter before staving off a fourth-quarter rally by Los Angeles.
Sam Cassell scored 27 points for the Clippers, who weren't able to contain the NBA's highest-scoring team after winning their previous three games. Elton Brand had 19 points, and Chris Kaman added 13 points and 17 rebounds.
Trail Blazers 96, Raptors 94
At Portland, Oregon, Zach Randolph scored 22 points and Portland beat Toronto for its fourth consecutive win.
Viktor Khryapa had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers, who blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead. Emphasizing defense, Portland has gone 7-6 over the last 13 games -- following a stretch when it went just 2-11.
Chris Bosh had 22 points and nine rebounds for Toronto, which took a 94-93 lead on Bosh's jumper with 30.9 seconds left.
With 21.6 seconds left, Morris Peterson fouled Portland's Juan Dixon, who made both his shots. Mike James drove to Toronto's basket, but couldn't make the shot and fouled Khryapa.
Khryapa missed his first free throw but made his second for the final margin.
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