76ers hand Spurs another loss

Andre Iguodala, No. 9, of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots against Jacque Vaughn, No. 11, of the San Antonio Spurs on on Saturday at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers won 103 to 96. PHOTO: AFP

Andre Miller scored a season-high 32 points and the Philadelphia 76ers extended the road woes of the San Antonio Spurs with a 103-96 victory in Philadelphia on Saturday.

The Spurs dropped their fifth game in a row away from home and third in a row overall, slipping to 44-22 and one-and-a-half games behind Western Conference co-leader Houston in the Southwest division.

Miller, who added seven assists and five rebounds, sparked a 12-2 76ers run to close the first quarter that gave the hosts a 28-23 edge.

Andre Iguodala scored 25 points while Samuel Dalembert contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers, winners in seven of their past eight games to stand 33-34 and seventh in the Eastern Conference.

French guard Tony Parker scored 27 points and Argentine playmaker Manu Ginobili added 22 for the Spurs. Tim Duncan added 16 points, shooting just 5-for-14, and Bruce Bowen, back from a one-game ban, added 10 points.

CELTICS 99, BUCKS 77

The Boston Celtics cruised to a 99-77 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday in the first of a testing five-game road trip.

The Celtics, missing Ray Allen with a bruised left heel, got 19 points from Kevin Garnett while Eddie House delivered 15 of his 17 in the second half.

The win gave Boston their 11th win in 12 games. They had a 10-game winning streak snapped at home by Utah on Friday.

"Last night we got beat and you could see the focus in the locker room," Garnett told reporters.

The Celtics travel to face San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and New Orleans for the remainder of their trip.

"These next four games are going to be playoff style basketball games and we are going to have to be ready," Garnett said.

"When you have a long road trip like we are having now it's good to get the first one," he said.

The Bucks, playing without the injured Andrew Bogut and Yi Jianlian, lost their fifth in a row.

"Defensively, we've been steadily getting worse down the stretch as the season has worn on," Milwaukee coach Larry Krystkowiak said.

"We struggled just as much offensively," he said.

In other games on Saturday, it was:

* Wizards 119, Clippers 109 OT

* Magic 122, Pacers 111

* Nets 117, Jazz 115

* Suns 127, Kings 99