Ron Artest committed his eighth flagrant foul of the season just five seconds after tipoff, then scored 18 points as the Indiana Pacers cruised to a 102-72 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
Artest now faces a likely two-game suspension.
The Pacers desperately needed the win, only their third in the last 16 games. They finished the season series against Boston tied 2-2 and remained in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
PHOTO: AFP
Reggie Miller scored 11 of his 13 points in the first quarter and Artest added seven as the Pacers opened a 16-point edge.
Trail Blazers 94, Rockets 83
In Portland, Oregon, Derek Anderson had 21 points and seven assists, and Zach Randolph added 14 points as Portland beat Houston to win five of its last seven games.
The Rockets were again without coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who was resting in Houston after doctors discovered a cancerous tumor on his bladder lining.
The Blazers led by as many as 14 points in the first half, but briefly lost the lead in the third quarter. The Rockets closed to 61-59 on Eddie Griffin's 3-pointer, then went up 62-61 on Cuttino Mobley's layup and free throw.
But the Blazers quickly regained the lead, and Anderson's 3-pointer at the buzzer made it 72-66. Portland never trailed again.
Raptors 87, Hawks 86
In Toronto, Vince Carter made two free throws in the final 3.7 seconds as Toronto ended a six-game losing streak with a win over Atlanta.
Carter finished with 27 points for the Raptors, who played their first home game after a 0-5 road trip.
Atlanta's Ira Newble fouled Carter as he threw up a desperation hook shot. The shot missed badly, but Carter made his free throws, giving Toronto a 87-86 lead. Shareef Abdur-Rahim couldn't get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded.
Jason Terry had a team-high 23 points for the Hawks. Abdur-Rahim had 22.
Magic 109, Heat 93
In Orlando, Florida, Tracy McGrady scored 21 of his 36 points in the second half and Orlando made 12 3-pointers to beat Miami.
McGrady also had nine assists and six rebounds for the Magic, who beat the Heat for the third time this season. Pat Garrity and Gordan Giricek added 18 points each.
Miami lost its fourth straight game and seventh in eight games. Rookie Caron Butler had 20 points and Brian Grant added 17.
McGrady had just three points in the first 19 minutes, but scored 10 straight in a 1:40 span to give the Magic a 50-43 lead with 3:18 left in the second quarter. Orlando built the margin to 88-76 by the end of the third quarter before putting the game away with a 15-4 run to start the fourth.
Bucks 104, Nets 85
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, rookie Marcus Haislip scored six of his 12 points in a 15-2 run to open the fourth quarter that put Milwaukee in control as the Bucks snapped a four-game losing streak.
Gary Payton scored 23 and Sam Cassell had 22 for the Bucks, who held the Nets to 12 points in the final 12 minutes.
Milwaukee opened a half-game lead over Michael Jordan and the Washington Wizards in the race for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
Kenyon Martin had 28 points and 14 rebounds for the Nets, who ran out of gas in the fourth quarter while playing their second game in as many nights against a team that hadn't played since Sunday.
Grizzlies 128, Cavaliers 101
In Memphis, Tennessee, Pau Gasol scored 28 points, and Jason Williams added 16 points and 16 assists as Memphis beat Cleveland.
Six Grizzlies scored in double figures as Memphis won for the seventh time in eight games.
Memphis shot 61 percent from the field.
The Grizzlies had an 23-2 run late in the first quarter, including 15 straight for an 18-point advantage after 12 minutes. Cleveland never recovered, trailing by as many as 22 in the first half and 30 in the fourth quarter.
Carlos Boozer, the league's leading field goal shooter among rookies (53 percent), shot 12-of-15 from the field to lead the Cavaliers with 27 points.
Hornets 101, Knicks 96
In New Orleans, Jamal Mashburn scored 25 and Baron Davis added 23 in his first start in nearly two months as New Orleans beat New York.
Mashburn finished off his scoring with a crucial fadeaway jump shot in the final two minutes that gave New Orleans 96-89 lead. He also had eight rebounds and eight assists to help overcome the absence of David Wesley (bruised foot).
The victory moved New Orleans ahead of Boston and into fifth place in the East, while New York dropped three games behind eighth-place Milwaukee. Allan Houston, coming off 50- and 36-point performances in New York's previous two games, scored 29 but had only four points in the fourth quarter on 2-of-7 shooting.
Jazz 99, Suns 86
In Phoenix, Karl Malone scored 20 of his 34 points in the second half, and Mart Harpring added 24 as Utah beat Phoenix for its second consecutive game to pull even with Los Angeles Lakers for sixth place in the Western Conference.
Shawn Marion scored 22 points and Amare Stoudemire added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns, who have lost four of their last six. They remained tied with Houston for eighth place in the West.
Malone was 7-for-14 from the floor in the second half as Utah extended a one-point halftime lead to as many as nine. Malone hit consecutive shots at the start of the fourth and Andrei Kirilenko added a jump shot as Utah opened a 79-69 lead with 7:43 remaining. The Suns never got closer than seven after that.
Warriors 105, SuperSonics 99
In Oakland, California, Antawn Jamison had 28 points and 12 rebounds, and Jason Richardson scored 25 as Golden State defeated Seattle.
Bob Sura added 15 points for the Warriors, who had their second win in five days over Seattle following a 14-game losing streak to their Pacific Division rivals. Golden State had lost seven consecutive home games to the Sonics.
Seattle led by a point with five-and-a-half minutes remaining, but the Warriors had a 10-2 run with six points from Richardson. Sura scored on an acrobatic tip basket with 3:16 remaining, and Golden State held Seattle scoreless for more than three minutes to win at home for the sixth time in seven games.
Clippers 91, Nuggets 78
In Los Angeles, Wang ZhiZhi scored a career-high 21 points and rookie Marko Jaric scored nine of his 13 points during a 3:45 span of the fourth quarter as the Clippers beat Denver.
Lamar Odom added 13 points for the Clippers, who won for only the sixth time in 27 games and are 3-7 since Dennis Johnson replaced Alvin Gentry as head coach on March 3.
One night after losing at Utah for the 14th straight time.
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