Houston saves Knicks
Allan Houston would rather be taking the clutch shots than thinking about them. After missing most of the season coming back from an injury, Houston made one of the biggest baskets yet for the New York Knicks.
“Sitting around watching, you picture yourself making big shots,” he said.
Houston hit the tying 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in regulation, Kurt Thomas scored six points in overtime, and the Knicks rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 113-107 on Friday night at Philadelphia.
“Allan Houston’s shot is money. That’s why we got him the ball,” Thomas said.
Thomas opened overtime with a basket, and the Sixers never led again. Jerome Williams had a three-point play, and Thomas and Jamaal Crawford sealed the win with four free throws in the final 22 seconds.
Stephon Marbury led the Knicks with 27 points, Houston had 15, Williams 13, and Thomas 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Kenny Thomas scored a season-high 26 points, and Allen Iverson had 24 for Philadelphia, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
“We just collapsed. It’s as simple as that,” Iverson said.
Wizards 120, Lakers 116 (OT): At Los Angeles, Gilbert Arenas scored 37 points, Larry Hughes had 31, and Washington beat Los Angeles in overtime.
Winning for the first time on the Lakers’ floor in almost 12 years, the Wizards overcame a 36-point, 14-assist, 10-rebound performance by Kobe Bryant. It was Bryant’s fourth triple-double of the season and 13th of his career.
After Bryant tied it at 104 with a pair of free throws with 47 seconds left in regulation, Jamison had a shot go in-and-out for the Wizards, Caron Butler missed a jumper for the Lakers, then Arenas missed a jumper at the buzzer.
Hughes had six points in the overtime, and former Laker Anthony Peeler hit a key 3-pointer with 11.1 seconds left in the extra period. His shot, just his second of the game, gave the Wizards a 117-113 lead.
Bryant made a 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds left, but Washington sealed the win with two free throws by Hughes and another by Antawn Jamison.
Pacers 89, Raptors 86: At Indianapolis, Jamaal Tinsley scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half to lead Indiana to victory over Toronto, which traded All Star Vince Carter to New Jersey earlier Friday.
Rookie center David Harrison added a career-high 22 points and had seven rebounds, and Jeff Foster had 10 points and 18 rebounds for the Pacers, who won their second straight following a seven-game losing streak.
Jalen Rose did his best to replace Carter, scoring 23 points, but it wasn’t enough against Indiana, which trailed by as many as 13 in the first half before Tinsley led the comeback.
Grizzlies 89, Nets 84: At Memphis, Tenn., Jason Williams had a season-high 27 points and six assists to lead Memphis over short-handed New Jersey. Richard Jefferson, who had 18 of his 26 points in the fourth period, got the Nets within 85-84 with 16 seconds left when he put back Jason Kidd’s missed layup. But four free throws by James Posey in the final 12 seconds sealed Memphis’ victory. Pau Gasol scored 16 points for Memphis and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Heat 107, Nuggets 100: At Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 25 points and Shaquille O’Neal 20 to help Miami beat Denver for its seventh straight win. O’Neal, the NBA leader in field-goal percentage, made 9 of 14 shots, had 11 rebounds and a season-high seven assists. The Heat improved the Eastern Conference’s best record to 18-7. Andre Miller scored 24 points for Denver, which played the next-to-last game of a seven-game road trip that matches the longest in franchise history.
Celtics 114, Jazz 106: At Boston, Gary Payton scored a season-high 27 points and added 11 assists as Boston beat Utah. The Celtics hit 56 percent of their shots to take a 58-40 lead at halftime and stretched that to as much as 21, leading 84-63 on two free throws by Marcus Banks with 1:36 left in the third quarter. Utah was led by Carlos Boozer with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
Spurs 83, Hornets 67: At New Orleans, Tim Duncan had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead San Antonio to its third straight victory over New Orleans. Rookie Beno Udrih scored 12 points in 18 minutes, and Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker each added 10 points for the Spurs, who won for the 11th time in 13 games.
Lee Nailon, who missed five games due to a strained groin, scored 22 points, and P.J. Brown added 16 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans. David Wesley finished with 10 points for the Hornets, who managed just one field goal in the final 8 1/2 minutes.
Trail Blazers 100, Hawks 84: At Atlanta, Zach Randolph scored 23 points and Darius Miles added 20 to lead Portland to a victory over Atlanta. Rookie Josh Smith led the Hawks with 14 points, matching a career high.
Rockets 100, Warriors 83: At Houston, Tracy McGrady had 27 points and nine rebounds and Yao Ming added 15 points and a season-high 17 rebounds as Houston defeated Golden State. Houston, which is 27th in the NBA in rebounding, had a season-high 65.
Jason Richardson led the Warriors with 25 points, and Troy Murphy added 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Timberwolves 113, Clippers 86: At Minneapolis, Wally Szczerbiak scored a season-high 29 points, including 11 in the third quarter, and Minnesota defeated Los Angeles.
Kevin Garnett scored 28 points for Minnesota with 10 rebounds and seven assists for his 21st double-double of the season to help the team to its largest margin of victory this season.
Off the court
Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony left the game against Miami in the third quarter with an apparent ankle injury.
Anthony drove down the lane and attempted a layup, then appeared to roll the ankle after coming down on Heat center Shaquille O’Neal’s foot. Anthony remained on the ground for about two minutes before being helped into Denver’s locker room for examination. X-rays were negative, and Anthony did not return to the game.
He finished with 14 points in 29 minutes.