Grizzlies End Slump Just In Time

NBA

Vancouver snapped its 23-game losing streak, beating visiting Minnesota Wednesday night on a last-second basket by Blue Edwards that prevented the Grizzlies from tying the NBA record for most consecutive losses.

Edwards sank the winning shot from the top of the key with .8 seconds left. The basket capped a big comeback by the Grizzlies, who trailed by 12 points after three quarters before going on a 16-0 run in the final period.

The Grizzlies fell one loss short of the record set by the Cleveland Cavaliers over two seasons in 1982.

Grizzlies 105, Timberwolves 103

Minnesota (103) - Garnett 9-11 3-4 21, Gugliotta 6-18 6-8 18, Lang 1-4 0-0 2, Rider 10-16 4-6 28, Porter 7-8 1-1 17, Riley 1-2 0-0 2, Mitchell 2-5 2-2 6, Webb 3-4 0-0 9, West 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 39-69 16-21 103.

Vancouver (105) - Wilkins 3-7 5-5 11, Amaya 3-3 6-8 12, Reeves 8-14 12-14 28, B.Edwards 11-23 1-1 24, Anthony 3-8 1-4 7, Murdock 4-10 2-2 11, King 0-1 0-0 0, Avent 1-3 0-2 2, Scott 1-5 7-7 10. Totals 34-74 34-43 105.

Minnesota 30 32 22 19 - 103

Vancouver 25 27 20 33 - 105

3-Point goals-Minnesota 9-18 (Rider 4-6, Webb 3-4, Porter 2-3, Gugliotta 0-5), Vancouver 3-11 (Murdock 1-1, Scott 1-1, B.Edwards 1-5, Anthony 0-1, Wilkins 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Minnesota 46 (Rider 11), Vancouver 38 (Amaya 10). Assists-Minnesota 24 (Garnett, Rider, Porter 6), Vancouver 22 (Murdock 8). Total fouls-Minnesota 27, Vancouver 23. Technicals-Gugliotta, Webb, B.Edwards, Minnesota illegal defense. A-16,216 (19,193).

Spurs 117, Kings 96

San Antonio

San Antonio rebounded from its first loss in more than a month, beating Sacramento behind a 25-point performance by Vinny Del Negro.

The Spurs, who had their 17-game winning streak snapped the previous night by Phoenix, led by as many as 25 in the fourth period.

Sacramento (96) - Grant 5-14 0-0 10, Polynice 12-18 3-4 27, Causwell 2-2 0-0 4, Richmond 6-11 7-7 21, Edney 4-7 3-4 11, Owens 1-4 3-4 5, M.Smith 2-3 1-2 5, Marciulionis 0-7 0-0 0, Hurley 0-3 0-0 0, Gamble 0-1 0-0 0, Williamson 5-9 3-4 13. Totals 37-79 20-25 96.

San Antonio (117) - Elliott 3-9 8-8 15, C.Smith 5-9 1-1 11, Robinson 5-12 11-13 21, Del Negro 9-15 7-8 25, Johnson 4-5 0-0 8, Rivers 1-3 0-0 3, Perdue 4-5 5-8 13, Person 5-5 1-1 13, Alexander 1-2 0-0 3, Anderson 1-2 0-0 2, Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Herrera 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 39-72 34-41 117.

Sacramento 30 21 24 21 - 96

San Antonio 31 28 29 29 - 117

3-Point goals-Sacramento 2-10 (Richmond 2-5, Marciulionis 0-2, Grant 0-3), San Antonio 5-9 (Person 2-2, Alexander 1-1, Elliott 1-3, Rivers 1-3). Fouled out-Causwell. Rebounds-Sacramento 45 (Polynice 11), San Antonio 42 (Robinson 9). Assists-Sacramento 24 (Hurley 6), San Antonio 29 (Johnson 13). Total fouls-Sacramento 27, San Antonio 22. Technicals-Grant, M.Smith 2, Elliott, San Antonio illegal defense. Flagrant fouls-Grant. Ejections- M.Smith. A-13,910 (20,662).

Magic 98, Knicks 85

New York

Horace Grant scored a season-high 29 on 13-of-19 shooting and Orlando overcame the absence of Shaquille O’Neal to beat New York and win its sixth straight road game.

O’Neal left the team to be with his family in Newark, N.J., following the death of his grandmother. He will miss tonight’s game against Boston and may return Sunday against Chicago.

New York’s Patrick Ewing failed to take advantage of O’Neal’s absence, scoring just five points.

Orlando (98) - Grant 13-19 3-4 29, Scott 8-19 1-3 22, Koncak 0-4 4-4 4, N.Anderson 4-11 2-4 11, Hardaway 5-13 1-2 11, Shaw 5-6 1-2 11, Wolf 2-5 0-0 4, Bowie 3-4 0-0 6 Totals 40-81 12-19 98.

New York (85) - Oakley 7-14 1-1 15, Mason 9-15 4-4 22, Ewing 1-14 3-4 5, Starks 1-8 0-0 3, Harper 6-11 0-0 15, Davis 4-7 0-0 9, Reid 6-7 0-0 12 , Williams 2-3 0-0 4, Ward 0-3 0-0 0, W.Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-82 8-9 85.

Orlando 25 24 24 25 - 98

New York 19 25 18 23 - 85

3-Point goals-Orlando 6-20 (Scott 5-12, N.Anderson 1-3, Hardaway 0-4, Wolf 0-1), New York 5-15 (Harper 3-5, Davis 1-3, Starks 1-6, Ward 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds- Orlando 48 (Koncak 10), New York 47 (Ewing 13). Assists- Orlando 26 (Hardaway 10), New York 23 (Starks, Mason 5). Total fouls-Orlando 12, New York 20. Technicals- Hardaway, Mason. A-19,763 (19,763).

Pacers 102, 76ers 87

Philadelphia

Reggie Miller scored 23 and Dale Davis had 18 points and nine rebounds as Indiana defeated Philadelphia.

Indiana (102) - McKey 4-11 3-4 11, D.Davis 7-11 4-4 18, Smits 5-13 2-4 12, Miller 9-21 2-2 23, Jackson 7-15 0-0 16, A.Davis 2-5 4-4 9, Ferrell 3-5 1-1 7, Workman 1-3 0-0 2, Best 1-2 0-0 2, Pierce 1-3 0-0 2, Caldwell 0-0 0-0 0, Schintzius 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 40-90 16-19 102.

Philadelphia (87) - Alston 0-4 0-0 0, Weatherspoon 7-15 5-6 19, Pinckney 0-0 2-2 2, Stackhouse 6-16 4-4 17, Ruffin 10-11 0-1 24, Maxwell 3-10 1-2 8, Higgins 2-6 0-0 5, Thompson 1-4 0-0 2, Massenburg 5-6 0-0 10. Totals 34-72 12-15 87.

Indiana 28 25 23 26 - 102

Philadelphia 17 36 16 18 - 87

3-Point goals-Indiana 6-12 (Miller 3-9, Jackson 2-2, A.Davis 1-1), Philadelphia 7-18 (Ruffin 4-5, Higgins 1-3, Maxwell 1-5, Stackhouse 1-5). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Indiana 61 (Smits 12), Philadelphia 33 (Weatherspoon 10). Assists-Indiana 22 (Jackson 8), Philadelphia 20 (Ruffin 9). Total fouls-Indiana 12, Philadelphia 18. Technical-Indiana illegal defense. A-8,564 (18,168).

Cavaliers 105, Lakers 89

Cleveland

Terrell Brandon scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half as Cleveland beat Los Angeles.

The victory pushed the Cavaliers a half-game ahead of Atlanta in the race for the Eastern Conference’s fifth playoff spot.

L.A. Lakers (89) - M.Johnson 8-13 7-7 26, Campbell 3-8 0-1 6, Divac 2-7 0-0 4, Jones 3-9 2-2 10, Van Exel 4-11 1-1 11, Ceballos 4-14 10-12 18, Peeler 1-6 0-0 2, Threatt 0-2 0-0 0, Lynch 5-6 2-2 12, Blount 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-76 22-25 89.

Cleveland (105) - Mills 5-9 2-2 13, Ferry 9-20 2-2 22, Cage 1-3 5-6 7, Phills 6-11 2-2 17, Brandon 8-12 5-5 23, Sura 3-4 0-0 7, Hill 2-3 0-0 4, Majerle 3-6 0-0 8, Lang 0-1 0-0 0, Crotty 0-0 0-0 0, D.Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Marshall 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 38-71 18-19 105.

L.A. Lakers 15 21 30 23 - 89

Cleveland 22 24 32 27 - 105

3-Point goals-Los Angeles 7-23 (M.Johnson 3-5, Van Exel 2-5, Jones 2-6, Threatt 0-1, Ceballos 0-3, Peeler 0-3), Cleveland 11-20 (Phills 3-5, Brandon 2-3, Majerle 2-3, Ferry 2-6, Mills 1-1, Sura 1-1, Marshall 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Los Angeles 40 (M.Johnson 8), Cleveland 43 (Cage 11). Assists-Los Angeles 21 (Van Exel 8), Cleveland 30 (Brandon 8). Total fouls-Los Angeles 18, Cleveland 20. Technicals-Los Angeles Illegal defense. A-20,562 (20,562).

Nets 100, Clippers 94

East Rutherford, N.J.

Armon Gilliam scored seven of his 19 in the final 3:20, including a go-ahead layup, to lead New Jersey over Los Angeles.

Chris Childs added 17 points and 13 assists as the Nets snapped a three-game losing streak.

Rodney Rogers had 23 points and Loy Vaught added 22 and 13 rebounds for the Clippers.

L.A. Clippers (94) - Vaught 10-13 2-4 22, Rogers 9-14 2-2 23, Harvey 6-13 1-3 13, Sealy 4-9 3-6 11, Richardson 2-8 1-2 5, Dehere 4-8 0-0 9, Outlaw 0-2 0-0 0, Barry 1-3 0-0 3, Roberts 2-3 4-8 8. Totals 38-73 13-25 94.

New Jersey (100) - Brown 8-18 0-0 16, Gilliam 9-17 1-3 19, Bradley 6-9 0-0 12, O’Bannon 2-5 0-0 4, Childs 3-7 8-8 17, Dare 2-3 1-2 5, J.Williams 1-5 3-4 5, Fleming 5-9 0-1 10, Graham 2-5 5-7 10, Mahorn 0-1 0-0 0, Werdann 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 38-79 20-27 100.

L.A. Clippers 33 26 17 18 - 94

New Jersey 30 26 20 24 - 100

3-Point goals-Los Angeles 5-15 (Rogers 3-5, Barry 1-3, Dehere 1-4, Vaught 0-1, Richardson 0-2), New Jersey 4-9 (Childs 3-5, Graham 1-3, Fleming 0-1). Fouled out-Brown. Rebounds-Los Angeles 44 (Vaught 13), New Jersey 51 (Brown 10). Assists-Los Angeles 15 (Richardson 7), New Jersey 20 (Childs 13). Total fouls-Los Angeles 21, New Jersey 26. A-10,441 (20,029).

Pistons 98, Hornets 83

Auburn Hills, Mich.

Otis Thorpe, on 13-of-15 shooting, matched his season high with 27 points and Detroit gave itself some breathing room in its playoff race against Charlotte by defeating the Hornets.

Charlotte (83) - Johnson 1-8 9-12 11, Geiger 7-15 0-0 14, Parish 1-3 2-2 4, Anderson 7-11 2-5 17, Rice 9-20 1-1 20, Goldwire 3-7 2-2 10, Hancock 0-1 0-0 0, Myers 1-2 0-0 2, D.Curry 2-9 0-0 5, Zidek 0-0 0-0 0, Addison 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-77 16-22 83.

Detroit (98) - Hill 4-14 1-4 9, Thorpe 13-15 1-2 27, Reid 3-5 0-0 6, Houston 6-16 3-4 17, Dumars 8-13 3-4 23, Ratliff 2-2 1-4 5, Mills 0-2 0-0 0, Hunter 2-5 0-0 6, M.Curry 1-5 2-4 5. Totals 39-77 11-22 98.

Charlotte 24 13 25 21 - 83

Detroit 27 27 19 25 - 98

3-Point goals-Charlotte 5-16 (Goldwire 2-3, Anderson 1-3, Rice 1-4, D.Curry 1-5, Addison 0-1), Detroit 9-18 (Dumars 4-6, Hunter 2-3, Houston 2-5, M.Curry 1-2, Hill 0-1, Mills 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Charlotte 51 (Geiger 13), Detroit 50 (Thorpe 9). Assists-Charlotte 15 (Anderson 6), Detroit 23 (Hill 10). Total fouls-Charlotte 21, Detroit 17. Technicals-Anderson, Charlotte illegal defense, Detroit illegal defense. A-17,459 (21,454).

Injury scare

Charlotte swingman Darrin Hancock was removed from the court on a stretcher after a collision under the basket in the second quarter at Detroit.

Hancock went down holding his head and lay motionless for 8 minutes. X-rays of Hancock’s neck were negative and he was back in the dressing room after the game.