Around The Nba

On the courts

Alonzo Mourning had a season-high 35 points and 18 rebounds Tuesday night and Miami rallied from a 20-point first-half deficit to beat New Jersey 94-92 at East Rutherford, N.J.

The victory, combined with the New York Knicks’ loss to Cleveland, reduced Miami’s magic number for clinching the Atlantic Division to two.

Terrell Brandon scored 25 points and Chris Mills and Danny Ferry had 21 each in Cleveland’s 93-73 road victory.

At Toronto, Damon Stoudamire had 29 points and 13 assists as the Raptors defeated Washington 100-94, dropping the Bullets into a tie with Cleveland for the Eastern Conference’s eighth playoff spot.

Orlando holds seventh place after handing Milwaukee its 19th loss in its last 23 games in a 97-82 Magic victory at Milwaukee. Penny Hardaway scored 30 points.

At San Jose, Calif., Kobe Bryant had a career-high 24 points and Sean Rooks added 20 as Los Angeles defeated Golden State 109-85, eliminating the Warriors from playoff contention.

The Lakers, who have won seven of eight, tied Seattle atop the Pacific Division with a 52-24 record.

At Phoenix, the Suns beat Minnesota 115-107. After starting 0-13, the Suns qualified for the playoffs for the ninth straight season. No team with a worse start has ever made the playoffs.

At Dallas, the Mavericks ended their 11-game losing streak with an 87-82 victory over Portland.

Monty Williams scored a career-high 30 points and San Antonio defeated visiting Denver 96-90. Both teams have 20 wins and their combined total of 40 would rank only 15th in the league.

At Los Angeles, Charles Barkley had 35 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Houston’s 127-117 victory over the Clippers.

Mason activated

The Charlotte Hornets activated forward Anthony Mason off the injured list.

Mason is averaging 16.6 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 66 games this season.

To make room on the roster, Charlotte waived forward Tom Chambers.