MIAMI (AP) -The New York Knicks happily exploited another fourth-quarter collapse by the Miami Heat, who sent Pat Riley to a new low Saturday night.
Jamal Crawford scored 22 points and Nate Robinson added 19, including a banked jumper with 2:20 left that put New York ahead to stay, and the Knicks beat Miami 88-84 – sending the Heat to their 13th straight loss, the longest in the league and the worst skein of Riley’s career.
Miami led by 10 late in the third quarter and took a four-point lead into the fourth, but lost yet again to match the second-longest skid in team history.
Only the expansion Heat – who lost their first 17 games of the 1988-89 season – have dropped more in a row than this team, which has simply free-fallen since winning an NBA championship a mere 19 months ago.
Dwyane Wade led Miami with 22 points, on 7-for-23 shooting, and nine assists. Udonis Haslem scored 11 points and Mark Blount and Shaquille O’Neal each scored 10 for the Heat.
Zach Randolph had 16 points for New York, which has won four of its last five.
Rockets 83, Spurs 81
HOUSTON (AP) – Yao Ming had 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Houston handed defending champion San Antonio its fourth loss in six games.
Rafer Alston added 16 points and six assists as the Rockets beat their in-state rivals for only the fourth time in the last 13 meetings. Tracy McGrady, who returned after missing 11 games with a sore left knee, had nine points on 4-of-12 shooting.
Tim Duncan had 24 points and 17 rebounds for San Antonio, which lost in Houston for the second time in six visits.
Mavericks 111, SuperSonics 96
DALLAS (AP) – Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points, Devin Harris keyed a game-breaking run, and Dallas sent reeling Seattle to its 10th straight loss.
Josh Howard added 17 points, Jason Terry scored 15 and Jerry Stackhouse chipped in with 10 for Dallas, which has won eight of nine.
Seattle’s 10 losses in a row matches the single-season franchise record. The Sonics (9-31) last dropped 10 in a row Dec. 12-29, 1968.
Wally Szczerbiak scored 26 points and Nick Collison had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Seattle. Rookie of the Year favorite Kevin Durant scored just six points to tie a season low.
Bulls 97, Pistons 81
CHICAGO (AP) – Ben Gordon scored 33 points and Chicago used a strong fourth-quarter defensive effort to stay perfect this season against Detroit.
The Bulls outscored the Pistons 26-14 in the final period, improving to 3-0 this season against the team that eliminated them in the Eastern Conference semifinals last spring.
Andres Nocioni added 21 points in place of the injured Luol Deng, who was out with a sore Achilles’. Chauncey Billups led the Pistons with 27 points, but Detroit shot only 5-of-18 in the last quarter.
Nuggets 111, Timberwolves 108
DENVER (AP) – Allen Iverson scored 35 points, including a fade-away jumper and two free throws in the final 30 seconds, and Carmelo Anthony added 26 as Denver held off Minnesota.
The Timberwolves fell to 1-20 on the road this season and have lost 16 straight since a win at New Orleans on Nov. 26.
Marcus Camby scored 12 points and had 13 rebounds, moving him past Fat Lever for sixth place on the Nuggets’ career rebounding list.
Rashad McCants continued to torment the Nuggets, finishing with 23 points. He had a career-high 34 points on Jan. 4 against Denver.
Kings 110, Pacers 104
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Ron Artest scored 15 points against his former team to lead Sacramento to the win.
Artest still is disliked by Indiana fans for his role in the brawl between Pacers players and Detroit Pistons fans in 2004. He was booed often, but got his first win against the Pacers since he requested a trade from Indiana two seasons ago.
Mikki Moore had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Kevin Martin and Beno Udrih each scored 20 points for the Kings. Another former Pacer, Brad Miller, had 11 points and 16 rebounds for Sacramento.
Danny Granger led the Pacers with 26 points, and Kareem Rush tied a season high with 22. Jamaal Tinsley had 13 assists.
The Pacers played without forward Jermaine O’Neal, who will miss at least two weeks with a bruised left knee.
Magic 101, Trail Blazers 94
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points and Rashard Lewis added 16 to help the Magic hold on for the victory.
Dwight Howard posted his league-leading 37th double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando. Maurice Evans finished with a season-high 15 points.
Brandon Roy had 25 points and seven assists to lead the Trail Blazers. Travis Outlaw, a reserve, had 22 points.
The Magic, who blew a 19-point third-quarter lead at Charlotte in their last game, led by 21 in the middle of the second quarter, but saw the advantage dwindle to just four with less than a minute to go in the third period.
However, Orlando scored eight straight points at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth to push the advantage back to 12.
Warriors 119, Bucks 99
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Al Harrington scored 27 points, Andris Biedrins added 20 and Golden State beat Milwaukee.
Golden State, which has won five of six, outscored Milwaukee 41-22 in the third quarter to break open the game. Harrington had 11 points and Biedrins added nine in the quarter. The Warriors scored 16 of the points off nine Milwaukee turnovers in the third.
Michael Redd scored 24 points, but only four in the second half, and Andrew Bogut added 21 for Milwaukee, which has lost four of five.
Bobcats 105, Grizzlies 87
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Jason Richardson scored a season-high 38 points and had 14 rebounds to lead Charlotte to the victory.
Gerald Wallace added 28 points for the Bobcats, who beat the Grizzlies for the first time in team history.
Pau Gasol had 28 points, Juan Carlos Navarro added 21 and Rudy Gay 17 for Memphis, which has lost six of its last seven games and four straight on the road.
Down by 13 points entering the final period, the Grizzlies opened with an eight-point run, capped by Kyle Lowry’s three-point play with 10:21 left that cut Charlotte’s lead to 75-70.
But Wallace drained a 3-pointer and Richardson hit two more 3s during a 15-4 run that put the Bobcats back in control.
76ers 99, Raptors 95
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Willie Green tied a season high with 23 points and Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala each added 20 for the 76ers.
Samuel Dalembert posted his fourth double-double in the last five games with 14 points and 13 rebounds as Philadelphia won for just the second time in its last 10 games.
The 76ers led 86-66 early in the fourth quarter, but Toronto used a 22-6 run to pull to 92-88 with just over a minute remaining. Anthony Parker missed a 3-pointer that could have brought the Raptors within a point before the 76ers iced the game from the foul line.
Chris Bosh had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead the Raptors, who lost for just the second time in seven games. Juan Dixon added 18 points and Jamario Moon scored a season-high 17 for Toronto.
Clippers 120, Nets 107, OT
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Corey Maggette scored 31 points and rookie Al Thornton added 15 of his 22 in the fourth quarter and overtime, leading Los Angeles over New Jersey.
Sam Cassell also had 22 points and reserve Cuttino Mobley had 19. The Clippers beat New Jersey at home for the fourth straight time, including a 102-101 squeaker last season that was decided by Mobley’s 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds on the clock.
Richard Jefferson scored 21 points, Vince Carter had 20 and Marcus Williams added 17 off the bench for the Nets, who have lost five of six following a season-best five-game winning streak.
Josh Boone had 17 points and 16 rebounds, while Jason Kidd finished with 11 assists, 10 points and seven boards in the opener of New Jersey’s six-game road trip.
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