EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -This is why the New Jersey Nets won’t just give Jason Kidd away.
Kidd scored of seven of his nine points in the final 1:42 and added 11 assists as the Nets snapped a nine-game losing streak with an 87-80 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
Ignoring the distractions Kidd created a day earlier with his comments encouraging a trade, the Nets held the Bucks to 37.5 percent shooting and avoided their first double-digit skid since dropping their final 11 games of the 1999-00 season.
Richard Jefferson scored 20 points and Vince Carter had 16 points and matched a season high with 12 rebounds for the Nets. Bostjan Nachbar had 14 points.
Royal Ivey scored 19 points for the Bucks, who were without leading scorer Michael Redd for the second straight game because of a left knee strain that will also keep him out of Wednesday’s game at Philadelphia.
Rockets 111, Golden State 107
HOUSTON (AP) – Yao Ming scored eight of his 36 points in the final 2 1/2 minutes and had 19 rebounds to help the Rockets hold on for the win.
Rafer Alston had 17 points and a season-high 12 assists as Houston overcame the absence of Tracy McGrady to win for the fifth time in six games and snap a four-game losing streak to the Warriors.
Stephen Jackson had 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Golden State.
McGrady sat out with flulike symptoms, the 15th game he’s missed this season. The Rockets improved to 8-7 without him.
Suns 125, Hawks 92
PHOENIX (AP) – Amare Stoudemire scored 22 of his 24 points in the first half for the Suns.
Stoudemire, who played only 8 minutes in the second half, made 10 of his 11 field-goal attempts and four of his five free throws. He also had a team-high seven rebounds in the Suns’ season-best sixth straight home triumph.
Shawn Marion added 19 points for Phoenix, and Steve Nash had 10 points and 10 assists.
Marvin Williams scored 18 points for the Hawks, who lost for the sixth time in seven games. Josh Childress scored 17 points and Zaza Pachulia had 12.
Bulls 96, Timberwolves 85
CHICAGO (AP) – Kirk Hinrich finished with 27 points after a rough start, and the Bulls spoiled Randy Foye’s return from a knee injury.
Although they began the night with the NBA’s worst record, the Timberwolves were showing signs of progress. They had won three of four, beating Phoenix along the way, and the lone loss during that stretch was by one to Boston.
Foye scored 11 points in 17 minutes in his first appearance of the season, but the good news ended there for the Timberwolves.
Hinrich hit a jumper midway through the third quarter to break a 49-49 tie after missing 11 of his first 12 shots, and the Bulls started to pull away.
Andres Nocioni added 18 points for Chicago, which had lost three of four.
Pistons 110, Pacers 104
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Rasheed Wallace had 24 points and 10 rebounds to help the Pistons beat the Pacers.
Tayshaun Prince scored 17 points and Chauncey Billups added 13 points and eight assists for the Pistons, who won their third straight game.
Mike Dunleavy led Indiana with 25 points and seven assists. Travis Diener scored 18 points and Jeff Foster had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Pacers, who have lost four in a row.
Wizards 108, Raptors 104, OT
WASHINGTON (AP) – Andray Blatche had 19 points and eight rebounds in only his second start of the season, and Antawn Jamison finished with 24 points and 20 rebounds to lead Washington to an overtime victory over Toronto.
Chris Bosh led the way with 37 points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who trailed by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter. Anthony Parker’s high-arching 3-pointer curled into the net as the regulation buzzer sounded, forcing the extra period.
Celtics 117, Heat 87
MIAMI (AP) – Leon Powe scored a career-high 25 points with 11 rebounds, Rajon Rondo tied a career-high with 23 points, and Tony Allen scored 20 points with six assists to lead the NBA-best Celtics to an overwhelming victory over the Heat – who followed the win that snapped their 15-game losing streak with an absolute clunker.
The Celtics played without Kevin Garnett (strained abdominal muscle) and Ray Allen (flu), and the third member of their star triumvirate, Paul Pierce, was scoreless for most of the first half.
Mark Blount scored 20 points for Miami.
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