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Pacers win eighth straight
November 29, 2003 13:05 IST
Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal continued to sparkle as the Indiana Pacers thumped the Philadelphia 76ers 90-77 for their eighth straight win on Friday. O'Neal notched 21 points and Artest 20, with Al Harrington adding 17 more while grabbing 12 rebounds.
Indiana moved to an NBA-best 14-2 record with the victory.
Philadelphia's Allen Iverson, the 2001 MVP, had a miserable night, scoring a season-low 12 points on 4-of-19 shooting.
Kenny Thomas had 14 to top the 76ers, who are now just 8-9 on the season.
In Orlando, the Toronto Raptors blew a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead before rallying to edge the Magic 87-86, handing them their 15th straight loss.
The Magic, who were led by Tracy McGrady with 31 points, are only two losses short of the franchise record for futility set in 1991-92.
Vince Carter, who paced Toronto with 20 points, offered hope for Orlando, saying: "They're not going to lose all 82 games."
He was apparently unaware that the Magic won their opener before their slide began.
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Richard Hamilton poured in a career-best 44 points as the Detroit Pistons edged Cleveland 92-88, handing the Cavaliers their 31st straight road loss.
They are just 12 shy of the NBA record set by the Sacramento Kings from 1990-92.
Ricky Davis returned to action after falling out of favour with coach Paul Silas and paced the Cavs with 25 points.
Rookie sensation LeBron James was held to a mere six.
In Atlanta, Shareef Abdur-Rahim exploded for 34 points on 11-of-14 shooting and also grabbed 12 rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks survived a late Miami surge to down the Heat 95-83.
The Heat used a 14-0 run to make a game of it.
Veteran Eddie Jones paced Miami with 28 points.
In Boston, Paul Pierce notched 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists for his first triple-double of the season as the Celtics romped 106-96 over the Milwaukee Bucks, winning every quarter but the fourth.
It was Boston's first 100-point night this campaign.
Michael Redd had 20 points to top the Bucks.
Timberwolves 102 Grizzlies 98
In Memphis, Sam Cassell scored 25 points and Latrell Sprewell had 24 as the Minnesota Timberwolves edged the Grizzlies 102-98.
Kevin Garnett added 21 more points while pulling down a whopping 18 rebounds.
Jason Williams had 24 points and 11 assists to pace Memphis.
In Salt Lake City, Raja Bell counted 25 points and Matt Harpring added 24 as the Utah Jazz routed the Seattle Superonics 98-81.
Utah, 1-5 on the road, improved to 8-1 at home.
Brent Barry had 24 points for the losing Sonics.
Nuggets 113 Mavericks 103
In Denver, rookie Carmelo Anthony poured in 26 points as the Nuggets thumped the Dallas Mavericks 113-103, improving to 7-1 at home.
Six Mavs were in double figures, with newcomer Antoine Walker best of the bunch with 30 points as well as 15 rebounds.
Michael Finley added 20 points for Dallas.
In Phoenix, Jason Richardson notched 25 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as the Golden State Warriors upset the Suns 92-83 for their first road victory of the season.
Mike Dunleavy added 16 points for the Warriors, while Penny Hardaway paced the Suns with the same number.