Jordan tortures Cavaliers again
CLEVELAND -- Michael Jordan did it to Cleveland again, hitting an 18-foot jumper at the buzzer Thursday night to give the Washington Wizards a 93-92 win over the Cavaliers.
Jordan victimized Cleveland throughout his career with the Chicago Bulls, and although he's wearing a Washington jersey now, No. 23 still has the Cavaliers' number.
With Washington down 92-91, Jordan got free on a defensive switch and calmly drained his jumper for the Wizards, who rallied from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Jordan's game-winner was almost identical to the shot he hit in Game 5 over Craig Ehlo at Richfield Coliseum in 1989 to beat the Cavs and eliminate Cleveland from the playoffs.
Jordan finished with 26 points and Chris Whitney had 20 for the Wizards.
Nets 125, Bucks 100
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jason Kidd recorded his league-best fourth triple-double with 21 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds as New Jersey beat Milwaukee in a battle between the leaders of the Atlantic and Central Division of the Eastern Conference.
The point total was the Nets' highest of the season and it allowed them to snap a five-game losing streak against the Bucks that dated to March 18, 2000.
Clippers 91, Spurs 87
SAN ANTONIO -- Michael Olowokandi had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Elton Brand added 19 points and 14 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers beat San Antonio, snapping a 15-game losing streak against the Spurs.
Quentin Richardson scored 18 points, Jeff McInnis 15 and Eric Piatkowski 11 for the Clippers.
Tim Duncan had 23 points and 16 rebounds for the Spurs, who lost their fourth straight home game, their longest home losing streak since April 1997.
Raptors 97, Celtics 92
TORONTO -- Vince Carter scored 27 points as Toronto rallied from a 17-point deficit and extended its winning streak to three games with a victory over Boston.
Keon Clark had 16 points and six rebounds for the Raptors, who won for the ninth time in 12 games.
The victory was No. 74 for coach Lenny Wilkens, who became the winningest coach in the franchise's seven-year history.
Mavericks 95, Rockets 91
DALLAS -- All-Star guard Steve Nash scored 33 points, 15 in the last 8 minutes, as Dallas needed an unexpected comeback to beat Houston.
The Mavericks blew a 17-point lead and trailed 73-69 before Nash began his game-ending run with five straight points.
Juwan Howard had 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 13 points, and Michael Finley, in his second game back from injury, had 11.
Trail Blazers 105, Suns 97
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells each scored 20 points as Portland extended its winning streak to five games with a victory over Phoenix.
Portland won for the 11th time in 13 games and dealt Phoenix its third straight road loss.
Kings 99, SuperSonics 95
SEATTLE -- Peja Stojakovic hit a 3-pointer and an 18-footer in the final minute and Sacramento, playing without the suspended Chris Webber, beat Seattle.
Stojakovic finished with 32 points as the Kings, who have the NBA's best record at 34-10, won for the 15th time in 16 games.
The Kings got 13 points and 10 rebounds from Vlade Divac, and 12 points each from Mike Bibby and Hedo Turkoglu. Gary Payton scored 25 points and Vin Baker had 22, 20 in the first half, for the Sonics, who lost their second straight home game. Rashard Lewis added 18 points.