Hawks slip past cranky Pistons
ATLANTA -- Glenn Robinson and Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 23 points apiece as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Detroit Pistons 94-92 Saturday.
Robinson added a season-high 13 rebounds for Atlanta, which won its third straight at home before a crowd of only 7,856 for an early start.
Richard Hamilton had 25 points for the Pistons, who have lost four of five.
The game started at 2 p.m. Because the Southeastern Conference football championship game was scheduled to start four hours later at the Georgia Dome, which is next to Philips Arena.
Clippers 104, Timberwolves 88
LOS ANGELES -- Elton Brand tied a season high with 26 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for injury-plagued Los Angeles.
Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, defeated by a team with a losing record for the first time in seven games this season. Garnett posted his league-leading 19th double-double.
The Clippers were without injured regulars Lamar Odom, Michael Olowokandi and Corey Maggette.
Wizards 100, Knicks 97
WASHINGTON -- Larry Hughes matched a season high with 22 points, including four free throws in the final minute, as Washington overcame a second-half rally to beat New York.
Hughes also had 10 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double. Jerry Stackhouse also had 22 points, and Michael Jordan had 20 and matched his season high with nine rebounds. Christian Laettner added a season-high 15 points.
Nets 121, Magic 88
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Kenyon Martin shut down Tracy McGrady while New Jersey built a big early lead, and Jason Kidd finished two rebounds shy of a triple-double as the Nets defeated Orlando.
Martin held McGrady to 0-for-7 shooting in the first quarter and 2-for-13 shooting by halftime as New Jersey came back from a quick 10-0 deficit and opened a 20-point lead by intermission.
Hornets 94, Bucks 88
MILWAUKEE -- Jamal Mashburn scored 23 points, and P.J. Brown and Baron Davis each added 20 to lead New Orleans over Milwaukee.
Mashburn, Brown and Davis combined for 15 free throws in the fourth quarter as the Hornets improved to 4-6 on the road.
Bulls 112, Cavaliers 104
CHICAGO -- Jalen Rose scored 27 points and Donyell Marshall added 22 as the Bulls blew a 23-point lead but held on to beat the Cavaliers.
The victory snapped a nine-game losing streak for the Bulls, who won for only the third time in their last 18 games.
Rockets 97, 76ers 72
HOUSTON -- Steve Francis scored eight of his 20 points in a decisive fourth-quarter run as Houston topped Philadelphia.
Yao Ming had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Houston, which used a 22-6 run that lasted most of the first nine minutes of the final period. The victory was Houston's sixth straight at home, where the Rockets are 7-1 and off to their best start since the 1996-97 season.
SuperSonics 100, Heat 71
SEATTLE -- Gary Payton overcame a sore foot and scored 18 points in Seattle's victory over struggling Miami.
Payton, who shot 8-of-11 from the field and added 11 assists, had X-rays on his right foot that were negative Friday night. Vladimir Radmanovich came off the bench to score 19 points, including 5-of-5 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter for Seattle.
Mavericks 121, Warriors 116
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 35 points as Dallas barely shook off its collapse from one night earlier, rallying from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Golden State for the 15th straight time.
After blowing a 27-point lead against the Lakers on Friday night, league-leading Dallas needed a prolonged late rally to avoid its second loss in more than 24 hours. Coach Don Nelson was ejected early in the third quarter, and the raucous Arena crowd sensed an upset until the Mavs made a 10-2 run in the final minutes.
Nick Van Exel scored 19 points for the Mavericks, who trailed for most of the first 42 minutes.
Earl Boykins scored 23 points in a reserve role as the Warriors outplayed the Mavericks until the final minutes, when their inexperience showed through. Antawn Jamison had 26 points and 14 rebounds.