MIAMI – Lamar Odom scored a season-high 29 points and the Miami Heat held off a rally Friday night to defeat Memphis 91-88, preventing the Grizzlies from setting a franchise record for consecutive wins.
Odom also had 14 rebounds, Dwayne Wade scored 14 and Brian Grant had 11 points and 13 rebounds for Miami, which has won six of eight home games. Rafer Alston added 11 points and a season-high seven assists.
Pau Gasol scored 19 points and Earl Watson 16 for Memphis, which trailed by 16 at halftime and by nine after three quarters.
The Grizzlies, trying to win a franchise-record seventh consecutive game and move five games above .500 for first time in team history, led just
once the entire game despite putting five players in double figures.
T-wolves 110, Wizards 91
WASHINGTON – Sam Cassell scored 25 points, Kevin Garnett had 23 points and 16 rebounds and Minnesota made 17 of its first 22 shots in a 110-91 victory Friday night over the Washington Wizards.
It was the fourth straight road victory for Minnesota, which got 21 points from Latrell Sprewell and 16 from Gary Trent. The Timberwolves have beaten Washington five straight times.
Nuggets 86, 76ers 77
PHILADELPHIA – Andre Miller had 23 points and Marcus Camby had 16 points and 17 rebounds, leading the Denver Nuggets to an 86-77 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
Each of Denver’s starters scored in double figures as the vastly-improved Nuggets snapped a two-game losing skid.
Nets 99, Magic 95
ORLANDO, Fla. – Kerry Kittles snapped out of a slump to score 22 points, including three 3-pointers in the final four minutes, in leading the Nets to their fourth straight victory – 99-95 over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.
Richard Jefferson added 19 points while Kenyon Martin had 16 points and 15 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Jason Kidd scored eight points on season-worst 1-for-10 shooting with a season-high 15 assists and eight rebounds.
Sonics 93, Pistons 72
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Rashard Lewis scored 33 points to lead the Seattle SuperSonics to a 93-72 victory over the slumping Detroit Pistons, whose only consolation Friday night was Darko Milicic scoring his first NBA points.
Seattle also got 19 from Ronald Murray and 18 from Brent Barry.
Pacers 103, Hawks 92
INDIANAPOLIS – Fred Jones took over after Al Harrington left with an injury, scoring a career-high 18 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 103-92 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
Harrington had a strong first half before leaving with a bruised right cheekbone, scoring nine points on 4-of-4 shooting with three assists as the Pacers built a 52-35 lead.
The Hawks rallied in the third quarter behind Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who scored 10 of his 19 points in the quarter, but Jones countered with 13 points in the fourth as the Pacers were able to increase the lead with Jermaine O’Neal in foul trouble and Harrington out with the injury.
Kings 100, Jazz 93
SALT LAKE CITY – Mike Bibby scored 25 points, Peja Stojakovic added 24 and the Sacramento Kings held on to win for the eighth straight time in Utah, 100-93 Friday night.
Stojakovic scored 13 of his points in the last five minutes, including seven straight free throws in the final 2:37 to help the Kings prevail in their first game after a franchise-record eight-game homestand.
Bucks 109, Bulls 95
MILWAUKEE – Michael Redd scored 30 points and Damon Jones added a season-high 22, helping the Milwaukee Bucks send the Chicago Bulls to their fourth consecutive loss, 109-95 Friday night.
Milwaukee, the Eastern Conference’s highest scoring team, blew a 16-point first-half lead.
but used a late 16-2 run to drop the Bulls to 1-4 since Scott Skiles became coach Dec. 1. The Bucks matched their season high in points.
With the score tied at 87, Dan Gadzuric scored on a rebound to give Milwaukee the lead for good with 5:29 to go. Jamal Crawford scored on a fastbreak layup with 2:48 left to pull Chicago to 95-89, but Milwaukee scored the next eight points.
Desmond Mason had 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Bucks.
Marcus Fizer scored a season-high 19 points, Kendall Gill added 18 and rookie Kirk Hinrich had a career-high 17 for Chicago.
Hinrich scored 13 points in the third quarter, including the final eight of the period, to bring Chicago within 80-76 going into the fourth quarter. Fizer’s free throw capped a 13-0 run and put Chicago ahead 81-80 with 10:02 left.
Milwaukee made 15 of 23 shots to open a 31-15 lead after one quarter. Chicago got within 44-36 in the second quarter, but Milwaukee led 57-46 at halftime behind Redd’s 15 points.
Notes: Bulls F Scottie Pippen will miss six weeks after surgery Friday revealed a torn meniscus in his left knee. … Bulls F Corie Blount missed the game with a medial collateral sprain and is questionable for Saturday night’s game vs. Indiana. … A moment of silence was held before the game to honor longtime Milwaukee TV sports broadcaster Earl Gillespie, who died Friday at age 81. … Skiles was whistled for his first technical foul with Chicago for arguing a call in the second quarter. … The Bulls have lost seven consecutive road games.
AP-ES-12-12-03 2305EST
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