EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – Alonzo Mourning made two layups, and the New Jersey Nets found some late offense to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 64-60 Tuesday night in what was nearly the lowest scoring game in modern NBA history.

The 124-point total was only five off the previous record for combined scoring futility. Boston beat Milwaukee 62-57 in a game at Providence, R.I., in 1955, the first year of the NBA’s 24-second clock.

The teams needed more than 47 minutes to get past 119. Portland’s Zach Randolph got the honor of reaching the 120-point mark with a floater with 44.6 seconds to go to cut the Nets’ lead to 62-58.

Randolph closed the deficit to two points with two free throws with 13 seconds remaining, but the undermanned Nets – who dressed only 10 players – iced the game when Jacque Vaughn hit two free throws with 13 seconds to play.

Mourning led the Nets with 14 points in his first start since undergoing a kidney transplant.

Cavaliers 93, Hawks 79

ATLANTA – LeBron James scored 25 points, including two dunks and a 3-pointer in a three-minute span of the third quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 93-79 Tuesday night.

The Hawks scored only 25 points in the second half – 11 in the final period.

Atlanta had no answer for 7-foot-3 center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who scored 27 points in the Cavaliers’ first win of the season. Atlanta dropped to 0-4.

Knicks 96, 76ers 88

NEW YORK – Lenny Wilkens gained some job security despite coaching without a hand-picked assistant for the first time in his career as the New York Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 96-88 Tuesday night.

One day after his longtime confidant Dick Helm was forced to resign following a 34-point loss in the home opener, Wilkens gained his 1,316th career coaching victory.

Suns 94, Bulls 74

CHICAGO – Amare Stoudemire had 26 points and a season-high 15 rebounds to lead four players in double figures, and the Phoenix Suns routed the Chicago Bulls 94-74 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight victory.

Shawn Marion also had a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Steve Nash came close with 12 assists and eight points. Joe Johnson had 20 points and Chicago native Quentin Richardson added 16.

The Suns, who lead the NBA in scoring, have won all of their games by double digits.

Magic 94, Mavericks 84

ORLANDO, Fla. – Grant Hill scored 17 points and had nine rebounds, and Steve Francis nearly posted a triple-double in the Orlando Magic’s 94-84 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Hill entered Tuesday’s game averaging 15 points, three rebounds and three assists – numbers below his career averages. But he performed well against Dallas, despite seven turnovers, to help the Magic improve to 3-1 on the season.

Francis had 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, Hedo Turkoglu had 19 points in a reserve role, and rookie Dwight Howard added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando.

Heat 103, Wizards 93

MIAMI – Shaquille O’Neal has the Miami Heat off to their best start ever after scoring 20 points, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking three shots in a 103-93 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

Dwayne Wade continued his strong start, too, with 22 points and nine assists, and Udonis Haslem chipped in with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Miami. The Heat are 4-0 for the first time in club history.

O’Neal arrived in Miami from the Los Angeles Lakers promising to bring the Heat an NBA title. So far, the Heat have been unbeatable with O’Neal, who also had four assists against the Wizards.

Pacers 102, T-wolves 101

MINNEAPOLIS – Jermaine O’Neal had 22 points and eight rebounds to help the Indiana Pacers hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves 102-101.

Minnesota missed two late chances to win. Kevin Garnett’s turnaround jumper fell short with 5 seconds left, but the Timberwolves retained possession after the ball went out of bounds. Latrell Sprewell couldn’t convert his 23-footer from the wing as the buzzer sounded.

Stephen Jackson had 21 points and six rebounds for Indiana, which owned a 47-30 rebounding advantage and went 21-for-23 at the free-throw line. Minnesota, which got 22 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists from Garnett, made 20 of 28 foul shots. All the misses were by Garnett, who went 6-for-14.

Lakers 106, Hornets 98

NEW ORLEANS – The Los Angeles Lakers gave new Hornets coach Byron Scott every reason to wish he was still a part of Showtime.

Kobe Bryant scored 31 points – including 14-of-14 from the foul line – to lead the Lakers to a 106-98 victory that dropped the New Orleans Hornets to 0-4 for the first time since the 1989-90 season.

Sonics 106, Nuggets 88

DENVER – Ray Allen scored 30 points Tuesday night to help the Seattle SuperSonics prolong Denver’s early-season misery with a 106-88 victory.

Rashard Lewis scored 27 points, Luke Ridnour had 11 assists, and the Sonics, not viewed by many as a playoff team this year, improved to a surprising 3-1.

Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points for the Nuggets, who are considered playoff contenders this season, but fell to 1-4 with the NBA champion Detroit Pistons coming to town next.

Andre Miller had 18 for Denver before he and Antonio Daniels were ejected for a very minor scuffle late in the fourth quarter.

Before the game, Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik conceded the team’s effort had been lacking during this early slump, which included a 24-point home loss to Utah last weekend in which the Nuggets were booed off their home court.

Bzdelik’s team played with a bit more energy against the Sonics, but still got outhustled and outplayed from beginning to end.

It started with Allen, who scored 16 of his points in the first quarter to help the Sonics to an early 11-point lead, then hit three 3s during a five-minute stretch of the third in which Seattle upped its lead from five to 14.

AP-ES-11-09-04 2327EST