By The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. – Dwight Howard and Steve Francis each scored 18 points, and the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 100-91 Saturday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Paul Pierce scored 37 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, but had little help as the Celtics lost their fifth straight game.

Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West each scored 13 points and were the only other Celtics in double figures.

Boston trailed 71-69 entering the fourth quarter, but Orlando started the period with a 13-3 run to take command.

Keyon Dooling, one of six Magic players in double figures with 10 points, scored six straight to start the period. Stacey Augmon’s 12-foot jumper gave Orlando an 84-72 lead with 8:05 left in the game.

Pierce tried to bring the Celtics back, pulling them within five points five times in the last 5 minutes of the game. But the only offensive help he got in that span was a follow shot from Szczerbiak.

The Magic hit eight of their last nine shots to close the first quarter on a 17-4 run that put them up 31-20. They pushed the lead to 39-24 on a driving layup by Dooling with 8:56 left in the second quarter before Boston scored nine straight.

Orien Greene’s dunk off an alley-oop pass from Pierce cut Boston’s deficit to 41-35. The Magic still led by six at halftime.

Pierce, who was just 4-of-11 in the first half, finally got rolling in the third quarter, scoring 10 points to help Boston cut the deficit to just 71-69 by the end of the period.

Nets 105, Heat 92

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Vince Carter had his second career triple-double with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to lead New Jersey past the Miami Heat 105-92 on Saturday.

Richard Jefferson added 26 points and Clifford Robinson scored a season-high 23 in a rare start for the Nets (24-21), who won their 10th straight home game.

Miami (29-19), which had its four-game winning streak snapped, trailed the entire game. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 31 points and Shaquille O’Neal was held to 11, his fourth-lowest total of the season. With Nenad Krstic out with the flu, Jason Collins took on the job of defending O’Neal. He neutralized the Heat center in the first half, allowing him only six shots and five points.

76ers 100, Cavaliers 95

CLEVELAND – Allen Iverson scored 34 points in his return to the starting lineup and did what he always does against Cleveland, leading the Philadelphia 76ers over the Cavaliers 100-95 on Saturday night.

Iverson, who has had some of his biggest games against the Cavs, missed the previous four games with sore ankles. But all it took was another game in Cleveland to get the All-Star guard feeling better.

Chris Webber added 26 points, hitting a key jumper in the final minute, and Samuel Dalembert had 13 points and made a big block down the stretch for the Sixers, who went 2-2 without Iverson.

Wizards 98, Hawks 85

WASHINGTON – Antawn Jamison had 27 points and 15 rebounds as the Washington Wizards snapped the Atlanta Hawks’ three-game winning streak with a 98-85 victory Saturday night.

Gilbert Arenas added 22 points as Washington won for the third time in four games. The Wizards have won nine of 13 overall and eight straight against the Hawks.

Caron Butler had 18 points and seven rebounds for Washington, which is in the midst of a stretch of playing seven of eight games at home. The Wizards opened a season-high, five-game homestand against the Hawks.

Hornets 106, Lakers 90

OKLAHOMA CITY – Desmond Mason scored 21 points and Chris Paul added 19 points and 13 assists Saturday night, leading the New Orleans Hornets over Los Angeles 106-90 and past the Lakers in the Western Conference standings.

Mason, guarded much of the game by Kobe Bryant, beat the Lakers star twice on New Orleans’ first three possessions and the Hornets never trailed. They moved two games above .500 for the first time this season and passed the Lakers for seventh place in the West.

Rasual Butler added 15 points, P.J. Brown scored 14 and Kirk Snyder and David West had 11 apiece.

Pacers 93, Pistons 85

INDIANAPOLIS – Stephen Jackson shook off a recent injury that sent him to the hospital to score 20 points and grab seven rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers upset the rival Detroit Pistons 93-85 on Saturday night.

Reserve center David Harrison scored 15 points and guard Fred Jones scored nine of his 13 in the fourth quarter for the Pacers, who used a big rebounding advantage to win the first meeting this season between the Central Division rivals.

The Pacers won their second in a row after a six-game losing streak.

Suns 118, Bulls 101

PHOENIX – Shawn Marion had 26 points and 11 rebounds, All-Star game starter Steve Nash added 21 points and seven assists, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Chicago Bulls 118-101 on Saturday night for their third straight victory.

In beating the Bulls for the eighth consecutive on their home court, the Suns increased their Pacific Division lead to 21/2 games over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The loss was the third in a row for the Bulls on their seven-game, 14-day road trip against Western Conference opponents.

Bucks 88, Grizzlies 78

MILWAUKEE – Michael Redd scored 23 points in his return to the lineup after missing a game with back spasms, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 88-78 Saturday night.

The Bucks overcame an eight-point second quarter – tying their lowest-scoring quarter in franchise history – with defense and clutch scoring from center Jamaal Magloire in the fourth quarter.

The Bucks had their best defensive effort of the season. Milwaukee held Boston to 79 points January 29.

Mavs 110, Sonics 91

DALLAS – Josh Howard had 23 points to lead Dallas in scoring again and the Mavericks beat Seattle 110-91 Saturday night for their 11th straight victory, matching the NBA’s longest winning streak this season.

The Mavericks are winning with defense, and without Dirk Nowitzki as their leading scorer every night. Howard led the team in scoring for the fourth straight game.