NEW YORK – Jamal Crawford scored 30 points, Stephon Marbury had 15 assists and Tim Thomas scored 17 to lead New York past Toronto 108-102 on a Saturday of season-highs for several Knicks.
The totals for Crawford, Marbury and Thomas were all personal bests for the young season. Starters Nazr Mohammed and Kurt Thomas reached double figures in both points and rebounds as the Knicks avenged a 23-point loss to the Raptors three days earlier.
The Knicks were comfortably ahead throughout the second half until Morris Peterson and Vince Carter hit 3-pointers and Peterson was fouled on a 3-point attempt, making all three foul shots to close Toronto to 103-100 with 54 seconds left.
Bobcats 107, Hawks 92
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Reserve Eddie House scored 17 points and Emeka Okafor had 14 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double, leading the Charlotte Bobcats to a 107-92 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Reserve Keith Bogans added 15 points for the expansion Bobcats, who won their third game – all at home.
Al Harrington scored 27 points and Antoine Walker 24 in Atlanta’s sixth straight loss.
Cavaliers 96, Bulls 74
CLEVELAND – LeBron James scored 26 points to become the youngest player in NBA history to reach 2,000 in a career, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 96-74 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
At 19 years, 272 days old, James is 277 days younger than Kobe Bryant was when he set the mark on Feb. 23, 1999, with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jeff McInnis scored 16 points for Cleveland, which won for the ninth time in 10 games and handed the Bulls their 10th loss in 11 games.
James hit a 16-foot fadeaway jumper with 1:03 remaining in the third quarter to reach 2,000.
Magic 105, 76ers 99
ORLANDO, Fla. – Grant Hill scored 29 points and Steve Francis added 26, leading the Orlando Magic to their fourth win in five games, 105-99 over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Francis had 15 in the fourth quarter, with six in the final 48 seconds. His jumper with 48 seconds left put the Magic up 101-97.
Nuggets 82, Rockets 76
HOUSTON – Andre Miller scored 20 points and Kenyon Martin had 19 as the Denver Nuggets beat the Houston Rockets 82-76 on Saturday night for their first road win.
Tracy McGrady and Scott Padgett each had 14 points for Houston, which lost its third in a row.
Mavericks 98, Grizzlies 85
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Dirk Nowitzki scored 32 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in the Dallas Mavericks’ 98-85 victory over Memphis on Saturday night, sending the Grizzlies to their second loss in as many games since Hubie Brown retired suddenly as coach.
Jerry Stackhouse added 20 points, Erick Dampier 16 and Josh Howard 12 for Dallas, which won its second straight after a three-game losing streak.
Spurs 109, Jazz 76
SAN ANTONIO – Malik Rose scored a season-high 16 points, San Antonio made nine of its first 10 shots and the Spurs beat the Utah Jazz 109-76 on Saturday night.
Manu Ginobili added 15 points, Tony Parker and Devin Brown each had 14 and Tim Duncan had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who shot 12-for-16 in the opening quarter.
Bucks 96, Pistons 90
MILWAUKEE – Michael Redd scored 20 of his 29 points in the second half, Keith Van Horn added 20 points and the Milwaukee Bucks ended a six-game losing streak with a 96-90 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.
Maurice Williams added 10 points and a career-high 13 assists for the Bucks, who hadn’t won in two weeks. They last beat New Orleans 94-91 on Nov. 13.
Tayshuan Prince and Rasheed Wallace each scored 20 points to lead the Pistons.
Detroit was again without All-Star center Ben Wallace, who was serving the fifth game of his six-game suspension for his Nov. 19 fight with Indiana Pacers star Ron Artest. The Pistons are 2-3 without Wallace in the lineup.
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