Jazz sound winning note

Allen Iverson surpassed 50 points for the second consecutive game but fouled out with 4.5 seconds left, putting Mehmet Okur on the line for the winning free throws in Utah's 103-101 victory over the 76ers last night in Philadelphia.

Iverson followed up his 54-point game in Milwaukee with 51 this time, becoming the first Sixers player to score 50 in back-to-back games and the first Philadelphia player to accomplish the feat since Wilt Chamberlain for the Philadelphia Warriors in 1962.

The last NBA player to score 50 points in consecutive games was Antawn Jamison in December 2000 with the Golden State Warriors.

Iverson scored 21 in the third quarter to help the Sixers overcome a 16-point halftime deficit, only to watch the comeback fall short from the bench. After Okur hit his foul shots, a running layup attempt by Willie Green clanged off the back of the rim, and the Jazz snapped a seven-game road losing streak and a three-game skid overall.

Okur finished with 20 points and Carlos Boozer led Utah with 28 as four Jazz players finished in double figures.

After blowing their big halftime lead, the Jazz used a 15-4 run in the fourth quarter, keyed by Boozer and Carlos Arroyo, who finished with 11 assists.

Iverson hit a running layup and Kyle Korver, who had 16 points, drained his fifth 3-pointer to tie it at 101 in the final minute.

Rockets 114, Raptors 102 -- In Houston, Yao Ming scored a season-high 40 points and Tracy McGrady added 34 points and 12 rebounds, leading the Rockets over Toronto. The Rockets have won nine of 10 home games against the Raptors, whose only win in Houston was nearly five years ago.

The point total was a season high for the Rockets, who also hit a season-best 51.9 percent of their shots from the field (41 of 79).

Yao added 10 rebounds and recorded his eighth double-double of the season.

Grizzlies 82, Lakers 72 -- Shane Battier had 17 points, Mike Miller scored 5 in the final 2:46, and Memphis beat the Lakers in Los Angeles for the first time after 18 losses. The Lakers have had longer regular-season home winning streaks against four other teams -- including a 43-game stretch against the Sacramento Kings franchise that dated back to the Kansas City-Omaha days.

It was a season-high third straight victory for the Grizzlies. Their streak of road futility against the Lakers included 12 losses at the Forum in Inglewood.

Wizards 103, Warriors 101 -- Gilbert Arenas drove the length of the floor, got past top Golden State defender Mickael Pietrus and scored an acrobatic layup with less than a second left to lift visiting Washington. Arenas burned his former team for 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists as the Wizards held on despite blowing a 14-point lead in the second half.

Bulls 92, Trail Blazers 87 -- Ben Gordon scored 23 points with Michael Jordan in attendance, and host Chicago beat Portland for its fourth consecutive victory. Eddy Curry added 18 points and Kirk Hinrich 17 for Chicago, which has won four straight for the first time since Jordan's 1998 championship team won 13 in a row. The Bulls are 8-6 since their 0-9 start.

Suns 107, Nuggets 105 -- At Denver, Amare Stoudemire had 32 points and nine rebounds, and Quentin Richardson tipped in a shot at the buzzer to help Phoenix extend its winning streak to nine games. Richardson finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, and Steve Nash added 15 points and 10 assists to give Phoenix its second nine-game winning streak this season.