Jason Richardson scored 25 points and the hot-shooting Charlotte Bobcats overcame Jason Kidd's third consecutive triple-double to beat the New Jersey Nets, 115-99, at home last night.
Gerald Wallace added 21 points and 11 rebounds and Emeka Okafor and Nazr Mohammed 17 points apiece for the Bobcats, who shot 59 percent in their highest-scoring game of the season. Charlotte snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Nets had their five-game winning streak snapped despite Kidd's 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists.
Richard Jefferson had 25 points and Vince Carter scored 17 on 5-of-15 shooting for the Nets, who struggled to defend inside in their worst performance in weeks.
It was a rare offensive outburst for the Bobcats, who sense their hopes at a first playoff berth in franchise history rest on putting together a winning stretch now before they play 21 of 29 games on the road starting at the end of the month.
Rockets 92, Wizards 84 - Luther Head's season-high 24 points and Rafer Alston's double-double led Houston past Washington, the Rockets' third consecutive victory.
Alston finished with 15 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds, and Yao Ming scored 21 points for visiting Houston, which is 5-2 since Tracy McGrady went down last month with a left knee injury.
Cavaliers 95, SuperSonics 79 - LeBron James showed Kevin Durant how it's done by scoring 22 points, and host Cleveland didn't wait until the fourth quarter to put away Seattle.
James, who scored 24 points in the fourth Sunday when the Cavs (18-17) rallied for a win in Toronto, was able to sit out the final 8:36 as Cleveland coasted to its sixth win in seven games and moved over .500 for the first time since Nov. 30.
Bucks 87, 76ers 83 - In Philadelphia, Charlie Bell and Mo Williams each scored 21 points and Milwaukee beat the struggling 76ers, who have lost four straight.
Milwaukee has won three of four since the calendar turned, including all three games away from home. Andrew Bogut had 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Charlie Villanueva added 15 points and 10 boards for the Bucks.
Timberwolves 101, Heat 91 - Miami sunk to a new low - it was handled by the Timberwolves.
Rashad McCants continued his sharp shooting with 27 points and the Timberwolves snapped an eight-game losing streak with a victory over the reeling Heat.
Dwyane Wade had 25 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds for Miami, which played its sixth straight game without Shaquille O'Neal and has lost eight in a row to fall to an Eastern Conference-worst 8-27.
Lakers 117, Grizzlies 101 - Derek Fisher scored 26 points and Kobe Bryant added 25 to lead Los Angeles to a victory over host Memphis.
It was the 13th win in 16 games for the Lakers, who have won six of their last eight road games. The Grizzlies were paced by Mike Miller with 19 points.
Knicks 105, Bulls 100 - Eddy Curry scored a season-high 29 points, Jamal Crawford added 24, and the Knicks rallied to beat host Chicago and snap a seven-game losing streak.
Jazz 111, Pacers 89 - Carlos Boozer scored 22 points and reserve Matt Harpring added 16 to power host Utah to victory.
The Jazz, who improved to 13-3 at home, took a 28-point lead in the first half on their way to handing the Pacers their worst loss of the season.
Kings 104, Magic 100 - Dwight Howard had 29 points and 15 rebounds but Sacramento edged Orlando at home.
