Mavericks fall to streaking Suns

Phoenix collects 10th straight win

March 06, 2006|Associated Press

After completing his second career triple double, Phoenix Suns center Boris Diaw credited his defense for his strong play.

Diaw had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and helped limit Dallas's Dirk Nowitzki to 3 points in the fourth quarter as the Suns extended their winning streak to a season-high 10 games with a 115-107 victory over the Mavericks yesterday in Dallas.

''Right now the best part of my game is my defense," said the 6-foot-8-inch Diaw, who had his hands full guarding the 7-foot Nowitzki. ''I'm always guarding players who are bigger and stronger so I try to use my quickness."

Steve Nash had 25 points and 11 assists, Shawn Marion had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Leandro Barbosa scored 20 points to help the Suns end the Mavericks' club-record 16-game home winning streak. Nowitzki had 25 points and nine rebounds, but went 1 for 5 from the field in the final quarter.

''They adjusted and double-teamed me," Nowitzki said. ''I've got to do a better job finding the open man. More than anything, we know now we need a little more consistency for longer stretches."

Marquis Daniels added 22 points for the Mavericks, who have lost two of three after winning 19 of 20. The two recent losses have come against Western Conference powers San Antonio and Phoenix.

Pacers 94, 76ers 93 -- Stephen Jackson's layup with 2.9 seconds left lifted visiting Indiana.

Allen Iverson had 33 points and nine assists, but couldn't lead the Sixers to their third straight victory. Anthony Johnson had 18 points and Jackson scored 15 for Indiana, which has won three of four.

Down by 1 point, the Pacers got possession after a shot-clock violation on Philadelphia with 4.9 seconds left. Sarunas Jasikevicius threw an inbound pass to Jackson, who went around a stumbling Kyle Korver to make an uncontested shot.

Cavaliers 91, Bulls 72 -- LeBron James scored 37 points -- 27 after halftime -- and host Cleveland had one of its best performances since the All-Star break.

James scored 8 points, including 2 on a ridiculous dunk, as the Cavs opened the fourth with 11 straight points to go up by 14. He had 16 points in the fourth, capping his night with a long 3-pointer with 19 seconds left.

Timberwolves 103, Warriors 90 -- Kevin Garnett scored 23 points and tied his season high with 21 rebounds as host Minnesota overcame a strong scoring performance by Jason Richardson (36 points).

Former Celtic Ricky Davis scored 19 for the Wolves, and Trenton Hassell added 15 as Minnesota won its second in a row and sent the Warriors to their sixth loss in seven games. Marcus Banks had 12 points, Rashad McCants 11 and Mark Blount 10 for Minnesota.

Wizards 117, Kings 107 -- Antawn Jamison had 31 points and eight rebounds and host Washington snapped a three-game losing streak.

Rockets 102, Trail Blazers 84 -- Yao Ming had 32 points and 13 rebounds as host Houston beat Portland for the ninth straight time.

SuperSonics 113, Jazz 81 -- Rashard Lewis led six players in double figures with 22 points in just three quarters in Seattle.

Grizzlies 102, Clippers 86 -- Pau Gasol had 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and Mike Miller scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead Memphis in Los Angeles.

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