Rockets trail Blazers

Trail Blazers 89, Rockets 79

Trail Blazers 89, Rockets 79

In Houston, Scottie Pippen made two baskets in the tight closing minutes as Portland beat Houston 89-79.

Pippen, traded to the Blazers by the Rockets in the offseason, was greeted with resounding boos when he was introduced in the starting lineup. He finished with 13 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.

The Trail Blazers snapped a two-game losing streak by holding the Rockets to 11 fourth-quarter points.

Steve Smith led the Trail Blazers with 22 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:30 to play that sealed the victory.

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San Antonio 91, Phoenix 90

A steal by Mario Elie led to his game-deciding free throw with 3.1 seconds remaining in overtime that gave the San Antonio Spurs a 91-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 25 points and 16 rebounds on Tuesday night, while David Robinson contributed 21 points and 15 rebounds.

Despite fouling out late in the fourth quarter, Clifford Robinson led Phoenix with 26 points, while Rex Chapman added 19. Suns guard Jason Kidd had his third straight triple-double, scoring 15 points with 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

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Raptors 116, Nets 87

In Toronto, Vince Carter had 24 points and Doug Christie made a strong return to the starting lineup as Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak.

Christie, who missed four games with a sprained right ankle, nailed four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points - 14 of them in the first quarter.

Alvin Williams, nursing a sore right foot, had a career-high 12 assists, including a team-record eight in the first quarter, and Tracy McGrady had 15 points and four blocked shots off the bench.

Johnny Newman had 22 points off the bench for the Nets, who had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.

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Pacers 113, Sonics 103

In Indianapolis, Reggie Miller scored 31 points and Jalen Rose had 19, the two combining for 19 points in the pivotal third quarter.

Indiana ran its home winning streak to seven games as Miller shot 12-of-19 and Rose and Mark Jackson each handed out 11 assists.

Gary Payton, who had 12 assists, scored 28 points by sinking 10 of 17 field goals. Vin Baker scored 24 points and Vernon Maxwell added 17. Brent Barry (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Horace Grant (10 points, 10 rebounds) registered double-doubles for Seattle.

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Wizards 97, Pistons 83

In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Mitch Richmond scored a season-high 33 points to lead Washington over Detroit.

The Wizards overcame the ejection of Rod Strickland to win their third in a row. The Pistons, who lost coach Alvin Gentry to an ejection, have lost four of six.

Juwan Howard added 16 for Washington, while Chris Whitney had eight points and eight assists in place of Strickland. Grant Hill led Detroit with 25 points, and Jerry Stackhouse added 20.

Kings 108, Bucks 95

In Sacramento, California, Jason Williams scored a career-high 28 points Tuesday as Sacramento snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Kings closed the first quarter with a 14-4 run, taking a 34-23 lead, and never let the margin dip under double figures.

Predrag Stojakovic added 19 points and Corliss Williamson had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Kings, who had lost six of eight games.

Sam Cassell scored 20 points for the Bucks, who had won three of their previous four games.