Cavaliers finally win after close calls

CLEVELAND - After a week of near-misses, close calls and blown chances, the Cleveland Cavaliers remembered how to win.

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"We closed the game out like we're supposed to," Cavs guard Ricky Davis said.

Rookie Smush Parker's three-point play keyed an 11-2 game-ending spurt and Davis scored 33 points Monday night, as Cleveland snapped a four-game losing streak with a 74-72 win over the Miami Heat.

Eddie Jones missed a driving layup with 4.5 seconds left for Miami and rookie Caron Butler was way short with a 12-footer just before the final horn, ending the Heat's three-game winning streak.

"We had three or four good shots at the end, they just didn't go," Miami coach Pat Riley said.

The Carlos Boozer Archive

During their losing streak, the Cavs blew late leads in regulation and lost twice in overtime to Detroit, and then squandered a 19-point lead in the third quarter in a loss on Saturday to Boston.

"We had the potential to be 4-0 this week, but we'll take what we can get," Cavs coach John Lucas said.

Davis carried Cleveland's offense, but it was Parker, Milt Palacio and Zydrunas Ilgauskas who made the difference at the end as Cleveland improved to 6-24.

Ilgauskas and Parker scored 11 points apiece for the Cavs, who won despite shooting just 33 percent from the floor and relying too heavily on Davis. Parker scored five points in Cleveland's final 11-2 run.

"It was wonderful to see guys stepping up," Davis said. "That helps take some of the pressure off me."

The Cavs played without rookie guard Dajuan Wagner, who sat out with the stomach flu. Wagner, averaging 18.4 points per game, was replaced in the starting lineup by Jumaine Jones.

Rookie power forward Carlos Boozer Jr., a 1999 Juneau-Douglas High School graduate, started and only scored two points for the Cavaliers as he played despite flu-like symptoms. Boozer grabbed six rebounds, made three steals and dished out two assists in 21 minutes.

Brian Grant scored a season-high 19 points and added 17 rebounds for Miami, which led 70-63 with 4:37 left after two free throws by Travis Best.

Palacio then made a 3-pointer from the corner, and Parker made two free throws before dribbling into traffic and throwing in a wild shot in the lane while being fouled by Best.

"It felt good," Parker said. "But in my mind, I was thinking, 'It's not over. We've got to play defense'."

Pacers 112, Hawks 97

Al Harrington got 40 points and helped the Indiana Pacers reach 20 wins.

Harrington set a career high for points as the Pacers beat Atlanta to become the first Eastern Conference team with 20 victories.

Harrington said he's been working on improving his overall game.

"I've been trying to come to practice an hour early to lift and shoot. I knew I wasn't playing up to par," Harrington said. "My game depends on hard work. I'd gotten away from that a little bit."

He got back to it in a big way, needing just one half to best his previous career high of 26, which he had done twice. He hit a 3-pointer from the baseline to end the first half with 27 points. Harrington finished 15-for-25 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free-throw line.

Harrington's shooting has been erratic this season as he worked his way back into shape. On Dec. 24, he had 26 against Seattle, but was scoreless last week against Houston. Against Atlanta, he looked more like the player who was emerging as one of the top sixth men last season before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Jan. 23.

Making his third straight start at power forward in place of the injured Jermaine O'Neal, Harrington made his first five shots and reached 40 with a layup with less than a minute left.

Jamaal Tinsley added 14 assists for the Pacers (20-8), who improved to 13-1 at home. They had lost three of four - with all three losses on the road.

"We've kind of put some pressure on ourselves in trying to keep the best record in the East, and it felt really good to get back to doing it like we did earlier in the season," Reggie Miller said.

Brad Miller added 22 points and 11 rebounds and Ron Artest had 24 points for Indiana.

Spurs 99, Hornets 94, OT

At San Antonio, Tim Duncan scored 29 points and tied a career high with 23 rebounds, and Bruce Bowen tied a career high with 21 points as the Spurs won their fourth straight.

The Hornets, who have lost four of five, were held scoreless for the final 3:15 of overtime and shot just 2-of-11 in the extra period. San Antonio went ahead 98-94 in the overtime on Bowen's 3-pointer with 2:37 to play.

Jazz 96, Rockets 91

At Houston, Karl Malone scored 10 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter - including six in the last 1:30 after the lights went out at Compaq Arena - to bring Utah back from seven points down.

Malone added a game-high nine rebounds, two steals and six assists as the Jazz won their third straight. The last 2:49 was played with limited light after an area thunderstorm knocked out the lights at Compaq Arena. After a brief delay, both teams agreed to finish the game under the darkened conditions.

Nets 99, Bulls 83

At East Rutherford, N.J., the Nets made Jay Williams' professional return to his home state a disappointing experience.

Williams, who starred at St. Joseph of Metuchen before going to Duke, had eight points, four assists and a rebound in a game attended by more than 700 friends and relatives.

Bucks 108, Magic 103

At Orlando, Fla., Ray Allen had 35 points and hit several big shots, including a 3-pointer with 1:16 remaining and an off-balance shot with 47.3 seconds remaining.

Michael Redd added 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Sam Cassell scored 19 for the Bucks, who made 31 of 36 free throws.

Mavericks 92, Wizards 86

At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki bailed the Mavericks out of another bad shooting night, scoring 10 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter.

The Wizards remained within six most of the game and made it 80-79 on a 3-pointer by Jerry Stackhouse, who had 28 points and tied a season-high with 10 rebounds, with 5:57 left.

Nowitzki answered by hitting a jumper as the shot clock expired, then put back a rebound to make it 84-79. The Wizards wouldn't get closer than that again.

Suns 89, SuperSonics 88

At Phoenix, Stephon Marbury shot just 3-of-12 but made a leaning 13-footer with a half-second to play.

Shawn Marion, who had 30 points and 11 rebounds, then blocked a last shot attempt by Seattle's Desmond Mason as the buzzer sounded and Phoenix won its third in a row and seventh in eight games.