Pistons beat Heat for ninth straight win
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-30 14:26

New Orleans made its first three shots in the second, but the Spurs extended their advantage with 3s by Brent Barry and Nick Van Exel.

The lead slipped to 49-41 on a layup by Desmond Mason with about 5 minutes left in the half, but layups by Rasho Nesterovic and Ginobili started a 15-4 burst that made it 64-44 at the break. Robert Horry added a dunk and a 3-pointer.

New Orleans finished the half by missing six of their last seven shots and committing four turnovers.

Sonics beat short-handed Nuggets 112-105

DENVER - Ray Allen scored a season-high 39 points and Rashard Lewis added 27 in Seattle's 112-105 victory over the short-handed Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.

The Nuggets got 32 points from Carmelo Anthony, but Seattle held him to just two free throws in the final 18 minutes. He ended his frustrating night with a missed layup with 19 seconds left.

Denver was without forward Marcus Camby, who underwent surgery Thursday on his broken right pinkie. The league's leading rebounder will be sidelined indefinitely.

They did get Kenyon Martin back from a two-game absence with a bruised thigh, but his 11-point, seven-rebound performance wasn't nearly enough to keep the Nuggets from blowing a fourth-quarter lead and losing for the ninth time this season.

Thanks to Allen, their absences weren't felt.

Allen's 3-pointer tied it at 96 and Damien Wilkins' steal and dunk gave Seattle the lead for good with 6:40 left, the SuperSonics' first lead since the first half.

Anthony scored 23 points in the first half but it was Earl Boykins (22 points) who stole the show by scoring nine of the Nuggets' last 11 points of the half, including an amazing buzzer beater in which he chased down the long inbounds and shot the ball over Rashard Lewis while falling out of bounds. The shot, fired from behind the basket, swished as the red lights on the backboard went off, giving Denver a 61-58 lead.

They had a 59-54 lead thanks to a 3-pointer and a jumper by Boykins, but Lewis blew past Eduardo Najera and scored while getting fouled by Andre Miller, who drew a technical for slamming the ball in disgust and disputing the call. Allen sank the technical before Miller completed his three-point play, pulling Seattle to 59-58 before Boykins' amazing shot.

That pace didn't appear to favor the SuperSonics, who were playing their third game in four nights and against a Denver team that leads the league with 22 fast-break points a game, including 26 at the Pepsi Center.

Before tip-off, Nuggets coach George Karl said he wasn't going to change his team's running style just because it's been beset by injuries: "I don't think I'm going to lighten on the commitment. I think that's our forte, especially here in Denver."

But the Nuggets got beat at their own game, sorely missing their big man in the middle and getting outrebounded 48-36.