BOSTON – Jason Richardson scored 31 points and the Golden State Warriors broke open a close game early in the fourth quarter to hand the Boston Celtics their sixth straight loss, 107-95 Wednesday night.
Three other Warriors had at least 18 points – Antawn Jamison with 29, Gilbert Arenas with 23 and Troy Murphy with 18 – as Golden State shot 52 percent from the field. Murphy added 11 rebounds.
Paul Pierce had 25 points and Eric Williams 15 for the Celtics, whose losing streak is their longest of the season.
The Warriors, coming off a 21-point loss at Cleveland the previous night, took an 81-74 lead on a driving layup by Arenas – who then slammed the ball off the floor. Antoine Walker protested that Arenas should get a technical foul, and referee Dan Crawford assessed one to both Arenas and Walker.
Things kept getting worse for the Celtics after that. The Warriors opened the fourth quarter with a 20-5 run that made it 101-79, their biggest lead, with 5:35 remaining.
Murphy and Williams traded baskets at the start of the surge before Murphy hit a jumper and Arenas sank a 3-pointer, making it 88-76.
Pierce then made a free throw before Golden State got the next eight points on 3-pointers by Arenas and Richardson and a layup by Jamison that gave the Warriors a 96-77 lead with 7:29 to play.
Walker’s layup broke the run, but Richardson followed with a layup and Arenas hit another 3-pointer as the lead grew to 101-79. Boston scored the last eight points to cut the final margin to 12.
The game was tied 55-55 after a first half in which there were 15 lead changes.
Neither team led by more than four points until Murphy’s free throw made it 71-66 with 6:13 left in the third quarter.
76ers 91, Pacers 85
INDIANAPOLIS – Allen Iverson had 22 points and 10 assists and the Philadelphia 76ers missed only four shots in the fourth quarter in defeating the Indiana Pacers 91-85 Wednesday night.
The Sixers received strong fourth quarters from Iverson, Keith Van Horn and Eric Snow to come back from a five-point deficit at the end of the third.
Philadelphia was only 23-for-64 from the floor through the first three quarters before making 11 of its first 13 in the fourth. The Sixers never led until Iverson swished a 19-footer from the left wing to put them ahead 68-67.
Raptors 89, Cavaliers 83
TORONTO – Morris Peterson scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half as the Toronto Raptors ended a three-game losing skid with a 89-83 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
Vince Carter added 18 points for the lottery-bound Raptors, losers of nine of their previous 10.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers, who recorded consecutive wins for the first time this season before coming to Toronto. At 14-57, Cleveland has the
Nets 101, Knicks 95
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Kerry Kittles’ go-ahead 3-pointer with 5:43 to go ignited a 14-2 spurt that carried the New Jersey Nets to a 101-95 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
Kenyon Martin had 24 points, Kittles 23 and Jason Kidd added 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Nets remained a half-game ahead of Philadelphia in the race for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Sixers beat Indiana 91-85.
Latrell Sprewell had 24 points and nine assists and Allan Houston added 19 – only nine in the final three quarters – for the Knicks (32-40), who fell apart after Kittles gave New Jersey an 87-85 lead.
Pistons 102, Hawks 99
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Chauncey Billups’ 3-pointer with one-tenth of a second left in overtime gave the Detroit Pistons a come-from-behind, 102-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
After Shareef Abdur-Rahim’s putback dunk tied the game at 99 with 29 seconds left in overtime, the shot clock was turned off when Jason Terry committed a foul. Billups took Jon Barry’s inbounds pass and drained a jumper over Terry from the top of the key.
Suns 101, Grizzlies 99
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Stephon Marbury scored 23 points, including an 18-footer and a free throw with 1.2 seconds left Wednesday night that gave the Phoenix Suns a 101-99 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Shawn Marion missed a 15-footer with about five seconds left, but got his own rebound and hit Marbury on the right wing for the winning three-point play.
Memphis couldn’t get the ball inbounds for a tying shot after Marbury’s winner.
Phoenix snapped a three-game road losing streak, while Memphis lost for the first time at home in its last four.
Amare Stoudemire added 22 points for Phoenix, while Marion had 21 points.
and 18 rebounds. Penny Hardaway scored 18, and Marbury added eight assists.
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