DALLAS, 8 December 2003 — Antoine Walker piled up 24 points and 16 rebounds and Michael Finley added 22 points to help the Dallas Mavericks beat Orlando 110-97 on Saturday, handing the Magic their 19th consecutive loss.

Orlando (1-19) beat the New York Knicks in overtime in its season opener but has not won since. The NBA record for successive losses is 24, set by the Cleveland Cavaliers at the end of the 1981-82 campaign and the start of the next season.

The record for most straight losses in one season is held by the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies and the 1997-98 Denver Nuggets with 23.

The Mavericks were again without Dirk Nowitzki, who missed his fifth game in a row due to injury. Dallas was also playing for the fifth time in eight days but still had more than enough offense to subdue the Magic.

Antawn Jamison picked up 18 points for the Mavericks and rookie Josh Howard added 13. Tracy McGrady led Orlando with 27 points while Juwan Howard added a season-high 24 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Tyronn Lee had 16 points.

Spurs 86 Heat 70

In Miami, Tim Duncan scored 21 points and 19 rebounds to give the San Antonio Spurs an 86-70 triumph over the Heat. Rasho Nesterovic contributed 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who won their second game in a row after four straight losses.

Nets 99 Suns 88

In East Rutherford, Kenyon Martin paced the New Jersey Nets with 21 points and 12 rebounds in a 99-88 win over the Phoenix Suns. Richard Jefferson collected 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets. Jason Kidd chipped in with 17 points. Shawn Marion had 25 points and 17 rebounds while Stephon Marbury added 23 points for the Suns, who have dropped four of their last five games.

Cavaliers 95 Hawks 85

In Cleveland, Zydrunas Ilgauskas tallied a team-high 19 points to guide the Cavaliers to a 95-85 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Jason Kapono grabbed 16 points and Darius Miles 15 for the Cavs, who snapped an eight-game losing skid. LeBron James was held to eight points. Shareef Abdur-Rahim amassed a season-high 43 points and added 12 rebounds for the Hawks, who have dropped four games in a row.

Hornets 97 Bulls 91

In Chicago, Darrell Armstrong poured in 23 points as the New Orleans Hornets overcame the Bulls 97-91. David Wesley added 20 points while PJ Brown had 12 points and 12 rebounds to help the Hornets to their third win in four games.

Wizards 114 Bucks 109 (OT)

In Milwaukee, Larry Hughes notched 36 points as the Washington Wizards edged the Bucks 114-109 in overtime.

Kwame Brown scored 18 points while Jarvis Hayes and Christian Laettner both added 11 for the Wizards, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

Rockets 86 Pistons 80

In Houston, Yao Ming had 22 points and dominated the boards with 20 rebounds to power the Rockets to an 86-80 win over the Detroit Pistons. Cuttino Mobley and Maurice Taylor both scored 14 points for the Rockets, who picked up their third straight victory.

Mehmet Okur had a team-leading 21 points for the Pistons, who lost for the first time in five games.

Warriors 104 Knicks 92

In Oakland, Brian Cardinal totaled 19 points and eight rebounds to propel the Golden State Warriors to a 104-92 victory over the New York Knicks.

Nick Van Exel added 15 points for the Warriors, who had seven players in double figures. Keith Van Horn claimed 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who slipped to 7-14.