NEW YORK, 8 February 2004 — Jamal Mashburn scored 22 points, 12 of them in the fourth quarter, as the New Orleans Hornets defeated the Detroit Pistons 92-81 in National Basketball Association play on Friday in New Orleans.
The Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak with the victory while handing the Pistons their second straight loss.
Baron Davis returned to the Hornets line-up after missing three games with an injured ankle and had 13 points and seven assists for New Orleans.
He provided an immediate lift for the Hornets in the first half, when he scored 11 of his points and added five assists.
P.J. Brown had 13 points and hauled in 14 rebounds for the winners, while Stacey Augmon also chipped in 13 points.
Ben Wallace had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons, had won four in a row before losing their last two games. Detroit managed to shoot just 38.5 percent from the floor.
In Toronto, Jermaine O’Neal scored 20 points and pulled in 14 rebounds to give the Indiana Pacers an 83-77 win over the Raptors. Ron Artest scored 27 points and Al Harrington added 19 for the Pacers, who have won four of their past five games.
Donyell Marshall gave the Raptors 24 points and 10 rebounds while Vince Carter contributed 18 points.
In Washington, Larry Hughes scored 21 points and had 12 rebounds to pace the Wizards to a 112-100 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Gilbert Arenas scored a team-high 25 points while Jerry Stackhouse scored 23 and Kwame Brown added 22 for the Wizards, who won for the first time in three games.
In Boston, Stephen Jackson scored 23 points and Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 22 as the Atlanta Hawks edged the Celtics 100-96. Dion Glover added 16 points to help the Hawks outscore Boston 30-15 in the second quarter for their third win in four games. Paul Pierce put in a team-high 28 points as the Celtics dropped their sixth straight loss.
In Memphis, Pau Gasol scored 27 points and picked up 12 rebounds as the Grizzlies cruised to a 105-85 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. James Posey had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Lorenzen Wright pitched in with 10 points and 10 rebounds and the Grizzlies won their third straight game.
In East Rutherford, Kenyon Martin had 18 points and 15 rebounds in the Nets 120-99 win over the Orlando Magic. Jason Kidd totaled 18 points and 13 assists and Kerry Kittles and Aaron Williams each scored 17 points in New Jersey’s seventh straight win.
In Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett scored 35 points and added 12 rebounds to give the Timberwolves a 103-92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Latrell Sprewell scored 24 points and Sam Cassell added 12 points and 11 assists to push the Timberwolves to their 14th straight home win. Jeff McInnis scored 21 points while Zydrunas Ilgauskas put in 18 and LeBron James scored 14 for the Cavs, who had a five-point lead at the half.
In Houston, Jim Jackson scored 14 points and added 10 rebounds to help the Rockets slide by the Chicago Bulls 82-80. Yao Ming paced Houston with 22 points while Cuttino Mobley added 13 in the Rockets second straight win.
In Phoenix, Rashard Lewis scored 23 points, including a game-winning lay-up with two seconds left in the game, to give the Seattle Supersonics a 107-105 win over the Suns. Vladimir Radmanovic also scored 23 points and added 10 rebounds to help the Sonics to their first win in three games.
In Salt Lake City, Zach Randolph had 19 points and 14 rebounds to help the Portland Trailblazers to an 87-73 win over the Jazz.
Rasheed Wallace put in 16 points as the Trailblazers outscored Utah 48-32 in the second half to claim their sixth win in the past seven games.
In Sacramento, Tim Duncan had 28 points and 14 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Kings 102-94. Tony Parker added 19 points for the defending NBA champions.
In Oakland, Speedy Claxton scored 25 points to lead the Golden State Warriors past the Denver Nuggets 96-87. Erick Dampier added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Warriors.
