LOS ANGELES, 30 November 2004 — All the missing bodies final caught up to the suspension-weakened, injury-depleted Indiana Pacers.
Rashard Lewis scored 22 points, while Ray Allen had 19 points and a season-high nine assists as the Seattle SuperSonics bounced the visiting Pacers, 103-95 in a showdown of conference leaders.
“We just tried to push the ball and keep pressure on them,” Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. “We knew they had a short bench and hoped that would be a factor. I thought the second half, they looked like they were a little fatigued.”
Vladimir Radmanovic and Antonio Daniels added 14 points apiece for Western Conference-leading Seattle, which hit 11-of-23 3-pointers en route to improving its NBA best record to 13-2 record.
Indiana’s James Jones poured in 17 of his career-high 27 points in the fourth quarter, including five of six 3-pointers. But it wasn’t enough as the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana (10-4) had its three-game winning snapped.
The Pacers dropped to 3-2 since losing their best players — Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson — to harsh suspensions for their parts in a Nov. 19 brawl with fans at Detroit. They were also without injured starters Reggie Miller, Jeff Foster and top reserve Scot Pollard.
Jones’ hot shooting kept the Pacers close, and Jamaal Tinsley’s 3-pointer, drew them to within 93-89 with 3:55 remaining. But the Sonics went on a game clinching 7-0 run. Daniels hit a jumper, Luke Ridnour drilled a 3-pointer and Lewis had a layup, that widened the gap to 100-89 with 72 ticks remaining.
Miami Heat 106 Boston Celtics 104: Dwyane Wade had 25 points and nine assists while Shaquille O’Neal collected 21 on a perfect 9-of-9 field goal shooting, to go along with 13 rebounds, helping the Heat hold off the visiting Celtics. Damon Jones scored half his 16 points in the fourth quarter as Miami (10-5) improved to 9-1 against Eastern Conference rivals.
Raef LeFrentz tallied a season-high 21 points in Boston’s fourth straight loss. With a chance to force overtime, Ricky Davis missed a baseline jumper at the final buzzer.
Portland Trail Blazers 83 New Jersey Nets 71: Zach Randolph had 23 points and 15 rebounds, while Derek Anderson added 19 of his 21 points in the second half, helping the host Trail Blazers hand the reeling Nets their ninth consecutive loss.
Richard Jefferson had a game-high 20 points for the Nets, (2-11), whose slide is the longest since the club dropped nine in a row from Nov. 22 to Dec. 6, 2000.
L.A. Clippers 103 Golden State Warriors 91: Elton Brand scored six of his 25 points in the final four minutes and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Clippers rolled to their third straight victory. Bobby Simmons had 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Marco Jaric finished with 16 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who moved to 8-6 ensuring the best start since relocating to Los Angeles 20 years ago. Mike Dunleavy Jr, had 20 points for Golden State, which fell to 0- 3 this season against the Clippers.
Washington Wizards 114 Toronto Raptors 109 (OT): Larry Hughes recorded his first career triple-double with 21 of his season-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, to go along with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, rallying the Wizards over the Raptors.
Gilbert Arenas added 27 points while Brendan Haywood finished with a season-high 22 points and 10 rebounds in Washington’s fourth win in the last five games. Jalen Rose had 29 points for Toronto, which has lost eight of 10 overall, and five straight to Washington.
Minnesota Timberwolves 121 Sacramento Kings 110: Reigning league MVP Kevin Garnett scored 28 points and Sam Cassell added 25 as the visiting Timberwolves stopped the Kings seven game winning streak in a game interrupted by a clock malfunction with just under three minutes remaining.
Chris Webber had 25 points for Sacramento, which fell to 6-1 at Arco Arena.
L.A. Lakers 89 New Orleans Hornets 76: Kobe Bryant had 20 points, and Chucky Atlins added all 17 of his in the second half, helping the Lakers struggle past the injury-ravaged Hornets. Lamar Odom had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who won for the fifth time in the last seven games.
Darrell Armstrong had 21 points and David West equaled his career-best with 15 points as New Orleans fell to a league-worst 1-11 on the season. The Hornets played without injured all-stars Baron Davis (inflamed disc in lower back) and Jamaal Magloire (fractured right ring finger)., who turned 29 last Wednesday.
