TORONTO, 23 March 2005 — Stephon Marbury poured in 31 points and dished out 10 assists as the New York Knicks strolled to an 88-75 win over the San Antonio Spurs, who were minus the injured Tim Duncan on Monday.

The Spurs learned earlier in the day that they could be without their twice NBA MVP and leading scorer Duncan for the rest of the regular season due to a badly sprained right ankle.

Battling for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, the host Knicks took control with a 25-1 run which bridged the third and fourth quarters.

Marbury scored New York’s last 13 points of the third quarter. He received plenty of help from Malik Rose, who hit for 18 points and seven rebounds against his former team.

Devin Brown had 22 points for the Spurs while Tony Parker added 14 points and six assists.

In Charlotte, Brevin Knight registered 19 points and eight assists while rookie Emeka Okafor added 17 points and 13 rebounds as the Bobcats rallied from a 16-point deficit to edge the Orlando Magic 102-97 and stop a 10-game losing skid.

Another team locked in the fight for a spot in the postseason; the Magic wasted a fine 25-point, nine-rebound effort from Grant Hill and a 21-point, 13-rebound performance by Dwight Howard. Orlando played without guard Steve Francis, who sat out the second game of a three-game suspension for kicking a cameraman.

NBA Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson announced the terms of the suspension Monday, after investigating the incident, which occurred in the fourth quarter of the Magic’s loss at Seattle on Friday. Francis, who served the first game of his suspension Saturday, will also miss Thursday’s home game also against the Bobcats.

Former Chicago Bulls forward Dennis Rodman, who incurred a number of fines and suspensions during his notorious career, was fined $25,000 and suspended 11 games for kicking a photographer in 1997.

Francis, however, has not had a history nearly as checkered as Rodman.

In 65 games for Orlando this season, Francis has averaged 21.4 points, 6.9 assists and 5.9 rebounds.

Originally selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the first round (second pick overall) of the 1999 draft out of Maryland, Francis played his first five seasons with Houston after his draft rights were traded to the Rockets in a three-team deal.

In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki picked up 25 points and eight rebounds while Devin Harris recorded a season-high 17 points to help the Mavericks defeat the New Orleans Hornets 103-86, improving to 2-0 under new head coach Avery Johnson.

Michael Finley contributed 16 points to the Dallas cause and Josh Howard 15.

Rookie JR Smith claimed a season-high 27 points for the Hornets, who have now lost 13 straight to the Mavericks and six of their last eight overall.

In Chicago, Eddy Curry returned from injury to score a game-high 24 points and rookie Ben Gordon added 17 to spark the Bulls to a 105-91 triumph over the Atlanta Hawks. Curry, sidelined for three games with a strained hamstring, did most of his damage in the fourth quarter by hitting for 10 points. Kirk Hinrich chipped in with 12 points and 10 assists.

Josh Childress had 17 points and seven rebounds for the last-place Hawks, who have lost five straight games and 18 of their last 19.

In Los Angeles, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette each notched 22 points to power the Clippers to a 96-89 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Shareef Abdur-Rahim had a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds but could not stop the slumping Trail Blazers from absorbing their fifth consecutive defeat.