JACKSONVILLE, Florida, 7 February 2005 — Vince Carter poured in a season-high 41 points as the New Jersey Nets pounded the Detroit Pistons 107-85 on Saturday, snapping the NBA champions’ five game winning streak.
In his best performance since being traded from the Toronto Raptors, Carter put in a great all-round display, snaring 11 rebounds, five assists and even outscoring the Pistons on his own in the third quarter, 15 to 11.
New Jersey’s other all-star guard Jason Kidd had a memorable night, reaching a career milestone with 14 assists that moved him into 12th on the NBA’s all-time list and surpassing Kenny Anderson as the Nets record holder with 2,364.
Tayshaun Prince had 17 points for the Pistons while Antonio McDyess added 15.
In Cleveland, LeBron James continued his impressive run, hitting for 30 points and handing out nine assists to lead the Cavaliers to a 101-92 win over the Orlando Magic.
After a slow start, James found his range when the Cavaliers needed it most by scoring 18 in the second half.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 14 points, including seven in the fourth quarter to help the Cavaliers break out of a two-game slide.
In Miami, Shaquille O’Neal nailed 26 points and 10 rebounds and Dwyane Wade chipped in with 25 to lead the Heat past the Chicago Bulls 108-97, their fifth win in six games. Michael Doleac also made a contribution, coming off the bench to score a season-high 16 points while Ben Gordon answered for the Bulls with 25.
In Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire drained 32 points and grabbed 15 rebounds while Steve Nash added 26 points and 14 assists, sparking the Suns to a 114-106 victory over the New York Knicks. Shawn Marion contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds to the cause as the Suns collected their seventh win in eight games. Stephon Marbury had 33 points for the struggling Knicks, who have lost 12 of their last 13.
In Washington, Gilbert Arenas had 31 points to power the Wizards to a 112-94 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, snapping a season-high four game losing skid. Arenas, who was ejected from a game in Toronto on Friday for throwing the ball at an official, stuck to aiming at baskets on Saturday and had one of his best outings of the campaign. recording season highs in assists with nine and steals with six.
In Seattle, Ray Allen showed no sign of the flu that kept him out of action for two games, scoring 25 points to lead the SuperSonics past the Charlotte Bobcats 113-99.
The Sonics also got a 23-point contribution from Vladimir Radmanovic and a career-high 21 rebounds from Reggie Evans.
In Denver, Kenyon Martin scored 24 points and Carmelo Anthony added 18 as the Nuggets romped to a 107-91 over the slumping Golden State Warriors, who have won just twice in their last 18 games.
In Portland, Damon Stoudamire had 30 points and eight assists as the Trail Blazers downed the Sacramento Kings 114-108, to record a season best third straight win.
In Salt Lake City, the Jazz got double figure efforts from seven players, led by 18 points from Carlos Boozer, to cruise past the New Orleans Hornets 108-92.
In Atlanta, Jermaine O’Neal scored 38 points and Eddie Gill was the only other Pacer in double figures with 10 but that was more than enough to allow Indiana to ease past the woeful Hawks 84-79.
