Posted on: Saturday, March 5, 2005
Ex-'Bow Carter shines
Associated Press
Wally Szczerbiak has found a running partner in Anthony Carter.
Szczerbiak scored 28 points, and Carter had a season-high 13 assists to help the host Minnesota Timberwolves overcome a double-digit deficit to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 103-97 last night.
"I've been longing to play with a point guard like Anthony Carter (a University of Hawai'i alum) my whole career," said Szczerbiak, who also had nine rebounds. "He gets it up the floor real quick.
"It's something special when you have lines of communication without having to communicate."
Kevin Garnett had 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Timberwolves, who trailed by as many as 16 points and were behind 85-75 with 10:21 left.
But, it was the bench players — Szczerbiak, Carter and Fred Hoiberg (11 points) — who keyed the comeback.
"They saved the game," Garnett said after the reserves scored 53 points. "They came in with energy, started to run and motivated the first group."
The game was tied it at 86 and again at 90 before Hoiberg hit a 3-pointer and Garnett had a dunk to make it 95-90 with 2:46 left. The Bucks could not get closer than four points the rest of the way.
76ers 98, Cavaliers 89: Chris Webber had his best performance in four games with Philadelphia, scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Allen Iverson led host Philadelphia with 31 points. The 76ers are 2-2 in four games with Webber in the lineup following the trade that sent him from Sacramento to Philadelphia. LeBron James led Cleveland with 34 points.
Celtics 104, Bobcats 84: Antoine Walker and Ricky Davis each scored 18 points, and Gary Payton added 10 in his return to host Boston's lineup. Boston is 4-0 since Walker returned to the team last week in a trade with Atlanta. Payton, who re-signed yesterday after being waived by Atlanta on Tuesday, played 21 minutes. He was traded to the Hawks last week in the deal that brought Walker back to Boston.
Pacers 106, Blazers 97: Reggie Miller and Stephen Jackson scored 24 points each, and visiting Indiana spoiled Portland coach Kevin Pritchard's debut. The Pacers, playing just hours after All-Star Jermaine O'Neal (see story at right) was placed on the injured list because of a sprained right shoulder, snapped a three-game losing streak.
Heat 104, Kings 83: Dwyane Wade scored 22 points and Miami made Alonzo Mourning's formal homecoming a good one. Shaquille O'Neal had 18 points, giving him 23,177 for his career and tying him with Adrian Dantley for 17th in NBA history. Eddie Jones had 17 points — including a perfect 5 for 5 night from 3-point range — in Miami's fourth straight victory. Mourning, who rejoined the Heat this week, played the final 3:37 and finished with four points and four rebounds.
Magic 111, Knicks 89: Grant Hill scored 29 points and rookie Dwight Howard added 20 points and 15 rebounds to help Orlando snap visiting New York's three-game winning streak.
Warriors 103, Wizards 90: Jason Richardson scored 16 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and also had eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks for visiting Golden State.
Grizzlies 86, Raptors 75: Shane Battier scored 12 of his career-high 33 points in the fourth quarter to help host Memphis rally for coach Mike Fratello's 600th career victory.
Hornets 92, Jazz 85: J.R. Smith and P.J. Brown each scored 14 points to help New Orleans snap visiting Utah's three-game winning streak.
Spurs 102, Bulls 99: Tim Duncan made an 18-foot jumper with 38 seconds left to break a tie, and Manu Ginobili added four late free throws for host San Antonio. Duncan finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds.
Lakers 108, Mavericks 103: Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 40 points in the final 2:15, Caron Butler had 20 points and host Los Angeles snapped a four-game losing streak.
SuperSonics 95, Pistons 87: Rashard Lewis scored 18 points, and Jerome James had season highs of 16 points and seven rebounds at Seattle.
