PHILADELPHIA — Marreese Speights had a career-high 24 points and Thaddeus Young scored 25 points to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to their third straight win, 108-91 over the Phoenix Suns last night.

Speights dunked, alley-ooped and slammed some more when he scored 10 straight points in a second-quarter charge that turned this one from a tight game into a fast 14-point lead for the Sixers.

"We did not expect that he would contribute the way he has so quickly," coach Tony DiLeo said of the first-round pick.

Speights fell only a point shy in the first half of matching his career high of 17.

"Marreese Speights was able to show what he can do," 76ers guard Andre Iguodala said.

BOBCATS 94, CLIPPERS 73

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Emeka Okafor had 19 points and 16 rebounds, Vladimir Radmanovic hit three fourth-quarter 3-pointers in his Charlotte debut, and the Bobcats pulled away from the road-weary Los Angeles Clippers to snap a five-game losing streak.

GRIZZLIES 85, HORNETS 80

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — O.J. Mayo had 22 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for his first double-double, while Mike Conley scored 18 and handed out eight assists to lead Memphis over New Orleans. The Hornets were without their top three players in Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler and David West.

BUCKS 124, ROCKETS 112

MILWAUKEE — Charlie Villanueva scored 25 points, grabbed eight rebounds and sparked a second-half run as Milwaukee snapped an eight-game losing streak against Houston.

ELSEWHERE

Timberwolves: Center Al Jefferson, the cornerstone of the franchise's rebuilding plan who has emerged as one of the best post players in the league, will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee, the team announced yesterday. Coach Kevin McHale said Jefferson will likely have surgery to repair the injury in the next week to 10 days.

Cavaliers: Versatile swingman Sasha Pavlovic, filling in as a starting guard recently, could miss six weeks after sustaining a high ankle sprain in the Cavaliers' 101-91 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Pavlovic underwent an MRI yesterday. Tests revealed the dreaded high ankle sprain, which typically sidelines players for at least one month and can linger longer.

Mavericks: Guard Jason Terry had surgery yesterday to stabilize a fracture in his left hand. The team said there is no timetable for when Terry might return.