The Milwaukee Bucks made the Phoenix Suns play their game. The Bucks still lost.
"They got us into a slow-down game, and we didn't seem to have a lot of energy, but we were able to grind it out," Kevin Johnson said Monday night after his 32 points led the Suns to a 112-104 win. "In an 82-game season, you can't play perfect every night."Charles Barkley had 28 points and a season-high 21 rebounds, and Dan Majerle's 3-pointer with 3:19 to go broke a 96-96 tie and put the Suns up for good. Majerle finished with 19 points.
"I don't know if we were clicking on all cylinders, but I'm going to give them some credit," Barkley said.
Phoenix beat the Bucks 117-98 eight days ago, contributing to the Bucks' 1-8 record at the Bradley Center. But Todd Day made sure the score was more respectable in Phoenix, where the Suns are 8-0.
Day scored 14 of his 21 points the second quarter.
"Their superstars took over down the stretch," Day said. "They made some tough moves, but we feel like we got some respect tonight by playing one of the best teams as well as you can play them."
Ken Norman and Blue Edwards scored 20 points each, and Eric Murdock had 15 points and 15 assists, but they weren't able to prevent the Suns' seventh straight victory in the series.
The Bucks had nine more field goals , shooting 59.2 percent, but Phoenix was 37 of 45 from the free-throw line to 10 of 17 for Milwaukee and won its sixth straight, stopping a two-game win streak on the road for the Bucks.
"When you come to Phoenix, you're going to have to guard Charles Barkley, and he is a star in this league. He is going to get to the free-throw line, I guess. They made 37 foul shots; we made 10. That is huge," Bucks coach Mike Dunleavy said.
Nets 110, Heat 105 (2 OT)
At East Rutherford, N.J., Kenny Anderson had 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, and Kevin Edwards scored a season-high 28 against his former team.
Anderson was playing with a sore left wrist. It's the same wrist he broke last season when he missed the final 27 regular-season games and the playoffs.
"It hurt the whole game. It still hurts. But I just said `later for this.' A little pain can't kill me," he said.
Anderson clinched the triple-double with an assist on a lane jumper by Armon Gilliam with 35 seconds remaining to make it 107-103. After Bimbo Coles scored for Miami, Anderson penetrated and drew the defense off Chris Morris, passed outside and watched Morris make a 3-pointer for his only points of the game.
Celtics 112, 76ers 107
At Boston, Dee Brown was 14-of-19 from the field and scored a career-high 35 points.
In four games since getting his previous career-high of 32, Brown made just 9 of 34 shots and scored 23 points.
He made three shots against the 76ers in just 77 seconds, erasing Philadelphia's only lead, 59-57, and putting Boston ahead 63-59 with 4:46 left in the third quarter.
Those baskets began a 16-4 run that he finished with four points as Boston took a 73-63 lead with one quarter to go. The Sixers got no closer than four the rest of the way.