Bad night to take the court with a seven-game winning streak.
The Utah Jazz and the Orlando Magic both had their seven-game strings emphatically snapped Tuesday night on the road.Orlando's division lead could slip if the rest of its five-game road trip goes as poorly as the first game did. The Magic fell behind by 21 in the third quarter and never got closer than 11 after that.
"I want to congratulate Denver on a well-played game," Orlando coach Brian Hill said. "They had more energy than we did, and they shot the ball better from the perimeter than we expected. We didn't take them lightly. They just played better."
Denver put aside the controversy over Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf's suspension (see story on Page D1) and played one of its best games of the season.
Bryant Stith scored 23 points and rookie Antonio McDyess 19 as the Nuggets knocked off the cold-shooting Magic.
Suns 98, Nets 88
At East Rutherford, N.J., the Suns overcame 10 blocked shots by Shawn Bradley to snap their three-game losing streak.
Bradley, who had eight points and 12 rebounds, had two chances for a triple-double. Charles Barkley blocked his shot with 8:14 left and Wesley Person blocked his last attempt with 4:06 left.
Spurs 106, Warriors 98
San Antonio moved into a tie atop the Midwest Division by winning its seventh in a row. David Robinson went 18-for-20 from the foul line and scored 28 points, and Chuck Person made three 3-pointers in the last 3:40.
Trail Blazers 105, Lakers 99
Rod Strickland had 23 points and 12 assists for the visiting Blazers, who have won three in a row after losing 10 of their previous 12.
Heat 125, Mavericks 118
Miami won its fourth in a row and sent Dallas to its fourth straight loss. Alonzo Mourning had 40 points and 13 rebounds and Rex Chapman hit two key 3-pointers down the stretch.
76ers 118, Raptors 100
At Philadelphia, Jerry Stackhouse scored 34 points, Trevor Ruffin had 24, Tony Massenburg 14 and Ed Pinckney grabbed 15 rebounds for Philadelphia, which converted 22 of 23 free throws.