WASHINGTON -- Mitch Richmond scored 27 points as the Washington Wizards beat the Houston Rockets 103-92 Sunday, ruining Steve Francis' homecoming to the Washington area.
The Wizards took the lead for good when they scored the final seven points of the first half and the first nine points of the third quarter to take a 58-42 lead two minutes into the second half. The win was the Wizards' fourth in five games.Francis, who played at Maryland, led the Rockets with 21 points and seven assists. It was the fifth straight road loss for the Rockets and their 16th straight when trailing after three quarters.
CLIPPERS 103, CELTICS 100: At Los Angeles, Maurice Taylor scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter as shorthanded Los Angeles beat Boston. Taylor's jumper with 7:05 remaining snapped a 78-all tie and put the Clippers ahead for good.
PISTONS 114, HORNETS 96: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Grant Hill scored 30 points and Jerome Williams added a career-high 21 rebounds to help Detroit beat Charlotte.
RAPTORS 98, CAVALIERS 95: At Cleveland, Vince Carter scored 36 points, including a decisive 3-pointer with 51 seconds left, to lead Toronto over Cleveland.
SIXERS 92, SUPERSONICS 86: At Seattle, Allen Iverson scored 34 points to help lead Philadelphia to a victory over Seattle.
The 76ers scored the last eight points of the game, including Iverson's two clinching free throws with nine seconds left, as they swept the season series.
SUNS 108, WARRIORS 88: At Phoenix, Cliff Robinson scored 25 points in three quarters as Phoenix routed Golden State.
Jason Kidd added 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds as Phoenix improved to 5-2 under new coach Scott Skiles, even though the team is without starters Tom Gugliotta, Penny Hardaway and Shawn Marion.
NETS 103, BULLS 76: At East Rutherford, N.J., sinking to new depths in its sorry season, Chicago tied an NBA record with just three assists, missed at least a half-dozen layups and even sent Dickey Simpkins out with the name misspelled on his uniform Sunday night in a loss to New Jersey.
Chicago (2-22) remained on pace to eclipse the worst record in NBA history -- 9-73 by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers.
BUCKS 93, HEAT 85: At Milwaukee, Glenn Robinson scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Ray Allen added 22 as Milwaukee beat Miami.
KINGS 118, MAVERICKS 111: At Sacramento, Calif., Chris Webber scored 31 points as Sacramento led from start to finish in a 118-11 victory over Dallas.
NUGGETS 109, GRIZZLIES 86: At Denver, Antonio McDyess and Nick Van Exel scored 22 points apiece as Denver matched its victory total from last season.