Bucks 109, Nets 87
Whoever said things can't get much worse must not have spent too much time around the New Jersey Nets. Things are already pretty bad, and there's little relief in sight.
Falling behind by 17 points in the first quarter as they played without their starting backcourt, the Nets lost their ninth straight game Wednesday night, 109-87 to the Milwaukee Bucks.
"It can't get any worse," Nets guard Lucious Harris said, ignoring the fact that New Jersey's next two games are against Phoenix and Dallas — two of the top teams in the West.
The Nets' losing streak is the longest in the NBA this season and the franchise's longest since closing last season with 11 straight defeats.
Stephon Marbury, the NBA's fifth-leading scorer, sat out his second straight game with a sore ankle, but he hopes to play Friday. Kendall Gill, with tendinitis in his right knee, is doubtful for the Nets' next game.
New Jersey already is without starters Keith Van Horn (fractured leg) and Kerry Kittles (knee surgery).
"We have some great players who aren't playing with us right now, so when they get back, it's something to look forward to," Nets forward Aaron Williams said. "As far as losing, there's nothing positive about that. It's up to us to stop it. Teams aren't going to come in here feeling sorry for us."
The Bucks certainly didn't, using a 27-10 run late in the first quarter to open a 17-point lead.
Ray Allen scored 30 points, including five straight midway through the fourth quarter after a comfortable lead dwindled to 12, while Glenn Robinson added 27 points and Sam Cassell had 13 points and 14 assists.
The Bucks won for the fifth time in six games after a 3-9 start.
"We got off to a 1-6 start and everybody panicked, but we're not even 25 games into the season yet," Cassell said. "There's still a lot of basketball left and everything will work itself out."
WARRIORS 125, LAKERS 122 (OT): Golden State's Antawn Jamison and Kobe Bryant of the Lakers each scored 51 points — the first time two players had 50 or more in the same game since 1962 — but the Warriors prevailed in overtime.
Jamison, who went 21-of-29 from the field, also scored 51 in a loss at Seattle on Sunday night. Bryant, who set his previous career high with 43 last week against San Antonio, was 13-of-13 on free throws.
The host Warriors also got 24 points from Larry Hughes. Shaquille O'Neal had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who lost for just the second time in 10 games.
HORNETS 91, PACERS 80: At Charlotte, the Hornets rallied from 10 points down at the start of the fourth quarter to win after coach Paul Silas was ejected and made an obscene gesture at one of the officials.
David Wesley scored 32 points, including nine straight in a fourth-quarter run that gave Charlotte the victory.
HEAT 95, NUGGETS 78: A.C. Green had 16 points and 11 rebounds in a reserve role as the Miami snapped a four-game home losing streak.
Six Heat players scored in double figures. Brian Grant added 15 points, Eddie Jones 14, Tim Hardaway 13, Anthony Mason 12 and Cedric Ceballos 10.
Miami has won a season-high three straight games. The four-game home losing streak was the Heat's longest since they dropped seven straight in 1990.
TRAIL BLAZERS 95, RAPTORS 88: Rasheed Wallace had 20 points and a season-high 13 rebounds as the Portland extended Toronto's problems without Vince Carter.
Damon Stoudamire added 21 points for the host Trail Blazers.
The Raptors have lost four of their five games without Carter, who has a strained left thigh and could return Friday night at Golden State.
Antonio Davis had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Kevin Willis had a season-high 16 rebounds for the Raptors, who also were without Charles Oakley. He served the last game of his three-game suspension for punching the Los Angeles Clippers' Jeff McInnis during a pregame shootaround last week.
PISTONS 112, SUPERSONICS 99: Jerry Stackhouse, the NBA's No. 3 scorer, scored 41 points as Detroit won at Seattle.
Stackhouse, limited to 11 points in a loss Tuesday night in Vancouver, shot 12-for-28 to lead the Pistons past Seattle for the second time in less than a month. He scored 38 points in the Pistons' 101-92 win over Seattle in Detroit on Nov. 12.
MAVERICKS 94, KNICKS 85: Michael Finley scored 21 points, Howard Eisley added 17 and Steve Nash 14 as all five of Dallas' starters scored in double figures.
Dirk Nowitzki had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Hubert Davis added 15 points for the Mavericks, who improved to 4-0 against the Eastern Conference.
Marcus Camby had 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Allan Houston added 17 points for visiting New York, which had its three-game winning streak halted.
CAVALIERS 92, BULLS 88:Andre Miller scored 13 points after taking a knee to the nose in the third quarter, and then iced the game on a pair of free throws with 9 seconds left as Cleveland won at Chicago.
CLIPPERS 93, WIZARDS 88: Lamar Odom and Keyon Dooling combined for 26 fourth-quarter points as the Clippers rallied from a 21-point deficit to defeat host Washington.