Rockets Move Closer to Suns

Cuttino Mobley scored 23 points and Steve Francis had 21 and the Rockets beat the Orlando Magic, 114-93, Sunday night at Houston -- a win that counts as the 500th of Coach Rudy Tomjanovich’s career.

Tomjanovich is on a leave of absence while undergoing treatment for bladder cancer. Assistant Larry Smith is directing the team for Tomjanovich, whose career record is 500-495.

The Rockets moved within a half-game of Phoenix for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Suns lost to the Lakers in overtime.

The Magic lost their fourth in a row despite 28 points from Tracy McGrady. They are seventh in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee.

Minnesota 97, Portland 78 -- Kevin Garnett had 16 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists at Portland and the Timberwolves closed the gap for fourth place in the Western Conference.

The Timberwolves won the season series, 3-1, and pulled virtually even with Portland for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Trail Blazers (47-29) still lead Minnesota (48-30) by .003 percentage points.

Seattle 82, Utah 80 -- The win at Seattle moved the SuperSonics (38-38) to .500 for the first time since Jan. 3. They have won five of their last six and nine of 12 and are two games behind Phoenix for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Jazz were denied a chance to clinch a playoff berth for the 20th straight season.

San Antonio 89, Detroit 83 -- The Spurs won their ninth in a row, but the Pistons lost Ben Wallace. Tim Duncan had 25 points and 21 rebounds at Auburn Hills, Mich., to help them extend the league’s longest current winning streak.

Wallace, the league’s leading rebounder, went down with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee late in the first half when teammate Tayshaun Prince fell into him.

Sacramento 97, Philadelphia 81 -- Chris Webber had 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and the Kings completed their Eastern trip with a 5-1 record. The Kings, who have won four in a row and 10 of 11, are two games behind Dallas for the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference.

Washington 99, Boston 98 -- Michael Jordan had 25 points and 13 rebounds to help keep alive the Wizards’ playoff hopes. Christian Laettner had 13 rebounds and 16 points, including the game-winning jumper with 53 seconds left in overtime. The Wizards are two games behind Milwaukee for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Indiana 90, Miami 69 -- The Pacers closed the third quarter at Indianapolis with a 15-0 run and had their best defensive effort of the season.

They won for the fifth time in six games and moved into third place in the Eastern Conference.

New Jersey 96, Toronto 87 -- Kenyon Martin, in his first game back after sitting out three because of a sprained right knee, had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Lucious Harris added 15 points after being sidelined three games because of a sprained left ankle to lead the Nets at Toronto.

Golden State 106, Denver 99 -- Antawn Jamison scored a season-high 41 points and grabbed 14 rebounds at Oakland to help the Warriors ended a three-game losing streak.