Miller, Pacers Suffer Through Bad Air Day

For the Indiana Pacers, consecutive loss No. 6 ended with an airball by Reggie Miller.

Walter McCarty made the go-ahead three-point basket with 24.9 seconds left, and the Boston Celtics extended the Pacers’ longest winless streak in 10 years with a 71-69 victory Wednesday night at Boston.

After McCarty’s three-pointer gave Boston a 69-67 lead, Jermaine O’Neal, who led the Pacers with 31 points and 13 rebounds, missed two free throws with 10.2 seconds left. In the last 10 seconds, Paul Pierce and McCarty each converted one free throw before Miller shot an airball at the buzzer despite a wide-open look.

Ron Artest did not travel with the Pacers after being suspended for undisclosed disciplinary reasons by Coach Isiah Thomas.

New Jersey 105, New York 76 -- Jason Kidd scored 21 points and the Nets ended a season-high three-game losing streak by shutting down Allan Houston at East Rutherford, N.J. Houston, who scored 28 points in a victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, was held to six points.

Phoenix 118, Milwaukee 112 -- Stephon Marbury scored 41 points, including 35 in the second half at Milwaukee, to help the Suns end a four-game losing streak. Trailing 100-99, Marbury made two jumpers, and Dan Langhi made one to give Phoenix a 105-100 lead with 3:47 left.

New Orleans 91, Miami 82 -- Jamal Mashburn had 18 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists at New Orleans to lead the Hornets to their fifth victory in six games. New Orleans took the lead for good with a 13-2 third-quarter run that began when Mashburn scored inside and ended when he made a turnaround jumper.

Minnesota 92, Utah 85 -- Kevin Garnett scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and had 17 rebounds at Minneapolis to lead the Timberwolves to their 15th consecutive home victory. Garnett’s layup with 1:40 left put Minnesota ahead to stay, 83-81, allowing the Timberwolves to avoid a season sweep by the Jazz.

Seattle 93, Atlanta 76 -- Ray Allen scored 21 points in his second home game with his new team, helping the SuperSonics defeat the Hawks. The game was decided during a nine-minute stretch at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth when the Hawks were held without a field goal.

Portland 94, Denver 84 -- Ruben Patterson scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and Antonio Daniels also had 15 points to help the Trail Blazers end a six-game losing streak at Denver. Daniels made a three-pointer to start a game-deciding 9-0 run as the Trail Blazers won in Denver for the first time since Nov. 12, 1999.

Philadelphia 111, Memphis 107 -- Allen Iverson scored 34 points and Eric Snow had his first career triple-double with 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds at Philadelphia to lead the 76ers to their seventh victory in a row.

Chicago 103, Toronto 95 -- Jalen Rose scored 14 consecutive points in the third quarter on his way to 26 to lead the Bulls over the Raptors at Chicago. The Bulls trailed, 63-52, with 5:26 left in the third quarter before Rose’s scoring binge.

*

Washington’s Michael Jordan sat out practice because of a stiff right thigh and could miss tonight’s game between the Wizards and Houston Rockets.... Dallas forward Eduardo Najera was suspended for one game by the NBA for bumping a referee during a loss to Orlando.