Backups Snap Pacers Out of Losing Funk

It took some forgotten Pacers to remind Indiana how to win.

Jonathan Bender scored a career-high 22 points and Erick Strickland had 19 points and 11 assists as the Indiana Pacers ended a six-game losing streak with a 101-81 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night at Indianapolis.

Austin Croshere scored 10 of his 14 points during a 26-6 second-quarter run, and Ron Mercer scored 10 for the short-handed Pacers.

“The good thing about this team is we have a bunch of guys that want to take this challenge,” Strickland said.

The Pacers turned to their seldom-used reserves with three starters out of the lineup. Ron Artest was suspended by the NBA, Jamaal Tinsley was tending to personal matters and Brad Miller had a sore left foot.

Indiana also was in a deep collective funk, having lost 12 of 13 games to drop to fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

The Jazz remained in the No. 6 playoff spot in the West, a half game ahead of the Lakers.

Sacramento 119, Toronto 84 -- Chris Webber had 26 points and 10 rebounds at Sacramento and the Kings never trailed in defeating the Raptors.

Sacramento finished 15-0 at home against the Eastern Conference, becoming the fourth team in NBA history to achieve the feat.

Dallas 116, Golden State 114 -- Eduardo Najera made a short jumper with three seconds left at Oakland and the Mavericks prevailed after a back-and-forth fourth quarter.

Michael Finley scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half as the Mavericks ended a two-game losing streak by defeating the Warriors for the 16th consecutive time. Steve Nash added 17 points and 12 assists.

Philadelphia 90, Portland 79 -- Allen Iverson had 22 points and matched a season-high with nine assists at Philadelphia and the 76ers improved to 13-2 since the All-Star break.

Damon Stoudamire had 16 points, Rasheed Wallace scored 15 and Dale Davis had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who turned the ball over a season-high 25 times.

Detroit 90, Washington 80 -- Chauncey Billups scored 25 points and Ben Wallace had a season-high 17 points with 24 rebounds at Auburn Hills, Mich., pushing Michael Jordan further away from his hope of ending his career in the playoffs.

Jordan scored 15 for Washington, which has lost five of seven and is one game behind Milwaukee for the final playoff spot. The Wizards play 11 of their final 17 games on the road.

New Orleans 87, Miami 83 -- Jamal Mashburn scored 21 points and P.J. Brown had 20 at Miami to lead the Hornets to a four-game sweep of the season series. Mashburn and Brown combined for 16 points in the fourth quarter against their former team.

Houston 121, Chicago 91 -- James Posey scored 12 points during a 16-3 run to open the game at Houston and the Rockets were never threatened again. It is Houston’s fourth consecutive victory, matching its longest winning streak of the season.

Atlanta 107, New York 104 -- Glenn Robinson had a three-point play with three seconds left and Shareef Adbur-Rahim scored 33 points to lead the Hawks at Atlanta.