Kings Hold Off Rockets

Steve Francis missed a long three-point attempt at the buzzer and the Sacramento Kings held on for a 109-108 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night at Sacramento.

Francis had 38 points and nine assists in an outstanding performance. Chris Webber made two key baskets in the closing minutes, but he missed two free throws with 5.1 seconds left -- nearly allowing the Rockets to get a win at Arco Arena, the NBA’s toughest road arena.

The Kings won their fourth in a row, but they couldn’t stop Francis as Houston steadily cut into Sacramento’s lead in the fourth quarter.

Francis made a three-pointer from a step behind the line with six seconds left, trimming Sacramento’s lead to a point. After Webber’s two misses, Francis’ three-pointer from two steps past midcourt was just short.

Mike Bibby scored 23 points to help the Kings win their 50th game of the season. They are 31-6 at home.

Webber made a long jumper with 1:31 left and an inside shot with 34 seconds to play, but the Kings couldn’t breathe easily until Francis’ magical night ended with a miss.

Philadelphia 112, Toronto 95 -- Allen Iverson helped the 76ers end a two-game losing streak by scoring 32 points, including 14 during the third quarter when the visiting 76ers outscored the Raptors, 31-19.

Iverson, the league’s No. 3 scorer, recovered from two subpar games -- he had only five points in Thursday’s loss to Detroit and made only nine of 27 shots in Saturday’s loss to Atlanta -- to go 14 of 25 from the field. He added seven assists and five steals.

Toronto’s Alvin Williams made a layup to tie it at 71-71 with 5:44 left in the third quarter before the 76ers went on a 15-6 run. Iverson, who had six points and two assists during the run, made a jump shot that gave them a nine-point lead just before the end of the quarter.

Philadelphia maintained control in the fourth quarter and increased the lead to 96-82 when Iverson made a layup midway through the period.

Golden State 113, Washington 107 -- Gilbert Arenas scored a career-high 41 points and Antawn Jamison added 37 points and 10 rebounds as the Warriors spoiled Michael Jordan’s final game at Oakland.

Jordan missed two shots down the stretch, committed a turnover with 22 seconds left and was held scoreless -- missing all four shots -- in the fourth quarter, finishing with 24 points and five rebounds before a sellout crowd of 20,149.

The Wizards dropped 1 1/2 games behind Milwaukee for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

Golden State, looking to make the postseason for the first time in nine years, pulled within 2 1/2 games of Houston and Phoenix for the final spot in the West.

Orlando 96, Miami 74 -- Tracy McGrady made a career-high seven three-point baskets and scored 35 points at Miami to help the Magic win its fourth in a row.

McGrady, who scored 21 points in the first quarter, made 15 of 27 shots and had seven rebounds and five assists. He played only 32 minutes, sitting out the fourth quarter.

McGrady has led the Magic in scoring in his last 40 games. This performance gave him a franchise-record nine straight games of 30-plus points.

During that stretch, McGrady is averaging just under 39 points per game.

Detroit 105, Chicago 82 -- The Pistons are 3-0 against the Bulls this season, and have won 17 of 19 meetings since Michael Jordan left Chicago.

The win at Auburn Hills, Mich., increased Detroit’s Central Division lead to 3 1/2 games over idle Indiana.

Chicago was missing Donyell Marshall, its leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, after he injured his ribs during Saturday night’s win over New York. The Bulls have lost seven in a row on the road.

The Pistons scored 33 points in the third quarter and led by as many as 26. The margin was 82-62 at the end of the quarter. The Bulls never threatened in the fourth quarter.

Cleveland 93, New Jersey 88 -- Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 29 points to help the Cavaliers overcome an early 13-point deficit and beat the Nets at Cleveland.

The Cavaliers ended a three-game losing streak and won for only the third time in 19 games -- with two of those victories coming against New Jersey. Jason Kidd scored 21 points to lead the Nets, but committed a key turnover and missed a free throw in the final 16 seconds.

Cleveland led, 85-80, but failed to score for 4:44 and the Nets tied the score. Ricky Davis ended the drought with a 14-foot jumper to put the Cavaliers ahead to stay, 87-85, with 1:46 left.