Artest Denies Cavaliers, James Their First Win

Ron Artest wasn’t about to let a rookie steal a victory over his Indiana Pacers -- even if it was LeBron James.

Artest’s three-point play with 11 seconds left lifted the Pacers to a 91-90 victory over James and the winless Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at Indianapolis.

James finished with 23 points -- two short of his best this season -- and had five rebounds, but turned the ball over seven times and missed a layup with five seconds left.

Artest scored 21 points and Jermaine O’Neal had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers, who won their fourth in a row.

The Cavaliers (0-5) appeared to be on their way to their first win of the season when DeSagana Diop banked in a short jumper with 26.7 seconds left to give them a 90-88 lead.

On the ensuing possession, Artest took the ball and drove down the lane, drawing the foul as his scoop shot dropped through. He then converted the free throw.

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Washington 86, Toronto 60 -- The Raptors scored only four points in the second quarter and a franchise-low 23 in the first half at Washington. The Wizards led, 51-23, at halftime and outscored Toronto, 29-4, in the second period -- tying a franchise low for the Raptors.

The NBA record for fewest points in a half in the shot-clock era is 19 by the Clippers against the Lakers in 1999. The Clippers scored three points in the second quarter, a league record for fewest points in a second quarter.

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New York 114, Sacramento 111 -- Allan Houston scored 29 of his 39 points in the second half -- including 14 in the fourth quarter -- to help the Knicks hand the Kings their seventh consecutive loss at Madison Square Garden. New York used an 18-2 run to take the lead in the fourth quarter.

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New Jersey 94, Boston 87 -- Jason Collins set career highs with 19 points and 13 rebounds at Boston, helping Byron Scott become the winningest coach in Net history with 130 victories. Kevin Loughery had 129 wins in five years. Scott is six games into his fourth season.

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Minnesota 100, Orlando 71 -- The Magic shot 38.8% and missed 12 of 26 free throws in losing their fifth straight game -- all at home. Minnesota’s zone defenses held Tracy McGrady to four points on two-for-10 shooting. He didn’t score until there was 6:47 left in the third quarter.

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Detroit 105, Milwaukee 99 -- Chauncey Billups scored 27 points and Richard Hamilton had 24 at Detroit to help the Pistons extend their winning streak to four games. Detroit also got 12 points and 18 rebounds from Mehmet Okur.

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Phoenix 96, Memphis 88 -- Stephon Marbury ended a bad shooting night by scoring eight of his 16 points in the final 5 1/2 minutes, helping the Suns win at Phoenix. He was three for 10 shooting through three quarters, but made five of nine in the fourth.

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Philadelphia 106, Chicago 85 -- Allen Iverson scored a season-high 33 points and had 11 assists to lead the 76ers at Chicago. It was the fourth blowout loss for the Bulls (2-4), who lost to Washington by 25 points in their opener, by 30 to Milwaukee and by 32 to Houston on Monday.

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Golden State 95, Utah 89 -- Erick Dampier had 10 points and 11 rebounds for his career-best sixth straight double-double, helping the Warriors win their third consecutive home game.

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Seattle 100, Portland 82 -- Ronald Murray, filling in for injured star Ray Allen, scored 24 points, and Rashard Lewis had 21 to lead the SuperSonics in their home opener.