Carter Has 23 in Debut for the Nets

Vince Carter is glad he won’t see the Palace of Auburn Hills again this season.

At least not until the playoffs.

Carter scored 23 points in his debut with New Jersey but left in overtime with a cramp in his left hamstring, and the Nets fell to the Detroit Pistons, 100-90, on Monday night.

“I’m OK -- it just cramped up,” he said. “I’ll be fine as soon as I get some fluids into me.”

The game was his first since he strained an Achilles’ tendon in Toronto’s 90-86 overtime loss to the Pistons on Dec. 8. He was traded to the Nets on Dec. 17.

“I guess this is twice here, but I’m sure the cramps would have happened anywhere,” he said.

Richard Hamilton scored a season-best 37 points for Detroit, which overcame a late eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Philadelphia 111, Portland 104 -- Allen Iverson scored 28 points at Portland, Ore. Iverson was questionable until game time because of a sprained finger. He shot two for 12 in the first half but scored 21 points in the second half on six-for-13 shooting.

Seattle 98, Utah 88 -- Rashard Lewis scored 22 points, and Ray Allen had 19 at Salt Lake City as the SuperSonics ended an eight-game losing streak.

Clinging to a 73-72 lead going into the fourth period, the SuperSonics went on a 14-5 run capped by consecutive three-pointers by Lewis and Vladimir Radmanovic.

Miami 116, Atlanta 102 -- Shaquille O’Neal scored 31 points despite playing with sore ribs that required protective padding, and Dwyane Wade had 27 at Miami as the Heat set a franchise record with its 12th consecutive win.

Antoine Walker, Tony Delk and Predrag Drobnjak each scored 16 points for the Hawks, who lost for the sixth time in seven games and fell to 2-10 on the road.

O’Neal wore a sleeveless T-shirt and padding underneath his jersey to protect what a team spokesman described as sore ribs. The team did not immediately disclose the extent of the injury or when it occurred.

New York 119, Orlando 111 -- Stephon Marbury scored 34 points and had seven assists at Orlando, Fla., as the Knicks enjoyed their best offensive performance of the season.

Kurt Thomas, Allan Houston and Jerome Williams each scored 15 points for the Knicks, who set season highs in points and assists (29).

The Knicks led the entire game, opening up a lead as large as 19 points before Orlando got close with a rally in the fourth quarter.

Indiana 100, New Orleans 82 -- Reggie Miller scored 24 points, and Jermaine O’Neal had 16 points and 11 rebounds at Indianapolis. O’Neal was seven for 15 from the field in his second game back after sitting out 15 while serving a suspension.

Washington 106, Charlotte 87 -- Larry Hughes scored 20 points, and Gilbert Arenas had 17 to lead the Wizards at Washington.

Charlotte’s Emeka Okafor scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to extend his streak of consecutive double-doubles to 16. The last active player to have that many during his rookie season was Shaquille O’Neal, who had 15 in a row in 1992-93.

Golden State 104, Denver 101 -- Mickael Pietrus scored a career-high 24 points off the bench at Oakland, and the Warriors won three in a row for the first time this season.

Andre Miller had 21 points and a season-high 14 assists but missed two free throws in the final minute for the Nuggets, who extended their season-long losing streak to six games.