Carroll Wins 1st, Sloan Wins 900th

Coach John Carroll of the Boston Celtics has a long way to go to catch counterpart Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz.

The Celtics ended a six-game losing streak with a 110-80 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at Philadelphia, giving Carroll his first victory. Carroll, who took over as interim coach Jan. 27 when Jim O’Brien resigned, had lost his first five games.

“It wasn’t just the first win, it was the quality of the game,” Carroll said. “I just enjoyed watching our guys play basketball the way I had hoped they could play over the last week. They finally put it together and didn’t look back. It’s just great for the guys. I like to see them rewarded.”

In Phoenix, the Utah Jazz ended a four-game losing streak with a 96-92 victory over the Suns to give Sloan his 900th victory.

Sloan, in his 16th season with the Jazz, is the eighth NBA coach to achieve 900 victories.

Sloan trails only Lenny Wilkens, Larry Brown and Don Nelson in victories among active coaches, and his .623 winning percentage is the best of the four.

“I’ve always felt like something like that belongs to our franchise and our coaches rather than to just one individual,” he said, “because I certainly wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the guys who work with us.”

Dallas 111, Detroit 108 -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 40 points, nine in the final 6:40, and the Mavericks rallied to defeat the Pistons at Dallas.

Steve Nash added 29 points, 11 assists and made six consecutive free throws in the final 18.5 seconds to help the Mavericks win for the 12th time in 14 games.

Chauncey Billups scored 17 points for the Pistons, who lost their third in a row.

Washington 106, Cleveland 88 -- Gilbert Arenas scored 26 points and Jerry Stackhouse had 19 and the Wizards stopped an 11-game road losing streak with a victory at Cleveland.

Washington shut down Cavalier rookie LeBron James, who scored a season-high 38 points a week ago against the Wizards. James had 14 points.

Milwaukee 107, New Orleans 97 -- Michael Redd scored 25 points to help the Bucks win at Milwaukee.

Brian Skinner added 17 points for Milwaukee, which never trailed and led by as many as 26 in improving to an Eastern Conference-best 20-5 at home.

Jamaal Magloire led the Hornets with 20 points.

Houston 86, Atlanta 77 -- Cuttino Mobley scored 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and the Rockets overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat the Hawks at Atlanta.

Steve Francis led the Rockets with 24 points to help Houston extend its winning streak to three games.

New York 76, Miami 64 -- Stephon Marbury scored all 16 of his points in the first half, and the Knicks held the Heat to a season-low point total at Miami.

New York extended its winning streak to four games.