Hornets’ Armstrong Hands Spurs a Stinging Loss

Darrell Armstrong capped his career-best game appropriately -- with a winning shot.

Armstrong scored a career-high 35 points, including a three-point basket from 25 feet with a second left, to give the New Orleans Hornets a come-from-behind 98-96 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night at San Antonio.

“I dreamed about this game all day,” Armstrong said. “I just felt like we had a chance to win.”

Armstrong, who scored 34 points against Philadelphia on Feb. 2, 2001, finished 11 for 21 from the field and made all nine of his free throws.

His winning shot wasn’t his only buzzer beater. He made a 53-foot shot with a second left in the first half to cut the Spurs lead to 11, 52-41.

The Spurs seemed in control when they took a 69-51 lead with five minutes left in the third.

But the Hornets, who dressed only nine players and were without injured guard Baron Davis for the third consecutive game because of a sprained left ankle, rallied behind Armstrong. He scored 13 points in the quarter and his jump shot with 1:37 left capped a 10-2 run that cut San Antonio’s lead to 71-62.

Armstrong’s 16-foot jump shot with 1:19 left tied the score, 90-90.

Tim Duncan, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds, responded by banking in a 15-footer with 20 seconds left to give the Spurs a 96-95 lead and set up Armstrong’s winner.

“[The Hornets] made shots, which helped, but we didn’t make stops down the stretch,” Spur Coach Gregg Popovich said.

Cleveland 95, Philadelphia 87 -- Eric Williams scored 20 points, Dajuan Wagner had 17 and the Cavaliers slowed down Allen Iverson in the fourth quarter to defeat the 76ers at Cleveland.

Carlos Boozer had 15 points and 15 rebounds as the Cleveland improved to 2-1 without LeBron James, who sat out his third consecutive game because of a sprained right ankle.

Iverson scored 32 points -- 21 in the third -- but he didn’t get his first points of the fourth until there was only 33.8 seconds left.

Miami 85, New York 77 -- Eddie Jones scored 26 points, including a jump shot that put the Heat ahead for good with 3:03 left , and had six assists -- the last of which secured the victory with 40 seconds left.

The Knicks were without Allan Houston, who had a sore knee, for the final 14 1/2 minutes and Shandon Anderson’s streak of missed games grew to two as he left Madison Square Garden because of a migraine headache 90 minutes before tipoff. Anderson’s consecutive-games streak ended at 543 Friday night in Atlanta.

Golden State 105, Portland 87-- Jason Richardson scored 31 points, including a team record-tying seven three-point baskets, and the Warriors stopped a 12-game road losing streak by defeating the Trail Blazers.

Richardson matched a team record for three-point baskets held by Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin and Clifford Robinson.

Washington 107, Indiana 96 -- Kwame Brown had a career-high 25 points and nine rebounds at Washington and the Wizards shot 63% in the first half and held on to beat the Pacers.