Minnesota’s Playoff Hopes Dealt a Blow

Steve Nash scored 12 of his 28 points in the last nine minutes and the Phoenix Suns ended Minnesota’s five-game winning streak with a 107-98 victory Friday night at Phoenix, delivering a blow to the Timberwolves’ attempt to make the playoffs.

Amare Stoudemire, back after sitting out two games because of inflammation in his left ankle, had 22 points and nine rebounds in the Suns’ fourth consecutive victory, boosting their NBA-best record to 55-17.

The Timberwolves (38-35) fell three games behind Memphis -- four in the loss column -- and 3 1/2 behind Denver with nine games to play in the battle for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

New Jersey 93, New York 91 -- The Nets moved to within a half-game of eighth place in the Eastern Conference, the cutoff for a postseason berth, by beating the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Winning for the eighth time in 10 games, New Jersey passed Orlando in the conference standings and moved a game closer to Philadelphia as both the Magic and 76ers lost.

Dallas 100, Philadelphia 83 -- The victory at Philadelphia was the Mavericks’ fourth in a row, giving them a 7-1 record since Avery Johnson replaced Don Nelson as coach March 19. The 76ers played without Chris Webber, who sat out because of a sprained left shoulder.

Washington 111, Orlando 102 -- Gilbert Arenas scored 31 points and Larry Hughes had 30 for the Wizards, who withstood a fourth-quarter rally at Orlando, Fla. The Wizards led, 93-69, at the start of the quarter, but the Magic scored the first 10 points and eventually outscored the Wizards, 23-4.

Boston 116, Atlanta 100 -- The Celtics raced to a 30-point lead in the first half at Atlanta and then held on to end to their four-game losing streak. The Hawks suffered their 11th consecutive loss, nine at home.

Sacramento 128, Cleveland 109 -- At Cleveland, the Kings set a season high in points and beat the Cavaliers for the ninth time in a row. The Kings routed a team that seemed tired while playing its second set of back-to-back games in five days.

New Orleans 76, Houston 73 -- The Hornets rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit at Houston to beat the Rockets. Houston played without center Yao Ming, who sat out because of a sore right calf.

Denver 102, San Antonio 84 -- Marcus Camby had 15 points, 10 rebounds, eight blocks and five assists at Denver to help the Nuggets win for the 16th time in 18 games. Denver played without forward Kenyon Martin (ribs) for the third straight game.

Seattle 89, Portland 87 -- Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 10 points in the last 5:01, but he missed a six-foot shot with 4.9 seconds to go, and the Trail Blazers lost their ninth consecutive road game.

Toronto 119, Charlotte 107 -- Rookie Emeka Okafor had 29 points and 14 rebounds, his 39th double-double, for the Bobcats at Toronto, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Raptors from ending their two-game losing streak.

Golden State 108, Utah 91 -- The Warriors won in Salt Lake City for the first time in more than 10 years. They had lost 18 consecutive games to the Jazz in Utah.

Memphis 93, Milwaukee 82 -- The Grizzlies, who ended a three-game losing streak, dealt the Bucks their eighth consecutive loss, the last three at Milwaukee.