Hornets Beat Rockets on Last-Second Shot

The New Orleans Hornets got enough balance throughout their lineup to beat Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets -- barely.

David West was one of six players in double figures and made a jump shot with 1.8 seconds remaining in the Hornets’ 92-90 victory Wednesday night at Oklahoma City.

“I knew I was going to get that shot. It’s a shot I’ve made before many times,” said West, who had 15 points. “I took my time and hit it.”

McGrady scored a season-best 38 and Stromile Swift had season highs with 26 points and 13 rebounds, but the Rockets lost their fourth straight.

David Wesley, who rotated over to defend West’s shot, said the Rockets wanted to make the Hornets take a jump shot and not allow the ball inside.

“I can’t see us defending it any differently,” Wesley said.

J.R. Smith led the Hornets with 16, Rasual Butler had 15 -- 13 in the fourth quarter -- and Desmond Mason scored 13. Speedy Claxton had 14, and rookie Chris Paul scored 11 and added a career-high 15 assists, including on the game-winner by West.

Butler, averaging just 5.3 points, hit three consecutive three-pointers during a 13-1 run that gave the Hornets an 86-77 lead with 4:12 to play. He added another jump shot with 2:22 left for a 90-84 advantage.

“After I hit my first couple of shots, I knew I had it going a little bit,” Butler said.

The Rockets tied it at 90 on two free throws by McGrady with 12 seconds remaining. New Orleans went without a timeout, and Paul drove and found West open for his jumper.

“In the fourth quarter, we really showed our resilience and our confidence in one another,” Hornet Coach Byron Scott said.

McGrady scored 21 points in the first half against Utah on Tuesday night before leaving at halftime when he learned his fiancee had gone into labor.

He had 23 in the first half against the Hornets and finished 11 of 25 from the field.

Minnesota 108, Seattle 95 -- Wally Szczerbiak scored 30 points, and Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves at Minneapolis.

Eddie Griffin had a season-high 22 points for Minnesota and grabbed 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

Ray Allen led the Supersonics with 24 points, and Reggie Evans and Damien Wilkins each had 15. Rashard Lewis scored 14.

Minnesota won for only the second time in eight games despite playing with a banged-up frontcourt. With starting center Michael Olowokandi sidelined by a right elbow injury and backup Mark Madsen limited by a bruised back, the Timberwolves kept a three-guard lineup for most of the game with Garnett and Griffin up front.

Phoenix 104, Washington 99 -- Shawn Marion scored 28 points as the Suns rallied from an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit at Washington.

Marion made 12 of 16 shots and scored nine points in the final period, including an alley-oop dunk, a three-point play and a driving dunk that kept the Suns close after the Wizards took an 88-80 lead.

Steve Nash had 19 points and 16 assists for the Suns, who have won the first two games of a five-game trip.

Caron Butler scored 22 points, Antawn Jamison had 19, and Gilbert Arenas struggled to score 16 for the Wizards, who lost for the first time in four games since moving Butler to the starting lineup.

The game featured two of the five NBA teams averaging more than 100 points, and it didn’t disappoint. Neither team had a double-digit lead, and the Suns avenged a 112-111 loss to the Wizards at Phoenix earlier this month.

Orlando 105, New York 95 -- Grant Hill made several key baskets and scored 26 points, and Steve Francis had 17 points for the Magic at home.

The Magic spoiled a strong performance from the Knicks’ Eddy Curry. Playing in just his second game after missing four straight games with a sprained ankle, Curry had a season-high 29 points and nine rebounds.

However, Curry left in the fourth quarter with a strained right calf.

The Knicks shot just 36%. New York’s reserves outscored its starters, 75-20, helped by Curry and 24 points from Jamal Crawford. Stephon Marbury had five points, shooting 0 for 7 from the field.

Toronto 108, Atlanta 102 -- Mike James scored 28 points and Morris Peterson added a season-high 26 for the Raptors at home in a matchup of two of the NBA’s worst teams.

James also had nine assists and six rebounds for the Raptors, who improved to 2-12 at home. They also beat Miami on Nov 20.

Al Harrington had 25 points for the Hawks, who are 0-2 against Toronto this season. Atlanta has lost in nine of its last 10 visits to Toronto.

Charlotte 93, Chicago 80 -- Melvin Ely scored 20 points and Primoz Brezec added 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead the undermanned Bobcats at Charlotte, N.C.

Despite being without four of their top seven scorers for most of the game because of injuries, the Bobcats forced 25 turnovers and outrebounded the Bulls, 50-38, to win for the fifth time in seven games.

Luol Deng scored 18 points and Darius Songaila added 12 for the Bulls, who lost their fifth straight game, their longest skid since starting 0-9 last season.

The Bobcats, who started with only 11 healthy players, lost starting guard Brevin Knight to a sprained left ankle in the second quarter.

The Bobcats were already without Emeka Okafor (ankle), Kareem Rush (finger), Sean May (knee) and Jake Voskuhl (ankle).

Portland 95, Philadelphia 91 -- Zach Randolph had 28 points and 14 rebounds for the Trail Blazers as they beat former coach Maurice Cheeks’ new team at Portland, Ore.

The Trail Blazers have won three straight for the first time since last February -- when Cheeks was their coach. It was Cheeks’ first visit to Portland since the Blazers fired him in March.

But it wasn’t easy for the Blazers, and the 76ers kept it close until the end. Allen Iverson had 28 points and six assists.

Golden State 111, Boston 109 -- The Warriors’ Derek Fisher took a pass from Baron Davis and drove through the paint for a left-handed layup with 6.2 seconds left at Oakland.

Jason Richardson of the Warriors scored six of his 36 points in the final 4:12, including an 18-foot fadeaway jumper with 1:34 to go.

Davis had 11 points, 12 assists, five steals and four rebounds. Troy Murphy added 17 points for Golden State.

Paul Pierce had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the sloppy Celtics, who committed 23 turnovers.