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Kings’ Chances Swatted by Suns

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From Associated Press

Amare Stoudemire blocked a shot by Brad Miller with less than a second remaining that would have tied the game, and the visiting Phoenix Suns beat the Sacramento Kings, 125-123, in a thrilling matchup of the Pacific Division’s top two teams Tuesday night.

Miller, Chris Webber and Mike Bibby immediately began yelling at official Bernie Fryer, calling for goaltending. But several replays showed it was a clean block.

Steve Nash scored a season-high 33 points with 17 assists as the Suns ended an eight-game losing streak in Arco Arena to win for the eighth time in their last nine games.

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Webber had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his second triple-double in as many games.

Chicago 107, Dallas 100 -- Luol Deng had 30 points at Dallas to help spoil Maverick Coach Don Nelson’s return from a 10-game absence following shoulder surgery.

Ending a three-game losing streak the Bulls won for the 23rd time, matching last season’s total, and moved over .500 (23-22) in February for the first time since Michael Jordan’s last season in 1998. Defeating Dallas was another first since the Jordan era. Chicago had lost 13 in a row to the Mavericks and hadn’t won in Dallas since Nov. 29, 1996.

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Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points for the Mavericks.

Memphis 108, Minnesota 96 -- The Timberwolves lost their sixth in a row and dropped below .500 (24-25) for the first time this season as the Grizzlies led by as many as 29 points at Memphis, Tenn.

Lorenzen Wright had 18 points and 12 rebounds, leading six Grizzlies in double figures.

The Timberwolves’ futility included a season-high 22 turnovers and no scoring from backcourt starters Sam Cassell and Trenton Hassell. Cassell was limited to seven minutes after his right hamstring tightened.

San Antonio 104, Charlotte 85 -- With Tim Duncan sidelined for the first time this season by a sprained ankle, Tony Parker scored 20 points and the Spurs led by as many as 27 at Charlotte, N.C.

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Cleveland 104, Toronto 91 -- Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 23 points and LeBron James had 15 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists as the Cavaliers opened an early 19-point lead to win at Cleveland.

Golden State 113, Orlando 109 -- Jason Richardson scored 11 of his 32 points in the final 3:24 to help the Warriors end a 10-game road losing streak. Golden State also ended an 11-game losing streak in Orlando dating to 1992. Grant Hill led Orlando with 28 points.

Milwaukee 121, Boston 97 -- Mike James scored a career-high 28 points, including eight three-pointers, as the Bucks turned a 78-46 halftime lead into an easy victory at Milwaukee. Paul Pierce had only seven points, 15 below his average, for Boston.

Denver 97, Utah 87 -- Earl Boykins came off the bench to finish with 20 points, outscoring all five Jazz starters, and Carmelo Anthony had 25 points in a victory at Denver.

Mehmet Okur had 21 points for Utah, which got only 19 points combined from its starting five.

Seattle 108, New Orleans 91 -- Ray Allen scored 26 points at Seattle to help the SuperSonics hand the Hornets their sixth loss in a row.

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