Hornets Overcome Stoudamire’s 54 Points

Dan Dickau’s breakout season and Baron Davis’ return to form have suddenly made the New Orleans Hornets a much tougher team to beat.

Dickau made six three-point baskets and scored a career-high 25 points, leading the Hornets to their third victory in four games, 112-106, over the struggling Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night at New Orleans.

“I never consciously decided” to start taking three-pointers, Dickau said. “A couple open ones popped up. I just knocked them down. Then I got left wide open a few more times, and if you’re a shooter you’ve got to take it.”

Davis, who returned from a back injury in late December, scored 22 points, including seven key free throws in the last 1:03, to help New Orleans overcome Damon Stoudamire’s 54-point performance.

Stoudamire set a career high and broke Geoff Petrie’s franchise record of 51 points. The Portland star was 20 for 32 from the field and made eight three-pointers (tying the team record that Nick Van Exel set Monday in Philadelphia), including one with eight seconds left to make it 110-106. That came after Stoudamire was fouled on a three-pointer and made all three free throws.

Lee Nailon had 22 points for New Orleans and Chris Andersen had a season-high 15.

Nick Van Exel scored 23 for Portland.

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Philadelphia 106, Toronto 96 -- Allen Iverson scored 19 of his 32 points in the first quarter at Philadelphia to help the 76ers end their three-game losing streak.

Kenny Thomas had 20 points and 14 rebounds, Iverson had 10 assists and Kyle Korver scored 15 points for the 76ers.

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Washington 105, Milwaukee 103 -- Larry Hughes made a driving layup with 0.7 seconds left at Milwaukee to lift the Wizards and put them eight games over .500 for the first time since 1979.

Hughes finished with 23 points, eight assists and five steals. The victory also gave the Wizards their first six-game winning streak in more than three years.

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Detroit 101, Orlando 94 -- Richard Hamilton scored 26 points, and the Pistons held on to beat the Magic at Auburn Hills, Mich., in Grant Hill’s first game there in nearly five years.

Hill scored 17 points, many on mid-range jumpers, similar to the shots he made as a Piston star during his first six seasons in the NBA.

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Boston 106, Atlanta 94 -- Ricky Davis came off the bench to score 30 points, and Paul Pierce had 21 points and 15 rebounds at Boston to lift the Celtics to their seventh win in eight home games.

Former Celtic Antoine Walker had a double-double for the sixth consecutive game by halftime. He finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds and also had eight assists.

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Memphis 109, Charlotte 89 -- Pau Gasol scored 19 points, and James Posey had 17 at Charlotte, N.C., to lead the Grizzlies to their 10th victory in their last 13 games.

Memphis, which started the season 9-15, had six players in double figures, and everyone in uniform scored.

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San Antonio 98, Dallas 95 -- Tim Duncan scored 25 points, Manu Ginobili had 22 and the Spurs got a key offensive rebound from Devin Brown at home to withstand a late rally.

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Seattle 103, Golden State 84 -- Ray Allen scored 22 points and Antonio Daniels had 19 for the SuperSonics at Seattle to hand the Warriors their eighth consecutive loss.