O’Neal, Heat Starters Crush Kings

Shaquille O’Neal’s birthday party started a little early.

O’Neal and many Miami Heat teammates were headed to South Beach for a bash Friday night, after getting double-digit scoring from all five starters and beating the slumping Sacramento Kings, 104-83.

Dwyane Wade had 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. O’Neal scored 18 points, giving him 23,177 for his career and tying him with Adrian Dantley for 17th in NBA history. Eddie Jones had 17 points and was five for five from three-point range for Miami, which won its fourth straight overall and ninth in a row at home.

“I think we played pretty good defense overall,” said O’Neal, who turns 33 on Sunday. “We took care of the ball. We got a lot of guys involved.... If we play like that, we should be on our way. We just need to do what we’re supposed to do and maintain that toughness at home.”

O’Neal, from the bench, even joined in the sellout crowd’s chant of “We want Zo!” And they got their wish: Alonzo Mourning made his formal homecoming, scoring four points and adding four rebounds in the final 3:37. Mourning wore a home Heat uniform for the first time since the end of the 2001-02 season after rejoining the club this week.

Mike Bibby had 22 points and seven assists for Sacramento, which capped a six-game trip by losing for the 10th time in its last 14 games.

San Antonio 102, Chicago 99 -- Tim Duncan made an 18-foot jumper with 38 seconds left to break a tie, and Manu Ginobili made four free throws to help the Spurs hold on at San Antonio.

The Bulls rallied from a 17-point deficit in the third quarter to take a 94-92 lead on a corner jumper by Ben Gordon with 2:05 left.

Tony Parker scored 25 points and had eight assists for San Antonio. Ginobili had 19 points, 13 of them in the second half.

Philadelphia 98, Cleveland 89 -- Chris Webber had his best performance in four games with the 76ers, scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in a win at Philadelphia.

Allen Iverson led Philadelphia with 31 points, and Samuel Dalembert had 15. The 76ers are 2-2 in four games with Webber in the lineup after the trade that sent him from Sacramento to Philadelphia.

LeBron James led Cleveland with 34 points, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 points and 11 rebounds. The Cavaliers have lost five straight.

Boston 104, Charlotte 84 -- Antoine Walker and Ricky Davis each scored 18 points, and Gary Payton had 10 in his return to the Celtic lineup at Boston.

Boston is 4-0 since Walker returned to the team last week in a trade with Atlanta.

Payton, who re-signed Friday after being waived by Atlanta on Tuesday, played 21 minutes.

Indiana 106, Portland 97 -- Reggie Miller and Stephen Jackson scored 24 points each at Portland, Ore., and the Pacers spoiled Trail Blazer Coach Kevin Pritchard’s debut.

The Pacers, playing only hours after All-Star Jermaine O’Neal was put on the injured list because of a sprained right shoulder, ended a three-game losing streak.

Pritchard took over as interim coach this week when the team unexpectedly fired Maurice Cheeks.

Seattle 95, Detroit 87 -- Jerome James put up season highs with 16 points and seven rebounds at home to help the SuperSonics withstand a tough night on the perimeter at Seattle. Ray Allen shot three for 17 and Rashard Lewis six for 14.

The Pistons, whose eight-game winning streak ended Thursday night in Phoenix, hadn’t lost consecutive games since a four-game losing streak from Jan. 18-24.

New Orleans 92, Utah 85 -- Chris Andersen had his second straight double-double, and the Hornets’ win at New Orleans gave them a rare two-game winning streak.

With guard Dan Dickau failing to score in double digits for the first time in 22 games, Andersen had 12 points and 11 rebounds in a reserve role for New Orleans.

Minnesota 103, Milwaukee 97 -- Wally Szczerbiak scored 28 points and Kevin Garnett 25 to help the Timberwolves overcome a double-digit deficit at Minneapolis.

Anthony Carter had a season-high 13 assists for the Timberwolves, who trailed by as many as 16 points and were behind, 85-75, with 10:21 left.

Kevin McHale improved to 4-4 as the Timberwolf coach.

Orlando 111, New York 89 -- Grant Hill had 29 points and rookie Dwight Howard had 20 points and 15 rebounds at Orlando, Fla., to help Magic end the Knicks’ three-game winning streak.

Hill scored 13 points during an eight-minute run in the third quarter. He punctuated the run with a three-pointer that gave Orlando an 88-63 lead with 1:41 left in the quarter.

Golden State 103, Washington 90 -- Jason Richardson scored 16 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter on the road for the Warriors. Richardson made a three-pointer with 1:57 left to give the Warriors a 103-84 lead.

Memphis 86, Toronto 75 -- Shane Battier scored 12 of his career-high 33 points in the fourth quarter to help Memphis rally at home for Coach Mike Fratello’s 600th career victory.