O’Neal Sits Out Loss by Heat

Without Shaquille O’Neal filling the lane for Miami on Tuesday night, Ricky Davis was free to fill the stat sheet and lead Minnesota to victory.

Davis had 26 points, a season-high 10 assists and seven rebounds to help the Timberwolves end the visiting Heat’s five-game winning streak, 100-96.

O’Neal was sidelined by a sore right thumb he injured on a dunk attempt Sunday night.

“The moment you relax because Shaq’s not playing, some other tiger comes out of the bag,” Minnesota Coach Dwane Casey said. “We were very concerned about Shaquille, don’t get me wrong, but we were just as concerned about Dwyane Wade and Alonzo Mourning.”

Wade had 35 points and eight assists to lead the Heat, which trailed by as many as 17 points in losing for only the second time in its last 17 games. Mourning had 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Trailing, 98-96, in the final seconds, Miami had a chance, but Wade’s layup was too strong and Mourning’s tip was off the mark.

X-rays on O’Neal’s thumb were negative, but he was listed as questionable for tonight’s game at Detroit.

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Sacramento 105, Seattle 96 -- Ron Artest scored a season-high 34 points to lead the Kings to their 14th straight home victory, the second-longest streak in franchise history.

Mike Bibby had 30 points and eight assists for Sacramento. Ray Allen had 23 points for Seattle.

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Utah 107, Phoenix 99 -- Andrei Kirilenko had 22 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, and blocked four shots in the second half to help the Jazz overcome a 15-point deficit.

Steve Nash had 20 points and 10 assists for Phoenix, which made only 12 of 46 shots in the second half.

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New Jersey 112, Washington 100 -- Richard Jefferson scored 21 of his 27 points after halftime at Washington, and the Nets won their sixth in a row by outscoring the Wizards, 41-30, in the final quarter.

Jefferson made 11 of 15 shots, including four of four in the fourth quarter. Vince Carter led the Nets with 28 points. Washington’s Gilbert Arenas had 25 points and eight assists before fouling out.

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San Antonio 107, Golden State 96 -- Tony Parker scored 29 points, and Tim Duncan had 21 points and 13 rebounds to help the Spurs beat the Warriors at home for the 17th straight time since Feb. 14, 1997.

Derek Fisher scored 27 points for the Warriors.

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Dallas 88, Houston 72 -- Dirk Nowitzki had 28 points, and the Mavericks harassed Yao Ming into his worst game in a month in winning at Dallas.

Houston barely surpassed its season low of 70 points while losing its sixth straight since a four-game winning streak. Yao finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds. It was his fewest points in 15 games, since scoring only six against Phoenix on Feb. 16. He averaged 28 points over the 14 games in between.

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Memphis 105, Indiana 75 -- Pau Gasol led six Grizzlies in double figures with 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists at Memphis, Tenn., in their fourth straight victory.

Jeff Foster and Anthony Johnson scored 15 points each for the Pacers, who had only three points in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter.

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Charlotte 108, Orlando 102 -- The Magic lost its team-record 16th straight road game as Gerald Wallace scored 27 points for the Bobcats.

The second-year Bobcats won their 19th game, one more than last season. Hedo Turkoglu scored 24 points for Orlando.

Toronto 114, New York 109 -- Mike James scored 37 points, one shy of his season high, to help the visiting Raptors win for the fourth time in their last five games.

Channing Frye scored 19 for New York but left in the fourth quarter after spraining his left knee when Toronto’s Andre Barrett fell into him.

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Philadelphia 76er guard Allen Iverson, sidelined four games by a bruised and sprained right foot, practiced and is expected to play tonight against Atlanta. Iverson was hurt on March 12.