Roundup: Padgett helps Jazz hold off Sixers

PHILADELPHIA -- Scott Padgett scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and the Utah Jazz withstood a late rally by the Philadelphia 76ers for a 107-99 victory in an NBA exhibition game Saturday night.

Padgett scored the last eight points of the game for the Jazz (2-4), who snapped a four-game losing streak.

John Stockton had 15 points, Andrei Kirilenko added 13 and Karl Malone had 12 for Utah. Jarron Collins of the Jazz had all 10 of his points on free throws.

Damone Brown scored 17 points, Keith Van Horn had 15, Todd MacCullough 13 and Allen Iverson had 13 points and eight assists for Philadelphia (1-5).

The 76ers trailed by 13 points after three quarters, but Brown had nine points in the fourth and the 76ers pulled within 97-95 with 2:37 left.

Utah then scored eight straight points with Padgett capping the run with a 3-pointer with 1:30 left that made it 105-95.

Celtics 95, Timberwolves 83

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Paul Pierce scored 27 points in 27 minutes to lead the Boston Celtics over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Pierce scored 10 points in the third quarter when the Celtics (3-2) broke open the game with a 14-2 run.

Kevin Garnett had 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes for the Timberwolves (3-2). Maurice Evans, a rookie from Texas, and Reggie Slater each added 15 points.

Minnesota guard Felipe Lopez sprained his left knee in a first-quarter collision with Pierce. Lopez did not return.

Minnesota played without Joe Smith, Wally Szczerbiak, Terrell Brandon, Troy Hudson and Randy Livingston, all sidelined by injuries. Anthony Peeler wasn't with the team because of personal reasons.

Suns 90, Lakers 84

LAS VEGAS -- Former UNLV player Shawn Marion scored 19 points in the Phoenix Suns' victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Marion was 9-for-16 from the field and had seven rebounds to help the Suns improve to 3-2 in the preseason. Amare Stoudemire added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Phoenix.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers (2-3) with 23 points, and Samaki Walker had 15 points and 14 rebounds.

SuperSonics 79, Nuggets 73

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Rashard Lewis scored 14 points and Gary Payton added 12 in the Seattle SuperSonics' win over the Denver Nuggets.

Vladimir Radmanovic and Reggie Evans each had 11 points, and Evans also had 10 rebounds for the Sonics (2-4).

James Posey led Denver (1-4) with 21 points. The Nuggets committed 29 turnovers, including 12 Seattle steals.

Mavericks 103, Bucks 95

DALLAS -- Michael Finley scored 21 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks over Milwaukee Bucks.

Finley, who missed Thusday's game against Detroit with a sore right knee, scored 11 points in the first quarter as the Mavericks took a 34-20 lead.

Dallas (3-3) went on a 17-3 run over the final 3:26 of the first quarter. Nick Van Exel ended the opening quarter with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Toni Kukoc paced Milwaukee (2-2) with 19 points.

Michael Redd, who was offered a contract by the Mavericks before the Bucks matched the offer sheet on Monday, scored 17 points.

Van Exel added 15 points for the Mavericks.

Shawn Bradley scored all 11 of his points in the second quarter as Dallas took a 60-43 halftime lead.

Anthony Mason made two free throws to bring the Bucks within 65-52 with 8:31 left in the third quarter.

But the Mavericks broke the game open with an 11-2 spurt to take a 76-54 lead with 5:21 remaining in the third. Finley capped the run with two free throws and a three-point play.

Milwaukee did not get any closer than eight points the rest of the game.

Dan Gadzuric had 10 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds for Milwaukee, and Ray Allen and Mike Wilks each had 10 points.

Steve Nash added 10 points and five assists for Dallas.

Milwaukee forward Tim Thomas did not play because of a sprained right ankle. The Bucks were also without Ervin Johnson (sore left knee) and Jason Caffey (back).

Hornets 99, Wizards 92

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The New Orleans Hornets, formerly the Charlotte Hornets, returned as a team, and despite beating the Washington Wizards were overshadowed by some North Carolina Tar Heels.

An announced crowd of 13,076 cheered mightily for the Wizards and rooted for former North Carolina stars Jerry Stackhouse -- who scored 32 points -- and Brendan Haywood while turning their backs to the Hornets, who relocated over the summer. The game was played at Greensboro Coliseum, 90 miles from Charlotte

Even worse, while the Hornets' starters were being introduced, Michael Jordan -- the most famous former Tar Heel of all -- made his way to the bench in street clothes and drew a raucous standing ovation. It drowned out the polite applause the Hornets had been receiving and cemented their status as distant memory in North Carolina.

Juan Dixon, a Washington rookie who played at Maryland, was also well received -- presumably because of his ties to the Atlantic Coast Conference. But those on hand to see the former Tar Heels got a show.

Stackhouse, who said he gave out 60 tickets, had his second strong showing in North Carolina this week. He scored 31 points Tuesday night in a victory over Denver in Fayetteville.

By losing to New Orleans, the Wizards missed a chance to move to 5-0 in the preseason for the first time in franchise history.

David Wesley led New Orleans with 22 points, including a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left that sealed the victory. Courtney Alexander, traded from Washington to New Orleans before the NBA draft, led the Hornets with 21 points.

The game was hosted by the Wizards, but a stat crew failed to show up and Washington's staff was forced to score the game by hand. It made for confusing moments in which referee Joe Crawford made several trips to the sideline to explain rules, make sure baskets had been counted and check on timeouts.

Spurs 81, Heat 68

SAN ANTONIO -- Tim Duncan had 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs over the Miami Heat.

Duncan, the league's MVP last season, was 11-of-16 from the field and blocked five shots in 31 minutes.

Malik Rose added 17 points for San Antonio (3-3), which won for the first time in their new arena, the SBC Center.

Travis Best and Sean Marks each had 11 points for the Heat (2-3). Marks also had eight rebounds.

Miami was without head coach Pat Riley, who was attending to a personal commitment.

The Heat finished 22-of-63 from the field (34.9 percent) and committed 24 turnovers in their lowest offensive output of the preseason.

Best made two free throws at the end of the third quarter to cut the Spurs' lead to 62-50, but that was the closest Miami would get the rest.

The Spurs took their biggest lead, 22 points, on a 16-foot jumper by Danny Ferry with 7:25 left in the fourth quarter.

Pistons 83, Clippers 79

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Corliss Williamson scored four of his 12 points in the final minute as the Detroit Pistons moved to 5-0 with a victory over the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers (3-4) were missing eight players, including nearly their entire regular-season rotation. Andre Miller, Corey Maggette, Lamar Odom, Elton Brand and Michael Olowokandi were among those who sat out.

A pair of 3-point baskets by Keyon Dooling helped Los Angeles to a 72-71 lead with 2:55 left. Chauncey Billups' layup put Detroit ahead to stay at 75-74, then a tip-in by Williamson increased the lead to three points with 51 seconds to go.

Chris Wilcox made one of two free throws to get the Clippers within two points, but Williamson followed with two foul shots at the other end. Wilcox missed and Cliff Robinson hit a pair of free throws to make it 81-75 with 23 seconds to go.

Robinson led the Pistons with 13 points, and Billups added 12. Tremaine Fowlkes had 17 points for the Clippers, Wilcox 15 and Dooling 14.

Los Angeles led 41-39 at the half, but ran into offensive problems in the third quarter. Detroit held Los Angeles to just 12 points, and Fowlkes was the only Clipper to score in the final eight minutes of the period. That, along with a spectacular between-the-legs pass by Billups to set up a dunk by Ben Wallace, enabled the Pistons to build a 56-53 lead after three quarters.

Detroit increased the margin to 65-58 when Jon Barry missed a fast-break layup but managed to grab the rebound and hit a 3-pointer.

Hawks 108, Pacers 99

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Glenn Robinson had 29 points and nine rebounds in the Atlanta Hawks' win over the Indiana Pacers.

Robinson was 12-of-18 from the field after shooting only 20.8 percent in four previous preseason games for the Hawks (2-3). Jason Terry added 25 points and seven assists.

Al Harrington led the Pacers (4-2) with 18 points, and Jermaine O'Neal had 12 points and nine rebounds. Former Alabama star Rod Grizzard, signed by Atlanta on Wednesday after being released by Washington, did not play.

Grizzlies 123, Bulls 99

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Jason Williams scored 13 of his 27 points in the first quarter as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Chicago Bulls.

Former Kansas forward Drew Gooden, the Grizzlies' top draft choice, had 21 points and 18 rebounds.

Pau Gasol added 17 points, Wesley Person had 14 and Shane Battier 12 for Memphis (3-4). Rookie Gordan Giricek had 13 points before leaving late in the third period because of a bruised hip.

Eddy Curry led the Bulls (2-4) with 27 points, Jay Williams had 19, David Graves 16 and Corie Blount 12.

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