Associated Press
The NBA roundup …
CHARLOTTE ó Raja Bell had trouble lifting his right arm, yet started. Gerald Wallace twice got hit near the rib he fractured earlier this season and stayed in the game. Raymond Felton and Emeka Okafor played despite tender ankles.
All four Bobcats reached double figures Tuesday night, and Charlotte proved too tough for the undermanned Chicago Bulls in a 96-80 victory they hope continues an improbable journey to the playoffs.
Bell scored all 18 of his points in the first half before turning into a decoy when his injured biceps proved too painful to shoot, while Felton had 18 points and nine assists in Charlotte’s season-high fourth straight win.
“We’ve got a lot of tough guys on this team. Raja, Gerald Wallace, that says a lot,” Felton said. “I commend those guys, but I’m the same way.”
After winning the final three games on their West Coast trip, the Bobcats returned home and moved within two games of eighth-place Milwaukee, which lost at home to New Jersey. They also secured the season tiebreaker over the Bulls, who are also in that logjam for the final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference.
“A big win for us,” said Bell, who decided about 40 minutes before tipoff that he could play. “Fourth in a row, first game back off a road trip. Sometimes young teams have a tendency to have a kind of a hangover when you get back. But we came out against a team we’re jockeying with position with right now and we desperately wanted that tiebreaker.”
Magic 111, Suns 99
ORLANDO, Fla. ó Dwight Howard had 21 points and eight rebounds in a bruising battle with Shaquille O’Neal, and Orlando’s new All-Star center get the best of it’s first star big man.
O’Neal finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, outmuscling his first NBA team for most of the night before he lost his cool late, again drawing boos by the Orlando crowd. His technical foul with 3:38 left contributed to nine straight points for the Magic that gave Orlando a 10-point lead to put the game out of reach.
Pistons 100, Nuggets 95
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. ó Detroit fans rose to their feet for a former favorite, then had a reason to cheer the current Pistons, too.
Chauncey Billups scored a season-high 34 points in his return to the Palace, but the Pistons came away with the 100-95 victory Tuesday night against the Carmelo Anthony-less Denver Nuggets.
Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points for the Pistons and four of his teammates scored at least 16.
Rockets 107, Raptors 97.
HOUSTON ó Carl Landry matched a career high with 22 points, Luis Scola added 20 points and 16 rebounds and the Houston Rockets extended their home-court winning streak to 10 games.
Nets 99, Bucks 95
MILWAUKEE ó Brook Lopez scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Jarvis Hayes hit five 3-pointers to lift the New Jersey Nets to a 99-95 win over Milwaukee.
Warriors 118, Timberwolves 94
MINNEAPOLIS ó Stephen Jackson had 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists to lead Golden State.