pointer and three free throws in the final minute to lift the New Orleans Hornets over the Orlando Magic 98-97 in the NBA on Tuesday. Chris Paul had 19 points and 12 assists for the Hornets, and David West had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu had 26 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Orlando. Rashard Lewis added 24 points and Dwight Howard had 17 points and 15 rebounds. Spurs 116, Warriors 92: At San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 26 points to lead San Antonio over Golden State for its eighth straight win. The defending champions remained second in the Western Conference, just percentage points behind New Orleans. Golden State, in a three-way race with Dallas and Denver for the final two playoff spots, dropped their 20th straight in San Antonio since the Spurs drafted Tim Duncan in 1997. Duncan added 17 points and 12 rebounds and Manu Ginobili, the other member of the Spurs' Big Three, scored 16 points. Baron Davis led the Warriors with 19 points. Nuggets 126, Suns 120: At Denver, Carmelo Anthony grabbed two key rebounds and sank two free throws in the final 27 seconds, sending Denver past Phoenix. The Nuggets pulled into eighth place in the ultra-competitive Western Conference playoff race, a half-game ahead of Golden State, which lost at San Antonio 116-92 Tuesday. And they denied the Suns a chance to move into first place by themselves in the Pacific Division over the idle Los Angeles Lakers. Denver got 31 points from Allen Iverson in avenging a loss at Phoenix 24 hours earlier in which the Nuggets blew a 22-point, second-half lead in a 132-117 loss on Monday night. Kings 99, Rockets 98: At Sacramento, California, Ron Artest scored 30 points, Kevin Martin added 27 and Sacramento dealt a blow to Houston's chances of winning the Southwest Division. The Rockets (49-25) fell 2 1/2 games behind New Orleans and San Antonio in the division race with only eight games remaining, hurting their chances of hosting a first-round playoff series. Tracy McGrady scored 32 to lead Houston, but missed a jumper at the buzzer that would have won it. The Rockets have lost five of eight since a franchise-record, 22-game winning streak. 76ers 108, Nets 99: At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Lou Williams hit three consecutive baskets in the final 3:47, and surprising Philadelphia posted its 20th win in 27 games with a victory over fading New Jersey. Andre Miller had 24 points and 11 assists, while Andre Iguodala added 17 points and 10 assists for Philadelphia. Samuel Dalembert added 15 points and 13 rebounds. The Nets' third straight loss dropped them 3? games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the conference. Vince Carter led with 29 points. Celtics 106, Bulls 92: At Chicago, Ray Allen scored 22 points and Boston moved a step closer to the top seed in the Eastern Conference by beating Chicago. Kevin Garnett scored 20 points and blocked four shots and Paul Pierce added 17 points for Boston, which won its fourth straight and remained six games ahead of Detroit in the conference standings. Pistons 94, Timberwolves 90: At Minneapolis, in the absence of stars Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton who were resting up for the playoffs, rookie Rodney Stuckey scored a career-high 27 points to help Detroit overcome a 21-point deficit and beat Minnesota. Bucks 119, Knicks 115, OT: At Milwaukee, Michael Redd finished with 36 points and Bobby Simmons added a season-high 24 in Milwaukee's overtime victory over New York. __
