Bottom of NBA West Playoff Race Heating Up

Bottom of NBA West Playoff Race Heating Up

Published: 3/15/06, 7:06 AM EDT
(AP) - Once Ron Artest arrived, the bottom of the Western Conference playoff race became just as good as the top.

Dallas and San Antonio stayed deadlocked Tuesday night on top of the West with their 50th wins, but there was movement down the ladder when Sacramento vaulted over the Los Angeles Lakers into the seventh spot.

Artest scored 28 points while playing stellar defense on Kobe Bryant, and the Kings rolled through the fourth quarter of their 13th straight home victory, 114-98 over the Lakers.

Mike Bibby had 29 points and seven assists for the Kings (33-31), who have won 14 of 18 and are a half-game ahead of the Lakers (33-32).

"We've put ourselves in playoff position now, we're right there," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "There are expectations, and this is good, but there's no time to relax."

The Mavericks used a big third-quarter turnaround to beat Cleveland 91-87, and the Spurs answered by beating the New Orleans Hornets 96-81.

And forget the talk about not scoreboard watching. The Spurs are paying attention even when games aren't going on.

"I've got no choice but to (watch the standings)," Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. "Every time I walk into the practice facility it's right there, so I know what's going on."

In other games, it was: Toronto 111, Philadelphia 97; Miami 121, Utah 83; Washington 119, Charlotte 114; Memphis 93, Boston 76; Chicago 95, Portland 66; and Phoenix 129, Seattle 120.

San Antonio's victory knocked the Hornets further from a spot. The Hornets have dropped a season-high seven straight and are a game behind the Lakers.

Meanwhile, the Kings have passed them both with their spirited play since acquiring Artest at the end of January. Even when Sacramento had one of the league's best offenses, it couldn't get past the Lakers in the postseason because it lacked the defensive presence that Artest provides.

"Sacramento has added a player in the mix that is everything that they weren't when we played them in the playoffs," Bryant said. "The guy plays defense first, and now Sacramento has become much more aggressive on defense."

Bryant scored 30 points, but Artest made him work for them.

"Ron gets us going," said Bibby, who hit three of his five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. "You always get up to play the Lakers, but Ron fighting Kobe for every bucket just makes it better."

Mavericks 91, Cavaliers 87

At Dallas, the injury-depleted Mavs erased a 19-point deficit by holding Cleveland to only eight third-quarter points - the fewest they've ever allowed in any quarter - and gave Avery Johnson his record 66th victory over his first 82 games in charge.

Dirk Nowitzki finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas. LeBron James had 36 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland, which lost its third straight game overall and sixth straight in Dallas.

Spurs 96, Hornets 81

At San Antonio, Tony Parker had 20 points and 11 assists, and Brent Barry made four 3-pointers and all six shots from the floor.

The Hornets (31-32) are 2-9 since the All-Star break and have fallen below .500 for the first time since Jan. 28.

Heat 121, Jazz 83

At Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 19 of his 25 points in the first quarter, and the Heat won for the 12th time in 13 games.

Alonzo Mourning had a season-high 19 points, James Posey added 16 and Shaquille O'Neal scored 13 points in 17 minutes for Miami, which posted the fourth-largest margin of victory in franchise history.

Suns 129, SuperSonics 120

At Seattle, Tim Thomas shot 10-for-11 and scored 23 points off the bench, Shawn Marion scored 24 points with 11 rebounds, and Phoenix won for the 13th time in the last 15.

Raptors 111, 76ers 97

At Philadelphia, Chris Bosh scored 31 points and Darrick Martin had a season-high 18 points and 12 assists.

Playing without the injured Allen Iverson, the Sixers (31-32) lost for the fourth time in five games and fell 3 1/2 games behind Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey.

Wizards 119, Bobcats 114

At Charlotte, N.C., Antawn Jamison had 35 points and 16 rebounds, Gilbert Arenas scored 34 points and Caron Butler added 25.

Grizzlies 93, Celtics 76

At Memphis, Tenn., Jake Tsakalidis scored a season-high 19 points and matched his career high with 16 rebounds, and the Grizzlies limited Paul Pierce to a season-low 15 points.

Pierce, the league's sixth-leading scorer, had topped 30 points in 14 of the previous 16 games, but was limited to 12 points through the first three periods.

Bulls 95, Trail Blazers 66

At Chicago, Ben Gordon scored 23 points, and the Bulls used their best defensive effort of the season to win consecutive games for the first time this month.
credit BellSOuth