Philadelphia — At the bottom of the official box score, the Philadelphia 76ers listed a brand new stat: Mutombo 7 intimidations.
Mutombo grabbed 18 rebounds, blocked five shots and altered plenty of others Wednesday night, more than making up for another poor shooting night from Allen Iverson as Philadelphia beat Miami, 79-69.
"We beat a great team and it was a great feeling," Mutombo said. "I'm glad that I'm adjusting very quickly."
The tense, defensive-minded game ended with the fans taunting Miami coach Pat Riley, who questioned the Sixers' loyalty a day earlier for their trade of Theo Ratliff for Mutombo.
The Sixers beat the Heat for the third time this season, and Riley and his big men got a close-up look at what a difference Mutombo can make. Mutombo's presence helped force Miami center Brian Grant to shoot 1-for-13 and forward Anthony Mason to go 1-for-8.
"Even though Dikembe blocked a few shots," Riley said. "I think those guys probably missed 12 or 13 open jumpers."
So did Iverson, who followed up an 8-for-27 performance on Monday by attempting 27 shots and missing 21.
Iverson still finished with 27 points as he went 14-for-18 from the line. Rodney Buford added 16 points, tying his season-high, and Mutombo had 10.
"Our shot selection is getting worse every game," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "As a team we defended great, and that got us the win. We have to get a better understanding of how to play offensively.
"Our effort is phenomenal. We're trying to win and playing hard, but we have to have to have a little more trust and include more people in our offense," Brown said.
Eddie Jones led Miami with 22 points and Tim Hardaway had 20. The rest of the Heat shot a combined 8-for-42.
Philadelphia snapped a two-game losing streak and avoided its first three-game slide of the season.
Iverson scored 13 points in the first quarter but went cold in the second, missing all six of his shots, although the Sixers still managed to build an eight-point halftime advantage as Buford scored 11 points in the quarter.
Kings 122, Warriors 101
Oakland, Calif. Predrag Stojakovic scored 24 points as the Kings beat Golden State, setting a Sacramento record for road wins in a season. Lawrence Funderburke added 18 points as the Kings won their second straight and fifth in the last six. The victory was also their 15th on the road this year, the most since moving from Kansas City and the most overall since the 1982-83 season. Scot Pollard recorded a double-double for the Kings with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Vlade Divac added 14 points and Doug Christie had 13.
Nuggets 107, Lakers 101
Denver Nick Van Exel hit a tiebreaking three-pointer with 37 seconds remaining and added eight straight free throws as Denver overcame 38 points by Kobe Bryan. Antonio McDyess added 14 points and 16 rebounds to help the Nuggets end Los Angeles' four-game winning streak. Denver had lost 11 of 14. Bryant, who returned after missing three games with a sprained right ankle, hit 16 of 28 shots but missed an uncontested 3-pointer after Van Exel had put Denver ahead for good, 99-96.
Van Exel finished with 27 points and had 11 assists, and Raef LaFrentz had 19 points.
Pacers 99, Bucks 86
Indianapolis Reggie Miller scored 24 points as Indiana found its shooting touch in a victory over Milwaukee. The Pacers, who hit just 34 percent in Monday's loss at Charlotte, sank 40 of 71 field goals (56.3 percent) to build leads as large as 25 points in the third quarter.
Despite hitting 8 of 16 three-pointers, the Pacers had to overcome a shooting barrage by Bucks backup guard Lindsey Hunter, who hit five three-pointers in the fourth quarter. He hit four in consecutive possessions that cut the deficit to 91-81 with 6:23 to play. Hunter led the Bucks with 21 points.
Indiana has won five of its last six games to climb back into playoff contention in the Eastern Conference.
Miller hit 10 of 18 field goals and four of nine three-pointers.
Hornets 91, Nets 88
Charlotte, N.C. Jamal Mashburn overcame a horrendous shooting night by scoring 10 of his 23 points over the final 1:51 to lift Charlotte over New Jersey. It was the Hornets' fifth straight victory and seventh in eight games.
Masburn shot just 5-for-20 for the game and had only 10 points at the start of the fourth quarter when Charlotte trailed 70-69.
He continued to miss early in the period as the Nets opened up an 85-73 lead with 6:58 to play. But New Jersey went cold from there, scoring just three points the rest of the game.
Raptors 95, Hawks 88
Atlanta Vince Carter scored 32 points and Antonio Davis added 18 points and 15 rebounds as Toronto beat Atlanta. The Raptors, who never trailed, won their third straight as Carter topped 30 points for the fifth time in six games. One night after his 32 points led Toronto past Cleveland, Carter hit a 12-foot turnaround jumper at the end of the third quarter to keep the Hawks down 75-70.
Timberwolves 111, Pistons 100
Minneapolis Terrell Brandon scored 23 points and Wally Szczerbiak added 22 as Minnesota beat Detroit. Kevin Garnett added 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for Minnesota, which won for just the second time in seven games.
Detroit went without a field goal for the first 9:11 of the third quarter, as the Wolves went on a 19-2 run to lead 72-57. Garnett and Brandon each scored six points during the run, as the Pistons missed 13 shots in a row.
Rockets 95, Bulls 78
Chicago Steve Francis scored 21 points and Hakeem Olajuwon added 17 as Houston beat Chicago. Reserve Kenny Thomas had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who have won five of six and finished February 9-4.
Elton Brand scored 21 points to lead the Bulls, who have lost five of six.
Bryce Drew hit three three-pointers and dished out four assists in the first quarter as the Bulls broke out to a 29-19 lead.
Chicago led by as many 12 before Houston rallied. The Rockets went on a 15-2 run, aided by six quick points from Thomas and a 3-pointer by Walt Williams to grab a 34-33 lead midway through the second quarter.
Magic 97, Suns 91
Phoenix Tracy McGrady nearly had his first career triple-double and Darrell Armstrong scored four crucial points in the final 1:21 as Orlando beat Phoenix to snap the Suns' four-game winning streak. The Suns, who started their streak by ending the Magic's nine-game run in Orlando Feb. 20, were noticeably slower without Shawn Marion, sidelined with a concussion sustained in a fall late in Sunday's game against Utah.
Jazz 101, Grizzlies 83
Salt Lake City Karl Malone scored 21 points and Olden Polynice had a season-high 15 on 7-of-9 shooting as Utah beat Vancouver. Donyell Marshall added 19 points as the Jazz, who have the best winning percentage in the Western Conference, won for the eighth time in nine games. Utah also has won 12 of its last 14.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 19 points to lead Vancouver and Mike Bibby and Michael Dickerson each scored 17, but they couldn't prevent the Grizzlies from losing their fifth straight.
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