Miami — For the first time in nearly six months, All-Star center Alonzo Mourning was bumping and banging, driving and dunking.
Winning, though, will have to wait.
Miami's alonzo Mourning, center, battles Toronto's Charles Oakley, left, for a rebound. Mourning scored nine points in the Heat's 101-92 loss to the Raptors on Tuesday night.
Mourning, returning to Miami's lineup for the first time since being diagnosed with a kidney disease last October, had nine points and six rebounds in 19 minutes Tuesday night. But the hot-shooting of Vince Carter and Dell Curry carried the Toronto Raptors to a 101-92 win over the Heat, snapping Miami's four-game winning streak.
"I'm not just out here for a show, just to prove I can come back," Mourning said. "I'm out here to win, not just to prove I can come back from this disease. My purpose is to help this team win, that's the bottom line."
Mourning was 3-of-11 shooting, missing several short jumpers and a few runners in the lane. He was better on defense, changing shots and shutting down Toronto's inside game.
But he had little affect on Carter and Curry.
Carter scored 38 points on 14-of-27 shooting and Currie added a season-high 23 on 8-of-14 from the floor.
"We had to match their intensity and go above and beyond the call of duty," Carter said.
Anthony Mason led the Heat with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
The Heat cut the lead to 89-87 with 4:43 to play, but the Raptors scored the next seven points to pull away for good.
Carter scored, then Alvin Williams added a jumper and a three-pointer to push the lead to 96-87 with three minutes left. Williams finished with 14 points and 11 assists.
Despite the loss, Miami hopes the game was just a glimpse of what could happen in the upcoming playoffs especially with Mourning's return.
"We're just going to have to work that out and let that sort of take on a life of its owe," coach Pat Riley said. "We have to get him comfortable and get our players comfortable with him. This is another step in that process."
Kings 124, Knicks 117, OT
Sacramento, Calif. Peja Stojakovic scored 12 of his 29 points in overtime, and Chris Webber had 39 points and 15 rebounds as Sacramento beat New York.
Rockets 109, Jazz 86
Houston Hakeem Olajuwon returned from the injured list just in time to contribute to a blowout second quarter as Houston handed Utah its worst defeat of the season. Olajuwon thought his season and possibly his career was over two weeks ago when doctors said he needed to be sidelined 3-to-6 months for treatment of a blood clot in his lower left leg, but further testing led to his return to the lineup. He finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.
Clippers 101, Pistons 94
Los Angeles Lamar Odom had 27 points, 11 assists and a career-high 16 rebounds as Los Angeles capitalized on the fourth-quarter ejection of Jerry Stackhouse to beat Detroit. The triple-double was the sixth of Odom's career and his third of the season.
Spurs 93, Hornets 79
San Antonio Tim Duncan scored 24 of his 34 points in the first half and grabbed 19 rebounds as San Antonio dealt Charlotte its third straight loss. The NBA-leading Spurs reached the 50 victory mark for the 11th time since joining the league in 1976.
Pacers 110, Wizards 102
Washington The Indiana Pacers ended a seven-game road losing streak by feasting on the worst defense in the NBA.
Celtics 115, Hawks 112, OT
Atlanta Paul Pierce scored 41 points and Eric Williams hit a reverse layup with 17.8 seconds remaining to give Boston an overtime victory.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.