Indianapolis — Jalen Rose silenced the Charlotte Hornets from long range right when he was in close range of their bench.
Rose had 23 points Friday night, including two three-pointers during a streak of 10 straight in the fourth quarter, as the Indiana Pacers held off the Hornets 90-81.
"It took a lot of wind out of their sails, especially when it happens in front of their bench and everybody's up yelling and screaming, 'Get him, get him!"' Rose said of his back-to-back three-pointers from the left corner.
"When you find a way to step up and knock down the shot, it's really important for the team, especially in the fourth quarter," he said.
But he also did it in the first quarter, from the opposite side of the court, helping the Pacers to an early 18-point lead. Charlotte cut the deficit to four points in the third quarter and trailed by six after a rebound basket by Jamaal Magloire with under two minutes to go.
The Hornets had a chance to cut into that lead after Indiana failed to get the ball across the time line, but Jermaine O'Neal blocked a shot by Baron Davis. Two free throws by Jamaal Tinsley started a Pacers' parade to the foul line. Tinsley and Jonathan Bender each had one free throw after that, and Reggie Miller added the final two in the closing seconds.
"A lot of times, you want to determine what's a good shot," Rose said. "And a long two-point shot with your foot on the line is not a good shot. So I just tried to gauge where I was. I backed up a little bit, and the guy still gave me room so I knocked it down."
Raptors 107, Timberwolves 100
Toronto Vince Carter had 19 points and five other Raptors reached double figures as Toronto beat Minnesota. Antonio Davis added 18 points, Keon Clark had 16 and 10 rebounds and Jerome Williams added 13 rebounds and 10 points for the Raptors, who were criticized by Davis after their loss Wednesday to New York.
Sixers 106, Celtics 90
Boston Allen Iverson set a FleetCenter scoring record with 47 points as Philadelphia reached .500 for the first time in almost two months. Dikembe Mutombo had 15 points and 17 rebounds and Derrick Coleman had 11 and 11 in his first game back after missing four with a foot injury. The Sixers (21-21) have beaten Boston eight consecutive times. Paul Pierce had 30 points and 13 rebounds, and Antoine Walker had 18 points for Boston, which had won five of its previous seven games.
Pistons 107, Hawks 90
Atlanta Chucky Atkins scored 21 points and Corliss Williamson added 20 for Detroit, which has won four of five and five of seven. The Pistons hit 30 of 33 free throws, including a combined 24-of-25 effort from Atkins, Williamson and Jerry Stackhouse.
Lakers 94, Spurs 91
Los Angeles Shaquille O'Neal had 25 points and 15 rebounds and Kobe Bryant scored 27 as the Lakers ended a two-game losing streak. The Lakers still have not lost three straight since Phil Jackson became their coach before the 1999-2000 season, and Jackson has not lost three in a row since he was coaching the Bulls during the 1994-95 season and Michael Jordan was playing baseball.
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