CLIPPERS 90, LAKERS 82 at Los Angeles: Corey Maggette scored 22 points, four teammates reached double figures, and the Clippers beat the Lakers on Wednesday night for their seventh win in eight games. The loss was the fourth in five games for the Lakers, whose lead over seventh- place Denver in the Western Conference was cut to a half- game. Maurice Evans made a 3-pointer for his only points of the game to draw the Lakers within one, but the Clippers scored the next seven points to make it 86-78 with 3:12 to play. The Lakers weren’t closer than four points after that.
Noteworthy: Lakers center Kwame Brown, who aggravated his sprained left ankle in the second quarter of Tuesday night’s 111-105 loss to Denver, did not play.
BULLS 106, PISTONS 88 at Auburn Hills, Mich.: Chicago took control of the game with a 16-4 run – with Kirk Hinrich scoring half of its points – to end the third quarter for an 84-69 lead.
Noteworthy: Detroit’s Richard Hamilton, a 20-point scorer, had more fouls (five) and turnovers (four) than points (three).
WARRIORS 110, ROCKETS 99 at Houston: Jason Richardson scored 27 points, including seven 3-pointers, and Golden State took advantage of Tracy McGrady’s absence. McGrady left in the first quarter with a stiff lower back.
Noteworthy: Rockets center Yao Ming scored only nine points in his worst game since he scored two points and broke his right leg against the Clippers in December.
RAPTORS 111, MAGIC 108 at Orlando, Fla.: Chris Bosh scored 28 points, including five free throws down the stretch, and Toronto overcame a 15-point deficit in the first quarter. Hedo Turkoglu scored a career-high 37 points, but missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer from the wing.
Noteworthy: Darko Milicic was thrown out after arguing a holding call on Bosh with 3:39 left in the third. Gesturing adamantly, he had to be held back by teammates.
76ERS 92, KNICKS 90 at New York: Andre Iguodala scored 18 points and blocked Stephon Marbury’s potential winning 3-point try, and Andre Miller scored 14, including a tough jumper with 7.4 seconds to go. Marbury scored 28 of his 30 points after halftime, helping New York turn a double-digit deficit into a nine-point lead. But the Knicks fell to 2-9 since coach Isiah Thomas was given a contract extension.
Noteworthy: 76ers rookie Louis Amundson was voted to the all-NBA Development League’s first team. He spent much of the season playing for the Colorado 14ers.
HORNETS 101, SUPERSONICS 92 (OT) at Oklahoma City: Bobby Jackson scored seven of his 18 points in overtime to help New Orleans overcome the lowest-scoring fourth quarter in franchise history.
Noteworthy: The Hornets scored only six points in the fourth; their previous low in the quarter was seven points in a 97-75 loss at Detroit on Dec. 28, 1996.
NETS 101, HAWKS 86 at East Rutherford, N.J.: Backup forward Bostjan Nachbar scored 26 points and New Jersey overcame a second-quarter drought that had their fans booing.
Noteworthy: New Jersey used a 20-2 run at the end of the first half to take control and calm the crowd.
BUCKS 98, CELTICS 89 at Milwaukee: Earl Boykins scored 32 points to help a skeleton crew from Milwaukee snap a seven-game losing streak. Boykins shot 13-for-19 from the field, coming within four points of his career high of 36.
Noteworthy: The teams dressed only nine players each and Celtics guard Delonte West left because of a sprained left ankle midway through the third quarter.
TRAIL BLAZERS 94, JAZZ 89 at Portland, Ore.: Rookie Brandon Roy scored 25 of his season-high 29 points in the second half and short-handed Portland snapped a four-game losing streak.
Noteworthy: Portland will retire the No. 14 jersey worn by Lionel Hollins, a guard on the 1977 championship team, during the season finale April 18 against the Warriors.
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