Stephon Marbury drives on Jason Kidd (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jason Kidd was at his unselfish best in his first game against his former team, accumulating 11 of his 13 assists before he even scored a point as the New Jersey Nets beat the Phoenix Suns 106-87 Wednesday night.

        Repeatedly setting up teammates for easy baskets and playing the role of the quintessential playmaker, Kidd helped the Nets open a 69-54 lead before he hit a 3-pointer with 4:15 left in the third.

        Kidd finished with six points, nine rebounds and four steals for the Nets, while the player he was traded for — Stephon Marbury — finished with 15 points and seven assists.

        Kerry Kittles scored a season-high 24 points, Kenyon Martin added 22, Keith Van Horn had 19 and Todd MacCulloch 15 as the Nets snapped the Suns' five-game winning streak and remained in first place in the Atlantic Division.

        Shawn Marion had 22 to lead the Suns, who fell behind late in the second quarter and never recovered. New Jersey closed the first half with an 11-2 run and scored the first seven points of the third to take a 16-point lead.

       Celtics 95, Nuggets 80

        BOSTON — Paul Pierce scored 35 points and Antoine Walker added 28 to lead Boston to its fifth straight victory.

        Pierce scored 21 points in the third quarter, outscoring the Nuggets by five points in the period as the Celtics extended a seven-point lead to 22.

        Boston is on its longest winning streak since taking six straight Jan. 23-Feb. 4. Denver has lost six of seven overall and six straight against Boston.

        Avery Johnson and Nick Van Exel each had 16 points for Denver.

       Spurs 120, Hawks 112

        ATLANTA — Steve Smith scored 29 points and San Antonio held off Atlanta after building a 20-point first-quarter lead.

        The Spurs lived up to their billing as the best 3-point shooting team in the league. San Antonio was 14-of-20 to improve on an already impressive 43.2 season percentage.

        Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan scored 21 points apiece. Bowen, a defensive specialist, made all eight of his shots, including four 3-pointers, to eclipse his previous career high.

        Jason Terry and Toni Kukoc each had 22 points for the Hawks.

       Pistons 95, SuperSonics 91

        AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Chucky Atkins scored 23 points and Jerry Stackhouse added 19 points and 11 assists for Detroit.

        Stackhouse matched his career high in assists, but his biggest play was a game-tying 3-pointer with two minutes to play. Corliss Williamson added 17 points for Detroit, 10 in the fourth quarter.

        Gary Payton had his 13th career triple-double for Seattle with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists, and Rashard Lewis added 21 points before fouling out.

       Magic 102, Bulls 74

        ORLANDO, Fla. — Mike Miller scored 21 points and rookie Steve Hunter had a career-high 17 as Orlando beat Chicago.

        Orlando has won three straight — the last two games by a combined 70 points — following a three-game losing streak.

        Tracy McGrady had 14 points in 27 minutes, and Pat Garrity added 11. Ron Mercer led the Bulls with 15.

       
       Lakers 98, Mavericks 94

        LOS ANGELES — Shaquille O'Neal scored 46 points and Rick Fox made four free throws in the final 20 seconds as Los Angeles held off Dallas.

        The Lakers, who have gone 39-2 dating to the final eight games of the last regular season and the playoffs, trailed much of the game against the Mavericks.

        Fox gave Los Angeles a 94-92 lead with his two free throws with 20 seconds remaining, then made it 96-92 with another pair, with nine seconds left. After Adrian Griffin scored on a layup for Dallas — the Mavericks only basket in the final 6:49 — Kobe Bryant took a long pass and made a reverse slam to punctuate the victory.

        Dirk Nowitzki scored 33 and had 14 rebounds for Dallas, which has not won on the Lakers' court since 1990, a span of 22 games.

       Warriors 93, 76ers 87

        OAKLAND, Calif. — Larry Hughes scored 22 points against his former team, and Danny Fortson had 11 points and 15 rebounds as Golden State snapped a four-game losing streak.

        Antawn Jamison scored 19 points as the Warriors ended a string of six straight losses to the 76ers by holding off Philadelphia throughout a close fourth quarter.

        Allen Iverson scored 23 points, but for the second straight night, he disappeared in the fourth quarter, scoring just two points as the Sixers lost for the fifth time in six games.

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