The Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Former Net Anthony Johnson held off a late New Jersey rally with two straight 3-pointers and the Indiana Pacers won their third straight game, 87-81 Thursday night.

Ron Artest had 21 points, Johnson added 17 and Jermaine O'Neal had 15 for the Pacers, who saw a 19-point third-quarter lead shrink to two points with just under three minutes left.

Kerry Kittles had 23 points and nine rebounds to lead the Nets, who struggled with their shooting for the second straight game. Richard Jefferson added 18, and Aaron Williams had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Jason Kidd finished with 10 points and eight assists after a 4-for-13 shooting night.

Raptors 77, Mavericks 71

TORONTO - Vince Carter had 19 points and Toronto held Dallas to its lowest-scoring game since scoring 67 in a loss to the Knicks on Dec. 22, 1997. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 27 points, but had just four in the second half.

SPURS: Tim Duncan's sprained left ankle probably will keep him sidelined several more games. Coach Gregg Popovich said Duncan will definitely miss home games against Dallas on Saturday and Utah on Monday.

JAZZ: Forward Matt Harpring will miss the Jazz's game at Golden State today to attend the funeral of his grandmother in Cincinnati. He leads the team with an average of 19.3 points a game.

MAVERICKS: Point guard Steve Nash didn't play Thursday against Toronto because of a strained left shoulder, ending a streak of 195 consecutive games.

BUCKS: Forward Brian Skinner had arthroscopic surgery to remove loose cartilage from his left knee, and is expected to be sidelined for six weeks.

CAVALIERS: Forward Jelani McCoy was cut, and forward Ira Newble (knee) is expected to be activated from the injured list Saturday.

HEAT: Reserve forward Malik Allen had surgery on his right foot and will be out of action for six to eight weeks.