NBA

Francis keys sweep of slumping Wizards

By wire services
Published January 30, 2005

WASHINGTON - Steve Francis hit another big basket in the final minute. The Wizards again missed crucial free throws.

Similar scripts gave the Magic a sweep of their back-to-back games against Washington, pulling in the reins of a team that had been one of the hottest.

Francis had 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in Orlando's 103-97 victory Saturday, following the Magic's 108-101 win in Florida 24 hours earlier.

"We just got a real good butt-kicking for two days," said Washington coach Eddie Jordan. "Maybe we'll fall under the radar a little bit. It was humble pie."

Francis did a spin move on Juan Dixon and made an off-balance turnaround 14-footer with 24 seconds left to put the Magic ahead for good. In Friday's game, Francis' big basket came with 44 seconds remaining - after he had missed his first 11 shots.

"He is fearless," Orlando coach Johnny Davis said. "When the game is on the line, he wants the ball in his hands more often than not."

After Francis' basket, Brendan Haywood had a chance to tie with 19 seconds remaining when he drew a foul in a fight for a rebound, but he badly missed both free throws. The Wizards had made their previous 12 from the line before Haywood's attempts, the first of which was an air ball.

"The first one slipped. The second one, just wanted to make it too bad," Haywood said. "Missed it. Wished I'd hit them. It would have helped us out."

The Wizards had been riding high, winning 11 of 13 before Friday and eight straight at home before Saturday.

"I didn't think we were overconfident," Jordan said. "But if we were, it was good medicine."

SPURS 93, HORNETS 83: Tony Parker scored 23 and had 10 assists and San Antonio improved to 23-1 at home. The Hornets trailed by only four points after three quarters. But the Spurs opened the fourth with an 8-0 run as New Orleans missed its first 10 shots.

NUGGETS 95, PACERS 88: Kenyon Martin scored 25 and had five steals and Denver won its second straight under coach George Karl. It was the fourth straight loss for the Pacers and their first at home against the Nuggets in 10 years.

Denver, which twice led by 12 in the first half, matched that at 87-75 on a three-point play by Marcus Camby. Two free throws by Jermaine O'Neal brought the Pacers within 89-85, but Martin scored his final basket with 42 seconds left to give Denver a six-point lead.

PISTONS 91, KNICKS 61: Richard Hamilton scored 18 and Detroit held visiting New York to its lowest point total of the season. The Knicks' previous low was 73 in a loss to Boston on Nov. 6. Their franchise-record low is 58.

Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess each scored 16 for the Pistons. Jamal Crawford scored 14 for the Knicks, who have lost 12 of their last 14. New York's Penny Hardaway sat out because of a sprained right ankle, one night after returning from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for three weeks.

CELTICS 101, BULLS 97: Ricky Davis had eight fourth-quarter points to spark a late rally and Gary Payton hit the go-ahead 3-pointer as visiting Boston ended Chicago's five-game winning streak. The surprising Bulls finished January 13-3, two of the losses to the Celtics.

76ERS 93, MAVERICKS 89: Playing without Allen Iverson, Philadelphia got a season-high 19 from John Salmons. Iverson missed his third straight game due to a strained left rotator cuff. The Sixers compensated with solid defense that limited the host Mavericks to 36.7 percent field goal shooting.

NETS 99, JAZZ 82: Vince Carter made his first five shots on his way to 30 points for New Jersey, which never trailed in its season-high third straight win. It was Carter's second straight 30-point game. Jason Kidd scored 19 and Nenad Krstic added 13 for the Nets, who dressed only nine players on the last game of a five-game road trip.

GRIZZLIES 84, HAWKS 83: Jason Williams scored 23 and had eight assists and Memphis hung on to beat travel-weary Atlanta. Tyronn Lue's fallaway 10-footer at the horn for Atlanta bounced off the rim, sending the Hawks to their fourth straight loss.

The Hawks were stranded in Atlanta overnight as icy conditions prevented them from flying out after Friday's loss to Miami. They arrived with a police escort about 90 minutes before tipoff that was an hour later than originally scheduled.

Despite the travel delay, Atlanta had enough energy to build a third-quarter lead and hold on until jumpers by Mike Miller and Williiams in the final 2:03 gave Memphis the lead for good.

[Last modified January 30, 2005, 00:14:02]