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NBA
Bulls win, get back into playoff race
By wire services
Published April 6, 2006
PHILADELPHIA - This is no bull: Chicago has climbed all the way back into a playoff spot and shows no sign of slowing.
Andre Nocioni scored 21 and grabbed 13 rebounds, Ben Gordon had 21 points and Tyson Chandler grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Chicago past the 76ers 99-92 Wednesday night in a game with major playoff implications.
The Bulls (35-40) moved into the eighth and final playoff spot in the East and own a half-game lead on the slumping Sixers (34-40) with a rematch Saturday night in Chicago. The Sixers host Boston on Friday but the Bulls don't play again until Saturday.
The Bulls have won four straight, six of seven and two in two nights on the road sandwiched around a win Tuesday night at home against Indiana. The Pacers are the next team ahead of Chicago in the East.
The Sixers have gone into a nosedive, losing 12 of their last 16, none bigger than a 33-point loss Tuesday at Cleveland. Two of their wins in that span came against the lowly Knicks.
Allen Iverson scored 26 and Chris Webber had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Sixers, who again got little offensive production from anyone else before it was too late.
MAGIC 108, BUCKS 105: Hedo Turkoglu had 24 points, including two last-minute free throws and a steal, as host Orlando overcame a dominating performance by guard T.J. Ford: a career-high 34 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.
Dwight Howard had 19 points and 17 rebounds to lead Orlando, and Keyon Dooling scored 10 of his 14 in the fourth quarter. It was the Magic's eighth straight win at home.
KNICKS 96, CAVS 94: Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 37, including the go-ahead jumper with 6.4 seconds left, and the host Knicks withstood a huge fourth quarter from LeBron James to snap a nine-game losing streak and end Cleveland's winning streak at nine.
James helped the Cavs erase all of a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit, scoring 21 of his 36, including a basket that tied it for the final time at 94 with 27 seconds left.
KINGS 97, SPURS 87: Mike Bibby scored 31 and had eight assists as visiting Sacramento strengthened its eighth-place playoff spot in the West with its fourth win in the past five games.
San Antonio had its four-game winning streak ended.
WIZARDS 108, CELTICS 91: Gilbert Arenas scored 38 and Caron Butler added 26 to help visiting Washington move a step closer to qualifying for the playoffs for a second straight season. Boston's Paul Pierce scored 29 to surpass 2,000 points on the season for the fourth time, tying Larry Bird's franchise record.
HAWKS 101, WOLVES 99: Josh Childress delivered the winning basket - an uncontested layup - as time expired and Atlanta extended Minnesota's road drought to 13 games over almost two months.
PACERS 111, RAPTORS 103: Peja Stojakovic and Stephen Jackson scored 25 each and host Indiana snapped a five-game losing streak. Mike James scored 34 and had 11 rebounds for Toronto, which lost its sixth straight game.
HORNETS 114, WARRIORS 109 (OT): Chris Paul got his second triple double in three games and set up Kirk Snyder's go-ahead alley-oop dunk in overtime as New Orleans kept pace in the playoff race. Paul had 17 points, a career-high 16 assists and 10 rebounds.
CAVALIERS: Guard Damon Jones won't be charged in the investigation of an Arizona woman's claim that he committed a sexual offense against her while she was visiting Cleveland.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety analyzed evidence and results were negative for the presence of male DNA. The woman was unable to describe any sex act, where it may have taken place or who was involved, police said.
LOST FOR SEASON: Toronto forward Chris Bosh, who averaged a team-best 22.5 points and 9.2 rebounds in 70 games, is out with a sprained left thumb.
Phoenix's All-Star forward, Amare Stoudemire, had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
O'NEAL HONORED: Miami's Shaquille O'Neal has won this season's Southeast Division sportsmanship award, joining New Jersey's Jacque Vaughn, Chicago's Luol Deng, Utah's Andrei Kirilenko, Houston's Yao Ming and the Los Angeles Clippers' Elton Brand as finalists for the leaguewide honor.
WNBA DRAFT: LSU's Seimone Augustus, the nation's leading scorer, was selected No. 1 by the Minnesota Lynx.
Tampa Wharton graduate and Temple star Candice Dupree was taken sixth by the Chicago Sky. Former Florida standout Dalila Eshe was selected 25th by Seattle in the 42-player draft.
[Last modified April 6, 2006, 01:59:19]
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