Strickland Surprises Spurs Late

The score was tied with just over two minutes remaining when Rod Strickland threw up the kind of shot he hardly ever takes, much less makes.

The long jumper went in for his second three-point basket of the season, helping the Miami Heat defeat the slumping San Antonio Spurs, 88-83, on Friday night at Miami.

“The shot clock was winding down,” Strickland said. “I just tried to get some room and get a shot up.”

The basket put the Heat ahead to stay, and it won for the ninth time in 11 games. San Antonio has lost three in a row, and six of eight.

The Spurs rallied from an 18-point first-half deficit but missed their final seven shots after taking an 81-78 lead.

Strickland’s only basket of the second half put Miami ahead 84-81. He had been one for nine from three-point range this season, his other being a 60-footer at the end of the first half against New Jersey.

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Washington 97, Atlanta 90--Michael Jordan had 28 points and eight assists at Washington as the Wizards survived a fourth-quarter rally to hand the Hawks their sixth consecutive loss.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 25 points and eight rebounds to lead the Hawks, who have dropped 12 of 13 and had lost their previous five games by an average of 21 points.

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Minnesota 98, Boston 95--Kevin Garnett had 21 points and 15 rebounds and Terrell Brandon had 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists at Boston as the Timberwolves won in overtime to end a losing streak at four.

Minnesota won for the fourth consecutive time at the FleetCenter. The Celtics dropped their third in a row, their first three-game losing streak since Nov. 17-24.

Boston hasn’t defeated the Timberwolves since Jan. 2, 1998.

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Sacramento 132, Denver 96--Chris Webber had 29 points and 12 rebounds at Sacramento as the Kings won their third in a row.

Sacramento, which came within one point of the NBA high this season, has won 15 of 16 overall and 18 in a row at home.

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Orlando 85, Detroit 83--Tracy McGrady made a shot from just inside the three-point line with 1.8 seconds lef to lead the Magic at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Jerry Stackhouse had a chance to tie it, but hit the side of the backboard on an off-balance shot from the baseline as time expired.

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Charlotte 73, Houston 72--Lee Nailon made a 20-foot jumper for the Hornets as time expired at Houston.

Cuttino Mobley scored 23 points for the Rockets, who fell to 1-19 with Steve Francis out of the lineup. The All-Star guard sat out with a migraine headache for the third time in the last two weeks.

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Phoenix 104, Golden State 98--Stephon Marbury had 20 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and Jake Tsakalidis matched his career-high with 17 points as the Suns won at Phoenix.

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Indiana 92, New York 87--Reggie Miller scored 20 points and Jermaine O’Neal and Jonathan Bender each had 18 at Indianapolis as the Pacers ended the Knicks’ winning streak at four.