National Basketball Association Game Capsules
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Final Score: New York 95, Cleveland 89
Cleveland, OH (Basketball News) - Maurice Taylor and Jamal Crawford sparked a key fourth-quarter run and the New York Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 95-89, at Gund Arena. Crawford ended with 25 points and Taylor had 16 points for the Knicks, who won for just the second time in 12 outings. Stephon Marbury and Mike Sweetney had 14 points apiece, as New York issued a serious blow to the Cavs’ playoff seeding — if not postseason hopes. The Cavs fell into a tie for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia 76ers, who beat the Miami Heat on Thursday night. Cleveland also leads ninth-place New Jersey by just two games with four to play. LeBron James led Cleveland with 27 points, a career-high 18 rebounds and seven assists. Zydrunas Ilgauskas returned from a four-game absence due to injury and scored 13 points for the Cavs, who had a two-game win streak halted.
Final Score: Dallas 102, Portland 90
Portland, OR (Basketball News) - Jerry Stackhouse scored 18 points to lead a balanced Dallas scoring attack as the Mavericks cruised to a 102-90 victory over Portland at the Rose Garden. Shawn Bradley added 15 points and Michael Finley, Jason Terry and Josh Howard each had 14 for the Mavericks, who earned their sixth straight win despite the absence of All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, who missed the game with a sore left shoulder. Shareef Abdur-Rahim compiled 19 points and 10 rebounds while Ruben Patterson recorded 18 points for the Blazers, who have lost nine of their last 10. Travis Outlaw chipped in 15 points off the bench.
