MILWAUKEE (AP) Michael Redd scored 20 points and Toni Kukoc had 16, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their sixth victory in seven games.

Erick Strickland scored 14 points and Joe Smith and Desmond Mason had 12 apiece for the Bucks, whose bench accounted for 56 points.

Ricky Davis came off the bench to score a season-high 33 points for Boston. Paul Pierce added 22, Mike James 15 and Mark Blount 12. All of Blount's points came in the first quarter; he also had a career-high 13 rebounds.

The Bucks led 94-77 early in the fourth quarter before back-to-back 3-pointers by Davis and Pierce helped Boston close to 102-94 with 3:03 left. The Celtics were within five before Redd made four free throws in the final minute to seal it.

Timberwolves 94, Hornets 89

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Latrell Sprewell scored 26 points, including a pair of key free throws with 14.5 seconds left, to lead Minnesota to a comeback victory.

Kevin Garnett added 22, including a tough baseline turnaround jumper that gave Minnesota its first lead with 1:44 left. Sam Cassell scored 24 as the Timberwolves won for the 15th time in 18 games. New Orleans has lost three straight.

Baron Davis led New Orleans with 22 points but was streaky, going 8-of-23 from the field. His late 3-pointer gave New Orleans an 86-83 lead, but he missed on a drive and a jumper in the last two minutes.

The Hornets led nearly the entire game but were 5-of-17 from the floor in the final period.

Pistons 105, Bulls 89

CHICAGO (AP) Richard Hamilton scored 24 points and the Detroit Pistons went on a late 22-7 run to win their ninth straight game.

Ben Wallace had 12 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons, and Chauncey Billups added 17 points and seven assists. The streak is Detroit's longest since winning 11 in a row in the 1990-91 season.

Detroit led by just five late in the third quarter before Chucky Atkins came off the bench to spark the Pistons.

He made three 3-pointers during the 22-7 spurt that gave the Pistons an 88-66 lead. Chicago cut the deficit to seven with 4:12 to go on a jumper by Marcus Fizer, but couldn't get any closer.

Nuggets 105, Suns 92

PHOENIX (AP) Voshon Lenard scored 32 points, and the Denver Nuggets continued their best start in 18 years.

The Nuggets scored the first nine points, led by 17 in the first quarter, 21 at the half and 32 in the third quarter against the hapless Suns _ 0-4 since the blockbuster trade that sent Stephon Marbury to the New York Knicks. Overall, it was the sixth straight loss for Phoenix.

Marcus Camby had 16 points and 17 rebounds for Denver, 23-16 for the first time since the 1985-86 season. Earl Boykins added 16 points, and Carmelo Anthony 13. Andre Miller had 11 points and 11 assists.

Amare Stoudemire, in his second game back after missing 18 games with a high ankle sprain, scored 28 points for the Suns, all in the second half after playing just five minutes in the first because of foul trouble.

Jazz 97, Warriors 80

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Andrei Kirilenko had 10 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks as the Jazz improved to 16-3 at home and won for the third time in four games.

Raja Bell was one of three Utah reserves to finish in double figures, getting 15 points. Raul Lopez had 12 points and had five assists for the Jazz, whose reserves outscored the Warriors' bench 47-28. Sasha Pavlovic added 11 points for the Jazz.

Golden State, which lost to Memphis 115-113 Monday night in two overtimes, was sluggish with just 10 points in the first quarter. Clifford Robinson led Golden State with 23 points and Brian Cardinal added 14 off the bench for the Warriors, who have lost nine of 10.

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