INDIANAPOLIS Jalen Rose scored 30 of his career-high 36 points in the second half and overtime as the Indiana Pacers outlasted the Charlotte Hornets, 99-96, to reach 500 for the first time since November 24 on Saturday.

Rose was unstoppable after taking over late in the third quarter, hitting 10 straight shots at one point. He drilled his first three jumpers in the extra period to give the Pacers a 94-86 lead.

"You have nights like that," he said. "You just try to ride it out and get it to the guy that's making shots. I've got to give my teammates and my coaches credit for trying to get me the ball and get me open."

In Cleveland, Matt Harpring ignited a game-ending 11-4 spurt by hitting two foul shots with 4:01 remaining as the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away for a 97-90 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Cleveland posted its third straight win, overcoming a career-high 32 points by Atlanta's Jason Terry, who scored seven in an 11-4 run that helped the Hawks forge an 86-86 tie.

In Milwaukee, Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson scored 22 points apiece and took part in a key second-half run as the Milwaukee Bucks held on for a 99-91 victory over the reeling Washington Wizards.

Milwaukee, which never trailed, scored 11 of the game's first 15 points and built a commanding 57-38 advantage with 73 seconds remaining in the first half thanks to a 13-2 run.

In Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Wally Szczerbiak added 19 and 12 for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who ran the young Los Angeles Clippers off the court in an 85-73 victory.

Szczerbiak, a second-year forward out of Miami of Ohio, has averaged 17.3 points per game over the last three and the Timberwolves have won them all.

In New York, Larry Johnson finished with just 13 points but hit a pair of key 3-pointers down the stretch to help the Knicks hold off the Denver Nuggets, 96-88.

Latrell Sprewell scored 15 of his 29 points in the third quarter, when the Knicks broke out to a 74-65 lead after a back-and-forth first half.

The Nuggets shot just 39 percent (32-of-81) from the field.

In San Antonio, Derek Anderson and Sean Elliott set the tone early and the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 105-81 rout of the Chicago Bulls, who lost for the 18th time in 20 games.

Derek Anderson and Elliott combined for 17 points when San Antonio raced to a 25-9 lead in the first nine minutes. A 3-pointer by Antonio Daniels with 1:34 left in the quarter increased the lead to 30-13.

The Spurs built the lead to 60-36 at halftime and Coach Gregg Popovich used his reserves liberally in the second half.

In Salt Lake City, Karl Malone had 25 points and eight rebounds and Bryon Russell added 23 and seven as the Utah Jazz defeated the Golden State Warriors for the 17th straight time, 125-114.

Malone connected on 11-of-20 shots and also had six assists for Utah, which shot 54 percent (44-of-81) and won for the ninth time in 10 games.

In Portland, Arvydas Sabonis scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half as the Portland Trail Blazers broke out to a 20-point lead and cruised to their easiest victory of the season, 114-83, over the Detroit Pistons.

Damon Stoudamire led the Trail Blazers with 21 points and five assists. Steve Smith scored 19 points and Sabonis, playing his second game since aggravating his surgically repaired knee, added nine rebounds.

Jerry Stackhouse scored 26 points for the Pistons.

In Seattle, Steve Francis had 21 points and highlighted a decisive 9-0 run in the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer as the Houston Rockets overcame a record-setting performance by Gary Payton to post a 111-104 victory over the Seattle Supersonics.

Seattle had seven technicals in the game, including four illegal defenses.

Payton scored 35 points.

In Vancouver, Allen Iverson had one of his worst shooting nights, but when the undermanned Philadelphia 76ers needed to score, he did.

Iverson scored 18 points, including Philadelphia's last eight, as the 76ers continued their mastery of the Vancouver Grizzlies with an 83-79 victory.

Iverson shot just 6-of-20 from the field but his 27-footer gave the 76ers the lead for good, 81-79, with 1:58 to play.

(Reuter)