Brown’s Return Doesn’t Help Much in 76er Loss

The Philadelphia 76ers got Coach Larry Brown back for the last game of their four-game road trip. They could have used Allen Iverson.

Jason Kidd had his seventh triple-double of the season and sparked the Suns in the fourth quarter as they sent the 76ers to their fifth consecutive loss, 84-71, Friday night at Phoenix.

Clifford Robinson scored 22 points for the Suns, who won their third in a row to strengthen their hold on seventh place in the Western Conference playoff race. They arrived home in the early hours Friday after a late game in Seattle.

Aaron McKie scored 20, but Philadelphia, punchless without the injured Iverson, had only one other player in double figures in one of the worst offensive showings in the team’s history.

Kidd had 12 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for his 38th career triple-double.

New Jersey 95, New York 86--Stephon Marbury bounced back after a poor first quarter to score 22 points and lead the depleted Nets to an unlikely victory over the similarly short-handed Knicks at New York.

Playing just one night after they lost Kenyon Martin to a broken leg for the rest of the season, the Nets somehow summoned the strength to hand the Knicks an embarrassing defeat that ended their five-game winning streak and eight-game home winning streak.

Latrell Sprewell scored 29 for the Knicks, who were without injured players Marcus Camby, Larry Johnson and Glen Rice.

Milwaukee 115, Orlando 103--Glenn Robinson scored 26 points and Tim Thomas added 20 as the Bucks defeated the Magic at Milwaukee to move 18 games above .500 for the first time in nearly 12 years.

The Bucks’ bench outscored Orlando’s, 48-20, as Milwaukee (43-25) won its fourth in a row and surpassed last year’s victory total with 14 games to go.

The last time the Bucks were this far above .500 was April 16, 1989.

Minnesota 101, Denver 90--Kevin Garnett had 30 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists at Minneapolis as the Timberwolves won their seventh home game in a row.

Sam Mitchell scored 16 points and Terrell Brandon added 15 for Minnesota, which won its third consecutive game overall.

Indiana 95, Vancouver 75--Reserve Austin Croshere led five Pacers in double figures at Indianapolis as they kept their NBA record perfect against the Grizzlies.

It was the eighth consecutive loss for Vancouver, which has lost all 12 meetings to Indiana.

Toronto 112, Atlanta 86--Keon Clark had an NBA season-high 12 blocked shots and Alvin Williams recorded his first career triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 14 assists as the Raptors won easily at Toronto.

Chicago 93, Charlotte 90--Ron Mercer scored 30 points, Elton Brand added 26 and the Bulls broke their eight-game losing streak in defeating the Hornets in overtime at Chicago.