NBA Roundup

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (AP) _ Lucious Harris scored 24 points Thursday, as the New Jersey Nets breaking out of their slump with a 90-75 win over the Boston Celtics. <br><br>Jason Kidd added 13 points,

Friday, March 14th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (AP) _ Lucious Harris scored 24 points Thursday, as the New Jersey Nets breaking out of their slump with a 90-75 win over the Boston Celtics.

Jason Kidd added 13 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, while Kenyon Martin had 17 points and totally frustrated Antoine Walker on the defensive end.

The Nets won their second straight game after losing seven of their past eight, increasing their lead in the Atlantic Division to two games over idle Philadelphia, and three games over Boston.

Paul Pierce had 22 points to lead the Celtics. Walker was held to 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting. He was held out of the fourth quarter, and coach Jim O'Brien said he would have put him back in had the Celtics made a run.

Walker's frustration showed in the third quarter when Martin stripped him on a drive to the basket and Walker came close to shoving the Nets' power forward. Martin walked away smiling after Walker was called for his fourth foul.

New Jersey center Jason Collins also made an unexpected contribution, scoring all of his season-high 15 points during a 12-minute span when the Nets took the lead for good.

SuperSonics 107, Mavericks 100

In Seattle, Rashard Lewis atoned for his worst game of the season with 30 points as Seattle beat Dallas to snap a three-game losing streak.

Ray Allen added 29 points for the Sonics on 11-for-18 shooting, including a three-point play that gave Seattle a 100-94 lead with 1:28 to play.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 to lead the Mavericks, who lost their second straight game but still have the league's best record at 48-16. Nick Van Exel added 26 points for Dallas, which began a three-game West Coast trip.

A free throw by Nowitzki with 58.2 seconds remaining cut the lead to 100-97, but the Mavericks' defense broke down on the next possession, and Lewis drove down the middle of the key for an uncontested dunk.

Lewis was coming off a season-low nine-point performance against Portland on Tuesday night.

Suns 109, Kings 84

In Phoenix, Shawn Marion scored 18 of his 27 points in the third quarter as Phoenix handed Sacramento its most lopsided loss of the season.

Stephon Marbury added 26 points for Phoenix, which moved a half-game ahead of Houston in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The teams play in Houston on Sunday.

Chris Webber just missed his 16th triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Mike Bibby added 20 points for the Kings, whose previous worst loss this season was 108-84 at New Orleans on Feb. 5.

Sacramento is now 2 1/2 games ahead of Portland in the Pacific Division, and 3 1/2 behind Dallas for the best record in the West.

Marion scored 13 of the Suns' first 15 points in the third period, capping his outburst with consecutive 3-pointers that gave Phoenix a 64-47 lead with 7:05 remaining.