Jackson Stars As Warriors Beat Pacers

Not everyone in Indianapolis went to the RCA Dome to cheer for the Colts. Some preferred Conseco Fieldhouse and the chance to boo Stephen Jackson. <br/><br/>Unfortunately for the home fans, Jackson had

Tuesday, February 6th 2007, 7:13 am

By: News On 6

Not everyone in Indianapolis went to the RCA Dome to cheer for the Colts. Some preferred Conseco Fieldhouse and the chance to boo Stephen Jackson.

Unfortunately for the home fans, Jackson had the type of performance they didn't see enough when he played for their team.

Jackson shrugged off the boos and scored a season-high 36 points Monday night against his former team, leading the Golden State Warriors to a 113-98 victory over the Pacers.

Tired of his off-the-court incidents that turned their own fans against him, the Pacers sent Jackson to the Warriors last month as part of an eight-player deal. In the first meeting between the teams since, Jackson showed the Pacers what they are missing.

``I was praying and hoping that one of us had a big game, but I definitely wanted it to be Jack because of all the stuff he'd been through,'' said Al Harrington, who was also in the trade. ``I'm happy he had a good game, and I'm happy that we won.''

The Suns fought through their own obstacles in a 113-108 victory in Denver. With Steve Nash sitting out the second half with an injured shoulder, Phoenix abandoned its usual finesse game and turned tough.

``This is what I expected. I thought they would try to rough us up,'' center Amare Stoudemire said. ``So we responded. Some teams get physical with us and we get physical right back at them. We can give it back. We run and that's how teams try to slow us down.''

In other games, it was: the Los Angeles Lakers 90, Atlanta 83; Washington 118, Seattle 108; Philadelphia 100, New Jersey 98 in overtime; Miami 113, Charlotte 93; Houston 105, Minnesota 77; Utah 100, Chicago 95; and Sacramento 105, New Orleans 99.

Stoudemire had 36 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns, who had lost two of three after winning 17 straight. They fought back from a nine-point halftime deficit, with Nash making his last contribution by scolding his teammates at the break.

``During the first half they roughed us up, knocked us around and we didn't stand up to them. Steve had a talk at halftime and we played with a little bit more oomph in the second half,'' Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. ``They've got some tough guys and we had to stand up to it. We want to play pretty, but pretty wasn't getting it done tonight.''

Carmelo Anthony had his first career triple-double with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Nuggets, who played without the injured Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby.

Jackson was suspended for 30 games during the 2004-05 season for fighting with Detroit Pistons fans and was sentenced to probation. He pleaded not guilty to a charge that he violated probation when he was accused of firing a gun on Oct. 6, 2006, outside Club Rio in Indianapolis.

He made 10 of 22 shots Monday, going 4-of-6 on 3-pointers. He wouldn't say he had something to prove, but was happy to win after being traded from the Pacers last month.

``I'm not going to lie, it feels good to come back and beat your old team,'' he said.

Harrington added 16 points and 10 rebounds, helping the new Warriors outscore the new Pacers 52-18. Attendance was 6,000 below capacity because the game overlapped with the Colts' Super Bowl victory parade that led to the nearby RCA Dome.

``We know that Jack and Al are capable of huge games,'' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. ``They both played very well. Fortunately, it's just one of 82 games.''

Wizards 118, SuperSonics 108

Caron Butler scored a career-high 38 points to help Washington overcome Gilbert Arenas' mediocre night and beat Seattle, the SuperSonics' franchise-record 15th consecutive road loss.

Ray Allen led Seattle with 29 points, but he shot only 3-for-14 after halftime. Chris Wilcox had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the SuperSonics, who have lost five in a row overall.

Jazz 100, Bulls 95

At Salt Lake City, Mehmet Okur scored 12 of Utah's final 14 points, and the Jazz swept the Bulls for the first time in five years. Okur finished with 20 points, scoring 12 straight despite playing with five fouls through most of the fourth quarter.

Heat 113, Bobcats 93

At Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 27 points and Shaquille O'Neal had his best scoring performance since returning from knee surgery to lead the Heat to the win.

O'Neal scored 19 first-half points on 9-of-10 shooting and finished with 22 points.

The Heat played without point guard Gary Payton, suspended by the league following his ejection for arguing with officials during Saturday's win at Milwaukee.

76ers 100, Nets 98, OT

At Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala had 23 points, 15 assists, and seven rebounds as the 76ers handed the Nets their second overtime loss in two days.

Samuel Dalembert scored 14 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to give the Sixers their fifth win in eight games.

Rockets 105, Timberwolves 77

At Houston, Tracy McGrady scored 16 of his 32 points in the third quarter for the Rockets, who've won nine of 13 games.

Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, which has lost 10 of 12 and four in a row. The Wolves are 2-6 since Randy Wittman replaced fired coach Dwane Casey on Jan. 23.

Lakers 90, Hawks 83

Kobe Bryant scored nine straight fourth-quarter points and finished with 27 as the Lakers swept the Hawks for the first time in seven years. The Lakers improved to 3-2 on their eight-game road trip with their second straight win.

Kings 105, Hornets 99

Ron Artest scored 20 points and tied a career high with nine assists, leading Sacramento to its third straight victory, its second in two games with assistant Scott Brooks running the team in place of suspended coach Eric Musselman.

The Hornets lost for the 11th straight time at Arco Arena and had their two-game winning streak snapped.