Pacers Beat Magic, NBA Roundup

INDIANAPOLIS -- Rodney Stuckey is following instructions from Frank Vogel, and Indiana's coach can see it paying off.

"I don't know if it's the best he's played in his career, but it's got to be close," Vogel said.

Stuckey scored a season-high 34 points with six rebounds and seven assists, and the Pacers beat the Orlando Magic 118-86 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory.

"I was just shooting the ball," the reserve guard said. "Coach always tells me, `Shoot when you're open.' They were going in tonight."

Damjan Rudez scored 17 points, and Luis Scola added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the surging Pacers (29-34), who moved into sole possession of seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Tobias Harris had 22 points and six rebounds, and Elfrid Payton finished with 14 points for the Magic, who have lost five of seven games.

Penguins 111, Nets 91

In a matchup of teams fighting for postseason spots, only the New Orleans Pelicans looked playoff-worthy. Alexis Ajinca and Quincy Pondexter each scored 17 points and the Pelicans moved within percentage points of eighth place in the Western Conference by beating the Brooklyn Nets 111-91 on Tuesday night. Omer Asik had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Pelicans in their third straight victory. Anthony Davis scored 15 points, a night after tying his career high with 43 in a win at Milwaukee. The Pelicans are now 2 percentage points behind Oklahoma City for the West's final playoff spot.

Cavaliers 127, Mavericks 94

Even without his trademark headband, LeBron James was easy to recognize. He was still wearing the No. 23 jersey and dominating with his play. James had 27 points and took over sole possession of the Cavaliers' career assists record as Cleveland beat the Dallas Mavericks 127-94 on Tuesday night.

"The best thing about tonight is we played a complete 48 minutes," James said. "I just liked the way we approached the game. We shared the ball, and everyone fell into a rhythm."

After starting a game without a headband for the first time since the 2003 preseason as a rookie, James clearly preferred talking about how the team played instead of the absence of what usually covers his hairline.

Spurs 117, Raptors 107

The scare the Toronto Raptors threw at the San Antonio Spurs in the second half was nothing compared to a couple of anxious minutes the defending champions had when Tim Duncan hit the floor. Duncan was fine, and so were the Spurs after nearly blowing a 26-point lead. Kawhi Leonard had 24 points and 11 rebounds and matched a career high with five steals, and the Spurs withstood a second-half letdown to beat the Raptors 117-107 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory. Tony Parker added 23 points and nine assists, and Danny Green was 5-for-6 on 3-pointers in scoring 19 points for San Antonio.

Jazz 87, Knicks 82

Derrick Favors knew the Utah Jazz would need an offensive lift with leading scorer Gordon Hayward out with a back injury. The Jazz were already the fifth-lowest scoring team in the NBA, so taking out a near 20-point scorer was a significant hit. Favors responded with 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Jazz beat the New York Knicks 87-82 on Tuesday night to tie a season high with their third straight victory. Utah has won eight of 10 games since the All-Star break.

Lakers 93, Pistons 85

In their second straight season out of the playoffs, at least the injury-riddled Los Angeles Lakers know they can still beat the Detroit Pistons. Jordan Hill led seven Lakers in double figures with 16 points on Tuesday night in a 93-85 victory that ended a five-game losing streak. It was their sixth straight win over the Pistons and 11th in the last 12 meetings, but they were officially eliminated from playoff contention before their game ended when New Orleans beat Brooklyn. The game was Byron Scott's 1,000th as an NBA head coach during the regular season. This is his first season with the Lakers, whom he helped win three championships as a player in the "Showtime" era with Magic Johnson as his backcourt mate. One of those titles came against the Pistons in 1988.

Tuesday, March 10 Scoreboard

Indiana 118, Orlando 86

New Orleans 111, Brooklyn 91

Cleveland 127, Dallas 94

San Antonio 117, Toronto 107

Utah 87, New York 82

LA Lakers 93, Detroit 85

Wednesday, March 11 Schedule (All Times Central)

Sacramento at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Chicago at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Memphis at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Brooklyn at Miami, 6:30 p.m.

Orlando at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

LA Clippers at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Atlanta at Denver, 8 p.m.

Minnesota at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Detroit at Golden State, 9:30 p.m.