Peja Stojakovic hit a 3-pointer and three free throws in the final minute to lift the New Orleans Hornets over the Orlando Magic 98-97 in the NBA yesterday.

Chris Paul had 19 points and 12 assists for the Hornets, and David West had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Hedo Turkoglu had 26 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Orlando. Rashard Lewis added 24 points and Dwight Howard had 17 points and 15 rebounds.

Spurs 116, Warriors 92

At San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 26 points to lead San Antonio over Golden State for its eighth straight win.

The defending champions remained second in the Western Conference, just percentage points behind New Orleans. Golden State, in a three-way race with Dallas and Denver for the final two playoff spots, dropped their 20th straight in San Antonio since the Spurs drafted Tim Duncan in 1997.

Duncan added 17 points and 12 rebounds and Manu Ginobili, the other member of the Spurs' Big Three, scored 16 points.

Baron Davis led the Warriors with 19 points.

Nuggets 126, Suns 120

At Denver, Carmelo Anthony grabbed two key rebounds and sank two free throws in the final 27 seconds, sending Denver past Phoenix.

The Nuggets pulled into eighth place in the ultra-competitive Western Conference playoff race, a half-game ahead of Golden State, which lost at San Antonio 116-92 yesterday.

And they denied the Suns a chance to move into first place by themselves in the Pacific Division over the idle Los Angeles Lakers.

Denver got 31 points from Allen Iverson in avenging a loss at Phoenix 24 hours earlier in which the Nuggets blew a 22-point, second-half lead in a 132-117 loss on Monday night.

Kings 99, Rockets 98

At Sacramento, California, Ron Artest scored 30 points, Kevin Martin added 27 and Sacramento dealt a blow to Houston's chances of winning the Southwest Division.

The Rockets (49-25) fell 2 1/2 games behind New Orleans and San Antonio in the division race with only eight games remaining, hurting their chances of hosting a first-round playoff series.

Tracy McGrady scored 32 to lead Houston, but missed a jumper at the buzzer that would have won it. The Rockets have lost five of eight since a franchise-record, 22-game winning streak.