Without McGrady, Rockets lose again

Marion, Bosh and Jalen Rose played the best in the first half. With more than three minutes still remaining in the half, Marion already had a double-double, finishing the second period with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Nash had 10 points, but seven turnovers.

Bosh, maneuvering well down low, had 12 points and five rebounds, while Rose scored 10 points.

The Raptors scored the game's first eight points and built a 10-point lead in the first quarter, but the Suns rallied to tie it at 18 by the end of the period. Marion's 10 points helped the Suns take a 38-27 lead in the second quarter, but two baskets each by Rose and Bosh helped whittle the deficit to four points by halftime.

Toronto battled back in the third quarter and regained the lead at the end of the period, 63-61, with the aid of 11 points by Bosh and seven by James. The Suns finally got a 3-pointer, from Nash, after missing their first 15 from beyond the arc, but were 1-for-18 by the end of the period.

Mehmet Okur had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the short-handed Seattle SuperSonics 93-87 on Tuesday night. The Jazz won consecutive games for the first time since starting the season 2-0. Utah also won both ends of a back-to-back for the first time this season after losing their first four.

After holding Milwaukee to 80 points on Monday night, the Jazz put in another strong defensive effort, holding the SuperSonics 12 points below their season average.

Gordan Giricek added 17 points for the Jazz, who made 15 of 30 shots in the second half, and had assists on 20 of their 32 total field goals.

Rashard Lewis led Seattle with 26 points and Ray Allen added 24. Seattle had its three-game winning streak snapped and failed in its first chance to climb above .500 this season.

Unlike those previous three victories, a third scorer did not develop for Seattle to help carry the offensive load. Mateen Cleaves had nine points off the bench and Nick Collison and Luke Ridnour had eight, but no other Seattle player scored more than five points.

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