Magic hands Suns first loss

Ryan Anderson had 20 and 10 rebounds, Dwight Howard scored 25 and the short-handed Orlando Magic defeated the previously unbeaten Phoenix Suns 122-100 on Wednesday night.

Playing without injured Vince Carter and suspended Rashard Lewis, the host Magic built a 23-point lead in the third quarter to pull away from the Suns.

Amare Stoudemire finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds for Phoenix (4-1), which was looking to match the 1984-85 team for the franchise's best start.

Also Wednesday

Heat 93, Wizards 89: Dwyane Wade scored 40 points, including a go-ahead jumper with 25 seconds left, to lead visiting Miami.

It was the first time Wade reached 40 points since getting a career-high 55 in April against New York.

Nuggets 122, Nets 94: The unbeaten Nuggets scored 44 points in the third quarter as Denver (5-0) continued its best start since 1985-86 with a victory over winless New Jersey.

Pacers 101, Knicks 89: T.J. Ford scored eight of his 16 points in the final 3:12, and visiting Indiana won for the first time this season, holding New York without a field goal for the final 9-plus minutes.

Dahntay Jones had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers (1-3), who came in as one of the NBA's three winless teams.

Raptors 110, Pistons 99: Andrea Bargnani had 22 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and Chris Bosh scored 25 points as host Toronto defeated Detroit.

Late Tuesday

Hawks 97, Trail Blazers 91: Jamal Crawford scored 27 points off the bench as Atlanta beat host Portland.

Notes

Lieberman to be D-League coach: Nancy Lieberman is set to become the first female head coach of an NBA Development League team.

A news conference is scheduled today to introduce Lieberman as the first coach of the team that will begin play during the 2010-11 season in Frisco, Texas, a suburb about a half-hour north of downtown Dallas.

Magic's Carter out: Orlando Magic guard Vince Carter was sidelined against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night with a sprained left ankle. Carter's status is day-to-day.

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