Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Nba

Associated Press

Rockets 99, Pacers 87

Houston

Hakeem Olajuwon had 22 points and 15 rebounds as the Houston Rockets welcomed Clyde Drexler back from the injured list with a 99-87 victory over Indiana.

Drexler missed eight games after suffering a severely bruised right shin when he collided with Phoenix’s Charles Barkley in a game Dec. 19.

INDIANA (87)

McKey 1-7 0-0 2, D.Davis 6-10 1-4 13, Smits 6-11 2-3 14, Miller 4-10 2-2 14, Jackson 6-11 0-0 13, A.Davis 2-3 4-7 8, Pierce 2-8 0-0 4, Workman 3-5 0-0 9, Johnson 1-6 4-5 6, Ferrell 1-3 0-0 2, Caldwell 1-1 0-2 2, Hoiberg 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 33-75 13-25 87.

HOUSTON (99)

Horry 4-8 2-2 12, Brown 5-6 2-2 12, Olajuwon 8-18 6-6 22, Drexler 3-10 2-2 8, Smith 4-7 1-1 10, Bryant 1-2 7-13 9, Cassell 3-8 2-2 10, Chilcutt 0-2 0-0 0, Elie 5-9 4-5 16, Breaux 0-2 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-72 26-33 99.

Indiana 19 22 20 26 - 87

Houston 31 20 25 23 - 99

3-Point goals-Indiana 8-15 (Miller 4-4, Workman 3-4, Jackson 1-2, McKey 0-1, Pierce 0-1, Johnson 0-3), Houston 7-20 (Cassell 2-3, Horry 2-4, Elie 2-6, Smith 1-2, Chilcutt 0-1, Drexler 0-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Indiana 51 (McKey 7), Houston 49 (Olajuwon 15). Assists-Indiana 27 (Workman 6), Houston 27 (Drexler 7). Total fouls-Indiana 27, Houston 21. Technicals-Indiana illegal defense, Hosuton illegal defense. A-16,285 (16,611).

Cavaliers 105, Magic 94

Cleveland

With Shaquille O’Neal sidelined by a sore thigh, Orlando’s seven-game winning streak ended as Cleveland beat the Magic.

Chris Mills scored 23 points and Bobby Phills 20 for Cleveland, which has won nine of its last 11 home games against Orlando.

ORLANDO (94)

Scott 9-15 4-4 27, Grant 5-13 1-2 11, Koncak 2-6 0-0 4, Shaw 6-15 0-1 13, Hardaway 9-16 4-5 23, Bowie 2-6 2-2 6, Royal 4-7 2-3 10, Wolf 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 37-80 13-17 94.

CLEVELAND (105)

Mills 8-13 7-9 23, Ferry 6-12 1-2 16, Cage 4-7 1-2 9, Phills 9-11 0-0 20, Brandon 7-15 2-2 18, Majerle 3-6 0-0 8, Sura 3-4 1-3 7, Courtney 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 42-71 12-18 105.

Orlando 26 25 22 21 - 94

Cleveland 25 30 24 26 - 105

3-Point goals-Orlando 7-16 (Scott 5-8, Shaw 1-3, Hardaway 1-4, Bowie 0-1), Cleveland 9-19 (Ferry 3-6, Phills 2-3, Majerle 2-4, Brandon 2-6). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Orlando 38 (Royal 7), Cleveland 44 (Cage 15). Assists-Orlando 29 (Shaw 10), Cleveland 32 (Brandon 10). Total fouls-Orlando 19, Cleveland 20. A-20,562 (20,562).

Hornets 96, Hawks 90

Charlotte, N.C.

Dell Curry, making his first start in nearly five years, had 21 points as Charlotte bounced back from its worst loss of the season.

Curry was part of a lineup shuffle following the Hornets’ 24-point loss to Chicago on Thursday night. The change produced immediate results as the Hornets held Atlanta to 24 rebounds, the lowest total by a Charlotte opponent this season.

ATLANTA (90)

Long 8-14 0-0 16, Augmon 3-8 2-2 8, Lang 8-15 0-0 16, Smith 3-10 7-8 14, Blaylock 7-14 5-8 22, Ehlo 2-7 0-0 5, Webb 0-0 4-4 4, Henderson 2-3 1-2 5, Mundt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-71 19-24 90.

CHARLOTTE (96)

Johnson 4-10 7-8 16, Curry 8-17 1-1 21, Geiger 3-4 0-0 6, Rice 6-13 7-10 21, Gill 7-15 2-3 17, Hancock 0-3 0-0 0, Adams 2-6 2-2 7, Parish 2-6 0-0 4, Addison 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 34-78 19-24 96.

Atlanta 30 17 20 23 - 90

Charlotte 28 19 22 27 - 96

3-Point goals-Atlanta 5-18 (Blaylock 3-6, Ehlo 1-3, Smith 1-7, Long 0-2), Charlotte 9-22 (Curry 4-9, Rice 2-5, Johnson 1-2, Gill 1-2, Adams 1-3, Addison 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Atlanta 39 (Long, Lang 5), Charlotte 53 (Geiger 11) Assists-Atlanta 14 (Long, Augmon 3), Charlotte 19 (Johnson 6). Total fouls-Atlanta 23, Charlotte 22. Technicals-Augmon, Charlotte illegal defense 3. A-24,042 (24,042).

Pistons 90, Bullets 82

Auburn Hills, Mich.

Grant Hill and Allan Houston had 25 points apiece to lead Detroit to a win.

The Pistons led by as many as 28 points in the third quarter, but had to fight off a Washington rally in the fourth.

WASHINGTON (82)

Howard 2-15 2-4 6, Wallace 0-1 3-8 3, Muresan 5-6 1-4 11, Eackles 5-10 0-2 14, Pack 6-13 0-0 14, McIlvaine 2-3 0-0 4, Legler 4-7 3-4 12, B.Price 4-9 1-2 11, Butler 3-10 1-2 7. Totals 31-74 11-26 82.

DETROIT (90)

Hill 10-18 5-7 25, Thorpe 9-16 4-4 22, Reid 0-2 3-4 3, Hunter 1-8 0-0 2, Houston 11-25 2-2 25, Mills 1-4 0-0 2, Ratliff 2-2 1-3 5, Macon 1-3 0-0 2, Dumars 2-5 0-0 4, West 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-84 15-20 90.

Washington 17 21 14 30 - 82

Detroit 27 21 31 11 - 90

3-Point goals-Washington 9-24 (Eackles 4-8, B.Price 2-4, Pack 2-6, Legler 1-2, Butler 0-4), Detroit 1-8 (Houston 1-2, Macon 0-1, Dumars 0-2, Hunter 0-3). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Washington 57 (McIlvaine, Howard 9), Detroit 53 (Thorpe 13). Assists-Washington 17 (Howard 5), Detroit 20 (Hill 7). Total fouls-Washington 17, Detroit 21. A-21,454 (21,454).

Bulls 113, Bucks 84

Chicago

Michael Jordan scored 32 points and Dennis Rodman led the Bulls’ domination on the boards as Chicago defeated Milwaukee to match the best 31-game start in NBA history.

The Bulls became just the fourth team in NBA history to start 28-3. The others were the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers, 1969-70 New York Knicks and 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

MILWAUKEE (84)

Baker 8-16 4-5 20, Robinson 7-16 8-9 23, Benjamin 1-2 0-0 2, Douglas 2-6 0-0 4, Newman 0-2 0-0 0, Cummings 3-7 0-0 6, Keys 4-7 1-2 11, Mayberry 2-5 0-0 5, Reynolds 2-5 2-2 6, Conlon 2-10 3-4 7, Respert 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 31-79 18-22 84.

CHICAGO (113)

Pippen 9-19 1-2 20, Rodman 2-4 1-2 5, Longley 3-4 1-1 10, Harper 4-10 2-2 10, Jordan 10-20 10-12 32, Kukoc 4-8 2-4 11, Kerr 3-5 1-1 7, Buechler 5-7 0-0 10, Wennington 3-3 0-0 6, Simpkins 1-1 0-0 2, Caffey 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 1-3 1-1 3. Totals 45-95 19-25 113.

Milwaukee 17 23 21 23 - 84

Chicago 31 18 27 37 - 113

3-Point goals-Milwaukee 4-15 (Keys 2-3, Mayberry 1-3, Robinson 1-5, Baker 0-1, Respert 0-1, Douglas 0-1, Newman 0-1), Chicago 4-12 (Jordan 2-4, Kukoc 1-2, Pippen 1-3, Harper 0-1, Kerr 0-1, Buechler 0-1). Fouled out-Keys. Rebounds-Milwaukee 42 (Baker 12), Chicago 56 (Rodman 16). Assists-Milwaukee 15 (Douglas 6), Chicago 27 (Pippen 6). Total fouls-Milwaukee 26, Chicago 26. Technicals- Milwaukee coach Dunleavy 2, Conlon, Rodman, Chicago illegal defense. Ejection-Milwaukee coach Dunleavy. A-23,801 (23,895).

Heat 88, Nuggets 86

Denver

Alonzo Mourning came off the injured list and scored 38 points, including a basket on a goaltending call with 14.7 seconds left, and Miami beat foul-prone Denver .

MIAMI (88)

Owens 9-19 2-6 20, Thomas 2-2 2-4 6, Mourning 12-25 14-16 38, Coles 3-6 4-4 10, Gamble 0-0 0-0 0, Askins 1-4 2-2 4, Chapman 0-7 0-0 0, Schayes 2-3 0-0 4, Myers 1-3 1-2 3, Lenard 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 31-73 25-34 88.

DENVER (86)

D.Ellis 5-13 2-2 16, McDyess 4-8 0-1 8, Mutombo 2-8 5-5 9, Abdul-Rauf 6-20 0-0 15, Stith 4-12 7-8 16, L.Ellis 3-10 2-4 8, Williams 1-6 0-0 2, Rose 4-7 3-4 10, Hammonds 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-84 19-24 86.

Miami 16 21 26 25 - 88

Denver 17 24 22 23 - 86

3-Point goals-Miami 1-17 (Lenard 1-4, Coles 0-1, Askins 0-3, Chapman 0-4, Mourning 0-5), Denver 9-19 (D.Ellis 4-6, Abdul-Rauf 3-9, Rose 1-1, Stith 1-2, Williams 0-1). Fouled out-L.Ellis. Rebounds-Miami 55 (Mourning 10), Denver 56 (Stith 10). Assists-Miami 21 (Coles 7), Denver 18 (AbdulRauf 10). Total fouls-Miami 23, Denver 28. A-17,171 (17,171).

Kings 115, Warriors 106

Sacramento, Calif.

Walt Williams made six free throws down the stretch, lifting Sacramento.

Williams topped a balanced attack with 27 points.

GOLDEN STATE (106)

Kersey 3-7 0-2 6, Smith 9-20 7-8 25, Seikaly 7-14 4-4 18, Sprewell 3-9 0-0 6, Armstrong 3-6 0-0 6, Gatling 3-6 2-2 8, Hardaway 3-12 3-4 11, Mullin 6-6 3-3 18, Marshall 1-4 0-0 2, Barry 2-2 0-0 6. Totals 40-86 19-23 106.

SACRAMENTO (115)

Williams 8-19 9-13 27, Grant 10-18 2-4 22, Polynice 9-12 4-4 22, Richmond 8-14 3-4 23, Edney 3-11 5-5 11, Williamson 0-3 0-0 0, Houston 0-0 0-0 0, Corbin 1-2 0-0 2, Marciulionis 4-7 0-0 8. Totals 43-86 23-30 115.

Golden State 25 32 20 29 - 106

Sacramento 25 35 30 25 - 115

3-Point goals-Golden State 7-13 (Mullin 3-3, Barry 2-2, Hardaway 2-5, Marshall 0-1, Sprewell 0-1, Smith 0-1), Sacramento 6-14 (Richmond 4-4, Williams 2-7, Marciulionis 0-1, Edney 0-2). Fouled out-Barry, Grant. Rebounds- Golden State 49 (Smith 8), Sacramento 51 (Polynice 10). Assists-Golden State 27 (Hardaway 9), Sacramento 26 (Edney 8). Total fouls-Golden State 25, Sacramento 25. Technical-Polynice. Flagrant foul-Gatling. Ejection- Gatling. A-17,317 (17,317).