Abdul-Rauf’s Perfection Lifts Nuggets

NBA

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf scored 33 points and hit all seven of his 3-point attempts as Denver held off the Los Angeles Lakers 96-93 Sunday night in Inglewood, Calif., to snap a six-game road losing streak.

The Nuggets stopped a three-game overall skid and won on the road for the first time since beating New York on Dec. 14.

Since last season, the last four games between the Nuggets and Los Angeles have been decided by three points or less.

Abdul-Rauf finished 13 of 19 from the field. Antonio McDyess added 20 points for Denver.

Nuggets 96, Lakers 93

DENVER (96)

McDyess 8-14 4-4 20, D.Ellis 4-12 4-4 14, Mutombo 0-2 1-2 1, Stith 2-7 4-5 8, Abdul-Rauf 13-19 0-0 33, L.Ellis 4-10 2-4 10, Rose 3-7 0-0 6, Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Hammonds 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 36-76 15-18 96.

L.A. LAKERS (93)

Campbell 8-14 2-4 18, Ceballos 6-13 3-3 15, Divac 9-15 3-8 21, Jones 3-11 2-2 10, Van Exel 7-17 4-5 19, Threatt 1-4 0-0 3, Strong 0-2 3-4 3, Lynch 0-3 2-2 2, Blount 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 35-80 19-28 93.

Denver 22 25 25 24 - 96

L.A. Lakers 28 22 17 26 - 93

3-Point goals-Denver 9-19 (Abdul-Rauf 7-8, D.Ellis 2-8, Williams 0-1, Stith 0-2), Los Angeles 4-9 (Jones 2-3, Threatt 1-1, Van Exel 1-4, Ceballos 0-1). Fouled out-Mutombo. Rebounds- Denver 49 (McDyess, Mutombo 7), Los Angeles 49 (Campbell, Divac 9). Assists-Denver 25 (Stith, Abdul-Rauf 7), Los Angeles 27 (Van Exel 10). Total fouls-Denver 24, Los Angeles 23. Technical- Denver coach Bickerstaff. A-13,845 (17,505).

Mavericks 117, Celtics 96 Boston

Jim Jackson scored 30 points and Jason Kidd added a season-high 29 as Dallas beat Boston, the Mavericks’ first road win against the Celtics in 16 tries.

George McCloud had 28 for Dallas, which had never beaten Boston on the road.

Dino Radja had 28 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Celtics, who have lost six of their last seven games.

DALLAS (117)

McCloud 9-20 6-7 28, Jones 4-5 2-2 10, L.Williams 0-2 1-2 1, Jackson 11-20 4-4 30, Kidd 9-20 9-12 29, Dumas 1-5 4-4 7, Brooks 4-5 0-0 8, Hodge 1-4 0-0 2, Parks 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 40-85 26-31 117.

BOSTON (96)

Radja 13-23 2-2 28, Fox 2-9 4-6 8, Montross 3-5 1-2 7, Brown 5-13 5-6 16, Barros 4-11 0-0 9, Day 0-4 1-3 1, Wesley 2-7 4-5 8, E.Williams 1-6 2-2 4, Minor 3-6 0-0 6, Ellison 2-4 4-4 8, Burrough 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 35-88 24-32 96.

Dallas 27 27 32 31 - 117

Boston 20 31 24 21 - 96

3-Point goals-Dallas 11-23 (Jackson 4-7, McCloud 4-11, Kidd 2-3, Dumas 1-2), Boston 2-14 (Brown 1-4, Barros 1-6, Fox 0-1, Day 0-1, Wesley 0-2). Fouled out-L.Williams. Rebounds-Dallas 59 (L.Williams 16), Boston 52 (Radja 13). Assists-Dallas 24 (Kidd 10), Boston 20 (Fox, Wesley 5). Total fouls-Dallas 25, Boston 29. Technical-Jones. Flagrant foul- E.Williams. A-18,246 (18,600).

Clippers 101, Grizzlies 93 Vancouver, British Columbia

Malik Sealy had 25 points as Los Angeles held off a Vancouver rally to defeat the Grizzlies.

Sealy hit 10 of 15 from the field, and Lamond Murray added 20 points for the Clippers.

The Grizzlies erased a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter and took the lead with 8 minutes to play but saw their two-game winning streak end.

L.A. CLIPPERS (101)

Murray 8-15 2-3 20, Vaught 1-3 0-0 2, Williams 5-9 1-4 11, Sealy 10-15 5-7 25, Richardson 1-9 3-3 5, Rogers 7-8 1-1 16, Harvey 4-7 2-5 10, Dehere 2-5 8-10 12, Outlaw 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-71 22-33 101.

VANCOUVER (93)

King 3-4 0-0 6, Avent 4-7 1-1 9, Reeves 7-12 2-3 16, B.Edwards 4-16 4-4 12, Anthony 10-16 2-4 25, Mobley 2-3 0-0 4, Gattison 1-5 1-2 3, Murdock 2-2 0-0 5, Scott 4-11 3-3 13, D.Edwards 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-77 13-17 93.

L.A. Clippers 33 21 22 25 - 101

Vancouver 31 19 19 24 - 93

3-Point goals-Los Angeles 3-11 (Murray 2-4, Rogers 1-1, Sealy 0-1, Dehere 0-1, Richardson 0-4), Vancouver 6-18 (Anthony 3-6, Scott 2-5, Murdock 1-1, B.Edwards 0-6). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Los Angeles 46 (Rogers 7), Vancouver 42 (Reeves 8). Assists-Los Angeles 24 (Richardson 10), Vancouver 25 (Anthony 15). Total fouls-Los Angeles 25, Vancouver 28. Technicals-Murray, Richardson, B.Edwards, Anthony. A-18,089 (19,193).

Trail Blazers 113, Timberwolves 97 Portland

Clifford Robinson scored a career-high 41 points in leading Portland to the victory over Minnesota.

Robinson hit 17 of 27 from the floor, grabbed eight rebounds, and handed out four assists. His previous career-high was 40 against Utah three years ago.

MINNESOTA (97)

Mitchell 3-6 5-6 11, Gugliotta 2-7 0-0 4, Laettner 7-13 4-5 19, Rider 6-10 3-5 18, Porter 2-9 0-0 4, West 3-4 7-9 13, Rooks 5-6 5-7 15, Garnett 4-7 0-0 9, Davis 0-1 2-4 2, Allen 0-1 0-0 0, Bragg 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 32-64 28-38 97.

PORTLAND (113)

Grant 3-8 1-1 7, C.Robinson 17-27 4-10 41, Dudley 2-5 1-2 5, McKie 1-5 0-0 2, Strickland 5-13 2-2 13, Trent 5-9 3-7 13, J.Robinson 5-9 4-7 18, Sabonis 5-7 2-2 12, Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Wingfield 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 44-88 17-31 113.

Minnesota 21 21 31 24 - 97

Portland 26 26 30 31 - 113

3-Point goals-Minnesota 5-9 (Rider 3-3, Garnett 1-1, Laettner 1-1, Allen 0-1, Porter 0-3), Portland 8-18 (J.Robinson 4-6, C.Robinson 3-8, Strickland 1-3, Grant 0-1). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Minnesota 44 (Gugliotta 6), Portland 56 (Dudley 11). Assists-Minnesota 18 (West 6), Portland 19 (Strickland, J.Robinson 5). Total fouls-Minnesota 25, Portland 24. Technical-Williams. Flagrant foul-Gugliotta. A-20,268 (21,401).

Mourning has good timing

Alonzo Mourning returned at a great time for Miami, and he delivered a great game as well.

With the Heat beginning a tough six-game trip out West on Saturday night, Mourning tied his season high with 38 points as Miami dumped the Denver Nuggets, 88-86. Mourning had missed the previous 12 games because of a strained tendon in his foot, and the Heat had struggled without its All-Star center.

With Mourning back, Miami (15-14) hopes to secure a playoff spot. It’s a safe bet that nobody will look forward to Miami as a first-round playoff opponent. Pat Riley has led his team to the playoffs in each of his 13 seasons as a coach. And his firstround playoff record is 13-0.

Scary thought

Led by Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen, the Chicago Bulls had 20 offensive rebounds in a 113-84 win over Milwaukee Saturday night. Chicago’s offensive rebound figure matched Milwaukee’s defensive rebound total.