Magic Mulls Over Options For Next Year

NBA

Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan finishing their NBA careers together? Johnson reunited in Miami with his former coach Pat Riley? Johnson back home in Michigan, playing for the Pistons?

Almost all things are possible, Johnson indicated in a far-ranging telephone conference call Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ star, making a comeback after 4-1/2 years of retirement, was most enthusiastic when asked if he’d like to team with Jordan. Both will be free agents after this season.

“Our agents talk more than we do during the season,” Johnson said, adding that he and Jordan had talked about someday being teammates when they played pickup games in the summer during Johnson’s retirement.

Asked about reports he might like to play for Riley’s Miami Heat, Johnson said: “I want to stay in L.A. and I want to be here. If that doesn’t happen for some reason, I’ll talk to Pat, or to Detroit, and we’ll go on from there.”

Spurs 100, Nuggets 90

San Antonio

San Antonio beat Denver for the 10th straight time, despite losing David Robinson in the second period to a lacerated finger.

Denver (90) - L.Ellis 4-9 3-4 11, McDyess 8-16 0-1 16, Mutombo 5-11 4-5 14, Stith 3-8 3-4 9, Rose 5-10 3-5 13, D.Ellis 7-11 0-0 15, R.Williams 1-5 0-0 2, Overton 4-9 0-0 9, Hammonds 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 37-80 14-21 90.

San Antonio (100) - Elliott 7-11 2-2 16, Smith 6-12 2-2 14, Robinson 1-4 4-4 6, Del Negro 12-18 4-4 29, Johnson 6-11 1-2 14, Person 0-6 0-0 0, Perdue 7-12 0-0 14, Alexander 2-2 0-2 5, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, M.Williams 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 42-78 13-16 100.

Denver 25 25 15 25 - 90

San Antonio 20 31 26 23 - 100

3-Point goals-Denver 2-10 (D.Ellis 1-2, Overton 1-3, Stith 0-1, Rose 0-1, R.Williams 0-3), San Antonio 3-10 (Del Negro 1-1, Alexander 1-1, Johnson 1-2, Elliott 0-3, Person 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Denver 42 (Mutombo 13), San Antonio 47 (Perdue 10). Assists-Denver 14 (Rose 4), San Antonio 24 (Johnson 10). Total fouls-Denver 19, San Antonio 21. A-14,008 (20,662).

Celtics 110, Clippers 97

Boston

Eric Montross had 15 points and 15 rebounds to help Boston past Los Angeles.

L.A. Clippers (97) - Vaught 4-10 5-6 13, Rogers 5-8 0-0 10, B.Williams 8-17 3-3 19, Richardson 5-14 3-4 15, Barry 1-5 0-0 3, Murray 3-5 0-0 6, Roberts 3-5 1-3 7, Dehere 4-9 5-5 15, Outlaw 2-2 1-4 5, Sealy 2-9 0-0 4, Piatkowski 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 37-86 18-25 97.

Boston (110) - Ellison 4-6 0-2 8, Fox 2-7 2-2 7, Montross 6-8 3-4 15, Wesley 1-8 10-12 12, Minor 8-11 4-5 20, Burrough 1-2 1-2 3, Barros 6-9 0-0 14, Lister 2-2 0-1 4, Day 6-13 3-4 17, E.Williams 2-5 2-4 6, Smith 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 40-74 25-36 110.

L.A. Clippers 26 33 19 19 - 97

Boston 30 33 26 21 - 110

3-Point goals-Los Angeles 5-21 (Dehere 2-6, Richardson 2-7, Barry 1-4, Sealy 0-1, Rogers 0-1, Piatkowski 0-2), Boston 5-13 (Day 2-3, Barros 2-3, Fox 1-4, Wesley 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Los Angeles 47 (Vaught 15), Boston 54 (Montross 15). Assists-Los Angeles 19 (Richardson 9), Boston 24 (Wesley 8). Total fouls-Los Angeles 23, Boston 21. Technicals-Los Angeles coach Fitch 2. Ejection-Los Angeles coach Fitch. A-16,379 (18,624).

Timberwolves 103, Sixers 90

Philadelphia

Kevin Garnett had 14 points and a career-high 19 rebounds as Minnesota won its third straight at the Spectrum.

Minnesota (103) - Garnett 7-16 0-0 14, Gugliotta 6-16 0-0 12, Lang 7-8 6-8 20, Rider 11-22 3-4 29, Webb 8-17 0-1 18, West 4-8 0-0 8, Porter 1-3 0-1 2, Lang 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 44-90 9-14 103.

Philadelphia (90) - Alston 7-9 0-0 14, Weatherspoon 5-21 3-6 13, Pinckney 2-3 0-0 4, Stackhouse 9-23 3-3 23, Maxwell 1-14 1-2 4, Massenburg 8-15 0-0 16, Ruffin 6-11 2-3 16, Thompson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 38-97 9-14 90.

Minnesota 27 21 23 32 - 103

Philadelphia 27 24 17 22 - 90

3-Point goals-Minnesota 6-15 (Rider 4-6, Webb 2-6, Garnett 0-1, Porter 0-2), Philadelphia 5-22 (Ruffin 2-4, Stackhouse 2-9, Maxwell 1-9). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Minnesota 55 (Garnett 19), Philadelphia 60 (Massenburg 12). Assists-Minnesota 26 (Webb 11), Philadelphia 17 (Stackhouse, Maxwell 6). Total fouls- Minnesota 15, Philadelphia 13. Technicals-Rider, Stackhouse. A-8,031 (18,168).

Knicks 89, Raptors 82

Toronto

Hubert Davis scored a season-high 30 points to lead New York to just its second win in eight games.

New York (89) - Reid 1-3 0-0 2, Mason 4-9 8-10 16, Ewing 5-13 7-11 17, Davis 9-17 7-8 30, Harper 5-11 1-2 13, Williams 2-8 0-2 4, Starks 3-7 0-0 7, Lohaus 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-68 23-33 89.

Toronto (82) - Murray 5-14 3-4 14, Miller 4-9 3-4 11, Wright 7-21 4-8 18, Robertson 4-8 0-2 8, Stoudamire 5-14 2-3 14, Tabak 5-7 0-0 10, Christie 1-4 0-0 2, Rogers 2-6 0-2 4, King 0-6 1-2 1. Totals 33-89 13-25 82.

New York 28 27 17 17 - 89

Toronto 23 15 20 24 - 82

3-Point goals-New York 8-16 (Davis 5-10, Harper 2-4, Starks 1-2), Toronto 3-14 (Stoudamire 2-7, Murray 1-4, King 0-1, Robertson 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-New York 57 (Ewing 13), Toronto 60 (Miller, Wright 8). Assists- New York 16 (Mason 6), Toronto 23 (Stoudamire 15). Total fouls-New York 16, Toronto 24. Technicals-Ewing, Wright, Toronto illegal defense. A-21,998 (22,911).

Jazz 101, Pacers 94

Salt Lake City

Karl Malone had 24 points and 20 rebounds as Utah won its fifth straight.

Indiana (94) - McKey 4-11 0-0 8, D.Davis 4-10 1-2 9, Smits 6-13 4-5 16, Miller 5-20 5-8 16, Jackson 3-5 5-6 11, Johnson 3-5 5-6 11, A.Davis 2-2 7-12 11, Workman 0-0 0-0 0, Best 2-3 0-0 5, Pierce 2-8 6-8 10, Caldwell 3-3 0-0 6, Schintzius 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 32-78 28-41 94.

Utah (101) - Benoit 3-5 0-0 7, Malone 9-20 5-7 24, Spencer 1-3 6-8 8, Hornacek 8-12 4-4 23, Stockton 4-9 10-10 19, Ostertag 0-1 2-4 2, Eisley 0-3 1-2 1, Carr 1-4 2-4 4, Morris 3-6 3-3 9, Keefe 1-1 0-0 2, Foster 1-3 0-0 2, Russell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-67 33-42 101.

Indiana 17 27 33 17 - 94

Utah 30 24 24 23 - 101

3-Point goals-Indiana 2-12 (Best 1-1, Miller 1-7, McKey 0-2, Pierce 0-2), Utah 6-14 (Hornacek 3-3, Malone 1-1, Benoit 1-2, Stockton 1-3, Eisley 0-2, Morris 0-3). Fouled out-A.Davis, Carr. Rebounds-Indiana 58 (Smits 11), Utah 46 (Malone 20). Assists-Indiana 15 (Jackson 8), Utah 23 (Stockton 12). Total fouls-Indiana 33, Utah 28. Technicals-Malone, Utah coach Sloan, Indiana illegal defense, Utah illegal defense 4. A-19,911 (19,911).