Cavs Ground Jordan
Cleveland may have found its Jordan-stopper.
Bobby Phills hounded Michael Jordan into 9-for-26 shooting Sunday, including an errant 25-footer at the buzzer, as the Cavs held off Chicago 79-78 in Cleveland.
The Cavs narrowly survived a Jordan-led charge that erased most of a 10-point lead in the final 3 minutes. Jordan finished with 21 points and Scottie Pippen 19 for the Bulls, whose six-game winning streak ended.
CHICAGO (78)
Pippen 7-17 4-6 19, Kukoc 2-5 0-2 5, Perdue 1-1 0-0 2, Armstrong 2-4 2-2 6, Jordan 9-26 1-2 21, Blount 1-2 0-0 2, Longley 0-3 0-0 0, Kerr 5-7 1-1 13, Myers 2-3 0-0 4, Wennington 3-5 0-1 6. Totals 32-73 8-14 78.
CLEVELAND (79)
Mills 4-15 4-4 12, Hill 4-9 1-2 9, Williams 7-12 5-6 19, Price 6-14 5-5 20, Phills 7-13 3-4 19, Cage 0-0 0-0 0, Dreiling 0-0 0-0 0, Colter 0-1 0-0 0, Ferry 0-2 0-0 0, Campbell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 18-21 79.
Chicago 24 20 9 25 - 78 Cleveland 18 26 20 15 - 79
3-Point goals-Chicago 6-10 (Kerr 2-2, Jordan 2-3, Pippen 1-2, Kukoc 1-2, Armstrong 0-1), Cleveland 5-13 (Price 3-6, Phills 2-3, Ferry 0-1, Mills 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds- Chicago 45 (Jordan 9), Cleveland 43 (Mills 9). Assists-Chicago 22 (Pippen 9), Cleveland 19 (Price 8). Total fouls-Chicago 22, Cleveland 19. Technicals-Williams, Chicago illegal defense 2, Wennington, Price. A-20,562 (20,562).
Suns 104, Trail Blazers 94
Portland Charles Barkley had a late breakfast with the media, then scored 24 points, 11 in the decisive third quarter, as Phoenix held on for a victory.
The victory moved Phoenix within a half-game of first-place Seattle in the Pacific Division. The Suns play the Sonics Tuesday night in Tacoma.
PHOENIX (104)
Barkley 10-20 3-4 24, Green 8-12 4-7 21, Kleine 0-4 2-2 2, Perry 3-6 1-2 7, Person 4-7 0-0 8, Schayes 2-3 1-2 5, Tisdale 5-9 5-6 15, Johnson 4-9 5-6 13, Majerle 2-8 2-2 7, Ruffin 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 39-79 23-31 104.
PORTLAND (94)
C.Robinson 11-24 2-2 26, Williams 2-4 0-0 4, Dudley 2-4 1-6 5, Strickland 3-17 2-2 8, McKie 4-10 2-2 10, Thorpe 4-7 3-4 11, Grant 5-10 3-6 13, Kersey 7-12 3-4 17, Porter 0-1 0-0 0, J.Robinson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 38-90 16-26 94.
Phoenix 23 26 32 23 - 104 Portland 24 23 18 29 - 94
3-Point goals-Phoenix 3-9 (Green 1-1, Majerle 1-3, Barkley 1-4, Person 0-1), Portland 2-9 (C.Robinson 2-5, Kersey 0-1, J.Robinson 0-1, Strickland 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Phoenix 47 (Green 11), Portland 63 (Dudley 10). Assists-Phoenix 19 (Perry 7), Portland 19 (Strickland 10). Total fouls-Phoenix 24, Portland 26. A-12,888 (12,888).
Pacers 97, Hornets 68
Indianapolis Indiana took a major step toward its first NBA divisional title, beating Charlotte as its bench totally outplayed the Hornets’ reserves.
The win, combined with Chicago’s loss in Cleveland, means the Pacers clinched homecourt advantage in the opening round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
CHARLOTTE (68)
Johnson 7-11 5-6 24, Wingate 0-4 1-2 1, Mourning 5-11 9-10 19, Bogues 5-10 0-2 10, Hawkins 0-6 0-0 0, Parish 0-3 0-0 0, Gattison 2-8 0-3 4, Sutton 0-6 0-2 0, Hancock 3-3 0-0 7, Wolf 0-2 1-2 1, Tolbert 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 22-65 18-29 68.
INDIANA (97)
D.Davis 6-8 0-2 12, McKey 4-12 1-2 10, Smits 8-13 2-3 18, Jackson 1-5 0-0 2, Miller 4-7 5-6 16, A.Davis 2-3 0-0 4, Scott 4-8 0-0 11, Kite 0-1 0-0 0, Workman 2-6 0-0 6, Mitchell 4-8 2-4 10, Fleming 0-0 4-4 4, Ferrell 2-2 0-1 4. Totals 37-73 14-22 97.
Charlotte 16 14 22 16 - 68 Indiana 22 23 24 28 - 97
3-Point goals-Charlotte 6-17 (Johnson 5-8, Hancock 1-1, Mourning 0-1, Sutton 0-3, Hawkins 0-4), Indiana 9-15 (Miller 3-4, Scott 3-4, Workman 2-4, McKey 1-2, Jackson 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Charlotte 44 (Mourning 12), Indiana 54 (D.Davis 10). Assists-Charlotte 16 (Johnson, Wingate, Mourning, Sutton 3), Indiana 31 (Jackson 10). Total fouls- Charlotte 23, Indiana 29. Technical-Smits. A-16,661 (16,530).
Bucks 102, Hawks 99
Milwaukee Glenn Robinson scored 32 points and had nine rebounds as Milwaukee rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit for a victory.
The Bucks trailed 93-87 with 1:59 left before they went on a 7-0 run over the next 33 seconds to take a 94-93 lead on Marty Conlon’s basket.
ATLANTA (99)
Augmon 4-10 4-4 12, Long 4-11 2-2 10, Lang 6-11 2-3 14, Blaylock 9-19 0-0 22, Smith 5-14 5-7 16, Ehlo 2-6 0-0 5, Whatley 1-1 0-0 2, Corbin 7-8 0-0 14, Anderson 1-1 2-4 4. Totals 39-81 15-20 99.
MILWAUKEE (102)
Baker 9-16 5-8 23, Robinson 9-20 12-13 32, Mobley 0-2 1-2 1, Day 4-8 3-4 12, Mayberry 0-3 0-0 0, Conlon 1-4 0-0 2, Murdock 7-15 3-6 19, Newman 5-7 2-2 13, Barry 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 35-76 26-35 102.
Atlanta 23 32 23 21 - 99 Milwaukee 17 28 25 32 - 102 3-Point goals-Atlanta 6-17 (Blaylock 4-9, Ehlo 1-2, Smith
1-6), Milwaukee 6-17 (Murdock 2-4, Robinson 2-5, Day 1-2, Newman 1-3, Barry 0-1, Mayberry 0-2). Fouled out-Lang. Rebounds-Atlanta 54 (Lang 10), Milwaukee 43 (Baker, Robinson 9). Assists-Atlanta 25 (Blaylock 9), Milwaukee 23 (Murdock 8). Total fouls-Atlanta 29, Milwaukee 20. Technicals-Augmon. A-18,633 (18,633).
110, Bullets 98
Landover, Md.
Sherman Douglas scored 22 points as Boston won a season-high fifth straight game, beating Washington to extend the Bullets’ losing streak to 11 games.
Gheorghe Muresan scored a careerhigh 30 points for Washington, which is three losses shy of tying a franchise record for consecutive losses. Muresan hit 13 of 15 shots from the field.
BOSTON (110)
Wilkins 6-15 0-0 16, Strong 6-10 1-1 13, Montross 1-1 2-2 4, Douglas 6-14 10-10 22, Brown 6-13 2-2 15, Minor 5-9 0-1 10, Radja 9-12 2-2 20, McDaniel 0-4 0-0 0, Ellison 5-8 0-0 10. Totals 44-86 17-18 110.
WASHINGTON (98)
Webber 9-18 0-1 19, MacLean 1-4 2-2 4, Muresan 13-15 4-5 30, Cheaney 8-20 0-0 17, Overton 5-15 3-3 16, Tucker 1-2 0-0 2, McIlvaine 0-0 0-0 0, Butler 4-14 2-2 8, Walker 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 42-89 9-13 98.
Boston 27 26 25 32 - 110 Washington 26 21 30 21 - 98
3-Point goals-Boston 5-12 (Wilkins 4-8, Brown 1-4), Washington 5-13 (Overton 3-7, Cheaney 1-1, Webber 1-3, Butler 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Boston 54 (Radja 12), Washington 40 (Webber 10). Assists-Boston 20 (Douglas 8), Washington 21 (Webber 9). Total fouls-Boston 17, Washington 18. Technical-Boston illegal defense. A-18,756 (18,756).
Rockets 123, Nuggets 120
Denver
Clyde Drexler banked in a 30-foot shot at the buzzer, giving short-handed Houston a win.
The Rockets clinched a playoff spot for the third straight season.
The Nuggets lost their third straight game and fell into a tie with the Sacramento Kings for the last Western Conference playoff berth.
HOUSTON (123)
Herrera 3-6 0-0 6, Elie 8-15 5-6 25, Chilcutt 9-14 2-2 25, Drexler 11-21 9-11 34, Smith 2-6 0-0 5, Brown 3-5 2-2 8, Murray 3-4 0-0 8, Cassell 4-8 3-7 12. Totals 43-79 21-28 123.
DENVER (120)
R.Williams 5-10 2-3 13, Rogers 3-4 1-2 7, Mutombo 4-8 5-12 13, Abdul-Rauf 14-24 4-4 34, Rose 5-10 3-4 13, Ellis 5-10 3-3 16, Stith 3-6 2-2 8, B.Williams 3-4 0-0 6, Hammonds 2-4 1-2 5, Grant 2-4 0-0 5.Totals 46-84 21-32 120.
Houston 40 25 30 28 - 123 Denver 41 31 26 22 - 120
3-Point goals-Houston 16-29 (Chilcutt 5-7, Elie 4-6, Drexler 3-5, Murray 2-3, Smith 1-3, Cassell 1-4, Brown 0-1), Denver 7-14 (D.Ellis 3-5, Abdul-Rauf 3-3, R.Williams 1-2, Grant 1-2, Rose 0-1, Stith 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Houston 48 (Drexler 13), Denver 44 (Mutombo 14). Assists-Houston 22 (Cassell 6), Denver 26 (Abdul-Rauf 7). Total fouls-Houston 29, Denver 25. Technicals-Houston illegal defense. A-17,171 (17,171).
Spurs 101, Lakers 87
Inglewood, Calif.
David Robinson had 26 points and 18 rebounds as San Antonio won its 15th straight game, besting Los Angeles.
Robinson barely missed his first tripledouble of the season, getting seven blocked shots in the Spurs’ club-record 26th road win.
SAN ANTONIO (101)
Cummings 4-8 0-0 8, Elliott 5-10 7-9 18, Robinson 11-20 4-9 26, Del Negro 10-17 2-2 22, Johnson 4-9 0-0 8, Person 1-6 0-0 2, Reid 6-8 1-2 13, Rivers 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 43-84 14-22 101.
L.A. LAKERS (87)
Campbell 4-10 1-2 9, Ceballos 12-21 1-3 26, Divac 8-15 2-2 18, Jones 4-12 0-0 10, Van Exel 4-14 2-2 11, Peeler 2-10 0-0 4, Daniels 0-2 0-0 0, Bowie 1-4 2-2 4, Threatt 2-5 0-0 5, Miller 0-0 0-0 0.Totals 37-93 8-11 87.
San Antonio 31 23 28 19 - 101 L.A. Lakers 21 16 28 22 - 87
3-Point goals-San Antonio 1-13 (Elliott 1-4, Johnson 0-1, Del Negro 0-2, Person 0-3, Rivers 0-3), Los Angeles 5-23 (Jones 2-7, Threatt 1-1, Ceballos 1-3, Van Exel 1-5, Divac 0-1, Daniels 0-1, Bowie 0-1, Peeler 0-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-San Antonio 58 (Robinson 18), Los Angeles 50 (Divac 17). Assists- San Antonio 26 (Johnson 15), Los Angeles 22 (Divac 7). Total fouls-San Antonio 17, Los Angeles 23. Technical-Los Angeles illegal defense. A-17,505 (17,505).