Elie’s Spark In Fourth Period Lifts Rockets

NBA < Mario Elie, whose 3-point shot in the final seconds knocked the Phoenix Suns out of the second round of the playoffs 5-1/2 months ago, brought Houston from behind in the fourth quarter as the Rockets beat the Suns 106-104 Sunday night at Phoenix.

Rockets 106, Suns 104

HOUSTON (106)

Brown 4-6 0-1 8, Horry 6-10 0-0 14, Olajuwon 11-22 2-5 24, Drexler 8-15 3-4 21, Smith 1-3 1-1 4, Chilcutt 1-3 0-0 3, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Cassell 5-14 4-4 16, Elie 6-8 2-3 14, Breaux 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 43-82 12-18 106.

PHOENIX (104)

Green 1-10 3-6 5, Barkley 8-11 5-10 23, Williams 3-6 0-0 6, Person 6-12 7-8 22, Johnson 1-10 3-5 5, Kleine 4-5 0-0 8, Tisdale 6-14 4-4 16, Finley 3-8 1-4 7, Perry 5-8 2-2 12, Carr 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-85 25-39 104.

Houston 22 29 31 24 - 106 Phoenix 22 30 31 21 - 104

3-Point goals-Hou 8-20 (Horry 2-3, Drexler 2-5, Cassell 2-6, Smith 1-2, Chilcutt 1-3, Elie 0-1), Pho 5-21 (Person 3-6, Barkley 2-3, Carr 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Perry 0-2, Finley 0-3, Green 0-5). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Hou 43 (Olajuwon 12), Pho 64 (Barkley 17). Assists-Hou 26 (Drexler 8), Pho 22 (Johnson 7). Total fouls-Hou 26, Pho 18. Technicals-Brown, Elie, Cassell, Kleine, Barkley. A-19,023 (19,023).

Grizzlies 100, Timberwolves 98, OT Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver became the first NBA expansion team since 1980 to open with two victories as the Grizzlies defeated Minnesota in overtime behind reserve Byron Scott’s 18 points.

MINNESOTA (98)

Mitchell 5-12 4-7 14, Gugliotta 4-10 2-4 10, Laettner 10-17 5-6 26, West 3-13 4-5 10, Porter 7-15 3-3 18, Williams 3-8 1-1 8, Rooks 3-9 0-0 6, Davis 1-6 0-0 3, Garnett 0-2 0-0 0, Bragg 1-1 1-1 3. Totals 37-93 20-27 98.

VANCOUVER (100)

King 3-10 3-5 9, Gattison 6-10 1-3 13, Benjamin 4-9 1-2 9, Edwards 6-15 3-8 16, Anthony 4-12 8-10 17, Martin 5-6 4-5 14, Scott 6-12 5-7 18, Harvey 2-4 0-0 4, Reeves 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 36-79 25-40 100.

Minnesota 27 26 23 12 10 - 98 Vancouver 26 16 20 26 12 - 100

3-Point goals-Min 4-15 (Laettner 1-2, Davis 1-2, Williams 1-3, Porter 1-7, Gugliotta 0-1), Van 3-10 (Edwards 1-2, Anthony 1-3, Scott 1-4, King 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Min 59 (Laettner 11), Van 62 (Gattison 13). Assists-Min 23 (Porter 10), Van 21 (Anthony 8). Total fouls-Min 33, Van 24. Technicals-Benjamin, Vancouver coach Winters, Gattison. A-19,193 (34,215).

Trail Blazers 109, Jazz 105 Portland, Ore.

Clifford Robinson scored 25 points, hitting 4 for 6 from 3-point range, as Portland rebounded from its embarassing season-opening loss to Vancouver to beat Utah.

UTAH (105)

Benoit 1-3 0-0 2, Malone 9-16 8-9 26, Ostertag 3-4 4-4 10, Morris 6-10 1-3 14, Stockton 5-12 1-2 12, Foster 2-4 1-2 5, Hornacek 6-11 10-11 25, Watson 0-2 0-0 0, Keefe 4-8 0-2 8, Russell 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 37-73 25-33 105.

PORTLAND (109)

Wingfield 1-5 0-0 3, C.Robinson 6-12 9-19 25, Dudley 4-5 2-4 10, Grant 4-9 8-9 16, Strickland 6-11 6-10 18, Childress 2-6 0-0 5, McKie 1-4 2-2 4, Sabonis 7-11 1-2 16, Trent 6-8 0-1 12, Slater 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-71 28-47 109.

Utah 23 31 22 29 - 105 Portland 29 20 26 34 - 109

3-Point goals-Uta 6-12 (Hornacek 3-3, Russell 1-1, Morris 1-3, Stockton 1-4, Benoit 0-1), Por 7-15 (C.Robinson 4-6, Wingfield 1-2, Sabonis 1-2, Childress 1-4, McKie 0-1). Fouled out-Malone. Rebounds-Uta 44 (Morris 9), Por 53 (Dudley 11). Assists-Uta 25 (Stockton 11), Por 21 (Strickland 6). Total fouls-Uta 36, Por 24. Technicals-Portland illegal defense 3. A-21,398 (21,398).

Kings 99, Clippers 82 Sacramento, Calif.

Mitch Richmond scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and hit three 3-pointers in the period as Sacramento pulled away for the victory over Los Angeles.

L.A. CLIPPERS (82)

Vaught 9-12 2-3 20, Murray 7-11 2-2 16, B.Williams 6-10 4-9 16, Sealy 3-11 2-3 8, Dehere 3-7 0-0 7, Roberts 0-4 0-0 0, Barry 3-4 1-5 9, Outlaw 0-0 0-0 0, Rogers 1-6 0-0 2, Piatkowski 1-5 2-2 4, Tower 0-0 0-0 0, Vander Velden 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-70 13-24 82.

SACRAMENTO (99)

Grant 4-10 4-8 12, W.Williams 3-8 2-3 8, Polynice 9-11 5-7 23, Richmond 5-11 5-7 18, Hurley 0-2 2-2 2, Marciulionis 3-5 0-0 6, Edney 6-10 3-3 15, Smith 3-7 2-4 8, Houston 3-3 1-1 7, Corbin 0-2 0-0 0, Simmons 0-0 0-0 0, Causwell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 36-70 24-35 99.

Los Angeles 23 17 27 15 - 82 Sacramento 24 29 17 29 - 99

3-Point goals-LA 3-12 (Barry 2-2, Dehere 1-3, Piatkowski 0-4, Murray 0-1, Sealy 0-1, Rogers 0-1), Sac 3-7 (Ricmond 3-3, Williams 0-3, Corbin 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-LA 38 (Vaught 10), Sac 55 (Smith 12). Assists-LA 20 (Dehere 5), Sac 20 (Edney 6). Total fouls-LA 26, Sac 25. Technicals- Williams, Roberts, Rogers, Polynice. A-17,317 (17,317).