Hornets’ Playoff Hopes Dim

NBA

Rookie Shawn Respert scored a career-high 20 Thursday as visiting Milwaukee beat Charlotte 111-103 and further damaged the Hornets’ playoff hopes. Charlotte fell one game behind Miami in the race for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.

Milwaukee (111) - Robinson 8-14 6-6 23, Baker 9-17 0-2 18, Benjamin 6-6 0-0 12, Newman 0-3 4-6 4, Douglas 7-13 4-4 19, Cummings 5-9 2-3 12, Respert 7-9 3-3 20, Mayberry 1-2 0-0 3, Keys 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 43-74 19-24 111.

Charlotte (103) - Johnson 1-9 0-0 2, Geiger 3-7 1-2 7, Parish 1-2 0-0 2, Rice 9-22 10-12 29, Anderson 10-13 4-6 28, Zidek 4-5 0-0 8, Hancock 2-4 2-2 6, Curry 7-11 0-1 16, Goldwire 1-5 0-0 3, Meyers 0-1 0-0 0, Addison 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 39-80 17-23 103.

Milwaukee 28 32 28 23 - 111

Charlotte 31 22 25 25 - 103

3-Point goals-Milwaukee 6-11 (Respert 3-3, Mayberry 1-1, Douglas 1-2, Robinson 1-3, Newman 0-1, Keys 0-1), Charlotte 8-18 (Anderson 4-4, Curry 2-4, Goldwire 1-3, Rice 1-7). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Milwaukee 39 (Baker 9), Charlotte 44 (Geiger 9). Assists-Milwaukee 29 (Douglas 12), Charlotte 27 (Anderson 10). Total fouls-Milwaukee 19, Charlotte 20. Technical-Milwaukee illegal defense. A-24,042 (23,698).

Cavaliers 92, Knicks 77

Cleveland

Cleveland enhanced its chances for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

New York (77) - Mason 5-9 3-4 13, Reid 0-4 1-2 1, Ewing 8-15 1-2 18, Starks 5-12 2-2 13, Harper 3-8 0-0 7, Davis 0-5 0-0 0, Ward 3-3 0-0 8, Williams 1-1 0-0 2, Anderson 5-6 1-2 11, Grandison 1-3 0-0 2, Lohaus 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-68 8-12 77.

Cleveland (92) - Mills 6-14 0-0 12, Ferry 4-7 1-2 12, Cage 3-4 0-0 6, Phills 6-11 3-5 17, Brandon 6-15 6-7 20, Hill 3-6 1-2 7, Majerle 4-8 1-2 12, Sura 1-4 0-0 3, Amaechi 0-1 0-0 0, Crotty 0-0 0-0 0, Lang 0-1 0-0 0, Marshall 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 34-73 12-18 92.

New York 13 15 19 30 - 77

Cleveland 22 21 28 21 - 92

3-Point goals-New York 5-16 (Ward 2-2, Ewing 1-1, Starks 1-4, Harper 1-4, Lohaus 0-1, Davis 0-4), Cleveland 12-23 (Ferry 3-6, Majerle 3-6, Phills 2-4, Brandon 2-4, Sura 1-1, Marshall 1-1, Mills 0-1). Fouled out-Davis. Rebounds- New York 47 (Ewing 9), Cleveland 38 (Hill 8). Assists-New York 18 (Ward 5), Cleveland 25 (Phills 11). Total fouls-New York 18, Cleveland 19. Technicals-Ewing, Harper, Reid, Mason, Ferry. A-20,562 (20,562).

Magic 119, Hawks 104

Orlando, Fla.

Dennis Scott made an NBA-record 11 3-pointers as Orlando got its franchise-record 58th win.

Atlanta (104) - Augmon 2-5 0-0 4, Long 4-13 4-4 12, Laettner 3-7 1-1 7, Smith 8-14 2-4 18, Blaylock 3-13 0-0 7, Ehlo 7-10 3-3 20, Henderson 6-10 4-8 16, Rooks 2-5 5-5 9, Jordan 2-3 1-2 5, Boyce 2-3 0-0 6, Bullard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-83 20-27 104.

Orlando (119) - Grant 5-10 0-0 10, Scott 12-20 0-0 35, O’Neal 7-16 8-14 22, Anderson 4-9 5-5 15, Hardaway 4-10 0-0 8, Shaw 2-4 2-2 7, Koncak 1-1 0-0 2, Royal 4-7 0-0 8, Bowie 1-3 0-0 2, Thompson 4-6 0-0 10, Bonner 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 44-88 15-21 119.

Atlanta 18 30 20 36 - 104

Orlando 36 32 23 28 - 119

3-Point goals-Atlanta 6-17 (Ehlo 3-5, Boyce 2-2, Blaylock 1-5, Long 0-2, Smith 0-3), Orlando 16-30 (Scott 11-17, Anderson 2-3, Thompson 2-3, Shaw 1-3, Hardaway 0-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Atlanta 51 (Long 16), Orlando 50 (O’Neal 14). Assists-Atlanta 23 (Ehlo 5), Orlando 32 (Grant 7). Total fouls-Atlanta 16, Orlando 19. A-17,248 (17,248).

Mavericks 132, Nuggets 98

Dallas

Jim Jackson hit four 3-pointers in the third quarter.

Denver (98) - MacLean 9-18 11-15 29, L.Ellis 4-12 0-0 8, McDyess 8-20 0-0 16, Rose 4-12 5-6 13, Stith 3-10 3-3 9, R.Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Overton 1-5 4-4 7, Hammonds 4-8 1-4 9, Fish 1-4 2-2 4, Grant 1-5 0-0 3. Totals 35-93 26-34 98.

Dallas (132) - McCloud 8-15 2-2 23, Jones 0-3 0-0 0, L.Williams 2-3 1-3 5, Kidd 9-12 0-0 19, Jackson 9-18 3-4 25, Wood 6-10 2-4 15, Meyer 4-9 0-0 8, Dumas 7-12 4-4 18, Harris 3-4 3-4 9, Brooks 3-4 4-4 10. Totals 51-90 19-25 132.

Denver 16 27 29 26 - 98

Dallas 32 33 38 29 - 132

3-Point goals-Denver 2-10 (Grant 1-1, Overton 1-2, MacLean 0-1, L.Ellis 0-1, Stith 0-2, Rose 0-3), Dallas 11-21 (McCloud 5-8, Jackson 4-7, Kidd 1-1, Wood 1-3, Dumas 0-1, Harris 0-1). Fouled out-Meyer. Rebounds-Denver 55 (McDyess 11), Dallas 56 (L.Williams, Wood 10). Assists- Denver 17 (Rose, Overton 4), Dallas 30 (Kidd 10). Total fouls-Denver 21, Dallas 27. Technicals-Wood, McCloud. A-15,907 (17,502).

Bulls 110, Pistons 79

Chicago

Michael Jordan scored 30 in 24 minutes as Chicago (71-9) added to its NBA record for wins in a season.

Detroit (79) - Curry 2-7 0-0 4, Thorpe 1-8 2-6 4, Ratliff 5-9 0-0 10, Houston 6-13 0-1 13, Hunter 8-18 2-4 19, Reid 5-10 2-2 12, Mills 5-11 3-3 14, Roe 1-4 1-4 3, Leckner 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 33-83 10-20 79.

Chicago (110) - Pippen 2-7 0-0 6, Rodman 3-6 3-4 9, Longley 3-4 0-0 6, Harper 2-7 0-0 5, Jordan 11-18 4-4 30, Kukoc 6-10 2-2 16, Kerr 3-8 0-0 7, Edwards 1-7 0-0 2, Salley 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 7-11 2-3 16, Simpkins 2-4 2-4 6, Buechler 3-5 0-0 7. Totals 43-87 13-17 110.

Detroit 17 26 21 15 - 79

Chicago 30 29 23 28 - 110

3-Point goals-Detroit 3-10 (Hunter 1-2, Mills 1-2, Houston 1-4, Curry 0-2), Chicago 11-23 (Jordan 4-5, Kukoc 2-3, Pippen 2-6, Buechler 1-1, Harper 1-2, Kerr 1-2, Rodman 0-1, Brown 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Detroit 45 (Ratliff 11), Chicago 63 (Rodman 18). Assists-Detroit 12 (Hunter 7), Chicago 28 (Pippen 8). Total fouls-Detroit 21, Chicago 19. Technical-Rodman. A-23,614 (21,771).

Jazz 94, Grizzlies 79

Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver lost in its final home game of its first season.

Utah (94) - Benoit 7-13 0-0 15, Malone 11-21 4-6 26, Spencer 2-5 0-0 4, Hornacek 7-10 4-4 19, Stockton 4-6 0-2 8, Ostertag 0-3 0-0 0, Eisley 3-6 0-0 6, Morris 1-5 0-0 2, Keefe 0-1 0-0 0, Carr 3-8 3-4 9, Russell 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 40-82 11-16 94.

Vancouver (79) - King 7-18 2-2 21, Amaya 0-0 0-0 0, Reeves 4-5 2-2 10, Edwards 4-11 1-2 9, Anthony 2-5 2-2 8, Avent 1-9 0-0 2, Scott 1-8 3-4 6, Murdock 5-12 2-2 12, Wilkins 1-6 0-0 2, Moten 3-6 0-0 6, Martin 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 29-81 12-14 79.

Utah 27 20 27 20 - 94

Vancouver 24 20 14 21 - 79

3-Point goals-Utah 3-6 (Hornacek 1-1, Russell 1-1, Benoit 1-3, Morris 0-1), Vancouver 9-24 (King 5-7, Anthony 2-3, Martin 1-1, Scott 1-6, Edwards 0-1, Moten 0-1, Murdock 0-2, Wilkins 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Utah 52 (Benoit 11), Vancouver 49 (King 14). Assists-Utah 21 (Stockton 9), Vancouver 22 (Scott 5). Total fouls-Utah 15, Van. 13. T-Anthony 2. E-Anthony. A-18,407 (19,193).

Rockets 115, Clippers 107

Houston

Hakeem Olajuwon scored 35 and moved within two blocks of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA record of 3,189.

L.A. Clippers (107) - Vaught 11-17 1-2 24, Rogers 5-11 1-3 11, Harvey 5-7 1-3 11, Barry 4-4 1-2 11, Richardson 6-11 2-2 16, Sealy 3-15 3-4 10, Roberts 3-8 3-6 9, Dehere 4-11 0-0 11, Outlaw 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 43-88 12-22 107.

Houston (115) - Mack 2-8 3-3 8, Brown 3-4 0-0 6, Olajuwon 14-24 7-8 35, Drexler 8-17 1-5 18, Smith 2-5 0-0 5, Elie 5-11 0-0 12, Cassell 5-12 8-10 20, Bryant 2-2 2-2 6, Chilcutt 0-1 0-0 0, Recasner 2-3 0-0 5, Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 43-87 21-28 115.

L.A. Clippers 32 28 27 20 - 107

Houston 29 26 29 31 - 115

3-Point goals-Los Angeles 9-21 (Dehere 3-8, Barry 2-2, Richardson 2-5, Vaught 1-1, Sealy 1-3, Rogers 0-2), Houston 8-24 (Elie 2-4, Cassell 2-5, Recasner 1-2, Smith 1-2, Mack 1-5, Drexler 1-5, Chilcutt 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Los Angeles 56 (Vaught 13), Houston 60 (Brown, Olajuwon 8). Assists-Los Angeles 22 (Rogers 6), Houston 32 (Drexler 10). Total fouls-Los Angeles 22, Houston 18. Technical-Elie. A-16,285 (16,285).

San Antonio 103, Los Angeles 100

San Antonio

San Antonio recovered from a 21-point, third-quarter deficit.

L.A. Lakers (100) - Ceballos 5-13 2-2 14, Campbell 9-18 9-11 27, Divac 5-8 1-2 11, Jones 6-9 1-3 16, Threatt 7-10 0-0 19, Lynch 2-8 0-0 4, Peeler 2-10 2-3 7, Roberts 0-1 0-0 0, Strong 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 37-78 15-21 100.

San Antonio (103) - Elliott 10-17 3-4 23, Perdue 3-4 0-0 6, Robinson 9-21 11-14 29, Del Negro 7-14 0-0 16, A.Johnson 8-15 4-4 20, Rivers 1-3 0-0 3, Person 2-9 0-0 4, Anderson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 41-84 18-22 103.

L.A. Lakers 35 28 29 8 - 100

San Antonio 24 25 29 25 - 103

3-Point goals-Los Angeles 11-21 (Threatt 5-6, Jones 3-6, Ceballos 2-4, Peeler 1-4, Roberts 0-1), San Antonio 3-7 (Del Negro 2-2, Rivers 1-2, Person 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Los Angeles 42 (Divac 10), San Antonio 52 (Person 17). Assists-Los Angeles 28 (Divac 6), San Antonio 19 (A.Johnson 7). Total fouls-Los Angeles 22, San Antonio 20. Technical-San Antonio illegal defense. Flagrant foul- Lynch. A-22,184 (20,662).