Smith Sparks Rockets; Lakers’ Streak Snapped

NBA

Hakeem Olajuwon scored 29 points and Kenny Smith came off the bench to hit four straight 3-pointers as the Houston Rockets beat Los Angeles 96-94 Saturday night to snap the Lakers’ eight-game winning streak.

The Lakers outscored the Rockets by 17 points in the third quarter and led 74-65 entering the fourth before Smith took over.

Smith, who appeared only briefly in one game over the last 12 since losing his starting job to Eldridge Recasner, got a standing ovation from the sellout crowd and immediately hit a 3-pointer that set the Rockets’ comeback in motion. Houston had a 14-2 run to start the quarter.

Magic Johnson, playing for the first time in three games, played 11 minutes in the first half before his right thigh tightened. He did not return.

Rockets 96, Lakers 94

L.A. Lakers (94) - Ceballos 11-19 4-8 26, Campbell 4-9 5-6 13, Divac 6-12 2-3 14, Jones 3-7 3-4 9, Van Exel 6-13 3-4 18, Strong 1-1 0-0 2, Peeler 1-5 1-2 3, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Threatt 1-1 0-0 3, Lynch 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 36-71 18-27 94.

Houston (96) - Horry 7-14 1-2 18, Brown 5-8 1-1 11, Olajuwon 13-29 3-6 29, Breaux 0-1 0-0 0, Recasner 1-3 1-2 4, Cassell 4-10 0-0 9, Bryant 2-3 0-0 4, Mack 4-10 0-0 9, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, K.Smith 4-4 0-0 12. Totals 40-83 6-11 96.

L.A. Lakers 17 25 32 20 - 94

Houston 26 24 15 31 - 96

3-Point goals-Los Angeles 4-15 (Van Exel 3-8, Threatt 1-1, Ceballos 0-2, Peeler 0-2, Jones 0-2), Houston 10-24 (K.Smith 4-4, Horry 3-9, Recasner 1-2, Mack 1-2, Cassell 1-6, Jackson 0-1). Fouled out-Bryant. Rebounds-Los Angeles 49 (Divac 12), Houston 43 (Olajuwon 10). Assists-Los Angeles 22 (Van Exel 7), Houston 28 (Cassell 8). Total fouls-Los Angeles 15, Houston 26. A-16,285 (16,285).

Cavaliers 103, Nets 74

Cleveland

Chris Mills scored 18 of his 21 points in the first half as Cleveland built a 19-point halftime lead on the way to a win.

Cleveland lost All-Star point guard Terrell Brandon to a bruised quadricep in the first quarter. He was listed day-to-day.

New Jersey (74) - Gilliam 7-8 1-2 15, Brown 3-5 2-3 8, Bradley 2-5 4-6 8, O’Bannon 1-4 4-4 6, Childs 5-11 0-0 10, Williams 6-12 3-4 15, Fleming 0-4 4-4 4, Reeves 0-1 0-0 0, Mahorn 1-4 0-0 2, Graham 0-5 2-2 2, Dare 2-3 0-1 4. Totals 27-62 20-26 74.

Cleveland (103) - Mills 7-12 4-4 21, Ferry 8-13 2-2 23, Cage 3-3 0-0 6, Phills 5-16 0-0 11, Brandon 1-3 0-0 2, Hill 3-10 2-4 8, Crotty 1-4 2-2 4, Majerle 4-7 0-0 12, Sura 1-4 8-10 10, Lang 0-1 0-0 0, Marshall 2-3 1-3 6. Totals 35-76 19-25 103.

New Jersey 16 15 23 20 - 74

Cleveland 25 25 25 28 - 103

3-Point goals-New Jersey 0-6 (O’Bannon 0-1, Fleming 0-1, Reeves 0-1, Mahorn 0-1, Childs 0-2), Cleveland 14-28 (Ferry 5-8, Majerle 4-7, Mills 3-4, Marshall 1-2, Phills 1-6, Sura 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-New Jersey 38 (Gilliam 7), Cleveland 50 (Phills 7). Assists-New Jersey 20 (Brown, Childs 4), Cleveland 28 (Phills 7). Total fouls-New Jersey 24, Cleveland 20. Technicals- Childs, New Jersey illegal defense 2. A-18,623 (20,562).

Pacers 104, Hornets 90

Charlotte, N.C.

Reggie Miller powered a third-quarter surge that sent Indiana to a win over Charlotte, snapping the Hornets’ longest winning streak of the season at five games.

Indiana (104) - D.Davis 5-8 0-0 10, McKey 4-10 1-2 9, Smits 9-15 4-4 22, Miller 8-18 5-6 21, Jackson 10-14 0-0 21, A.Davis 0-1 1-2 1, Pierce 2-6 1-2 5, Workman 3-6 0-0 7, Best 1-2 4-4 6, Caldwell 0-1 0-0 0, Schintzius 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 43-82 16-20 104.

Charlotte (90) - Johnson 4-13 8-10 17, Curry 6-16 2-2 18, Geiger 6-12 2-2 14, Rice 6-18 4-4 18, Anderson 5-14 3-6 13, Hancock 1-2 0-0 2, Myers 1-3 0-0 2, Zidek 2-2 0-0 4, Goldwire 0-2 2-2 2, Addison 0-1 0-0 0, Hodge 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-83 21-26 90.

Indiana 20 29 32 23 - 104

Charlotte 24 27 15 24 - 90

3-Point goals-Indiana 2-9 (Jackson 1-1, Workman 1-1, Miller 0-6, Pierce 0-1), Charlotte 7-20 (Curry 4-8, Rice 2-6, Johnson 1-1, Anderson 0-3, Myers 0-1, Goldwire 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Indiana 50 (Smits, Jackson 9), Charlotte 50 (Johnson 13). Assists-Indiana 30 (Jackson 14), Charlotte 22 (Anderson 10). Total fouls-Indiana 21, Charlotte 22. Technicals-Jackson, Indiana coach Brown, Smits, Anderson, Charlotte coach Bristow 2, Charlotte assistant coach Hanzlik. Ejections-Bristow. A-24,042 (23,698).

Nuggets 99, Jazz 90

Denver

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf scored 31 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, and Denver captured the season series from Utah for the first time in 11 years.

Utah (90) - Benoit 2-8 3-4 8, Malone 7-25 1-6 15, Spencer 3-6 1-1 7, Stockton 9-14 4-5 24, Hornacek 5-12 1-2 13, Eisley 1-3 2-2 4, Morris 4-7 2-2 10, Keefe 1-1 5-6 7, Carr 1-4 0-1 2, Foster 0-1 0-0 0, Ostertag 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-82 19-29 90.

Denver (99) - D.Ellis 6-10 2-2 15, McDyess 3-11 2-4 8, Mutombo 4-5 0-0 8, Abdul-Rauf 10-24 9-9 31, Stith 1-6 0-2 3, L.Ellis 5-10 5-7 15, Rose 2-2 1-2 5, MacLean 2-3 0-0 4, Hammonds 3-5 4-4 10, Overton 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 36-77 23-30 99.

Utah 25 18 14 33 - 90

Denver 26 23 15 35 - 99

3-Point goals-Utah 5-16 (Stockton 2-4, Hornacek 2-5, Benoit 1-5, Eisley 0-1, Morris 0-1), Denver 4-12 (Abdul-Rauf 2-5, Stith 1-2, D.Ellis 1-4, L.Ellis 0-1). Fouled out-Stockton. Rebounds-Utah 47 (Malone, Keefe 9), Denver 60 (Mutombo 10). Assists-Utah 17 (Stockton 9), Denver 26 (Abdul-Rauf, Rose 5). Total fouls-Utah 30, Denver 23. Technicals-Carr, Denver coach Bickerstaff, Rose, Denver delay of game. A-17,171 (17,171).

Warriors 86, Clippers 80

Oakland, Calif.

Golden State beat Los Angeles, despite 36-percent shooting and their lowest point total of the season.

L.A. Clippers (80) - Rogers 2-5 2-2 6, Vaught 10-16 5-5 25, Williams 0-3 3-4 3, B.Barry 5-16 0-0 10, Richardson 1-8 0-0 2, Roberts 1-4 1-2 3, Murray 3-8 0-0 6, Dehere 5-11 6-6 19, Harvey 1-1 0-0 2, Piatkowski 0-0 0-0 0. Outlaw 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 30-74 17-19 80.

Golden State (86) - Kersey 3-8 0-0 6, Smith 6-13 5-6 17, Seiklay 4-7 6-8 14, Armstrong 6-9 3-4 18, Sprewell 5-19 1-2 12, Rozier 0-3 0-0 0, Coles 0-6 3-4 3, Marshall 3-7 4-4 10, Willis 2-6 2-4 6, J.Barry 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-80 24-32 86.

L.A. Clippers 18 29 12 21 - 80

Golden State 15 28 22 21 - 86

3-Point goals-Los Angeles 3-16 (Dehere 3-5, B.Barry 0-7, Richardson 0-3, Murray 0-1), Golden State 4-16 (Armstrong 3-5, Sprewell 1-4, Coles 0-4, Marshall 0-2, J.Barry 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Los Angeles 48 (Vaught 10), Golden State 57 (Smith 11). Assists-Los Angeles 15 (Vaught, B.Barry 3), Golden State 20 (Armstrong 8). Total fouls-Los Angeles 28, Golden State 19. Technicals-Los Angeles coach Fitch. A-15,025 (15,025).

Around the NBA

Washington Bullets point guard Mark Price, who is recovering from a broken bone in his left foot, said he never seriously has thought about retirement and is looking forward to playing next season, whether it’s with Washington or another team. … Rod Strickland, digging deeper into a feud with coach P.J. Carlesimo, skipped the Portland Trail Blazers’ practice Saturday, leading a team executive to say his suspension would be extended indefinitely.