Celtics Withstand Olajuwon’s 51
NBA
Dino Radja scored 23 points and Boston’s sharpshooters took over in the fourth quarter as the Celtics overcame a season-high 51 points by Hakeem Olajuwon for a 108-106 victory over the Rockets on Thursday night.
It took the Rockets a half to adjust to playing without three injured players, including swingman Mario Elie, and they trailed 67-54 at the half as Boston hit 60 percent from the field.
The Rockets almost pulled it off, taking a 100-98 lead with 4:45 left, but the Celtics hit clutch outside shots. Dee Brown’s two free throws with 30 seconds left gave Boston the final 108-106 lead.
Olajuwon, who narrowly missed his career high of 52 points, played a masterful game, but he missed the final shot of the game that could have forced overtime with 2.1 seconds left.
Celtics 108, Rockets 106
Boston (108) - Fox 8-12 0-0 16, Radja 9-17 5-7 23, Montross 5-9 0-0 10, Day 4-12 2-2 12, Wesley 4-7 1-4 11, Ellison 1-3 0-0 2, Barros 3-7 3-4 10, Minor 4-10 0-0 8, Lister 1-2 0-1 2, D.Brown 6-12 2-2 14. Totals 45-91 13-20 108.
Houston (106) - Breaux 2-6 0-0 4, C.Brown 1-3 0-0 2, Olajuwon 20-37 11-14 51, Drexler 7-15 5-6 21, K.Smith 2-10 0-0 5, Bryant 4-5 0-0 8, Recasner 5-11 0-0 13, Chilcutt 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 42-90 16-20 106.
Boston 39 28 17 24 - 108
Houston 25 29 32 20 - 106
3-Point goals-Boston 5-15 (Wesley 2-2, Day 2-8, Barros 1-2, D.Brown 0-3), Houston 6-19 (Recasner 3-6, Drexler 2-7, K.Smith 1-5, Breaux 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Boston 54 (Radja 8), Houston 51 (Olajuwon 14). Assists-Boston 31 (Fox 9), Houston 21 (Drexler 6). Total fouls-Boston 21, Houston 21. A-16,285 (16,611).
Bulls 92, Raptors 89
Toronto
Michael Jordan scored 15 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls survived a scare to defeat Toronto for its 10th straight win.
After Damon Stoudamire’s 20-foot jumper cut the Bulls lead to three with 16 seconds left, the Raptors sent Luc Longley to the free-throw line with a chance to ice the game. But Longley missed both attempts to give the Raptors one last gasp.
However, Oliver Miller’s shot from about 30 feet with time running out didn’t come close.
The sellout of 36,118 spectators was the biggest ever to see basketball at SkyDome.
Chicago (92) - Pippen 6-16 1-5 16, Rodman 4-6 0-2 8, Longley 3-6 0-2 6, Jordan 14-28 6-8 38, Harper 3-6 1-2 8, Wennington 0-2 2-2 2, Kukoc 1-4 3-4 5, Kerr 3-7 1-1 9, Caffey 0-0 0-0 0, Buechler 0-2 0-0 0, Brown 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-78 14-26 92.
Toronto (89) - Anderson 4-9 0-0 8, Massenburg 6-9 5-5 17, Tabak 4-6 1-1 9, Robertson 2-10 0-0 4, Stoudamire 11-22 1-2 26, Pinckney 2-4 1-2 5, Murray 6-10 0-0 14, Miller 3-7 0-0 6. Totals 38-77 8-10 89.
Chicago 21 17 29 25 - 92
Toronto 20 25 19 25 - 89
3-Point goals-Chicago 10-21 (Jordan 4-8, Pippen 3-4, Kerr 2-4, Harper 1-1, Kukoc 0-2, Buechler 0-2), Toronto 5-16 (Stoudamire 3-6, Murray 2-3, Miller 0-1, Anderson 0-3, Robertson 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Chicago 47 (Rodman 13), Toronto 50 (Massenburg 8). Assists-Chicago 17 (Pippen, Rodman 4), Toronto 18 (Stoudamire 12). Total fouls- Chicago 11, Toronto 23. A-36,118 (34,215).
Pistons 100, Spurs 98
Auburn Hills, Mich.
Grant Hill’s driving layup with 17 seconds to play lifted Detroit to its fifth win in a row at home.
Hill drove past David Robinson to hit the tiebreaking layup, and Chuck Person missed a 3-pointer with 1 second to go.
San Antonio played without former Piston Sean Elliott, who averages 23 points but was sidelined with a sprained foot, and saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.
San Antonio (98) - Person 4-15 0-0 11, Perdue 1-3 0-0 2, Robinson 11-25 15-18 37, Del Negro 8-12 0-0 18, Johnson 7-13 1-2 16, Alexander 2-3 0-0 4, Rivers 1-4 2-2 5, Herrera 0-1 0-0 0, Lohaus 2-5 0-0 5, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-81 18-22 98.
Detroit (100) - Hill 7-20 5-6 19, Thorpe 12-21 1-2 25, Reid 2-2 0-2 4, Hunter 2-5 0-0 6, Houston 12-19 3-4 28, West 1-4 0-0 2, Dumars 4-8 1-1 11, Ratliff 0-2 1-2 1, Mills 0-2 4-6 4, Macon 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 40-84 15-23 100.
San Antonio 26 29 19 24 - 98
Detroit 19 31 19 31 - 100
3-Point goals-San Antonio 8-23 (Person 3-11, Del Negro 2-3, Johnson 1-1, Rivers 1-3, Lohaus 1-4, Alexander 0-1), Detroit 5-12 (Hunter 2-4, Dumars 2-5, Houston 1-2, Macon 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-San Antonio 45 (Perdue 14), Detroit 56 (Thorpe 12). Assists-San Antonio 26 (Johnson 7), Detroit 23 (Hill, Houston 8). Total fouls-San Antonio 17, Detroit 22. A-20,112 (21,454).
Bucks 100, Warriors 96
Milwaukee
Vin Baker’s 24 points, including a crucial three-point play in the closing minutes, lifted Milwaukee.
The Bucks stretched their winning streak to a seasonlong three games by holding off a furious charge in the final minute that had brought the Warriors to 99-96 on Latrell Sprewell’s bucket with 10.9 seconds left.
Glenn Robinson hit the second of two free throws with 10 seconds remaining for the final margin.
Rookie Joe Smith, who scored 19 points after getting a stitch to close a cut to his lower lip in the first quarter, misfired a shot in the closing seconds and the Warriors couldn’t get a handle on the rebound.
Golden State (96) - Kersey 4-10 0-0 8, Smith 7-10 4-4 19, Seikaly 2-8 0-0 4, Armstrong 5-9 1-1 12, Sprewell 7-20 3-4 17, Gatling 5-10 3-4 13, Mullin 8-8 2-2 20, Hardaway 1-5 0-0 3, Barry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-80 13-15 96.
Milwaukee (100) - Baker 10-19 4-6 24, Robinson 10-21 2-5 22, Benjamin 3-7 2-6 8, Douglas 5-8 0-0 10, Newman 4-10 6-8 15, Cummings 5-9 2-2 12, Mayberry 2-4 0-0 5, Keys 1-5 0-0 2, Conlon 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 41-85 16-28 100.
Golden State 26 24 24 22 - 96
Milwaukee 22 29 20 29 - 100
3-Point goals-Golden State 5-13 (Mullin 2-2, Smith 1-2, Armstrong 1-2, Hardaway 1-3, Sprewell 0-4), Milwaukee 2-11 (Mayberry 1-2, Newman 1-3, Cummings 0-1, Conlon 0-1, Robinson 0-2, Keys 0-2). Fouled out-Seikaly. Rebounds- Golden State 46 (Smith 10), Milwaukee 50 (Cummings 10). Assists-Golden State 26 (Armstrong 9), Milwaukee 21 (Mayberry 7). Total fouls-Golden State 23, Milwaukee 20. A-13,644 (18,633).
Cavaliers 98, Grizzlies 90
Vancouver, British Columbia
Terrell Brandon scored 29 points and hit four 3-pointers in Cleveland’s win.
Each team hit 10 of 19 from 3-point range, and the 10 treys were a franchise record for the expansion Grizzlies.
The Cavaliers improved to 14-5 when Brandon scores 20 points or more.
Greg Anthony led Vancouver with 27 points.
Vancouver rookie Bryant Reeves had his sixth double-double of the season, getting 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Cleveland (98) - Mills 5-15 3-4 14, Ferry 1-7 0-0 3, Cage 3-3 3-3 9, Phills 7-13 3-4 19, Brandon 11-18 3-3 29, Majerle 6-12 4-5 18, Sura 2-7 0-0 4, Lang 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 35-75 18-21 98.
Vancouver (90) - King 1-4 1-2 3, Avent 4-6 0-0 8, Reeves 6-10 5-6 17, B.Edwards 5-11 1-2 14, Anthony 8-16 5-7 27, Murdock 2-6 0-0 4, D.Edwards 2-3 0-0 4, Scott 3-5 4-6 11, Mobley 0-0 2-4 2. Totals 31-61 18-27 90.
Cleveland 21 27 28 22 - 98
Vancouver 24 14 30 22 - 90
3-Point goals-Cleveland 10-19 (Brandon 4-5, Phills 2-3, Majerle 2-4, Mills 1-3, Ferry 1-3, Sura 0-1), Vancouver 10-19 (Anthony 6-10, B.Edwards 3-5, Scott 1-3, Murdock 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Cleveland 39 (Cage 10), Vancouver 43 (Reeves 13). Assists-Cleveland 21 (Brandon 7), Vancouver 22 (B.Edwards 8). Total fouls-Cleveland 20, Vancouver 20. Technicals-Mills, Vancouver Illegal defense. Flagrant foul- Anthony. A-16,805 (19,193).
Kings 105, Blazers 100
Sacramento, Calif.
Mitch Richmond scored 14 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter to power Sacramento.
Reserve Tyrone Corbin added 10 of his 14 points down the stretch as the Kings snapped a four-game winning streak for Portland, which played without injured Rod Strickland and Clifford Robinson, its two top scorers.
Olden Polynice contributed 12 points, 16 rebounds and a career-high six blocks as the Kings posted six consecutive home victories for the first time since the 1988-89 season.
Portland (100) - H.Grant 4-13 0-2 8, B.Williams 3-4 4-4 10, Dudley 4-6 1-2 9, McKie 9-17 0-1 18, J.Robinson 3-13 5-6 13, Trent 6-9 0-0 12, Wingfield 2-6 0-0 5, Sabonis 4-12 6-10 15, R.Robinson 4-6 0-0 10. Totals 39-86 16-25 100.
Sacramento(105) - W.Williams 3-6 0-0 6, B.Grant 7-16 5-6 19, Polynice 5-13 2-3 12, Richmond 10-23 15-15 38, Edney 1-6 0-0 3, Corbin 5-5 4-4 14, Causwell 2-3 0-0 4, Marciulionis 3-7 3-4 9, Williamson 0-3 0-0 0, Houston 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-82 29-32 105.
Portland 19 29 21 31 - 100
Sacramento 32 17 21 35 - 105
3-Point goals-Portland 6-17 (R.Robinson 2-3, J.Robinson 2-8, Sabonis 1-2, Wingfield 1-3, McKie 0-1), Sacramento 4-13 (Richmond 3-6, Edney 1-2, Marciulionis 0-2, W.Williams 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Portland 58 (McKie 8), Sacramento 47 (Polynice 16). Assists-Portland 15 (J.Robinson 5), Sacramento 24 (Edney 9). Total fouls-Portland 27, Sacramento 19. Technicals-Sacramento illegal defense 2. A-17,317 (17,317).