Hawks Set Team Record
Dikembe Mutombo scored 25 points, Steve Smith had 21 and the Atlanta Hawks improved to 8-0 for the best start in franchise history as they defeated the Indiana Pacers 89-86 Wednesday night.
Mookie Blaylock added 18 points, including a basket and a free throw in the last 10 seconds. Smith had a basket and three free throws in the last two minutes.
Atlanta surpassed the 7-0 start by the franchise in 1967-68, its last season in St. Louis. The Hawks, the last unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference, have yet to allow 100 points in a game.
Bulls gored again
The struggling Chicago Bulls lost their fourth game - something that didn’t happen until Dec. 26 last year - as Chris Webber led a second-half surge that carried the Washington Wizards to a 90-83 victory in Chicago.
Michael Jordan scored 28 points but was only 10 of 28 from the floor as the two-time defending NBA champion Bulls, coming off an embarrassing 21-point loss at Cleveland, dropped to 4-4.
Jazz come through
Karl Malone scored 26 points and Jeff Hornacek added 19 as the Utah Jazz defeated Vancouver 98-80 to deny the Grizzlies the first three-game winning streak in franchise history.
Greg Ostertag and Brian Russell, starters on last year’s Western Conference championship team, were replaced in the starting lineup by Greg Foster and Adam Keefe in an effort to shake up the slow-starting Jazz (3-4).
Other games
Cliff Robinson had his best game yet as a member of the Suns, scoring 21 points to lead Phoenix to a 103-95 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in Phoenix.
Mitch Richmond scored 25 points and the Sacramento Kings won on the road for the first time this season with a 115-89 victory over Orlando that represented the third-worst home defeat in Magic history.
Larry Johnson scored 27 points, more than twice his season average, and the New York Knicks coasted to a 90-73 victory over the Raptors in Toronto.
Antoine Walker had 19 points and 12 rebounds and the Boston Celtics won for the first time since opening night with a 96-86 comeback victory over the winless Denver Nuggets.
Denver dropped to 0-6 under rookie coach Bill Hanzlik.
The game marked the return of LaPhonso Ellis, who last played in April before rupturing his right Achilles tendon. Ellis finished with nine points.
The Philadelphia 76ers rallied behind 26 points and 15 assists by Allen Iverson and held off a third-quarter Houston Rockets comeback for their first victory of the season, 114-100, in Houston.
Philadelphia forward Tim Thomas was hospitalized for X-rays and evaluation after he collided with Rockets guard Matt Maloney under the 76ers basket with 1:18 to go in the first quarter.
Veteran guard retires
Toronto Raptors guard John Long retired Wednesday after 14 seasons in the NBA.
Long will move to the team’s front office to become the club’s player liaison for community relations. He had been on the injured reserve list since fracturing his jaw during a team practice in the preseason.
In 893 career games with Detroit, Indiana, Atlanta and Toronto, Long averaged 13.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He was a member of the Pistons team that won the NBA championship in 1989.
Maverick fined
Kurt Thomas of the Dallas Mavericks was fined $7,500 by the NBA for elbowing Stacey Augmon of Portland in Saturday night’s game at Dallas.
The fine was imposed by NBA vice president Rod Thorn. The incident occurred with 10:12 remaining in the game won by the Trail Blazers 101-94.