NBA Roundup : Mavericks Run Win Streak to 11, Await Lakers

Early in the fourth quarter of the Dallas Mavericks’ 118-110 victory over the Houston Rockets Friday night, most of the sellout crowd in Dallas’ Reunion Arena was already looking ahead to Sunday.

“Beat L.A., Beat L.A.,” the crowd chanted, referring to Sunday’s nationally televised match-up against the Lakers at Dallas. Dallas will take a winning streak of 11 into the game.

Dallas guard Derek Harper, who scored 14 of his game-high 27 points in the third period, said: “This win gives us a lot of confidence. Now we have to get after L.A. right from the start. They have the reputation and the tradition, but we are really rolling.”

The Midwest Division-leading Mavericks increased their lead to 6 1/2 games over the Rockets.

Harper scored the first 10 points of the second half as Dallas quickly extended a 63-55 halftime lead.

Dallas, with the second-best record in the NBA behind the Lakers, built a 90-70 lead midway through the third period.

Mark Aguirre had 20 points and Sam Perkins 18 for the Mavericks. Akeem Olajuwon and Purvis Short led Houston with 22 points each.

New York 110, Philadelphia 108--Mark Jackson had 8 of his 19 points in overtime, after tying the score with two seconds left in regulation, as the Knicks won at New York. It was the Knicks’ 12th straight home victory and the 76ers’ 20th consecutive road loss.

Both teams lost key players during the third quarter. The Knicks’ Patrick Ewing was ejected with 7:18 remaining for punching Philadelphia’s Mike Gminski, and Philadelphia’s Charles Barkley was knocked unconscious when he was accidentally hit with an elbow in left eye by Bill Cartwright with 55 seconds left in the period.

Knick team physician Dr. Norman Scott said Barkley suffered a concussion, but said he may be able play against Indiana Sunday. Barkley had 20 points and 10 rebounds before being flattened.

Cliff Robinson finished with 23 points for Philadelphia. Cartwright scored 15 of his 17 points after Ewing was ejected. Sidney Green had 17 rebounds for New York.

Washington 95, Indiana 88--Moses Malone scored 27 points and pulled down a season-high 18 rebounds at Indianapolis as the Bullets won their fifth straight.

The victory was the Bullets’ first in Indiana in three seasons. They had lost seven straight there.

Tyrone Bogues, the Bullets’ 5-4 guard, scored 10 points and had 7 steals. He and Malone sparked a 13-point run late in the game that broke an 82-82 tie and gave the Bullets a 95-82 lead with 41 seconds left.

Terry Catledge and Jeff Malone each scored 16 points to lead the Bullets. John Long led Indiana with 14 and Person finished with 13.

Sacramento 134, San Antonio 132--Reggie Theus scored 30 points to lead the Kings over the Spurs at San Antonio. The rare road victory for the Kings snapped an eight-game losing streak.

Mike Mitchell led the Spurs with a season-high 28 points.

The Kings led, 112-108, going into the fourth quarter, and the Spurs never could catch up.

Denver 116, Phoenix 108--Blair Rasmussen scored 30 points to lead the Nuggets over the Suns at Denver. The Nuggets, leading 93-78 after three quarters, outscored the Suns 11-4 in the early minutes of the fourth quarter to increase their advantage to 104-82.

Walter Davis led Phoenix with 25 points.

Utah 125, Seattle 110--Bobby Hansen made 10 of 11 shots en route to a career-high 28 points as the Jazz won at Seattle. Karl Malone had 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz.