NBA Roundup : Charlotte Stops Philadelphia for 2nd Straight Victory

The Charlotte Hornets have put together a winning streak.

Kelly Tripucka made a layup with 4 seconds left, lifting the Hornets to a 109-107 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night at Charlotte, N.C.

That gave the expansion Hornets (4-10) consecutive wins--they beat the other expansion team, Miami, Tuesday night.

“Finally, I think we kept our composure,” Tripuka said. “It takes making big plays. . . . we made them at the end of the ball game.”

The biggest came at the buzzer, when Charles Barkley drove the lane and leaped over Rex Chapman for a layup. As 21,716 fans waited, Barkley was called for an offensive foul.

“It was a bad call,” Barkley said. “Even if it was a charge, you can’t make a call like that at the end of the game.”

Charlotte Coach Dick Harter responded: “We played perfect defense. We earned the call. When you hold your ground in the middle against a 270-pound drive, you have to get the call. But I would have expected it to go against us in that situation.”

Tripucka’s game-winning basket stopped a second-half rally by the 76ers. Charlotte led, 69-46, with 9:35 left in the third quarter.

Ron Anderson scored 30 points for Philadelphia, and Mike Gminski had 23. Tripucka led the Hornets with 25.

Atlanta 127, Washington 115--Dominique Wilkins must have a strong back because he usually carries the Atlanta Hawks. He scored 36 points in this victory over the Bullets at Atlanta.

“We were flat in the first half,” Wilkins said. “I felt like I had to keep it going offensively.”

John Williams got 30 points to lead the Bullets.

Baskets by Williams and Jeff Malone 4 minutes into the fourth quarter brought the Bullets within 105-99, but Wilkins answered with 5 points as the Hawks went up 111-99 with 5:08 left.

Cleveland 99, Milwaukee 96--Mark Price hit a go-ahead 3-point jumper with 29 seconds left, and Ron Harper scored 28 points as the Cavaliers won at Milwaukee.

Price’s 3-pointer made it 93-90, and his 2 free throws with 16 seconds left gave Cleveland a 95-92 lead.

Milwaukee’s Jay Humphries then hit a long jumper with 13 seconds left--it was ruled a 2-pointer--and Harper and Brad Daugherty made 2 free throws each in the final seconds to seal the victory.

Milwaukee’s Jack Sikma scored a season-high 22 points, with 10 coming in the fourth quarter.

Denver 133, Sacramento 126--Lafayette Lever hit a 3-point basket at the end of regulation to tie the score, then made three free throws in the final 15 seconds of overtime as the Nuggets beat the Kings at Sacramento.