NBA Roundup : Tripucka Scores 40 as Hornets Sting 76ers

The Charlotte Hornets may be new to the National Basketball Assn., and losing practically every time they play on the road, but that doesn’t mean they have grown accustomed to it.

Kelly Tripucka scored 40 points Monday at Philadelphia, including 9 in overtime, to lead the Hornets to a 127-122 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, breaking an 11-game road losing streak and giving Charlotte only its second win in 17 road games.

“We haven’t won on the road,” Tripucka said. “We figured it’s time to change that.”

A basket by Rex Chapman, who scored 25 points, gave the Hornets a 120-118 lead with 1:21 left in overtime. Tripucka and Tyrone Bogues scored consecutive baskets to make it 124-118 with 50 seconds remaining, putting the game out of reach.

“It’s so important that we have some success for our effort,” Charlotte Coach Dick Harter said. “We’ve played hard all year and had some tough losses.”

Philadelphia took a 110-107 lead with 32 seconds left in regulation on a basket by Charles Barkley, but Chapman made a 3-point shot with 15 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

“We broke down defensively to give Chapman a chance to shoot (a 3-pointer) at the end,” Philadelphia Coach Jim Lynam said. “We didn’t shadow him.”

Cleveland 126, Phoenix 110--Mark Price scored 11 of his season-high 29 points in the third quarter, and the Cavaliers turned back the Suns’ rally at Richfield, Ohio.

The Cavaliers won for the 16th time in their last 19 games--their 10th straight at home--and improved their NBA-leading record to 27-7.

The Suns have lost 3 of 4 games.

Trailing by 18 points early in the game, Phoenix rallied to take a 70-69 lead early in the third quarter.

The Suns led, 74-73, when Cleveland’s Ron Harper scored to start a 10-0 run that gave the Cavaliers the lead for good.

New York 116, San Antonio 106--Mark Jackson had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his third career triple-double as the Knicks won their 14th straight home game.

The Knicks have won 5 straight and are 17-1 at home this season. The Spurs have lost 5 straight and 10 of their last 11 road games.

Trailing by as many as 23 points in the second half, the Spurs climbed back to within 6 with 4:47 remaining in the game.

The Knicks then ran off 6 consecutive points to take a 109-97 lead with 3:04 left, after which the Spurs never drew closer than 8.

Denver 116, Sacramento 110--Walter Davis scored 4 of his 27 points in a 30-second span late in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets beat the Kings at Denver, ending a 4-game losing streak.

The Kings led, 100-94, with 5:09 to play, but Denver came back on a 3-point basket by Davis and a field goal by Alex English at the 3:07 mark.

With the game tied for the 13th time, 104-104, Davis stole the ball from the Kings’ Harold Pressley and scored on a layup. Davis then scored again on a drive.

A basket by Eddie Hughes put the game out of reach, 112-104, with 37 seconds remaining.

Denver played without point guard Michael Adams, sidelined for the second straight game with a pulled hamstring, and center-forward Blair Rasmussen, who was out with the flu.

Atlanta 117, Washington 106--Dominique Wilkins scored 28 points to lead the Hawks past the Bullets at Landover, Md., ending a 4-game losing streak.

Cliff Levingston and Moses Malone led a fourth-quarter Atlanta comeback that erased an 11-point deficit in less than 4 minutes. Levingston had 7 points, including the tying basket with 8:06 remaining, and Malone 6 in a 15-4 Atlanta run.

The Hawks eventually built their lead to as many as 11 points in gaining their first road victory since Dec. 30.

Detroit 96, Boston 87--Isiah Thomas scored 6 of his 16 points during a 13-3 fourth-quarter run, as the Pistons beat the Celtics at Detroit.

Trailing by 11 points at halftime, Detroit outscored Boston, 29-16, in the third quarter--including 17 of 19 free throws.

With the game tied early in the fourth quarter, Detroit scored 4 straight baskets to take a 79-71 lead. Boston never got closer than 4 points the rest of the way.

Golden State 146, Seattle 117--Chris Mullin scored 9 of his 31 points to spark a 26-10 run at the start of the third quarter, leading the Warriors past the SuperSonics at Oakland.

The Warriors won their fifth straight and seventh in nine games since losing center Ralph Sampson for at least a month because of a knee injury. Manute Bol, Sampson’s 7-foot 7-inch backup, also missed 2 games during that stretch, making 6-8 forward Larry Smith the Warriors’ tallest starter.

Mitch Richmond scored 27 points for Golden State and Terry Teagle had 22.