NBA Roundup : Cavaliers Score Rare Come-From-Behind Win

The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t had to come from behind much this season because they haven’t been behind very often.

But the Cavaliers, who have the National Basketball Assn.’s best record at 29-7, showed they can come back Saturday night when they rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat the New Jersey Nets, 115-103, at Richfield, Ohio.

“We started playing the way we’re supposed to,” said Larry Nance, who scored 33 points. “It was frustrating to be behind, but we know we have a good team and we knew we needed to remain confident.

“We got down on defense, started helping each other out, and we did things the way we’re supposed to do them.”

The Cavaliers have won 4 straight games and 16 of their last 18. Cleveland is 18-2 at home.

Cleveland trailed, 64-51, at halftime. But Nance, who scored 13 points in the third quarter, tied the score, 74-74, on a 3-point play with 3:30 left in the quarter. Ron Harper, who had 15 of his 24 points in the third quarter, hit 2 free throws with 1:44 left to give the Cavaliers their first lead of the game.

After New Jersey’s Walter Berry tied it with a basket, Harper made 2 more free throws and Nance made a follow shot to give Cleveland an 84-80 lead entering the final quarter, and the Nets never caught up.

Phoenix 116, Chicago 107--Michael Jordan scored an NBA season-high 53 points, but the Suns rallied from a 19-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Bulls at Chicago.

Jordan, who also had 14 rebounds and 8 assists, scored 50 or more points for the fourth time this season and the 16th time in his career. Elgin Baylor had 17 50-point games, second to Wilt Chamberlain’s record 118.

Phoenix snapped Chicago’s 6-game winning streak, its longest since December 1983.

Tom Chambers scored 29 points for the Suns, who trailed, 69-57, at halftime and took the lead by outscoring Chicago, 32-18, in the third quarter.

Eddie Johnson scored 9 of his 27 points as the Suns pulled away in the fourth quarter, and Kevin Johnson had 18 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds.

Golden State 136, Sacramento 111--Mitch Richmond scored 25 points, and the Warriors extended their winning streak to 8 games by trouncing the Kings at Sacramento.

Rod Higgins added 22 points on 10-of-11 shooting for the Warriors, while Chris Mullin had 21 points and 12 assists.

Vinny Del Negro and Rodney McRay scored 17 points each for the Kings, while Kenny Smith had 16 points and 7 assists.

Washington 107, Philadelphia 105--John Williams blocked Charles Barkley’s last-second shot and preserved the Bullets’ victory over the 76ers at Landover, Md.

Steve Colter broke a 105-105 tie on a basket with 42 seconds left, then drew an offensive foul from Barkley with 28 seconds left.

Jeff Malone scored 23 points for the Bullets, and Bernard King had 20. Hersey Hawkins scored 25 points for Philadelphia, and Barkley added 20.

Atlanta 137, Charlotte 113--Moses Malone and Dominique Wilkins scored 21 points each, and the Hawks routed the Hornets at Atlanta.

Wilkins had 17 points in the first quarter as Atlanta stayed close despite 70% shooting by Charlotte, which led, 34-33, after 1 quarter. The Hawks took the lead for good with an 8-0 surge early in the second quarter.

Robert Reid scored 26 points for Charlotte and Rex Chapman 22. The Hornets played without leading scorer Kelly Tripucka, who was ill with the flu.

Milwaukee 116, Denver 107--Ricky Pierce scored 21 points, and the Bucks downed the Nuggets at Denver despite the 3-point shooting of Michael Adams.

Adams made 8 3-pointers to tie the NBA record shared by Rick Barry of Houston and John Roche of Denver. Adams, who extended his streak to 78 consecutive games with at least 1 3-pointer, scored 28 points.

Alex English had 33 points for the Nuggets, who led, 63-48, at halftime before Milwaukee took control by outscoring Denver, 41-21, in the third quarter.

Seattle 121, New York 119--Nate McMillan and Dale Ellis made 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds, and the SuperSonics rallied to beat the Knicks at Seattle for their 15th consecutive home victory.

The Knicks lost their third straight game on the road, with 4 games left on this trip.

Xavier McDaniel scored 36 points for Seattle, and Patrick Ewing had 26 for the Knicks.