NBA Roundup : Suns Use Big First Half to Trounce Warriors, 154-124

Tom Chambers scored 33 points and Dan Majerle added 25 as Phoenix rode a near-record 87-point first half to a 154-124 victory over Golden State Thursday night at Oakland, snapping the Warriors’ four-game winning streak.

It was the second-highest point total in the league this season, one less than Golden State had March 4 against Sacramento.

Six players scored in double figures in the first half as Phoenix, which made 17 of 23 shots (74%) in the second quarter, raced to a 26-point lead with the third-highest opening-half total in NBA history. The record is 89, set by Cincinnati against San Diego on March 12, 1970, and matched by the Lakers against Phoenix on Jan. 2, 1987.

Chris Mullin had 37 points and Mitch Richmond 22 for the Warriors.

Washington 102, Charlotte 97--Bernard King scored 18 of his 29 points in the second half at Charlotte, N.C, as the Bullets snapped a two-game losing streak and stayed in the chase for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

John Williams came off the bench to score 22 points and grab eight rebounds for Washington. Robert Reid led the Hornets with 25 points, while Kurt Rambis added 17 points and 15 rebounds.

Cleveland 102, Milwaukee 88--Ron Harper had 21 points, Brad Daugherty 20 and Larry Nance 19 at Richfield, Ohio, to pace the Cavaliers over the Bucks, who played without top scorer Terry Cummings and finished with their fewest points of the season.

Cleveland (49-18) has a half-game lead over Detroit in the Central Division. The Cavaliers are 31-3 at home, and the 49 victories match the team’s season-high in 19 NBA seasons, tying the mark set in 1975-76.

Cummings, who leads the Bucks with a 23.8 average, did not play due to a virus, and Paul Pressey is on the injured list with a sprained ankle. Cleveland’s Mark Price sat out with a sprained ankle.

“Cleveland’s been a good defensive team all year. We didn’t execute offensively, and they were the big reason,” said Milwaukee’s Jack Sikma, who scored 21 points. “They took away a lot of our stuff. We had to make some adjustments without Terry and Paul, but we just didn’t shoot well.”

Milwaukee shot only 40% in the game.