NBA ROUNDUP : Rockets Respond After Losing Olajuwon

After Akeem Olajuwon was knocked unconscious and carried off the court on a stretcher in the in the third quarter, the Houston Rockets cooled off the Chicago Bulls, 114-92, behind the 23-point, 11-rebound effort of Otis Thorpe Thursday night at Houston.

Olajuwon, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds before colliding with Bull center Bill Cartwright, suffered a bruise to the right cheek, a bloody nose and a swollen right eye.

“I’m okay,” Olajuwon said later, showing off a black right eye.

Dr. Frank Lanza said Olajuwon had was no apparent fracture or visual impairment, but the 7-foot center was hospitalized for observation.

The Rockets were leading, 85-67, when Olajuwon went down.

Thorpe, who had four points at the half, took charge of the aroused Rockets after Olajuwon’s injury, and Houston pulled away to an 89-69 lead at the end of the third quarter. Kenny Smith scored 18 points and had 13 assists.

Michael Jordan led the Bulls with 32 points.

New York 135, Denver 108--Gerald Wilkins matched his season high with 25 points at New York as the Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak and won for only the fourth time in their past 11 home games.

New York turned the game into a rout in the third quarter, extending a 15-point halftime lead to 106-80 in the final minute of the period. The Nuggets got no closer than 19 points thereafter.

Michael Adams led Denver with 22 points, but only eight came in the first half when he was three for 16 from the field.

Washington 118, Charlotte 108--Bernard King scored 46 points and keyed a 10-2 fourth-quarter run at Landover, Md., as the Bullets handed the Hornets their 13th loss in 14 games.

Harvey Grant scored 27 points and Pervis Ellison had 12 rebounds and 11 points for the Bullets, who have won five of seven.

Rex Chapman led Charlotte with 22 points and Johnny Newman had 16. Armon Gilliam scored nine points, ending a streak of 19 consecutive games in which he reached double figures.

Milwaukee 97, Dallas 87--Ricky Pierce scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Bucks increased their homecourt record to 16-0 with their sixth victory in a row.

Dallas, a loser in seven of its past 10 games, got 21 points from Derek Harper and 18 from Rolando Blackman.

Sacramento 131, Golden State 113-- Antoine Carr matched his career best of 32 points at Sacramento as the Kings snapped a six-game losing streak. Lionel Simmons scored 26 points and Duane Causwell 20, both career highs for the rookies.

Chris Mullin scored 25 points and Mitch Richmond 20 as Golden State suffered its sixth consecutive road loss.