NBA ROUNDUP : The Homecoming: King Beats Knicks With 49

Bernard King added an exclamation point to one of the proudest weeks of his NBA career.

King, named an All-Star on Tuesday for the first time since 1985, scored 23 of his 49 points in the fourth quarter Thursday night as the Washington Bullets beat the New York Knicks, King’s former team, 107-98, their first victory at Madison Square Garden in three years.

King, a native of Brooklyn, said he set a goal of becoming an All-Star again while recovering from a 1985 knee injury that sidelined him for nearly two seasons.

“It’s like a dream to make the All-Star team and come back to New York as an All-Star,” King said. “No one felt I could come back to play. When I was lying in the hospital bed, I set a goal to come back as an All-Star. The last six years I worked hard to get to this point again.”

King, who also had a season-high 11 rebounds, lingered at the foul line late in the game to savor the cheers and applause of the New York fans. The Knicks allowed King to sign with Washington as a free agent in 1987.

“I’ve never milked anything in my career, but I took a few extra seconds at the foul line because the fans were showing their appreciation,” King said.

When the game ended, King went into the stands to hug his parents, who still live in Brooklyn.

“This building hasn’t seen a performance like this since he was in a Knicks uniform,” Bullet Coach Wes Unseld said. “It was unbelievable. I was like everyone else. I was in awe.”

New York, which beat Washington six consecutive times here since April 15, 1988, was led by Patrick Ewing with 27 points and Kiki Vandeweghe with 16.

Utah 105, Portland 91--Karl Malone had 24 points and 11 rebounds and John Stockton added 20 points and 15 assists at the Jazz snapped the Trail Blazers’ seven-game winning streak. The Jazz has won 22 of 27 games at the Salt Palace against Portland since moving to Utah in 1981.

It was only the sixth loss in 21 road games for the Trail Blazers this season. Portland (37-8) still has the NBA’s best record.

Denver 123, New Jersey 119--Michael Adams scored a career-high 45 points and also had 11 rebounds and 12 assists as the Nuggets won their fifth game in a row. Denver has won seven of nine games after a 6-28 start.

Adams scored 32 points in the second half. He finished 13 of 30 from the field and made 16 of 19 free throws.

San Antonio 106, Chicago 102--In a marquee matchup in San Antonio, David Robinson (31 points, 17 rebounds) got the better of Michael Jordan, who scored 36 points but had only one field goal in the last 20 minutes.

Seattle 97, Houston 94--Sedale Threatt scored 18 points, pacing Seattle’s reserves to a 53-9 scoring edge, as the SuperSonics ended an eight-game road losing streak.