NBA ROUNDUP : Kings End Road Slump at 43

The Sacramento Kings, holding the Magic scoreless for the last two minutes, came from behind to win, 95-93, Saturday night at Orlando, Fla., ending a 43-game road losing streak that began more than a year ago.

Lionel Simmons, one of only four Kings remaining from the group that won at Washington Nov. 20, 1990, had 27 points and Mitch Richmond added 20.

But the game turned on the defense. The Kings, after blowing a seven-point lead during the third quarter, held the Magic to 20 points in the last quarter.

The Magic led, 93-92, before Pete Chilicutt sank two free throws with 1:48 left to put Sacramento in front to stay.

The Kings celebrated as if they had won the NBA championship. They yelled and danced.

Wayman Tisdale, one of the four veterans who played through the streak, shouted: “We’re going to Disney World. There comes a time when your pride comes out regardless of the circumstances. I feel great.”

Motta, who felt he had to introduce his players to each other at each practice session because eight of them had joined the team after training camp, said the losing streak was never discussed.

“We thought it best not to let them think about it,” he said. “We don’t know each other’s names out there, but we have a chance to be a pretty good team.”

Motta was so excited, he joined the players in the shower.

“I think this will be a turning point for us,” Simmons said. “We have been in many close games on the road. We just had to win one.”

Golden State 120, Milwaukee 115--After their victory at Portland on Friday night, the Warriors had trouble getting on track at Oakland.

After 30 minutes, the Warriors had only 61 points and trailed the Bucks by 12. But in the last 18 minutes, the Warriors, led by Sarunas Marciulionis and Rod Higgins off the bench, scored 59 points and won for the ninth time in 12 games. Marciulionis had 26 points and Higgins had 23.

Cleveland 96, Detroit 89--The Pistons started to slip last season and during the off-season they made some changes. They discarded veterans Vinnie Johnson and James Edwards, who helped them win consecutive league championships. Recently, Coach Chuck Daly benched Bill Laimbeer, who had started almost every game since 1983, and John Salley.

Nothing seems to be working. They lost their fifth in this game at Richfield, Ohio.

John Williams scored the first basket and the last one in a 10-1 run at the start of the fourth quarter that carried the Cavaliers to victory.

Brad Daugherty had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Larry Nance had 13 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and six blocks and Williams came off the bench to score eight points and grab nine rebounds in 27 minutes for Cleveland.

Chicago 107, Denver 100--Michael Jordan sounded a warning to his teammates when they started this six-game trip to the West.

“We have to be ready to play every night,” he said. “Everybody’s going to be out to beat the champs. We have to prove we are champions.”

Jordan had 37 points at Denver and the Bulls won their third game in four nights on their trip.

Jordan played 41 minutes, making 15 of his 28 field goal attempts. He also had six rebounds and a couple of steals.

The Nuggets, with Dikembe Mutombo playing another strong game, took a 46-39 lead late in the second quarter. Mutombo had 22 points and nine rebounds.

The Bulls, who have won nine in a row, improved the best record in the NBA to 10-2.

New York 100, Philadelphia 92--While the Pistons are struggling, the Knicks appear to be jelling under new Coach Pat Riley.

Patrick Ewing, urged by his coach to take charge, did so in the decisive third quarter at New York and the Knicks won their third in a row.

Ewing had 15 of his 35 points in the third quarter as the Knicks took the lead for good.

Boston 125, New Jersey 107--Larry Bird and rookie Rick Fox put on a first-quarter shooting exhibition at East Rutherford, N.J., that led to an easy victory for the Celtics.

Bird made six of his eight shots and Fox wound up with a career-high 25 points. The Celtics made 29 of their first 44 shots.

Indiana 119, Miami 83--It was the worst team in the Central Division against the best in the Atlantic at Indianapolis and it was no contest.

With Chuck Person scoring 24 points, the last-place Pacers went in front early and turned the game into a rout. The Heat, shooting a season-low 36% from the field, fell to 7-4, but remained atop the division.

Washington 126, Atlanta 115--The Hawks’ 7-footer, Kevin Willis, reached 20 rebounds for the fourth game in a row, but Michael Adams, more than a foot shorter, stole the show at Landover, Md.

Adams, after sitting out a game because of multiple bruises and a sore wrist, scored 13 of his 30 points during the third quarter when the Bullets wiped out a five-point halftime deficit and took an eight-point lead.

Bullet rookie Larry Stewart scored 10 of his 18 points during the third quarter.

Dallas 121, Utah 109--Fat Lever scored six of his 32 points in overtime at Dallas to lead the Mavericks to victory after they blew a 17-point lead in the last quarter.

Delaney Rudd’s desperation three-point shot from the corner with two seconds left in regulation capped the Jazz’s 37-point fourth quarter.

But the Mavericks dominated the overtime as they did the first three quarters.

Minnesota 102, Houston 89--The Rockets were able to handle the Timberwolves without their center, Hakeem Olajuwon, at Houston earlier in the week.

It was another matter on the road. Randy Breuer had 18 points and Tony Campbell 17 as the Timberwolves ended a six-game losing streak, pulling away in the last quarter.