NBA ROUNDUP : No Happy Return for Barkley

How do you figure the Philadelphia 76ers?

Last weekend, with their best player, Charles Barkley, unable to play because of a rib injury, the 76ers beat Portland and Chicago on successive nights.

Barkley rejoined the 76ers Wednesday night at Philadelphia, but instead of continuing their winning ways, they lost to the Denver Nuggets, 98-88.

Although a little rusty after missing six games, Barkley had 21 points, four rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes.

But the 76ers had a five-minute cold spell early in the fourth quarter, and Reggie Williams, rookie Dikembe Mutombo and veteran Walter Davis led the Nuggets to their ninth victory in 19 games.

Last season, when Coach Paul Westhead used a run-and-gun attack, the Nuggets lost 30 games before they won their ninth.

The tighter defense Westhead credits for the improvement was in evidence in the fourth quarter, when the Nuggets outscored the 76ers, 21-12, to pull away to their first victory in Philadelphia in four years.

Mutombo had 18 points and 13 rebounds. Williams had 21 points and Davis came off the bench to get 18 points in 23 minutes on nine-for-12 shooting.

Last season, while winning only 20 of 82 games, the Nuggets had the most porous defense in the NBA, yielding 130.8 points per game.

This season they are giving up 102.5 a game.

“We won this game because of the way we played defense,” Westhead said. “We are not a poised, experienced team yet, but we’re getting there.”

Barkley said he felt only a slight discomfort in his ribs.

“Generally, I felt all right,” he said. “I didn’t think I played tentatively at all.”

Although Barkley was six for 10, and Armon Gilliam, who had 13 rebounds, was 10 for 19, the rest of the 76ers went 13 for 55. Johnny Dawkins was one for 13.

New York 96, Seattle 87--Ricky Pierce closed in on the consecutive free-throw record, but the SuperSonics couldn’t do anything to end the Knicks’ unbeaten string at home.

John Starks sank three of his five three-point shots in the fourth quarter and the Knicks pulled away to improve to 8-0 at Madison Square Garden.

Pierce sank all seven free throws and has made 75 in a row. The record is 78 set by Calvin Murphy of Houston in 1980-81. Pierce passed Larry Bird, who was second to Murphy with a string of 71 in a row.

Starks had a strange shooting game. He led the Knicks with 19 points off the bench. He was only one for nine from two-point range, but made all five from long range.

Patrick Ewing keyed the tough New York defense and had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

San Antonio 98, Minnesota 85--The Spurs, suffering through a five-game losing streak, had been waiting for their big man to break loose, and he did at Minneapolis.

David Robinson had 15 of his 35 points in a 21-5 run late in the third quarter that broke open a close game. Robinson barely missed a triple-double. He had 14 rebounds and blocked nine shots.

The Timberwolves, who have the worst record in the NBA (3-14), have lost five in a row.

Dallas 106, Charlotte 103--Derek Harper scored 15 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter at Charlotte, and the Mavericks barely outlasted the Hornets.

“I capitalized on size advantage,” said the 6-4 Harper, who was guarded much of the game by 5-3 Mugsy Bogues. “I thought I could take him.”

Rookie Larry Johnson kept the Hornets in the game with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Miami 105, Cleveland 103--Rony Seikaly had 20 points and a career-high 24 rebounds at Miami, and the Heat ended a five-game losing streak.

Seikaly scored eight points in the last 2:35 after the Heat blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead.