NBA ROUNDUP : Jordan Clears the Air, Then He Takes to It

It doesn’t seem to make much difference to the Chicago Bulls where they play. Michael Jordan and his teammates make themselves at home wherever they go.

Although the Knicks caught them in the fourth quarter Tuesday night at New York, they never could get ahead of them.

After a three-pointer by John Starks helped the Knicks catch up, 78-78, Jordan and Scottie Pippen each scored seven points during a 14-4 burst and the Bulls went on to win, 96-90.

The Bulls, with easily the best record in the NBA (59-13), are 29-8 on the road. They completed a four-game sweep of the Knicks.

Jordan had 16 of his 36 points during the fourth quarter to offset a club-record eight three-point baskets by Starks. Pippen had 27 points and a personal-best 18 rebounds.

Starks finished with 28 points and broke the Knicks’ record of six three-pointers. Teammate Patrick Ewing had 31 points and 15 rebounds and scored 22 of the Knicks’ first 31 points.

Although he spent most of the day in the NBA offices before being cleared of wrongdoing in a gambling investigation, Jordan had something left for the finish.

“It was a long day for me because I didn’t have the normal game-day routine,” Jordan said. “The win was a good end to a long day.

“We did what we had to do when the game was tied to get it under control. Scottie played very well, and I was able to chip in toward the end, so we had a good team effort.”

Coach Pat Riley was upset about some Knick lapses, such as going five minutes without a basket after tying the score during the fourth quarter.

“We went dead in the water for several minutes and couldn’t make any plays,” he said. “It’s a disappointing loss in a home game.”

Golden State 148, Sacramento 136--The Warriors are supposed to be tired from a tough season, but they won in double-overtime at Sacramento to move within 1 1/2 games of Portland.

Sarunas Marciulionis scored 12 of his 33 points in the 10 minutes of overtime to spark the Warriors to their fifth consecutive victory.

Chris Mullin scored 27 points in the first three quarters to help the Warriors build a 10-point lead they couldn’t hold.

In the second overtime the Warriors outscored the Kings, 17-5.

Phoenix 128, Portland 111--The Trail Blazers might think there is no problem, but they haven’t put away the Pacific Division title yet.

Guards Jeff Hornacek and Ken Johnson sparked a 44-point third quarter at Phoenix as the Suns pulled away.

Hornacek had 17 points and Johnson 10 during the third quarter. Hornacek finished with 34 points; Johnson had 27 points and 20 assists.

The Suns clinched a playoff spot earlier in the night when the Lakers beat Houston.

Minnesota 121, Denver 114--Jimmy Rodgers said it had been such a long time since his previous victory that he was at a loss for words.

Although the Nuggets are without rookie center Dikembe Mutombo for the rest of the season, the Timberwolves had to go to overtime at Denver to end their 16-game losing streak.

Sam Mitchell’s three-point basket gave the Timberwolves the lead for good early in overtime.

They came from 12 behind in the last six minutes of regulation to tie the score.

Seattle 122, Utah 103--Gary Payton had 15 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds at Seattle and the SuperSonics stayed half a game ahead of the Clippers.

The SuperSonics and Clippers are battling for sixth place in the West.

Cleveland 123, Miami 114--With Brad Daugherty leading the way, the Cavaliers interrupted the Heat’s drive to the playoffs.

Daugherty had 23 points and 14 rebounds and the Heat’s record at Richfield, Ohio, fell to 0-7.

Miami had won a club-record four in a row and moved into eighth place, the final playoff spot in the East.

The Heat, despite the absence of center Rony Seikaly, made a battle of it. Seikaly suffered a bruised hand when a car door was slammed on it Sunday.

Further hampering the Heat was an injury to Glen Rice. Rice had 30 points, but because of an ankle problem, he played only two minutes of the fourth quarter.