Rockets Open Door For Lakers : NBA: Phoenix beats Houston, 100-97, preventing Rockets from clinching playoff spot. Lakers can gain postseason berth if they beat Clippers.

The Phoenix Suns did not want to be a statistic on the Houston Rockets’ drive to the playoffs.

The Suns, already assured of the No. 4 playoff spot in the Western Conference playoffs, got 18 points from Jeff Hornacek and held off the Rockets’ late charge for a 100-97 victory Sunday at Houston.

The Rockets could have clinched the No. 8 and final spot in the playoffs. After the defeat, Houston needed a loss by the Lakers to the Clippers later Sunday night to gain a playoff berth.

The Rockets lost four of their final five games to end the regular season and clearly the pressure showed.

“It was a day when the lid was on the casket,” Rocket Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “Balls would be on the rim and come out. We missed little things and had lapses. It wasn’t a day to have a game like that.”

The Suns trailed through most of the game but charged from a 48-47 halftime deficit and took a 75-71 lead into the fourth quarter that grew to 94-83 with 3:38 to play, their biggest of the game.

“The Rockets were very tense,” said Phoenix guard Kevin Johnson, who scored 17 points. “I could tell they were really getting tight when the game got closer. You’d have to expect that because the game meant a lot more to them than it did to us.”

Hakeem Olajuwon, who scored 11 of Houston’s final 14 points, finished with 39 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

“I was disappointed, because I have confidence in this team,” Olajuwon said. “We should have been fighting for the home court advantage, not just to make the playoffs.”

Houston closed to 98-97 on Olajuwon’s final basket before Kevin Johnson’s two free throws with 16 seconds left completed the scoring.

Cleveland 112, Atlanta 108--Mark Price scored five points of his 22 points in the final 9.6 seconds as the Cavaliers kept the Hawks out of the playoffs with the victory at Richfield, Ohio.

The Hawks needed a win to make the playoffs for a seventh consecutive year, but Price doomed them by making a go-ahead three-point shot and two clinching free throws in the final second.

The Hawks’ loss gave Miami the playoff berth. The Heat, the first of the four most recent expansion teams to reach the playoffs, will play top-seeded Chicago in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Cleveland had already wrapped up a first-round berth against New Jersey.

Utah 101, San Antonio 90--Karl Malone scored 34 points and the Jazz limited the Spurs to a season-low 14 points in the fourth quarter at San Antonio as they clinched home-court advantage through two rounds of the Western Conference playoffs.

Jeff Malone added 18 points for the Jazz, who won the Midwest Division by eight games and play the Clippers in the first round. John Stockton had 17 points and 21 assists.

Terry Cummings scored 21 points for the Spurs, who wound up as the fifth seed in the West.

Utah and Golden State both finished with 55-27 records, second-best in the Western Conference, but should the two teams meet in the second round, the Jazz would get an extra home game because they beat the Warriors, 3-1, in the season series.

San Antonio finished tied for fifth with Seattle in the West, but the Spurs beat the Sonics in the season series and will play fourth-seeded Phoenix in the first round. The sixth-seeded Sonics must face No. 3 Golden State.

Golden State 108, Seattle 106--Tim Hardaway scored 29 points at Oakland as the Warriors set up a rematch between the two teams in the opening round of the playoffs.

Playing without Chris Mullin, who was injured late in the third quarter, the Warriors held off the SuperSonics in the final minute. Had the SuperSonics won, they would have played Utah, and the Warriors would have played San Antonio.

Mullin suffered a strained right leg after he came down awkwardly defending on Gary Payton’s attempted layup with 40 seconds left in the third quarter.

Minnesota 130, Charlotte 107--Tony Campbell scored 23 points at Minneapolis as the Timberwolves shot a franchise-record 57%, ending a seven-game losing streak and finishing a troubled season.

An expansion team in 1989-90, the year after Charlotte came into the NBA, the Timberwolves went from 29 wins last season to a league-worst 15-67 record. The Timberwolves also had the NBA’s worst home record, 9-32, after going 21-20 at the Target Center last season.

Larry Johnson scored 27 points and had 16 rebounds and Kendall Gill scored 26 points for the Hornets, who closed their fourth season by losing seven of their last eight.

Chicago 103, Detroit 85--Michael Jordan scored 32 points at Chicago, but suffered a lower back strain that required 45 minutes of treatment in the trainer’s room after the game.

“I respond very well to treatment,” said Jordan, who finished with a 30-plus scoring average for his sixth consecutive NBA scoring title. “I don’t foresee any problems.”

The Bulls finished with a 67-15 record, best in franchise history. It was also the best overall in the NBA, giving Chicago home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Bulls will open the playoffs with home games Friday night and Sunday against Miami. The Pistons finished 48-34 and will open their playoff series at New York with games Friday night and Sunday.