NBA ROUNDUP : Shaq Shows a Little Magic in Debut

Shaquille O’Neal, the NBA’s top draft pick, made his regular-season debut Friday night with 12 points and 18 rebounds in support of Nick Anderson’s career-high 42 points that paced a 110-100 victory over the Miami Heat.

The rookie center, who fouled out with 1:32 remaining, also blocked three shots and brought an Orlando Arena crowd of 15,151 to its feet by taking a rebound and dribbling the length of the floor to score on a thunderous dunk in the closing seconds of the opening quarter.

“I think I played pretty well,” said O’Neal, a 7-foot-1, 305-pound center. “I did commit a lot of silly fouls in the second half. If I hadn’t done that, maybe it would have been better.

“I really didn’t know what to expect. I’m going to go out and play hard, and if I have a spectacular performance that’s good. But if I don’t, I’m not going to get down on myself.”

Anderson, Orlando’s first pick in the collegiate draft three years ago, made 17 of 26 shots from the field and scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to help the Magic pull away from an 81-81 tie.

“I wanted to let the rest of the league know that we have some players down here that are just as good as players on other teams,” Anderson said. “We’re going to get a lot of notoriety now because we have Shaquille, and we want to take advantage of it.”

O’Neal had a team-high eight turnovers, which concerned Coach Matt Guokas.

“Shaq had his problems with the ballhandling down the stretch,” he said. “I was pleased with his overall game, though. He stayed out of foul trouble early, which was very important, and I was able to keep him on the floor.”

New York 106, Atlanta 94--Dominique Wilkins became the 17th NBA player to reach the 20,000-point mark although the Hawks lost at Atlanta.

Wilkins, out since last Jan. 28 because of a ruptured right Achilles’ tendon, reached the plateau with his 25th point, a running 12-footer from the baseline with 9:04 left. He finished with 30 points.

Despite foul trouble, Patrick Ewing led the Knicks with 22 points. John Starks added 18. Kevin Willis had 28 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta. New York never trailed in winning a season opener for only the second time in eight years.

“It meant a lot,” Wilkins said. “Only 16 guys in the history of the game had done it, and that’s not many guys. I wanted to get it over with and keep playing.”

Chicago 101, Cleveland 96--Scottie Pippen scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter and Michael Jordan hit two clinching free throws with 12 seconds left as the Bulls began defense of their back-to-back NBA titles at Richfield, Ohio.

Jordan scored 29 points and Pippen had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Bulls, who ousted the Cavaliers in six games in the Eastern Conference final last season. Larry Nance led Cleveland with 24 points.

“Cleveland’s a front-runner to beat us, and we’re trying for a third championship,” Jordan said. “I love it. You don’t get an opportunity to relax. Teams are going to be waiting for you. I like that.”

Cleveland entered the fourth quarter protecting a 77-76 lead that disappeared quickly as the Cavaliers missed their first seven shots.

Golden State 129, Utah 114--Billy Owens had 29 points and 13 rebounds and Chris Mullin scored six of his 26 points during a 25-6 spurt in the second quarter that carried the Warriors at Salt Lake City.

The Jazz, who went 37-4 at home to lead the NBA last season, led, 42-33, with 8:27 left in the first half before the Warriors used a 15-3 run, including Mullin’s six points, to take the lead for good.

The Jazz, despite 33 points by Karl Malone, got no closer than six points the rest of the way.

Milwaukee 86, Detroit 81--The new-look Bucks got 19 points from Frank Brickowski to defeat the new-look Pistons at Auburn Hills, Mich.

That gave Mike Dunleavy, who left the Lakers to become the fifth coach in Milwaukee history, something the other four never had--a victory in his first game.

Despite the effort by Brickowski, the game was not settled until the final 1:21. With the score tied, 81-81, Fred Roberts converted a three-point play and newcomer Blue Edwards made two free throws for the final margin.

Isiah Thomas, who had only 10 points for Detroit, missed his last 12 shots, including a pair of three-point attempts in the final 30 seconds. Thomas was four of 25.

Seattle 111, Houston 94--Shawn Kemp had 29 points and 20 rebounds as the SuperSonics won in the second regular-season opener played in Japan.

Kemp started the game with three dunks and four offensive rebounds, electrifying the crowd at Yokohama, Japan. He sparked the SuperSonics to a 12-0 run late in the first quarter, which ended with Seattle ahead, 28-19.

Boston 113, Minnesota 92--The Celtics, who lost both of their games against the Timberwolves last season, opened with a victory at home behind 27 points from Reggie Lewis.

Minnesota rookie forward Christian Laettner scored eight points and had seven rebounds.

New Jersey 114, Philadelphia 111--Derrick Coleman scored a go-ahead jumper with 54 seconds left and Chris Morris scored 28 points at Philadelphia in Chuck Daly’s debut as Net coach.

Daly was especially pleased with the play of Coleman, who had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Kenny Anderson, who had 20 points and eight assists.

Charlotte 126, Washington 119--Larry Johnson scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and had 13 rebounds to lead the Hornets at Charlotte.

The Hornets, playing without unsigned No. 1 draft pick Alonzo Mourning of Georgetown, broke away from a 109-108 edge with an 8-2 spurt.

Sacramento 114, San Antonio 106--Mitch Richmond scored 26 points to spoil the debut of first-year coach Jerry Tarkanian, the former Nevada Las Vegas coach.

Walt Williams, the first-round pick from Maryland who did not sign a contract until Oct. 29, keyed a third-quarter rally.