NBA ROUNDUP : O’Neal Is for Real: 31 Points

The Washington Bullets tried Charles Jones, but he couldn’t handle the assignment. So, the Bullets tried Pervis Ellison and Tom Gugliotta, or any combination of the three.

Nothing seemed to work when it came to stopping rookie Shaquille O’Neal of the Orlando Magic.

O’Neal, whose NBA start has been impressive, had 31 points and 21 rebounds in a 127-100 victory Thursday night at Orlando.

“I couldn’t believe they put Gugliotta on me for a little while,” O’Neal said. “He was a guard in college. No guard is going to stop me.”

At 7-foot-1 and 303 pounds, NBA centers might have trouble stopping the 20-year-old O’Neal. He made 12 of 19 shots and blocked four shots to shut off the middle on both ends.

“We’re not big by NBA standards and they took advantage of that,” Bullet forward Harvey Grant said after his team was outrebounded, 69-34.

The Magic used a 19-0 run in the first quarter to blow the game open.

“He’s a good player,” Ellison said after leading the Bullets with 20 points and six rebounds. “Any time you have that kind of size, strength and ability, it’s going to be tough. He’s also got a combination of strength and speed. There’s not a whole lot of players who have that kind of package.”

Coach Wes Unseld of the Bullets said O’Neal will ravage the league if officials do not control his aggressiveness.

“If they let him do what he’s doing now, he’ll create a whole lot of problems for everybody,” Unseld said. “I don’t know what they’re seeing. I’m seeing off-hand pushing and ducking shoulders into people. He doesn’t need to do that. He’ll get his points anyway. Get that and it’s impossible to stop a big, strong guy. I’ve seen some big, strong guys. I know about big and strong.”

O’Neal said he entered the game thinking only about rebounding.

“I told myself if I don’t do anything else, I want to rebound,” O’Neal said. “That’s all they ask me to do here. Any scoring is gravy.”

O’Neal outrebounded the entire Bullets starting five by six.

Magic point guard Scott Skiles had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the second triple-double of his career. Dennis Scott added 27 points, making 11 of 20 shots including four three-pointers, as Washington tried to double-team O’Neal.

Phoenix 102, Utah 91--Charles Barkley scored 25 points and Cedric Ceballos had 24, and the Suns held the Jazz to 37% shooting at Salt Lake City.

The Jazz, 37-4 at home last season, has lost its first two home games this season. Karl Malone scored 32 points for the Jazz and John Stockton had 18.

Cleveland 126, Golden State 122--Mike Sanders scored the Cavaliers’ last four points as Cleveland rallied from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit and won in the second overtime at Oakland. The Warriors could not score after Tim Hardaway’s jumper with 1:38 remaining in the second extra period gave them a 122-120 lead. Sanders put in a rebound of John Williams’ miss to give Cleveland a 124-122 lead with 70 seconds remaining.

Detroit 95, Miami 88--Joe Dumars spoiled the homecoming of former Piston John Salley, scoring eight of his 29 points in the fourth quarter at Auburn Hills, Mich.

After six seasons with the Pistons, including their two NBA championship years, Salley was traded to Miami during the off-season for Butch Morris and a first-round draft pick.

Atlanta 104, San Antonio 97--Dominique Wilkins scored 30 points, including 11 in the final eight minutes at San Antonio. Travis Mays added 19 for the Hawks, and Mookie Blaylock and Kevin Willis had 16 each.

David Robinson had 20 points, Antoine Carr added 19, and Sean Elliott and Lloyd Daniels each had 16 for the Spurs.

Minnesota 88, New Jersey 84--Doug West scored 24 points and the Timberwolves held on at East Rutherford, N.J., spoiling the home debut of Net Coach Chuck Daly.

Minnesota used built a 19-point, third-quarter lead in its second consecutive victory. New Jersey lost its third in a row despite 27 points from Drazen Petrovic.