NBA ROUNDUP : Barkley Suspended, Suns Lose

The suspension of Charles Barkley presented the Phoenix Suns with an intriguing opportunity.

“We wanted to prove to everybody, including ourselves, that we can win without Charles,” Richard Dumas said.

Back to the drawing board.

The Suns fell behind by 15 in the second quarter Wednesday night, and their second-half rally stalled midway through the final quarter as they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 123-119, at Richfield, Ohio.

Barkley watched the game from a sports bar in nearby Akron because he had been suspended for one game and fined $10,000 by the NBA for chasing after the officials following the Suns’ loss in New York on Monday. The suspension cost him an additional $29,500 in salary.

“I made a mistake, and they’re going to suspend me for the game,” Barkley said. “I just have to deal with it. I don’t think it warranted a suspension. But I know what they got to do. They got to keep people coming, so they’ve got to control the image of the league. So I understand that.”

Cedric Ceballos replaced him in the starting lineup and scored 10 first-quarter points. However, he scored only four the rest of the way.

Mark Price led Cleveland with 26 points. Larry Nance had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Gerald Wilkins scored 19 in place of Mike Sanders, sidelined because of a bruised knee. Brad Daugherty grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds.

Dumas scored 23 points and Kevin Johnson and Dan Majerle 21 each for Phoenix.

Boston 121, Atlanta 106--The Celtics capitalized on an injury to Kevin Willis as Robert Parish grabbed 15 rebounds in a lopsided third quarter that carried the Celtics over the Hawks at Boston.

With Xavier McDaniel getting 11 of his season-high 27 points, the Celtics outscored Atlanta, 31-15, in the third quarter to take a 93-78 lead.

Willis, third in the NBA with 13 rebounds per game, was sidelined for the first time this season, suffering from a sore back. The Celtics grabbed a season-high 62 rebounds, led by Parish with 19.

New York 114, Charlotte 91--In their biggest offensive output of the season, the Knicks got even for one of their three home losses as Patrick Ewing had 30 points and 13 rebounds in three quarters at New York.

Portland 110, Minnesota 94--Cliff Robinson had 22 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high eight assists as the Trail Blazers beat the Timberwolves at Minneapolis.

Robinson, who also had four blocked shots and three steals, helped make up for the absence of starting center Kevin Duckworth, who missed the game with a respiratory illness.

Philadelphia 115, Miami 112--Jeff Hornacek scored 27 points as the 76ers won in overtime at Miami.

Philadelphia trailed, 104-97, with 47 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but Hornacek and Andrew Lang made three-point baskets and Miami missed four of six free throws down the stretch.

Golden State 120, Utah 113--Tim Hardaway had 28 points, including a three-point play with 1:40 left at Oakland that helped the Warriors end a five-game losing streak.