NBA ROUNDUP : Mavericks Defenseless Against Shaq Attack

Rookie Shaquille O’Neal matched a career high with 38 points and had seven blocked shots as the Orlando Magic beat Dallas, 127-106, Saturday night, keeping the Mavericks winless on the road this season.

The Mavericks are 3-32 overall, including 0-16 on the road.

Donald Royal added a career-high 28 points for Orlando.

O’Neal, whose 38 points matched his total in an overtime loss Monday at Philadelphia, scored 13 during the first quarter as the Magic took a 38-28 lead. He blocked five shots during the third quarter to set a team record, and also played his first foul-less pro game.

The loss was the Mavericks’ second in a row since they beat Detroit on Tuesday night in Dallas to end a 15-game losing streak. Derek Harper led the Mavericks with 18 points and 10 assists.

“You can’t give teams dunks, layups and easy baskets the whole game and expect to win,” Dallas interim Coach Garfield Heard said. “I don’t care who you are playing, it doesn’t have to be Shaquille, it could be anybody. Tonight our defense was nonexistent. We became spectators.”

Heard, who took over as coach when Richie Adubato was fired Jan. 13, implied he was ready to make some changes if the Mavericks’ defense didn’t improve.

“I want to see a much better defensive effort out of them (tonight),” said Heard, whose team will play at Miami. “If not, I’m going to find some defensive guys who want to play.”

Phoenix 110, Atlanta 91--Charles Barkley had 32 points and 16 rebounds as the Suns overcame an 11-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Hawks at Atlanta.

It was Barkley’s second game back since being suspended for one game and fined $10,000 after jumping the scoring table and cursing officials in New York on Monday.

“It’s been a rough week financially for me,” Barkley said. “You wouldn’t believe how expensive the price of 75 tickets (which he purchased for friends and family) are with the price in the NBA these days.”

Barkley had 21 points during a victory at Washington on Friday night.

“I can’t think of one bad thing about having Charles on the team,” Sun Coach Paul Westphal said. “He’s one of the best players in the world.

“He has a desire to win and he gets rebounds. He’s been everything we had hoped he would be.”

Dominique Wilkins led the Hawks with 22 points.

It was only the third loss in the last nine games for Atlanta, which played without Stacey Augmon, sidelined because of a bruised pelvis.

Houston 113, Indiana 100--Hakeem Olajuwon scored 31 points at Indianapolis as the Rockets won their eighth consecutive game.

Olajuwon also had 15 rebounds for Houston, which had lost seven in a row before its winning streak. Kenny Smith added 15 points for the Rockets.

Indiana, which lost for the third time in four games, got a season-high 20 points from Pooh Richardson, 17 from Dale Davis and 16 from Detlef Schrempf. But Reggie Miller, averaging 21.6, was held to four points on one-of-12 shooting.

Denver 97, Cleveland 95--Chris Jackson scored four of his 28 points during the final 30 seconds as the Nuggets rallied to beat the Cavaliers at Denver.

Jackson tied the score with a three-pointer with 29 seconds to play and drove for a decisive layup with three seconds left.

“I was surprised I was so open,” he said of the winning basket. “If I had known that, I would have thrown it down.”

Denver Coach Dan Issel agreed.

“We didn’t expect to get a layup,” Issel said. “We thought we would be shooting an 18-foot jump shot. Of course, the way Chris was shooting tonight, 18-foot jumpers were like layups.”

The Nuggets trailed by 91-82 with 4:08 remaining before their late rally ended the Cavaliers’ four-game winning streak.

Reggie Williams had 24 points and 11 rebounds and LaPhonso Ellis added 21 points and 14 rebounds for Denver. Larry Nance and Mark Price had 20 points each, and Gerald Wilkins added 19 for Cleveland.

Dikembe Mutombo had 12 rebounds as the Nuggets dominated the Cavaliers, 44-36.

Philadelphia 113, Milwaukee 104--Jeff Hornacek scored nine of his 33 points during the final 1:41 as the 76ers handed the Bucks a record sixth consecutive home loss.

The Bucks, who also lost for the eighth time in nine games, started the season 10-3. They have gone 5-19 since.

Tim Perry scored 18 points and Clarence Weatherspoon 14 for the 76ers, who won for the eighth time in 11 games.

Blue Edwards and Eric Murdock led the Bucks with 21 points each. Frank Brickowski added 20 points.

Sacramento 113, Minnesota 108--Mitch Richmond scored 24 points and Anthony Bonner added 23 at Sacramento as the Kings handed the Timberwolves their eighth loss in the last nine games.

Sacramento closed the third quarter with a 21-6 run to erase a 74-66 deficit. The Kings led by as many as 14 points during the fourth quarter.

Minnesota’s Doug West led all scorers with 25 points. Chuck Person added 23.