NBA ROUNDUP : Drexler Injured in Trail Blazers’ Defeat

The Portland Trail Blazers’ 122-110 defeat by the Boston Celtics Sunday at Boston might not have been their biggest loss of the night.

Clyde Drexler, a seven-time All-Star, was carried off the court in the fourth quarter with a sprained left hamstring and did not return.

Drexler, who scored 22 points, was fouled by Boston’s Reggie Lewis as he attempted to drive to the basket on the first possession of the fourth quarter. Drexler hopped to half court in pain, finally stopping to lean against the press table.

“I pulled a hamstring,” Drexler said. “I don’t know what happened.”

Portland Coach Rick Adelman said the injury appeared to happen when Drexler tried to plant his foot.

“I saw him grimace when he tried to stop and then he seemed to be in a lot of pain as he walked away,” Adelman said. “So right now it appears to be pretty serious, but we’ll need 24 hours to see exactly what happened.”

The Trail Blazers are 26-15 this season with Drexler in the lineup and were 6-3 when he could not play because of a right knee injury in late December and early January.

The Trail Blazers, who trailed by seven points when Drexler was injured, faded after that, falling behind by as many as 16 points.

It was the most points scored by the Celtics since a 124-119 double-overtime victory at Minnesota on Dec. 15.

Xavier McDaniel scored 32 points, Reggie Lewis 25 and Robert Parish had 16 points and 17 rebounds as the Celtics won their third consecutive game.

Cleveland 101, Phoenix 94--The Cavaliers ended the Suns’ home-court winning streak at 19, one short of the franchise record.

Mark Price scored 21 points for the Cavaliers, who won their seventh game in a row. Larry Nance added 21 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks.

The Cavaliers, who defeated the Suns, 123-119, in Cleveland on Jan. 20, spoiled Charles Barkley’s second consecutive triple-double and fifth of the season. Barkley had 27 points, 19 rebounds and 11 assists.

San Antonio 94, Orlando 90--Point guard Avery Johnson made six free throws in the final 3:18 and David Robinson had the Spurs’ only field goal in the last five minutes at Orlando.

Robinson finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds. Orlando’s Shaquille O’Neal had 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Nick Anderson scored 30 points for the Magic.

New Jersey 102, New York 76--The Nets pushed their way back into the Atlantic Division race with the victory at East Rutherford, N.J.

Drazen Petrovic scored eight of his 28 points for the Nets during a 15-2 third-quarter run.

The 76 points tied the Knicks’ season low. The Knicks made only 28 of 78 shots and saw their division lead shrink to 5 1/2 games with 28 left.

Indiana 110, Dallas 96--Six Pacers scored more than 10 points at Indianapolis as the Mavericks remained winless on the road, losing their 24th consecutive game.

The Pacers started slow, but led by as many as 20 points during the third quarter.

Reggie Miller scored 31 points for the Pacers. Detlef Schrempf scored 13 points and had 17 rebounds.

Derek Harper scored 26 points for the Mavericks (4-48), who have a 10-game losing streak.

Miami 105, Minnesota 93--The Heat held the Timberwolves to 13 points in the first quarter en route to the victory at Miami.

Grant Long scored 23 points and had 11 rebounds for the Heat, which has a season-best three-game win streak.

Thurl Bailey scored 23 points for the Timberwolves, who were held under 100 points for the fourth consecutive game. Rookie forward Christian Laettner missed all seven of his shots in the first quarter and finished with a season-low six points.

Denver 110, Charlotte 103--Chris Jackson scored 28 points, including the first seven of a 15-3 run during the fourth quarter at Denver.

The Hornets led, 84-83, before Jackson’s three-point basket with 11 minutes to play. Jackson made a layup 17 seconds later and a 19-foot shot with 10:09 left.

Alonzo Mourning scored 24 points and had 12 rebounds, and Larry Johnson had 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Hornets.