NBA ROUNDUP : O’Neal Too Much For Webber, Warriors

Shaquille O’Neal dominated Chris Webber in the first meeting of the top picks in the last two NBA drafts, leading the Orlando Magic to a 120-107 victory over Golden State on Tuesday night at Orlando, Fla.

O’Neal, exploiting a four-inch height advantage and Webber’s foul trouble, scored 28 points. Nick Anderson and Anfernee Hardaway added 24 and 23, respectively, for the Magic, who used a 15-0 run to take control in the fourth quarter.

“Anyone who plays me one-on-one is overmatched,” O’Neal said. “But they’re short of centers. No first-year player can do it all.”

Webber, making his first appearance in Orlando since the Magic drafted him No. 1 and then dealt him to the Warriors for the rights to Hardaway (the third pick) and three future draft choices, finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

O’Neal outscored Webber, 19-4, in the opening half, sinking eight of 13 shots and drawing two of the three fouls that kept Golden State’s rookie on the bench for 11 minutes.

“He’s a big body, a great athlete. It’s hard to tell how good he is, and it’s hard to play him when you’re in foul trouble,” Webber said.

O’Neal scored four points in the 15-0 run. Golden State rallied with an 11-1 spurt, but couldn’t get closer than 109-101 down the stretch.

Billy Owens and Latrell Sprewell led the Warriors with 18 points apiece. Hardaway’s 23 points were his season high, and the Orlando rookie also had eight rebounds and five assists.

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Houston 100, Chicago 93--Hakeem Olajuwon scored 28 points as the Rockets held off injury-weakened Bulls at Houston to become the seventh NBA team to start a season 10-0.

Washington holds the NBA record with a 15-0 start in 1948-49.

It was easy until the third quarter for the Rockets, who built a 73-53 lead with 5:17 left in the quarter before allowing the Bulls to creep back.

Bill Wennington, who had two points at halftime, led the Bulls’ comeback and finished with 19 points. B.J. Armstrong also scored 19 points and Horace Grant had 18 for the Bulls. Otis Thorpe finished with 23 points for the Rockets.

The Bulls played without All-Star Scottie Pippen because of an ankle injury and without starting center Bill Cartwright because of tendinitis in both knees. Guard John Paxson and center Scott Williams, part of the Bulls’ eight-man rotation, also are out with injuries.

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Washington 118, Charlotte 98--The resurgent Bullets--behind Don MacLean’s 24 points at Landover, Md., ended a six-game losing streak to the Hornets.

The Bullets never trailed in winning for the fourth time in five games after a 1-3 start. Washington hasn’t been over .500 this late in the season since 1989, when they also won five of their first nine.

Johnny Newman scored 24 points and Alonzo Mourning had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, losers of two straight after a club-record five-game winning streak. Charlotte beat the Bullets by 16 last Friday, its sixth straight victory over Washington since March, 1992.

The Hornets, the highest-scoring team in the NBA, had less than 100 points for the second straight game.

Mitchell Butler scored four points in a 10-0 fourth-quarter run to put the Bullets comfortably ahead.

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Portland 109, Denver 94--Clyde Drexler scored 27 points and Rod Strickland scored 10 fourth-quarter points at Portland, Ore.

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf led the Nuggets with 24 points, and Tom Hammonds, Reggie Williams and LaPhonso Ellis scored 16 each.

The Blazers led, 74-70, after three quarters before Strickland scored six points in a 12-4 run that built the margin to 86-74.

Abdul-Rauf scored 19 points on eight-for-11 shooting in the first half, including two three-pointers. However, he took only one shot in the third quarter.

Drexler had 12 points in the first half, including the final six points of the second quarter.