NBA ROUNDUP : Rockets Have a Dozen Reasons to Smile

Hakeem Olajuwon rallied from a poor first half to score a game-high 36 points Friday night as the unbeaten Houston Rockets defeated the Sacramento Kings, 92-89, at Sacramento for a franchise record 12th consecutive victory.

The Rockets’ 12 straight season-opening victories equal the third-best mark in league history. Houston is three victories shy of the 1948-49 Washington Capitols’ league record.

Olajuwon, who made only five of 19 shots in the first half, scored 10 of the Rockets’ final 12 points. He also blocked Walt Williams’ shot with 12 seconds left and scored the game’s final points on two free throws with 10 seconds left.

Williams, heavily guarded, also missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer.

Olajuwon also had 13 rebounds as the Rockets improved to 7-0 on the road.

Mitch Richmond scored 32 points for the Kings.

Seattle 110, Minnesota 92--Ricky Pierce made 10 of 14 shots at Minneapolis as the SuperSonics stayed unbeaten with their 10th consecutive victory.

Pierce finished with 28 points. Shawn Kemp added 22 for the SuperSonics, who are two victories shy of the best start in franchise history--12-0 during the 1982-83 season.

Chicago 108, Dallas 85--The Bulls led by as many as 35 points in the third quarter at Dallas and ended their three-game losing streak.

B.J. Armstrong scored 26 points and Toni Kukoc had 24 for the Bulls, who had lost six of their previous seven.

Jamal Mashburn scored 21 points for the Mavericks, who are 1-10.

Golden State 100, Philadelphia 88--Chris Webber scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and had a game-high 14 rebounds to lead the Warriors to the victory at Philadelphia.

Latrell Sprewell added 21 points and seven assists for the Warriors, who led, 74-72, at the start of the final quarter, and used a 10-0 run to take an 86-76 lead with 7:56 left.

Charlotte 110, Milwaukee 99--Larry Johnson scored 28 points at Charlotte as the Hornets handed the Bucks their 10th consecutive defeat.

Anthony Avent scored 19 points for the Bucks, who are within one defeat of tying a franchise record of 11 consecutive losses.

Atlanta 124, Washington 108--Dominique Wilkins scored 24 points during the third quarter at Atlanta to help the Hawks extend their win streak to seven games.

Wilkins made 15 of 25 shots, including four three-pointers, to finish with 37 points.

The performance followed his worst game of the season, a 14-point effort in a 89-85 victory over Milwaukee Wednesday.

The Hawks are 5-0 at the Omni and 8-4 overall, their best start since going 10-2 to open the 1986-87 season.

Miami 101, Boston 93--Glen Rice scored 38 points and grabbed 16 rebounds at Boston to lead the Heat.

Celtic center Robert Parish was limited to seven points, but they were enough to put him ahead of former teammate Larry Bird and into 12th place on the NBA all-time scoring list.

Denver 112, Portland 101--Dikembe Mutombo had his first triple-double of the season and the third of his career to lead the Nuggets at Denver.

Mutombo had 17 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocked shots.

Utah 100, New Jersey 97--Karl Malone made a short jump shot with 1:06 left and Jeff Malone added a pair of free throws with seven seconds to play to clinch the victory at Salt Lake City.

Derrick Coleman, who led the Nets with 20 points, missed two three-point shots in the final seconds.