NBA ROUNDUP : O’Neal, Hardaway Add Up to Blowout

Shaquille O’Neal scored 36 points on 17-for-20 shooting and Orlando set team records with 65% shooting and its fifth consecutive victory, 145-120, over Charlotte on Wednesday night at Charlotte.

The Magic made 20 of 24 shots in the fourth quarter to turn a six-point lead entering the period into a 27-point advantage. O’Neal was seven for nine in the fourth quarter, with 16 points.

O’Neal’s much anticipated matchup with Alonzo Mourning never materialized. Mourning left the game with a bruised left calf with 9:30 to play in the first quarter after being kicked accidentally by Scott Skiles.

Magic rookie Anfernee Hardaway scored a career-high 32 points, and also had nine rebounds and nine assists, and Nick Anderson had 29 points for the Magic. Eddie Johnson scored 29 points and Hersey Hawkins 23 for the Hornets.

Atlanta 116, Phoenix 107--Stacey Augmon made all six of his shots as the Hawks made 81% of their shots in the first quarter, built an 18-point lead and then held off a late rush by the Suns at Atlanta.

Dominique Wilkins led the Hawks with 26 points and Mookie Blaylock had 25 points and 11 assists as Atlanta improved its record to 28-10, best in the Eastern Conference.

Cedric Ceballos matched his career high with 40 points for the Suns, who dropped their sixth game in nine outings, all with Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson out with injuries.

Philadelphia 104, Dallas 90--Dana Barros scored 22 points and Clarence Weatherspoon had 16 points and 10 rebounds at Philadelphia as the 76ers handed the Mavericks their 15th consecutive loss.

Weatherspoon has had double figures in points and rebounds 21 times in 40 games this season. Rookie Shawn Bradley scored 20 points and Jeff Hornacek had 16 points and nine assists for the 76ers.

The loss was the 38th in 40 games for the Mavericks, whose only two victories this season came against Minnesota.

Golden State 108, Detroit 92--Latrell Sprewell scored 15 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Warriors hold off the Pistons at Oakland.

Detroit played without forward Sean Elliott, who spent the night in an Oakland hospital undergoing treatment for inflammation of the lungs.

The Pistons, losers of 17 of 18 games, erased a 15-point third-quarter deficit to pull into a 79-79 tie on Joe Dumars’ layup with 7:55 to play.

Then Sprewell took over, scoring nine of the Warriors’ next 11 points after an 81-81 tie.

Boston 103, Miami 98--The Celtics extended their season-best winning streak to six games, surviving a desperation comeback at Boston.

The Celtics led, 99-87, before baskets by Glen Rice, Rony Seikaly and Matt Geiger made it 99-93 with 24 seconds to play. Geiger’s dunk made it 100-95 with 14 seconds remaining.

Dee Brown made a free throw for Boston, and Miami’s last hope vanished when Brian Shaw’s three-pointer fell short with 7.0 seconds remaining.

Minnesota 100, Utah 98--Chuck Person, who missed the three previous games because of a foot infection, made a 20-foot shot with 1.9 seconds to play at Minneapolis.

Person, hospitalized last week because of an inflammation of connective tissue in his left foot, scored 22 points as the Timberwolves beat Utah for only the fifth time in 24 games since joining the NBA in 1989. The Jazz won eight of the previous nine meetings.

Christian Laettner also had 22 points for Minnesota. Karl Malone had 33 points and 14 rebounds for the Jazz.