NBA ROUNDUP : Payback Is Sweet for Magic

You would think Orlando hadn’t been around long enough to spawn any enmity in the NBA, but the Magic apparently works fast.

Or maybe it just takes things a bit personally.

The Magic players avenged what they considered a personal slight of their meal ticket, Shaquille O’Neal, feeding him enough for him to score 38 points Friday night in a 124-93 rout of the Seattle SuperSonics at Orlando.

He fed himself a bit, too, grabbing 20 rebounds against the team with the NBA’s best record and three all-stars, including Coach George Karl.

Apparently that was the rub.

Orlando lost to Seattle by 24 points on Dec. 14 in a game in which O’Neal was ejected for committing a flagrant foul against Shawn Kemp.

In the All-Star game Sunday, O’Neal was double- and triple-teamed, being held to eight points, and his Orlando teammates believed Seattle’s all-stars, Kemp, Gary Payton and Karl, wanted to make him look bad.

“I was motivated, but Penny (Anfernee Hardaway) was real motivated,” O’Neal said. “He was mad. There were tears in his eyes. He said, ‘Those guys tried to embarrass you. When we play them, I’ll get you the ball 50 times. You’ll get 50 dunks.’ ”

O’Neal made 16 of 19 shots, most of them dunks. He has averaged 37 points and 22 rebounds in two games since the All-Star break.

New Jersey 113, Washington 110--Kenny Anderson missed his first six shots, then scored a career-high 42 points, including the game-winning layup over 7-foot-7 rookie Georghe Muresan with 7.5 seconds to play at Baltimore, as the Nets won their fourth consecutive game.

Denver 109, Chicago 84--Bryant Stith scored eight of his 28 points as the Nuggets started the second half with a 21-9 run that lifted them at Chicago.

Milwaukee 106, Charlotte 99--Ken Norman scored 25 points to lead six players in double figures at Charlotte, N.C., as the Bucks ended a three-game losing streak.

Cleveland 85, Minnesota 78--Mark Price and Brad Daugherty combined for 11-for-31 shooting at Minneapolis, but the Cavaliers’ substitutes outscored the Timberwolves’ reserves, 34-4, in their ninth loss in 10 games.

Portland 109, Philadelphia 93--Clifford Robinson scored 30 points as the Trail Blazers won at Portland after 76er rookie center Shawn Bradley strained ligaments when he twisted his left knee after a collision with Harvey Grant 37 seconds into the game.

Sacramento 90, Utah 81--Mitch Richmond of the Kings missed 14 of 17 shots through three quarters, then recovered to score 18 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter at Sacramento.

Richmond scored five points in a 7-0 run that gave the Kings an 83-75 lead with 1:15 to play.

Lionel Simmons scored 18 points for Sacramento, which has won four of its last five games.