NBA ROUNDUP : Hawks, Manning on Winning Streak

Danny Manning said he wanted to play for a winner when he left the Clippers, and he’s getting his wish with Atlanta.

So what if the Hawks were winners before he came to them? Thus far, he is a perfect fit in their lineup. And the Hawks are perfect with him.

Manning scored half of his 22 points in the fourth quarter Thursday night to lead Atlanta to its fifth victory in a row, 109-98, over Washington. Playing in his third game since being obtained from the Clippers, Manning also had 13 rebounds and seven assists.

“When he came here, he said wanted to be a part of the team--not the main person,” Coach Lenny Wilkens said. “You don’t come in and take over a winning team; you come in and fit in.”

And sometimes take charge.

The Hawks had a one-point lead when Duane Ferrell scored on a dunk off a pass from Manning to spark an 8-0 run that made it 102-93 with 3:04 left. Manning had four points in the surge to help send the Bullets to their 14th loss in their last 17 games.

Golden State 120, Phoenix 107--Chris Mullin scored 25 points and Avery Johnson made his last seven shots to finish with a season-high 23 points for the Warriors in a victory at Oakland.

Golden State won its second consecutive game over Phoenix after enduring a six-game losing streak to the Suns over two seasons. Charles Barkley led all scorers with 26 points and had 11 rebounds for the Suns.

New York 97, New Jersey 86--Patrick Ewing had 28 points and 16 rebounds, and the Knicks opened the fourth quarter with a 15-0 run at New York to beat the Nets for the first time in four tries this season.

A midcourt three-pointer by Chris Morris at the third-quarter buzzer gave the Nets their only lead of the second half, 72-71, but they missed their first 11 shots of the fourth quarter and the Knicks took an 86-72 lead with 5:59 left.

Cleveland 95, Philadelphia 87--John Williams had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Mark Price made two key defensive plays in the closing minute at Richfield, Ohio, as the Cavaliers won their ninth in a row.

Philadelphia lost its 11th in a row, its longest losing streak since it dropped 13 consecutive games during its 9-73 season in 1972-73.

Orlando 107, Dallas 94--Shaquille O’Neal had 43 points and 16 rebounds at Dallas, and the Magic won for the eighth time in nine games.

It was O’Neal’s fifth 40-point game of the season.

Jim Jackson scored 21 points for the Mavericks.