NBA ROUNDUP : Barkley Does His Magic in Victory Over Orlando

Charles Barkley looked well again, and to the Phoenix Suns, that meant more than Sunday’s 100-93 victory over the Magic at Orlando, Fla.

Barkley, in his best performance since returning from a knee injury that sidelined him 17 games, scored 30 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to lead the Suns, who also got 30 points from Kevin Johnson.

“This was the first game since he’s been back that he looked like Charles Barkley,” Phoenix Coach Paul Westphal said. “Now I hope he can bounce back. If he can, then the prognosis for our team looks real good.”

Before the injury that forced him out of the lineup, Barkley was averaging 24.1 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. In his first nine games after the layoff, last season’s MVP averaged only 19 points and seven rebounds.

Sunday, though, he and Johnson scored 19 of Phoenix’s 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Suns withstood a 39-point performance by Shaquille O’Neal by beating Orlando on the boards and getting 10 points from Joe Kleine off the bench.

“Everybody played well,” Barkley said. “Kevin was tremendous. Joe Kleine played well, Mark West--they did the best they could on Shaq. But it’s been a struggle for me to come back. I’m almost 100%, and I’m glad I’m getting better.”

Miami 106, Boston 87--Rony Seikaly had 36 points and 16 rebounds as the Heat won at Boston. Miami extended its franchise-record road winning streak to six and improved to 19-12 on the road. That mark is tied with New York’s for best road record in the Eastern Conference and just a half-game worse than Seattle’s league-leading mark.

Tony Harris came off the Boston bench to score a career-high 22 points, but the Celtics made only 13 of 40 shots in the second half. Harold Miner added 16 points for the Heat, which gained a measure of revenge for Boston’s 112-110 victory on March 7 in Miami that snapped a franchise-record seven-game winning streak.

Philadelphia 114, Washington 97--The 76ers hadn’t won in five weeks, but they ended a 15-game losing streak--the second-longest in team history, with a victory over the Bullets at Landover, Md.

Clarence Weatherspoon scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the 76ers.

Seattle 114, Portland 102--Kendall Gill scored 13 of his 23 points in the third quarter when the SuperSonics broke open the game at Seattle. The Sonics led 95-67 after three quarters and coasted to their eighth victory in nine games.

Seattle was without Detlef Schrempf (flu) and Vincent Askew (suspended for one game). Nate McMillan returned after missing eight of the past nine games with a pulled stomach muscle and had 13 points, eight assists and four steals.

Houston 100, Dallas 93--Vernon Maxwell scored 27 points and Robert Horry had all 13 of his points during a third-quarter surge as the Rockets were able to hold off a late charge by the Mavericks at Dallas.