NBA ROUNDUP : Silence Is Golden for Norman in Milwaukee

Ken Norman’s ears got a night off because his shooting was on Thursday at Milwaukee.

Norman, not exactly the people’s choice since coming from the Clippers as a free agent, scored 37 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Bucks to a 111-109 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

So what?

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “If I play well, I play well. The fans are going to boo or do whatever they want to do anyway.”

Portland led at halftime, but Norman outscored the Trail Blazers, 16-13, in first nine minutes of the third quarter. He tied the game, 72-72, with a rebound basket, then gave the Bucks a 74-72 lead with another field goal.

Milwaukee snapped a five-game losing streak.

Portland lost its third in a row, despite a season-high 36 points from Terry Porter and 33 by Clyde Drexler.

“The Bucks maybe are struggling, but we’re struggling, too,” Trail Blazer Coach Rick Adelman said. “I really don’t have any reasons why we lost the game.”

San Antonio 101, Cleveland 85--David Robinson scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter at San Antonio, helping the Spurs win their fifth consecutive game.

The Spurs led, 54-49, at halftime and scored the first seven points of the third quarter to establish control.

The Cavaliers, who were led by John Williams’ 21 points, drew no closer than nine points in the final quarter as Robinson kept them at bay.

Cleveland’s three-game winning streak was snapped.

Atlanta 106, Sacramento 102--Kevin Willis scored 16 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 21 rebounds as the Hawks won at Sacramento to hand the Kings their sixth consecutive loss.

Mitch Richmond, who scored 26 points for the Kings, missed a three-point shot with 14 seconds to play and Sacramento trailing, 103-100.

Willis then made two free throws and Mookie Blaylock one, giving the Hawks their first 50-victory season since 1988-89.