NBA ROUNDUP : Charlotte Wins While Walking

The Charlotte Hornets were without a suspended swingman, a running game and an injured point guard and they played with a disgruntled center, but they found a way to defeat the Hawks, 90-85, on Tuesday in Atlanta.

“Winning this game without our point guard shows you how much talent we have,” said center Alonzo Mourning, who had been fined $5,000 earlier in the day for verbally abusing officials after a game in Boston last Wednesday.

He was critical of the officiating crew of Steve Javie, Joe DeRosa and Sean Corbin.

Mourning talked plenty about that too.

“It was excessive,” he said. “It’s not surprising. The league is going to protect the refs. You never hear about the refs getting fined.

“It was frustrating to play as hard as I did and have Javie take away everything. It’s just hard to take sometimes. I am trying to cut down the technicals. There are times I have to learn to bite my tongue.”

He made four free throws in the final 33 seconds to keep the Hornets ahead. They got that way early with the help of Hersey Hawkins, who scored 16 of his 22 points in a first quarter he was playing in place of point guard Mugsy Bogues, who has a groin injury.

Without Bogues, Charlotte played a patient halfcourt game.

“We have to grind it out,” Hornet Coach Allan Bristow said. “Certainly you can see where we missed our point guard at times because of the press.”

Charlotte also was missing swingman David Wingate, who was suspended for two days for violating an unspecified team policy.

New York 99, Washington 91--Patrick Ewing had 20 points and 15 rebounds as the Knicks won at Landover, Md., and sent Washington to its sixth consecutive loss despite another strong effort by Chris Webber.

Webber rebounded from a sluggish start to post team highs of 21 points and 11 rebounds, but the Bullets are winless in four games since he was acquired from Golden State.

Dallas 84, Minnesota 83--Jim Jackson scored 26 points, including a key three-point play with 2:43 remaining, and Roy Tarpley added 19 points and 12 rebounds at Dallas as the Mavericks finished their best month in four years with a 7-4 record.

They also stayed well ahead of their pace of last season, when they won their seventh game on Feb. 10, at that time holding a 7-41 mark.

Doug West scored 23 points to pace the Timberwolves, who tumbled to 1-13 and dropped their seventh game in a row.

Houston 96, Denver 81--Hakeem Olajuwon scored 27 points, including eight in a row in a blowout third quarter, as the Rockets won at Houston to snap a three-game losing streak.

Denver never led, and the Nuggets’ 81 points were a season low.

Utah 105, Portland 94--Karl Malone scored 30 points at Portland and the Jazz held the Trail Blazers to 14 fourth-quarter points in winning its fifth game in a row.

The Jazz led, 81-80, entering the final quarter, then outscored the Trail Blazers, 10-2, in the period’s first 5:02.

Clyde Drexler and Clifford Robinson each scored 26 for Portland.

Phoenix 123, Milwaukee 106--Dan Majerle scored 23 points, including 19 in the first half, and Charles Barkley made his first start of the season as the Suns won at Milwaukee.

Undrafted rookie Trevor Ruffin added 20 points for Phoenix, which set a club record with 12 three-pointers.

Barkley had five points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals in 18 minutes.

Sacramento 94, Miami 89--Walt Williams scored nine of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Kings at Miami, which made only five of 19 shots in the final quarter to lose.

Bimbo Coles had 19 points for the Heat.

The victory gave the Kings a 6-5 record, their best start since the 1982-1983 season.